South Jetty to host Candidates' Night tonight at city hall

Voters are invited to hear from candidates for Place 5 on the school board tonight, Thursday, April 26.

Candidates' Night, a voter education forum sponsored by the South Jetty, will feature the only contested race on the May 12 ballot. The event will begin at 5:30 p.m., in the council chambers at city hall, 710 W. Ave. A.

The race is between retired Port Aransas High School English teacher Rita Reed and the incumbent, Chuck Borders, who owns a property management company.

Incumbents in Places 4 and 6, Bob Smith and Rick Adams, remain unopposed in their bids for re-election.

Terms are for three years, and there are no limits on the number of terms a trustee may serve.

None of the places on the city ballot are contested, although two names will be on the ballot for the Place 1 position. After Keith Donley filed for the position, incumbent Beverly Charles withdrew her name; however, it was too late to remove it from the ballot.

(Voters in the city will cast ballots on 27 proposed amendments to the city charter.)

Candidates are asked to meet in the council chambers at 5 p.m. today to draw questions. They will have 30 minutes to prepare responses to the questions they draw. The forum will start promptly at 5:30 p.m., and it will be broadcast on local access channel 19.

Each candidate will have five minutes to make an opening statement and, after the questioning period, five minutes to make a closing statement.

South Jetty co-publisher and editor