Early voting for the upcoming election on May 4th began on Monday. Among the items on the ballot, voters will elect three Harris County Appraisal District (HCAD) board members for the first time. The board oversees the group of appraisers who determine property taxes.
In November, a ballot proposition to lower property taxes included adding three elected seats to HCAD’s board. Republican Houston-area Sen. Paul Bettencourt authored the legislation, citing complaints about local appraisal districts across the state. The new seats are non-partisan.
If you live in Senate District 15, which includes close to a million people in Harris County, you’ll have the chance to decide who will finish out the term that belonged to now-Houston Mayor John Whitmire. The last time this was an open seat was in 1982. Whitmire served in the Senate for 40 years before being elected mayor in December, defeating U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee in a runoff.
Rep. Jarvis Johnson (D-Houston) and emergency room nurse Molly Cook received 36% and 21% of the vote, respectively, during the March primary and will compete against each other in this election and in a primary runoff on May 28th.
“We need to make sure the person who gets there has experience because Sen. Whitmire, now Mayor Whitmire, takes with him 40 years of experience,” said Johnson.
“I have a master’s in public health from Johns Hopkins University, and the beauty of that is that you can bring it to any committee and any issue,” said Cook.
You can view your sample ballot before heading to the polls at [website link]. Early voting will continue through next Tuesday, April 30th. Voting hours are Monday through Saturday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and noon to 7 p.m. on Sunday. The election is on April 23rd.
