Lubbock's municipal election is now underway, with early voting continuing through May 3 ahead of Election Day on May 7.
Eligible voters are able to cast their ballot at over a dozen voting centers throughout town. Find your nearest polling place, and other information about the election, on the Lubbock County Elections Office website.
Also on that website, you can see a preview of your ballot. Following last year's redistricting process, many voting boundaries changed. If your voter registration address is up-to-date, the sample ballot will tell you which districts you are now in.
You'll also see two state constitutional amendment propositions
on ballots. Those are both about property taxes and are explained in this article from The Texas Newsroom.
Here is some more background on each local race and a round-up of Texas Tech Public Media's coverage of this year's city elections:
Mayor
Current Lubbock Mayor Dan Pope announced in November he would not seek another term. He is one of a handful of mayors in the city's history to serve for six years.
Five candidates are now vying for the position. This is the order their names will appear on the ballot: Tray Payne, Gulrez "Gus" Khan, Stephen Sanders, Adam Hernandez and Epifanio "Major" Garza.
Learn more about each candidate and where they stand on key issues through our "West Texas Town Hall: Lubbock Mayoral Forum."
District 1
Juan Chadis, who has represented northeast Lubbock's District 1 on the council, announced earlier this year he would not run for re-election. He was first elected in 2016.
Christy Martinez-Garcia and Pat Kelly are competing for the seat.
Both candidates talked with Texas Tech Public Media about their campaigns and goals for our "Conversations with Candidates" series. Those interviews are linked to the candidates' names.
District 3
Jeff Griffith has served District 3 on the Lubbock City Council since 2014 and is also not campaigning for another term.
Multiple residents pulled paperwork to possibly run for the seat, but only one completed it. That means Mark McBrayer is the de facto next representative of the Central Lubbock area.
He also participated in our "Conversations with Candidates" series, linked above.
District 5
Current District 5 Councilman Randy Christian is running for re-election. He was the only candidate for the southwest Lubbock district on the ballot in 2018, when he first joined the council. He talked about his experiences on the dais in our "Conversations with Candidates" interview.
This election cycle is different. He's challenged by Chase Head and Bill Felton, who both visited the Texas Tech Public Media studio for our candidate interview series.
Dr. Jennifer Wilson and Keri Thomas are also campaigning for the position. They did not respond to interview and scheduling requests by Texas Tech Public Media's deadline.
Lubbock ISD School Board
Three school board representatives seeking re-election this year have challengers. That's led to a more politically-charged election for these nonpartisan seats, as previously reported by Texas Tech Public Media.
Beth Bridges is the current at-large representative and is seeking another term. Dr. Brian Carr and Angelina Mojica are also running for the position. All registered voters who live in the Lubbock ISD school district can vote in this race.
Lubbock ISD's District 3 includes the southwest portion of the district. Jason Ratliff is the incumbent for the position. Jason Rinaldo is a first-time candidate running for the seat.
District 4 encompasses central and southeast Lubbock ISD neighborhoods. Ryan Curry is running for another term and is challenged by Bethany Luna.
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Have a news tip? Email Sarah Self-Walbrick at saselfwa@ttu.edu. Follow her reporting on Twitter @SarahFromTTUPM.
