County swears in nine incumbents, one new commissioner
County Clerk Tandie Mansfield swears in incumbent County Judge Richard Evans during a special Jan. 3 meeting at Bandera County Commissioners’ Court. BULLETIN PHOTO/Cari Golyzniak
The Bandera County Commissioners’ Court held a special meeting on Jan. 3 to swear in newly elected county officials and approve the bonds for those officials, all of whom appeared on November’s General Election ballot as unopposed following their primary victory.
The commissioners first approved the bonds unanimously.
Afterwards, County Clerk, Tandie Mansfield, swore in incumbent County Judge Richard Evans, who then held a pledging ceremony for nine county officials – eight incumbents who were re-elected in 2022 and one newly-elected commissioner.
During the March 2022 primary, Evans 2,374 votes for a total of 53.13 percent of the vote. Susan Junker received 1,811 votes for 40.53 percent of the vote. Dennis Fitzgerald received 283 votes for 6.33 percent of the vote. In total, 4,468 votes were cast in that race.
The new Precinct Two County Commissioner, Greg Grothues, will replace the recently retired Bobby Harris.
Grothues received 489 votes for 51.37 percent of the March 2022 vote cementing his win for County Commissioner for Precinct 2. David Speicher received 48.63 percent of the vote with 463 votes.
Grothues is a fifth generation Bandera County resident and 20-year business owner who won the seat in the 2022 primary election.
Lynn Holt was reelected as Justice of the Peace for Precinct 4 with 802 votes, accounting for 71.29 percent of the vote. Ben Condry received 323 votes for a total of 28.71 percent of the vote.
The sworn-in incumbents were Precinct Four Judge Lynn Holt, Precinct Three Judge Randy Boysen, Precinct Two Judge Gina Grothues, Precinct One Judge Michael Towers, District Clerk Tammy Kneuper, County Treasurer Beverly Schmidt, Precinct Four Commissioner Jody Rutherford, Precinct Two Commissioner Greg Grothues and County Clerk Tandie Mansfield.
After the ceremony, Judge Richard Evans reflected on the value of the American democratic process, suggesting that, when done in its intended way, it does not end in unrest or leaders being killed, as in other nations. Instead, the people can vote leaders in and, when they are not satisfied, can vote them out and elect new ones.