The filing period to run for city council and school board positions closed Monday with 16 people having filed for eight contested races in the May elections.
While the College Station School Board will not see any contested races, two of the three open seats for Bryan trustees drew opposition.
The Bryan council has four open slots, but it wasn't until the last day that two people filed against incumbents.
Richard Cortez Sr. submitted his paperwork for Single Member District 1, a seat which Al Saenz said he plans to keep. Howard Hill is challenging Paul Madison for Single Member District 2.
Cortez, 59, recently lost the crowded race for Justice of the Peace Precinct 4. He ran as a Democrat. Municipal and school board races aren't partisan.
While campaigning for JP, Cortez said, he was able to meet and get involved with a lot of different people. He said he read in Sunday's newspaper that the last day to file for City Council was the next day and wanted to "jump in the race and see what happened."
"I just want to give it a try to help the city out," Cortez said.
Cortez said he doesn't see any immediate changes that need to be made in the way the city operates. Cortez said he hasn't attended many council meetings but planned on being there Tuesday.
Hill, a 71-year-old former officer and businessman, said it was important the city maintain a low tax rate, keep a cap on the budget and watch city spending. He said there have been several instances when the city misused taxpayer money, including when the city chose to continue paying former Police Chief Ty Morrow while he was on administrative leave for seven months.
Hill said he disagreed with the city hiring someone from Waco to run the police department when there were several assistant chiefs to chose from.
"I want to keep an eye on these tax increment zones. We've got five and I think that might be too many. I think used properly, they are good. But we may be stretched out a little on that," he said.
Bryan council candidates who announced they were running earlier this year include the following: For mayor, Jason Bienski, mayor pro tem and a real estate agent, will face Mitch Morehead, the owner of Acme Glass and a former councilman. For Single Member District 2, Bettye Pool faces Chuck Konderla.
In College Station, two slots are open on the council.
Ben White will try and keep his seat at the head of the council when Nancy Berry, who was a council member from 2004 to 2006, challenges him for the job.
Place 2 Councilman James Massey isn't running again, leaving Jess Fields, owner of Texas Avenue Cigars and a Texas A&M student, in a race against Tony Jones, a former county commissioner and businessman.
Both city councils consists of seven members and are elected for alternating three-year terms. The Bryan council has one at-large seat and five single-member districts. The College Station City Council does not have single-member districts.
The match-up for the Bryan trustee races was set before this week: Incumbent Carl Hasan and Felicia R. Carter-Benford will vie for Single Member District 1; Maritza Hoffman and Tommy Bosquez filed for Single Member District 3; and Single Member District 5 incumbent Doug Wunneburger will run uncontested.
In College Station, three seats are open and won't be contested.
Garland Watson, the incumbent since 2004, will take Place 3 on the school board. Jeff Harris, attorney at Ellison Law Firm, will fill Place 4. Mary Broussard, who is the current Place 4 representative, served nine years and didn't seek re-election. Randall Pitcock, vice president of the board, who served since 2004 and the owner of Croix Inc., will fill Place 5.
The last day for a candidate to drop out of the race is March 16. The final date to register to vote is April 8.
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