Government
BY MELISSA ENAJE, RACHEL LELAND & JAMES T. NORMAN
League City City Council race headed to runoff Voters will soon have the chance to decide who will fill a vacancy on League City City Council. What’s happening? A special election held Jan. 13 for Position 4 on City Council saw five candidates vie for the seat, with two being sent to a runoff election. A runoff election is tentatively scheduled for Feb. 17, according to League City’s website. On Jan. 13, candidates Courtney Chadwell and Ange Mertens were the top vote-getters out of five total candidates, but neither received the majority of the vote count, which triggered a runoff. The details According to the state constitution, any council vacancy with an unexpired term of more than one year must be filled by a majority vote in a special election within 120 days of the vacancy.
League City to charge $50 fee for library People who do not live in or own property in Galveston County will soon have to pay a $50 annual household fee to use services at League City’s Helen Hall Library. The backstory In response to League City’s Helen Hall Library’s capacity and overhead challenges, League City City Council voted Jan. 9 to approve a library card fee for users who do not live or own property in League City or Galveston County, effective March 4, according to agenda documents. A needs assessment of Helen Hall Library presented to City Council in 2019 showed the facility lacked adequate parking and seating for library visitors and also lacked a sufficient staff-to-patron ratio.
Harris County clinic to open $9M health lab The Quentin Mease Health Center, located nearly 3 miles east of the Texas Medical Center, will be on the receiving end of just under $9 million in federal dollars from the American Rescue Plan Act. That funding will support the opening of an outpatient gastroenterology lab after Harris County commissioners approved the agreement in December. Why it matters At any given time, more than 3,000 patients end up waiting for a colonoscopy due to maximum capacity constraints, according to court documents. The money will be used to create additional capacity for colonoscopy procedures and support the purchase of equipment and software licenses, according to county officials.
Galveston County to use 2021 maps in elections Less than a week after a court of appeals ruled a map drawn in 2021 by Galveston County officials be used for the upcoming 2024 elections, the U.S. Supreme Court reaffirmed the decision, denying the plaintiff’s request to overturn the ruling. The gist In an ongoing federal case, Petteway vs. Galveston County, officials are trying to determine if a county commissioner map drawn by county officials in 2021 as part of its redistricting process violated the rights of minority voters. In a Dec. 12 ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court denied a request from the plaintiffs of the case that asked the court to overturn the decision from the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, which issued a stay on Dec. 7, meaning the maps drawn in 2021 would be used for the 2024 elections. The newest Supreme Court ruling came just
Galveston County commissioners map
Jan. 13 election results
Position 4 City Council
District 3
Katherine Swanson: 18.41% Rachel McAdam: 14.8% Courtney Chadwell: 42.6% Ange Mertens: 18.47%
District 1
District 2
District 4
Chris Dodson: 5.72%
Gulf of Mexico
SOURCE: GALVESTON COUNTY/COMMUNITY IMPACT
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The seat was held by John Bowen, who announced his resignation Oct. 31 and officially resigned Nov. 10, according to agenda documents. What they’re saying “I want to thank all my supporters who came out and voted on Saturday and in early voting,” Chadwell said. “I’m thrilled to still have the opportunity to try and prove to the community that I’m the best candidate to serve the citizens in League City,” Mertens said.
SOURCE: GALVESTON COUNTY/COMMUNITY IMPACT
days after plaintiffs filed the emergency applica- tion to overturn the stay Dec. 8—just ahead of the state’s filing deadline for the March primaries, officials with the Southern Coalition for Social Justice said in a Dec. 12 news release. In the months leading up to the decision, a U.S. District Court ruled in October the county must redraw its maps. In November, that same judge, Judge Jeffrey Brown, ordered the use of a remedial map in the meantime.
BAY AREA 1033 Bay Area Blvd (281) 486-9558 LEAGUE CITY
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