November 7 Election Recap
November 14, 2023 | Montgomery County, TX
The November 7 Joint Election determined changes to the Texas Constitution. Some voters also chose whether to approve bond proposals and elected local government officials. Here are the results.
The Texas Constitutional Amendments
Of the 14 Constitutional Propositions on the ballot, only Proposition 13 failed which would have extended the mandatory retirement age of state judges from 75 to 79 years of age.
The Impact of Proposition 4 on Current Montgomery County Property Tax Statements
All 14 Texas Constitutional Amendments on the November Ballot
Largest CISD Bond in School History Passes
The biggest issue on the ballot locally was Conroe ISD’s $1.9 BILLION bond, which was the largest in school history.
The bond was divided into four parts and three of those passed fairly easily. However, Part D of the bond package, which was for a $23 Million pool, failed. This brings the bond total down to $1.8 BILLION which is still about three times larger than the $653 Million CISD bond passed in 2019.
There were numerous complaints about CISD using district resources at the polls to advocate for the bond (shown above) even though the CISD workers claimed that they were just giving out information to voters.
The Woodlands Township Races
The Woodlands Township races were contentious as the RINOs and Democrats teamed up to try and defeat Conservative stalwart incumbent, Dr. Shelley Sekula-Gibbs.
A local faction in The Woodlands targeting Dr. Sekula-Gibbs, which was established and funded by lawyers and their developer clients, formed a new Political Action Committee (PAC) last election cycle. This newly named “Preserve the Woodlands PAC” ran a slate featuring current Woodlands Township Board President Ann Snyder (R), Cindy Heiser (R), and Tricia Danto (D).
If anyone were to research the donors and members of the Preserve the Woodlands PAC, they would discover that the founders of the PAC are primarily the same people who formed the now obsolete “Concerned Citizens PAC,” which then morphed into the also now defunct “Township Future PAC.” But what all of these PACs have in common is that they run and endorse Democrats against grassroots Conservatives, all while claiming that their Democrat candidates are really the grassroots Conservative Republicans in the race.
Incumbent Snyder easily cruised to victory receiving 83.77% of the vote. For the open seat, Cindy Heiser (R) received 53.5% of the vote to win her election over Ann Perry (R). The race for Position 5 between Dr. Sekula-Gibbs (R) and Danto (D) was a close one with Danto claiming to be a “lifelong Conservative,” but donating repeatedly to ActBlue, Beto for Texas, and Rep. Steve Toth’s 2022 Democrat challenger.
The Montgomery County Republican Party Works for Republican Against Democrat in Township Position 5 Race
The Montgomery County Republican Party’s bylaws permit endorsement in non-partisan races when it is clear that a Republican is running against a Democrat. The local party endorsed Dr. Sekula-Gibbs against her opponent, Tricia Danto, and several members of the Montgomery County Republican Party then worked early voting and Election Day to assist Dr. Sekula-Gibbs in gaining the victory.
Endorsement of Dr. Shelley Sekula-Gibbs for The Woodlands Township Position 5
Dr. Shelley Sekula-Gibbs pictured far right with members of the Montgomery County Republican Party.
Houston Mayoral Race Runoff Is December 9th
In other election news, there will be a runoff on December 9 in the Houston mayoral race between John Whitmire (D) and Sheila Jackson Lee (D). Whitmire received 42.51% of the vote on election day, but needed to get over 50% to avoid a runoff with Lee who received 35.63% of the vote.
Local attorney, Nelda Blair, of the “Preserve the Woodlands PAC,” mentioned above. Blair is pictured with her longtime friend, Democrat Mayoral candidate Sheila Jackson Lee.
Get Involved!
The Montgomery County Republican Party needs your help as we prepare for the March Primary Election. It takes many volunteers to help with block walking, educating voters in parking lots, and getting out the vote for strong Conservatives. Please take a moment to learn how you can get involved!