By Edmond Ortiz
Voters taking part in June 13 runoff elections tapped a business owner for an Alamo Colleges District board post, and ousted New Braunfels incumbent mayor and one council member.
Alamo Colleges District
Accountant Robert Garcia won a runoff election for ACD District 9 post, receiving 57% of the vote against Carolyn DeLecour, a past ACD professor and a current certified grief educator.
Garcia succeeds incumbent trustee Leslie Sachanowicz, who narrowly missed out in qualifying for the runoff election. According to the Bexar County Elections Department, 1.2% of District 9 voters cast a ballot in the runoff election.
Garcia, a Northwest Vista College graduate, campaigned for fiscal responsibility, expanding workforce opportunities for students, growing partnerships with local employers, and enhancing communications among district leadership, faculty, staff and community members.
Garcia will represent District 9, which covers a sliver of northeast San Antonio and neighboring suburbs such as Live Oak, Universal City, Selma and Windcrest, as well as far north central San Antonio neighborhoods, the Alamo Heights area and the Tobin Hill neighborhood.
Garcia is joining a board that voted June 13 to adopt a $585.8 million operating budget for Fiscal Year 2027, a move that included a 1-cent increase in the district’s daily maintenance and operations property tax rate.
The new budget is 6% higher than the ACD’s adopted FY 2026 budget, and it supports a projected 6.8% enrollment increase. District officials have had to battle a $27 million budget deficit that has been caused mostly by stagnant and dropping taxable property values, a growing number of property tax exemptions, changes in state performance funding, and inflation.
According to ACD officials, the 1-cent per $100 valuation tax hike will result in an increase of $3.36 per month for an average homestead valued at $322,698. For a median homestead valued at $271,005, the estimated monthly impact for 50% of taxpayers is $2.82 per month, district officials added.
New Braunfels
A heated match for mayor between first-term incumbent Neal Linnartz and runoff challenger Michael French toppled first-term Mayor Neal Linnartz with 61% of the vote.
French, a military veteran and a former Trump White House staffer, overcame controversy that followed what he, supporters and New Braunfels voters thought was a win in a multiple candidate contest in New Braunfels’ May 2 election.
But city officials called a runoff election because French failed to meet a majority vote of 50% or more, which is required by the state for a public office involving a three-year term. The city’s charter currently permits mayoral election victory by a plurality vote.
French made New Braunfels’ growth and its resulting challenges a key part of his mayoral campaign. He also prioritized strengthening public safety elements, and changing culture at City Hall.
French and another runoff election winner, U.S. Army veteran and past combat medic Nikki Shaw of City Council District 6, both rode a feeling of voter discontentment with city leaders.
Shaw, a political newcomer, collected 62% in an upset of first-term Councilmember and business owner April Ryan.
Shaw advocated issues such as city growth, maintaining quality infrastructure, fiscal responsibility, and affordability challenges, especially among senior citizens, veterans and young families.
Shaw will now represent a council district that covers a portion of New Braunfels east of Interstate 35 and south of the Guadalupe River, including many neighborhoods that surround Fischer Park.
According to Comal County elections officials, the high-profile New Braunfels runoff elections drew a 14% voter turnout.
