Boling residents go back to the polls after tied vote
By BARRY HALVORSON bhalvorson@journal-spectator.com

Not succeeding at first, the Boling ISD voters will trying at least one more time to fill a vacant position on the district's board of trustees after Tuesday's special board election finished in a dead heat.

Both candidates Shawn Chilek and Jerry Svatek finished the day with 131 votes forcing the need for a run-off election, possibly in December.

Boling Superintendent Charles Butcher said he doesn't believe there has ever been a previous election tie in the district. He knows there hasn't been one in the last 16 years since he's worked for the district.

"And when I first took over as superintendent I read over the board minutes starting back when the district was formed in 1928 and don't recall any mention of a tie," he said.

The superintendent added the law sets out what the district will do next.

"Actually, there's a set of election laws that we have to follow," Butcher said. "We contacted both the candidates to find out if they were still interested in serving or one was willing to withdraw, if they wanted to decide the election by drawing lots or have a run-off. Both indicated they want a run-off."

Chilek said he never questioned continuing to seek the office.

"I didn't enter just to withdraw," he said.

"And I didn't want to leave the decision to fate, but want to let the people have the opportunity to decide. I was told there was some confusion about the consolidated voting locations so it is only fair to allow those people to be able to decide things."

For his part, Svatek said he wasn't surprised by how close things turned out and didn't want to deny the voters the chance to decide.

"It is an 'elected' position," he said. "It shouldn't be just up to the two candidates to make the decision who is going to represent the people."

In discussing the election schedule, Butcher said the next order of business will be an automatic recount, but he didn't expect the results to change. That will be followed by a canvassing of the votes to make the election official before setting the date for the run-off. After consulting with Wharton County Elections Official Judy Owens, Butcher said the district was looking at a tentative date of Saturday, Dec. 15 as the next Election Day for the district.

"It is going to be even more exhausting to get people back to the polls for a second time," Svatek said. "But my supporters have already told me they're ready to dig back into it."

Chilek said he's also ready to pick up his efforts to earn a spot on the board.

"The fact we were so close proves there is a lot of work to do," he said.

"Today, there's probably someone out there who thought about voting and didn't who would have decided the election."

Butcher said it was a point of district pride that both candidates were products of the Boling ISD, chose to come home to live and now want to serve the community as trustees.

"To be completely fair to the candidates and equitable to the voters, residents and especially the students I'm pleased we're having a run-off. Both men are products of this school system and conducted positive campaigns."

Svatek said that tie to the school and community is a major motivating factor for running.

"I think having graduates of the district on the board is important," he said. "It's a plus in that you want to preserve your alma mater. And personally, I want to preserve the quality and excellence that has always been associated with the Boling ISD."

While saying that being a graduate of Boling doesn't qualify him for the board, Chilek did say it helped position him to run for the office.

"My No. 1 driving factor was my education at Boling and preserving it for the current students and the future. My education here set me up to attend (Texas) A&M and that positioned me for my career. I deal with some Houston-area districts and see the problems they have and think about the attention to detail there is in Boling because of its smaller size and dedicated people and I want to ensure that kind of educational opportunity continues to be offered."