Photo by Liesbeth Powers.
Early voting begins today, and Lake Highlands voters have a couple of key choices to make.
Adam McGough is retiring after eight years on the Dallas City Council, and four newcomers are seeking to succeed him. McGough has endorsed Kathy Stewart, longtime community volunteer and executive director of the Lake Highlands and Uptown Public Improvement Districts. She’s been endorsed by the Dallas Police Association, the Dallas Firefighters Association, the Real Estate Council and other organizations, and by former councilmembers Jerry Allen, Bill Blaydes, Alan Walne and Donna Halstead. Brian Hasenbauer is next on the ballot, and he works as a marketing VP. He has represented District 10 on several city hall committees and volunteered in the community, and he’s backed by the Mexican American Bar Association of Dallas, the Stonewall Democrats of Dallas and Dallas Neighbors for Housing, among others. Sirrano Keith Baldeo has run for council twice before, never earning more than ten percent of the vote. He often stresses the need for Christian leadership and minority representation around the horseshoe and says he’ll bring the lessons he learned as a community publisher in Paterson, New Jersey, to Dallas if elected. Chris Carter says he’ll focus on reducing crime and increasing pay for Dallas police officers. He worked on Wall Street and sees a financial crisis looming. He says the city should focus less on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and more on getting its financial house in order.
Two Richardson ISD school board places are up for grabs, but Lake Highlands residents will have only one on their ballot. Incumbent Eric Eager will face challenger Blake Sawyer in the at-large race for District 6.
Sawyer, who ran in 2021 and lost to Chris Poteet, is backed by Richardson ISD Families First, a conservative group committed to opposing certain books and programs in RISD schools. Eager lost to Karen Clardy in 2017 and ran unopposed in 2020.
Bonnie Abadie is challenging incumbent Debbie Renteria for single member District 3, but that race will not appear on the ballots of LH voters. Abadie is also backed by Richardson ISD Families First.
Voters may select any early voting location, and they are listed online here. Those nearest to LH include Audelia Road Library (10045 Audelia Rd.), Richland Campus of Dallas College (12800 Abrams Rd.), Lochwood Branch Library (11221 Lochwood Blvd.) and Our Redeemer Lutheran Church (7611 Park Lane). Early voting runs through May 2, and Election Day is May 6. Voting hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. April 24-29, noon-6 p.m. April 30 and 7-7 after that.
