Local Elections Held Saturday; Heines Elected Mayor

EAST TEXAS � Voters made their choices Saturday in municipal and independent school district elections around East Texas. In the city of Tyler, Martin Heines won a resounding victory over Joel Rando in the race for mayor. Heines (pictured) says he’s “very gratified” with the outcome. Emphasizing the city’s financial stability, Heines says he plans to keep Tyler on its current path. But in campaign visits with residents, he says he heard another important message on which he intends to follow through: that locals are concerned with streets and traffic enhancement.

Also Saturday, Don Warren handily defeated Eleno Licea in the bid for City Council District 4. That’s the seat Heines represented until recently. In the Tyler school board election, incumbent Orenthia Mason scored a runaway victory over Cedrick Granberry in District 2, and challenger Barbara Smith outdistanced incumbent Ross Strader in District 5. You can check http://www.smith-county.com/Government/Departments/Elections/newResults.aspx for more detailed information on elections in Smith County. Go to http://administration.longviewtexas.gov/city-election-results for tallies in the city of Longview.