Gov. Greg Abbott declared reform of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas to be an emergency legislative item Feb. 16 and called on the Legislature to investigate the council. ERCOT, which was largely criticized for its role in the February storm, manages the flow of electric power to more than 26 million Texas customers and represents about 90% of the state’s electric load, according to the electric nonprofit.
The first of the major bills is Senate Bill 3, authored by Schwertner. It adds winterization requirements to energy-generating infrastructure with a $1 million fine per day, he said. Municipal-owned utilities, such as in Georgetown or Austin, and energy companies, such as Pedernales Electric Cooperative or Oncor Electric Delivery, would not be treated differently.
Two Leander City Council races will be determined in a June 5 runoff election. Mike Sanders and Esmeralda Traube will be on the ballot for Place 2. Nacole Thompson and Donnie Mahan will compete for the Place 4 seat.
Early voting will run May 24-29 and June 1 at the Leander Public Library annex at 1011 S. Bagdad Road, according to the city. The library will also be the sole election day voting location.
For Places 2 and 4, no candidate reached a majority of votes May 1, which calls for a runoff election between the two candidates who received the most votes, according to city ordinances.
Sanders and Traube received the most votes in the Place 2 race, beating incumbent Annette Sponseller. Sanders received 36.6% of votes May 1, and Traube received 33.94% of votes. Sponseller got 29.46% of votes.
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ROUNDUP: May 1 election results in Cedar Park, Leander
Several Cedar Park City Council and Leander City Council seats were on the May 1 ballots. (Courtesy Unsplash)
Several Cedar Park City Council and Leander City Council seats were on the May 1 ballots. (Courtesy Unsplash)
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Local state of disaster issued for Williamson County
County Judge Bill Gravell issued a local state of disaster for Williamson County on Feb. 14. (Courtesy Adobe Stock)
County Judge Bill Gravell issued a local state of disaster for Williamson County on Feb. 14. (Courtesy Adobe Stock)
Now is the chance to help your local community succeed. Become a Patron by contributing to
Community Impact Newspaper and gain daily insight into what s happening in your own backyard. Thank you for reading and supporting community journalism.
Cedar Park has officially called a May 1 election for three council member seats.
Place 3 Council Member Anne Duffy and Place 5 Council Member Rodney Robinson have each filed for their current seats. Jim Penniman-Morin, who previously ran for Place 4 in November 2020, has filed to run for Place 1. No other candidates have filed as of Jan. 28. Place 1 Council Member Tim Kelly has previously said at City Council meetings that he will not run for re-election.
The filing period is now open, and the deadline to file for a place on the ballot is Feb. 12 at 5 p.m.
City Council also ordered a special-called election for five city charter propositions to the ballot that would affect council term lengths, city manager authority, council vacancies, executive session confidentiality and resignation upon filing for a different public office. A public hearing and first reading of the amendments was held Jan. 14.