From staff reports

Monday was the last day to file for the May 8 municipal elections, and several new candidates surfaced hours before the deadline.

Killeen

Killeen City Council election filings ended Monday with a mayoral filing for incumbent Tim Hancock's only opponent.

Harold Graham Butchart, 62, filed to run against incumbent Tim Hancock, 75, who has served as mayor since 2006.

Butchcart, a retiree, ran for the mayor's post in 2008 and for a council position in 2007 and 2009, seeking to represent District 3, a seat currently held by Councilwoman JoAnn Purser.

Hancock filed to run for a third term Feb. 8. He owns Arrow Trailways, a Killeen-based transportation company.

The race for three at-large council member seats is a mix of incumbents and those who have either served on the council or have tried for a seat.

Incumbent Scott Cosper, 41, was first to file Feb. 8 in hopes of keeping his seat for a second term.

Cosper, a general contractor and mayor pro tem, served on the council previously but stepped down after a third term because of limits set by the city's charter. After a break, Cosper ran again and won an at-large seat in 2008.

A day after Cosper's filing, Claudia Brown, 70, filed with the city Feb. 9 in preparation for a run for one of three at-large council seats.

Brown represented District 4, now represented by Ernest Wilkerson, from 2007 until 2008 but stepped down that year, citing health concerns. She works as a city of Killeen training coordinator.

John Doranski, 49, filed for an at-large seat as the first week of filing ended. This will be Doranski's second run for the Killeen City Council after he tried for the District 3 seat last year but lost by two votes to current seatholder Purser. He works for the Internal Revenue Service.

The second incumbent to file for an at-large seat, Larry Cole, 72, filed Feb. 16 to run against Cosper, Brown and Doranski. If Cole is elected, the 2010-12 term will be the appraiser's third and last consecutive term.

Mike Lower, 51, was the last non-incumbent to place his name on the ballot. The general sales manager filed Feb. 22. This will be Lower's first run for the Killeen council.

Billy Workman, who filed for re-election Feb. 24, was the final incumbent to enter the council race. Workman, 54, has served as a council member at-large since 2006 and if elected in May, the 2010-12 term will be the last consecutive one he'll be allowed to serve, according to term limits set by the city's charter. He works in the release of information sector of the VA Records department.

Killeen ISD

Four seats on the Killeen Independent School District board of trustees are up for election this May. Three people are competing for the Place 3 seat, currently held by board President Joe Maines, who announced he would not run for re-election.

The candidates for Place 3 include T.J. Carson, 47, a Killeen resident who co-owns Defense Logistics Management Group Inc. Carson was a U.S. Army warrant officer for 26 years and serves on the board of directors of the KISD Education Foundation.

Martin Allen, 60, a Harker Heights resident who works for Killeen Power Sports, served 37 years in public education. He worked as a teacher, coach and administrator in KISD for 19 years.

Corbett Lawler, 66, a Killeen resident, previously served as the principal at Killeen High School.

Minerva Trujillo, 63, filed for the Place 6 seat of the KISD board, which was previously held by her husband, retired Lt. Col. Arthur Trujillo, who died last month. A Killeen resident, Minerva Trujillo served as a teacher for 35 years and is a former principal of Audie Murphy Middle School.

Otis Evans, 66, also filed for the seat. Evans, a Killeen resident who works in long-term care administration, is a former Killeen councilman.

Incumbents Shelley Wells and Butch Menking both filed to keep their positions on the KISD school board and will run uncontested this year. Wells, 57, a Killeen resident who has served on the board since 2007, is a former KISD teacher and small-business owner. Menking, 49, a Killeen resident, is a financial adviser for Edward Jones in Killeen.

Harker Heights

Two people filed Monday to run on for the Place 3 Harker Heights City Council seat: Douglas Green, 60, and Lynda A. Nash, 43.

Green is retired from the California Highway Patrol, and Nash listed herself as retired when filing her application.

Former Councilman Pat Christ filed for the Place 3 council seat on Feb. 8. Christ is retired.

Mayor Pro Tem John Reider, 55, is still unopposed for the Place 1 seat on the council. Reider is the co-owner of John Reider Properties.

Council seats in Harker Heights are at-large seats where residents vote for one person to fill each specific seat.

Nolanville

A total of eight residents in Nolanville will appear on the May 8 ballot for council seats, and two will vie for mayor.

Mayor Emma McCullough, 62, filed Monday to retain her mayoral post in the city. McCullough is a homemaker. She has lived in Nolanville for 28 years.

Before Monday, Charlie L. Stewart Sr., 56, filed to run for mayor. He is an educator who has lived in the city for more than 19 years.

Two Nolanville council seats are open in May. The two highest vote-getters of the eight residents on the ballot will fill the at-large seats.

Residents running for the seats are:

Councilman Donald Matthews, 68, a retired military and civil service employee. He has lived in the city for more than 37 years.

Councilman Wayne Drew Hamilton, 67, a retired firefighter. He has lived in Nolanville for more than five years.

Theresa Cochran, 77, retired. She has lived in the city for more than 43 years.

Denise Hungerford, 55, a homemaker who has lived in the city for more than 11 years.

Jennifer Ann Dellinger, 31, a homemaker and college student. She has lived in Nolanville about six years.

Sandra Darlene Freeman, 57, a homemaker who has lived in the city for more than two years.

Brenda Huckaba, 48, a health care driver who has lived in the city for more than 17 years.

Former Mayor Carolyn Sterling, 65, a retired nurse. She has lived in Nolanville for more than 36 years.

Copperas Cove

Three Copperas Cove City Council seats are up for election May 8, including Place 3, currently held by Chuck Downard; Place 4, held by Danny Palmer; and Place 5, held by Bill Stephens.

R. Ray Gatewood, 56, a pastor at Bethesda Fellowship Ministries and a former council member, filed to run for Place 3, along with Copperas Cove resident and facilities manager Gary Kent, 46.

Palmer filed to run for re-election for Place 4 against challenger Mark E. Peterson, a 52-year-old Realtor who filed Monday. Peterson served on the council from July 2007 to November 2008.

John F. Gallen, 58, of Copperas Cove, filed to run for

Place 5. Gallen is a teacher at Copperas Cove High School and served two terms on the council from 2001 to 2007.

Kenn Smith, 77, a retired Copperas Cove resident, originally filed for Place 3 on Feb. 5, but switched Monday to run for Place 5 along with Gallen.

CCISD

Three people have filed for the three open school board seats on the May 8 ballot in the Copperas Cove Independent School District.

Current board President Joan Manning has filed for re-election for her Place 4 seat and Mike Wilburn has also filed for re-election to Place 3. Robert Douglas Cook has filed for the Place 5 seat.

While Monday was the regular filing deadline, write-in candidates can file until March 15. If no challengers file by that date, no election will be held.

Lampasas

Three council seats will on the May 8 municipal ballot in Lampasas: Places 3, 4 and 5. They are currently held by Evan Stubbs, Wanda Bierschwald and Les Gerhardt.

Gerhardt, 77, and Stubbs, 33, have filed for re-election. Stubbs is a local attorney. Gerhardt is retired.

Two candidates have filed for Bierschwald's open seat. They are Wesley Alexander, a 50-year-old peace officer, and TJ Monroe, a 61-year-old account manager.

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