5 running on special election ballot to become Mayor of Slaton

Five candidates for Slaton Mayor were given a series of questions by The Slatonite before the upcoming special election.

Sonny Bullard, Coy Evans, John Gatica, Lynn Nowlin and Cliff Shaw are on the ballot. Also for Ward IV, there is also an election for Commissioner.

Early Voting begins Oct. 21 through Nov. 1, while Election Day is Nov. 5. Polling place is the Slaton ISD Administration Office, 140 E. Panhandle Ave., from 8 a.m.-8 p.m. except Oct. 27, when it is from 1-6 p.m. Election Day, polls will be open from 7 a.m.-7 p.m.

(Editor’s note: Candidates were given the questionnaire Oct. 7 with a deadline of 5 p.m. Oct. 14 to submit answers, and had a word limit. For fairness, candidate order was done alphabetically based on last name).

Question: Why did you file to run for Mayor?

Bullard: I am running for Mayor of Slaton due to a call from our fellow citizens that are asking for better representation of the population as a whole. So many years have gone by with the blue collar citizens getting the short end of the business.

Evans: I decided to run for mayor due to the untimely death of Mayor Englund and Commissioner Tucker. Slaton needs a strong mayor who has experience in management and city governess. I had a 37-year career with SPS in management positions, sixteen years on the city commission and fifteen years as mayor pro-tem.

Gatica: I want to be Mayor to in order to bring a new set of lenses to our city leadership. I’d like to come in and be able to facilitate economic growth. I would like to become mayor in order to focus on the needs of a community at-large.

Nowlin: I feel that I am the most qualified person for Mayor. I have served as Mayor Pro-Tem since 2010 and as Acting Mayor since May 2019. I have been elected Mayor Pro-Tem unanimously by the Council every May. I serve on local, regional and state Elected Officials groups.

Shaw: I felt a need for new ideas in City Government. We have a need in the City for things that I do not believe are being addressed such as long term infrastructure.

For more information and answers to the question and answer forum, please read the Thursday edition of The Slatonite.