Copperas Cove voters elect new mayor

By LYNETTE SOWELL 

Cove Leader-Press 

Dan Yancey is now the mayor-elect of Copperas Cove, after receiving 1,292 votes, or 96 percent. Write-in candidate, Devin Meadows, received 52 votes, or 4%. 

A total of 1,344 Copperas Cove voters cast ballots in the mayoral race. 

Yancey will begin his first term as mayor, replacing Bradi Diaz who completed one term and announced in July she would not be seeking reelection. 

With Yancey out of Place 3, that leaves one year left on that term, for which a special election was also held on Tuesday.

A three-way race had William Gregory Smith, Scott A. Remalia, and Shawn Alzona vying to fill the remaining one year. 

But with the special election, there was no overall winner on Tuesday evening. 

Although early and absentee voting as well as election day voting reports came in rather quickly from Coryell County, it wasn’t until nearly 10 p.m. until the final unofficial results had come in for Lampasas County and were released by the city secretary.

A grand total of 1,485 Copperas Cove voters cast ballots in the special election, with 1,442 in Coryell County and 43 in Lampasas County.

There were a total of 214 under-votes in the Place 3 special election for Coryell County, meaning that those voters did not make any candidate selection. The under-votes could have made an impact on the results for the election, had enough of those voters actually selected one of the three candidates on the ballot.

Alzona received the most votes, 734, or 49 percent. Per the City of Copperas Cove charter, a candidate must receive at least 50-percent-plus-one majority vote to be declared a winner.

The other two candidates, Remalia and Smith, were separated by only seven votes. 

Remalia received 379 votes, or 26 percent. Smith received 372 votes, or 25 percent.

The city council will canvass the votes at a Nov. 10 special meeting. 

There will be five days of early voting prior to the runoff election day, in December, with dates to be determined. 

The two remaining candidates now have their sights set on the runoff. 

“I would like to thank all those that took the time to cast their vote for me.  I appreciate it very much and hopefully we can make a change to make Copperas Cove ‘The city built for family living,’” Remalia said.

Alzona, who had his eye on the 49-percent-plus number on Tuesday evening, realizes how close he’d come to achieving the 50-percent-plus one majority. 

“I was blown away at the amount of support that our great city had for me on election night. I would have never imagined it was possible for an outright win in a three person-race, but it almost happened,” Alzona said. “I want to thank all of my supporters from the bottom of my heart and remind everyone we have to go back to the polls one more time.

“I believe that my community involvement is indicative of my commitment to our city and I am the clear cut choice to represent us at the city council.”