Early voting concluded Tuesday for several elections around the area and those who still have not had the chance to vote have one final opportunity on the official Election Day, Saturday May 8. held for the Kingsville City Commission, trustee positions with the Kingsville Independent School District Board, a bond issue to build a new H.M. King High School, a bond issue to build new schools in Riviera, creation of an emergency ambulance district with taxing authority for the Cities of Bishop and Driscoll and the surrounding area, and positions on the Bishop City Council.

Candidates for the Kingsville City Commission are as follows:

Running unopposed for Mayor is Sam R. Fugate.

City Commission candidates are Al Garcia, Charlie Wilson, Tomas R. Sanchez, Jr., Arturo Pecos, and Stanley Laskowski.

The top four candidates out of the five who receive the most votes will be the newly elected city commission members.

As of press time Tuesday, 358 votes were cast in the Kingsville City Commission election.

The Kingsville ISD School Board has three positions open for election.

Candidates for Place 1 are Johnny Sandoval, Melissa Ann Windham, Ruben G. Soliz, Marty A. Ontiveros, John Edward Moreno, and Alberto Ruiz.

Place 2 candidates are Annabelle M. Garza and Rudy Macareno.

Place 3 candidates are Luis “LG” Canales and Joe R. Trevino.

Residents who live within Kingsville ISD’s boundaries are voting for or against a proposed $40 million bond to build new high school.

The proposition reads, “The issuance of an amount not to exceed $40,000,000 school building bonds and the levying of a tax in payment thereof.”

With state assistance, 43% of the bond would be paid by the state and 57% would be paid by local tax effort.

Polling places for both the city of Kingsville and KISD will be held at the same locations.

As of press time Tuesday, 766 votes were cast in person for the KISD trustee and bond election and a total of 135 mail-in ballots were sent out by request.

For the Kingsville City Commission race, KISD School Board trustee positions, and bond election, voting will take place from 7 a.m. to 7 p m. at the following polling locations:

Precinct #11,12,15,31, Perez Elementary School, 1111 E. Ailsie.

Precinct #13, Lamar Elementary School, 631 E. Fordyce.

Precinct #14,41,42, Gillett Intermediate School, 1007 N. 17th St.

Precinct #21,43,45, Kleberg County Human Services Building, 720 E. Lee

Precinct #22,32,44, KISD School Administration Building, 207 N. 3rd St.

Precinct #23,24, TAMUKIndustrial Tech Building, A.F. Gross Hall, 1005 N. Armstrong St.

Three positions for the Bishop City Council will be up for re-election on Saturday.

Candidates for the Bishop City Council are as follows:

Mayoral candidates are Victor Ramos and Antonio “Tony” Garcia Jr. as a writein candidate.

Running unopposed for place 2 is Rafaelita Cardenas.

Candidates for place 4 are Benito Reyes Jr. and LeeRoy Kieshchnick.

Residents in Bishop, Driscoll and Petronila will also be voting for or against to create an Emergency District #6 Ambulance Service.

An ambulance service was created in January through private donations and only has enough funds to last until December 31.

If passed, the proposition would receive funds from taxes from the county however if it does not pass the ambulance service will cease to continue in 2011.

The proposition reads: “Creation of Emergency Services District No. 6 confirming the creation of Nueces County Emergency Services District No. 6, to provide emergency medical services, emergency ambulance services, and other related emergency services, and authorizing imposition of a tax not to exceed the rate allowed by Section 48-e, Article III, Texas Constitution.”

For the Bishop City Commission race and ambulance service proposition, voting will take place from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Bishop High School (Badger Den), located at 203 East Main St.

Residents of Driscoll and Petronila can vote for the ambulance service proposition from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Driscoll ISD, located at 410 W. Avenue D. or Petronila Elementary School located at 2391 County Rd. 67.

As of press time Tuesday, 378 votes were cast for both the Bishop City Commission race and emergency district No. 6 proposition.

The Bishop CISD school board election was cancelled due to no opposing candidates for the three open positions.

The incumbents Norma Jean Flores in Place 1, Gracie Barreto in Place 3, and Judy Murdoch in Place 5, will serve another term.

Residents who live within the Riviera ISD boundaries are voting for or against two propositions dealing with an $18.5 million bond in order to fund new buildings to cover all grades from prekindergarten through 12th grade.

Proposition 1 reads: “Shall the Board of Trustees of the Riviera Independent School District be authorized to levy, assess and collect an annual ad valorem tax for the maintenance of public schools in the District, at a rate not to exceed $1.50 on the $100 valuation of taxable property in the District, in accordance with Section 45.003 (d) of the Texas Education Code?”

Proposition 2 reads: “Shall the Board of Trustees of the Riviera Independent School District be authorized to issue bonds of the District, in one or more series, in the aggregate principal amount of $18,500,000 for the purpose of the construction, acquisition, and equipping of school buildings in the District, with said bonds to mature, bear interest, and be issued and sold in accordance with law at the time of issuance, all within the discretion of such Board of Trustees; and shall the Board of Trustees be authorized to levy and pledge, and cause to be assessed and collected, annual ad valorem taxes on all taxable property in the District, sufficient, without limit as to rate or amount, to pay the principal of and interest on said bonds?”

Voting for the Riviera ISD bond election will be held at the Riviera ISD administration building, located at 203 Seahawk Drive, between the hours of 7 a m. and 7 p m.

As of press time Tuesday, 225 early votes were cast in the Riviera ISD bond election.