Bastrop, Tx–City voters were in no mood for change when they went to the polls May 8 to decide a disputed seat on the city council.
Incumbent Joe Beal was handily re-elected to a second two-year term with 436 votes, almost 62 percent of the total turnout. Challenger Bob Parmelee had made a name for himself over the past year as an activist in the so-called tea party movement. His campaign appealed to voters who felt “over-taxed and under-represented” in city affairs.
Parmelee, who lives in the Tahitian Village subdivision on Bastrop’s southeast side, also noted in campaign materials that currently the mayor and all five sitting council members live in the city’s historic central core on the east bank of the Colorado River.
Mayor Terry Orr and Council Member Julie Hart were also elected to second terms in office May 8. Neither had opponents this year.