PEC director candidates announced for 2019 election
By Lew K. Cohn
Managing Editor
Pedernales Electric Cooperative members in districts 4 and 5 will elect directors to serve a three-year term in the 2019 election, which culminates at the annual meeting in June at Horseshoe Bay Resort.
Incumbent District 5 director James Oakley is seeking re-election and will face a challenge from three opponents: Lisa Ivie Miller, Kenneth Reneau and John A. Watson. Incumbent District 4 director Jim Power is seeking re-election and will face a challenge from two opponents: Joe Pool Jr. and Kathi Thomas.
The candidates will introduce themselves to the cooperative membership at a candidate forum on Thursday, April 18, at the PEC office in Johnson City.
Only members living within a geographic district may vote for the directors who represent them. District directors are determined by the location of a member's primary account.
Voting begins May 24 and continues online and in person at PEC district offices and at the annual meeting, which will be held Saturday, June 22, at Horseshoe Bay Resort, 200 Hi Circle North, Horseshoe Bay.
District 5
Oakley was first elected to the PEC board in 2013 and was re-elected in 2016. He was elected Burnet County judge in 2014 and previously served as a Burnet County commissioner. He also spent 10 years in corporate communications and public relations. He lives in Spicewood.
Miller is a partner in South Texas Money Management Ltd. And serves as Senior Vice President and Relationship Manager. She worked in the district and Capitol office of the late state Sen. Teel Bivins of Amarillo for seven years and was appointed to serve as the state's firefighters' pension chairman by then-Gov. Rick Perry. She lives in Austin.
Reneau formerly served as city manager for Weatherford from 1983 to 1999 and was general manager of the Angelina & Neches River Authority from 2000 to 2009. He was an interim city manager for Flatonia in 2012 and has also worked in Bowie and Grand Prairie in various roles. He is retired and lives in Spicewood.
Watson is a retired Blanco attorney who has been a cooperative member for more than 20 years and has been an outspoken critic of the cooperative leadership.
District 4
Powers was elected to the PEC Board of Directors for District 4 in 2016. He is the principal of J.L. Powers & Associates, a business and media consulting firm, and has more than 30 years of business experience as an entrepreneur. In 1998 he was elected Hays County judge and served two terms in office.
Thomas ran unsuccessfully as the Democratic candidate for the House District 25 U.S. Congress seat held by incumbent Roger Williams, R-Austin, in 2016. Thomas also lost a bid for the Democratic nomination in 2018 as she failed to make a runoff between Chris Perri and eventual nominee Julie Oliver.
Pool ran unsuccessfully against Texas Supreme Court Justice Eva Guzman in the 2016 Republican primary. He also ran unsuccessfully against Texas Supreme Court Justice Jeff Brown in the 2014 Republican primary.
Find this story and more in The Highlander, the newspaper of record for the Highland Lakes. To offer a comment or news tip, email lew@highlandernews.com.
