Jim Jarratt wins special election to become Granbury’s next mayor
Retired corporate executive Jim Jarratt has won the race to become the next mayor of Granbury, while a council race is headed for a runoff, according to unofficial results posted Tuesday night.
With a small number of mail-in ballots still left to be counted, Jarratt captured just over 51% of the vote in the special election to replace Nin Hulett, who resigned in May after a driving while intoxicated arrest.
The outcome was enough for Jarratt to avoid a runoff against former council member Tony Mobly, who earned 36% of votes counted on Tuesday. Their competitors, retired airline captain Charles Nangle and businesswoman Joanie Keays, each earned less than 10%.
Jarratt, who serves on Granbury’s Capital Improvements Advisory Committee and worked for companies like Frito-Lay and Johnson & Johnson, will serve until at least November 2022, when Hulett’s term was set to expire.
“We have wonderful people in Granbury and I am absolutely more confident about Granbury than I ever have been,” Jarratt told Blue Shark Media during an interview at his election night party. “We have people that want change and they’re willing to work for it.”
Because Mobly stepped down from his council seat to run for mayor, three candidates vying to replace him were also on the ballot. That race is headed to a runoff, according to the Hood County News.
Steven Vale, who serves on the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission, leads with just over 42% of the vote. His opponents, fellow commission member Richard Hoefs and registered nurse Cathy Reidy, are separated by just 28 votes, earning 27.96% and 29.93% respectively.
City Manager Chris Coffman told the News that Granbury staff will work with Hood County’s elections administrator and the Secretary of State’s office to schedule a runoff between Vale and Reidy.
Just under 20% of Granbury’s 7,594 registered voters participated in the special election, with 1,480 ballots cast as of Tuesday night. Mail-in ballots can still be counted as long as they were postmarked on Tuesday and arrive by Wednesday evening.
Candidates pledged to address the city’s growing infrastructure challenges, including a lack of sewage capacity and increased traffic congestion on U.S. 377, the highway that runs through Granbury.
Jarratt will face a looming legal battle over the city’s plans to build a new wastewater treatment facility. The new plant would discharge up to 2 million gallons of treated wastewater per day into a tributary of Rucker Creek, which flows into Lake Granbury and the Brazos River.
City officials have said the plant will include state-of-the-art technology and help Granbury meet the demand for housing and retail development in North Texas. Thanks to the lack of sewage capacity, city council members voted to pause development in Granbury’s eastern section through at least October, a move that could be expanded to the entire city, according to city spokesperson Alex Southern.
The plant has faced continued opposition from Hood County residents, who cite concerns about water quality, harmful algae blooms and impact on businesses. More than 400 households submitted comments to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality last year, according to Victoria Calder, a leader of opposition group Granbury Fresh.
Earlier this month, the city’s permit application earned initial approval from the commission kicking off a deadline for residents to file for a contested case hearing, similar to a civil trial in state district court. If commissioners approve requests for a hearing, it could take years before the dispute is resolved.
This article has been updated with the correct spelling of candidate Cathy Reidy’s name.
This story was originally published June 29, 2021 at 9:42 PM.
