By David Ball

The News staff writer

The Jefferson County Democratic Party now has a candidate for County Commissioner Precinct 3 to face Libertarian Party candidate Kevin R. McCarthy in the November general election. No Republicans are running for the seat.

Port Arthur City Councilmember Michael “Shane” Sinegal, 50, defeated Thurman Bartie, 53, for Justice of the Peace Precinct 8 with 1,779 and 54.25 percent of the vote to 1,500 and 45.75 percent of the vote in a runoff election. The runoff election is a result of the March 4 primary election.

“I’m on a cloud right now,” an exuberant Sinegal said at a reception at the Holiday Inn-Central in Port Arthur. “I want to unify entities and work on the same page with everyone. Reconstructing Highway 87 is primary. I also heard some people out in Hamshire had some concerns so I think we’ll have a community meeting and work with them.”

Overall, Sinegal believes his election went “real well” and he ran a clean race.

“That’s the only way I know how to do it. Treating people fair. This race was not about Thurman Bartie, but the people of Port Arthur. I thank God people have enough confidence in me to place me in this position.”

Bartie attributes his loss as a part of politics.

“It happens and I accept it,” he said. “I can’t dispute anything. By all indications I lost. I came up 279 votes short. I need to look over the numbers and find out where my strength and weaknesses were.”

Bartie said he and Sinegal ran a gentlemen’s race that was done fairly with no negative campaigning.

“I thank everyone for their support and God’s charge upon them,” Bartie said.

In addition to being a councilmember for the past six years and the city’s mayor pro tem, he is also a 17-year educator with 15 of those as a coach with the Port Arthur Independent School District. From 1998 to 2000 he served on the Pleasure Island Commission.

Bartie is a substitute teacher and associate minister at First Sixth Street Baptist Church in Port Arthur. He is a former mortician, too.