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Filings for the mayoral seat in Port Arthur and Nederland as well as local city councils, school boards and port commissioners begin this week.

Filing is open from Jan. 19 to Feb. 18 for elections in the City of Port Arthur, Port Arthur Independent School District, the City of Nederland, Nederland Independent School District, Sabine Pass Independent School District, Sabine Pass Port Authority and Jefferson County Drainage District No. 7.

Port Arthur and PAISD

In the city of Port Arthur, the mayor’s seat is up for grabs. The current mayor, Thurman Bartie, has served at the helm since 2019. The mayor and councilmembers serve three-year terms.

Candidates must be residents of the city for at least one year preceding the election and maintain a residence in the city during their term in office. The mayor is an at-large seat.

For more information on how to apply for the position of mayor, call the city secretary office at 409-983-8115.

In PAISD there are two seats up for grabs — one previously held by trustee Robert Reid until he resigned after moving to an area of Port Arthur within a different school district, and the other held by trustee Dianne Brown.

Both are three-year terms.

Eligible candidates must be a U.S. citizen, 18 years or older, have resided in the state for 12 months and in the territory for six months, and be a registered voter of the territory.

Applications may be obtained at the PASID Administration Building, office of the chief financial officer, 4801 Ninth Ave, between 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays except for holidays, beginning Jan. 19 and ending at 5 p.m. Feb. 18.

There is no election this year for Port of Port Arthur commissioners.

Nederland and NISD

In the City of Nederland, three seats are up for election.

They include the seat held by Mayor Don Albanese, Ward 2 Councilman Billy Neal, who was first elected in 2002, and Ward 4 Councilwoman Sylvia Root, first elected in 2019.

Eligible candidates for mayor and city council must be a U.S. citizen, 18 years or older, have resided in the state for 12 months and in the city and ward district for 6 months immediately preceding the filing deadline.

They must also be a registered voter in the city as of the filing deadline.

Applications are being taken from 8 a.m. to noon and 1 to 5 p.m. Jan. 19 though Feb. 18, and are available at the administration building at 207 N. 12^th St., Nederland.

In NISD, the seats of two incumbents are expiring. They include seats held by Nicholas L. Phillips and Suzanne Isom.

Eligible candidates must be a U.S. citizen, 18 years or older, have resided in the state for 12 months and in the city and service area for 6 months immediately preceding the filing deadline.

They must also be a registered voter in the city as of the filing deadline.

Sabine Pass ISD, Port Authority

Three seats are up on the Sabine Pass Independent School District board of commissioners. They include the seats held by Ethan Blood, Jennifer Blood and Nadine Williams.

Applications are available at Sabine Pass School, 5641, S. Gulfway Drive, Sabine Pass from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Jan. 19 through Feb. 18 at 5 p.m.

Sabine Pass Port Authority has two port commissioner seats up for election. Applications are available 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday starting Wednesday. For more information, call 409-971-2399.

Jefferson County Drainage District No. 7

Two seats on the Jefferson County DD7 board are up for election. They include the seat held by Lester Champagne, who represents Nederland on the board, and Albert Moses Jr., who represents Port Arthur.

The commissioners serve four-year staggered terms and the candidate must live in the city they represent.

Eligible candidates must be a U.S. citizen, 18 years or older and a resident of and own taxable property within the part of the district located in the boundaries of the city they are seeing election to.

They also must be a registered voter of the territory, and have resided in the state for 12 months and in the city for six months.

Applications are available at the Community Bank Building, 4740 Twin City Hwy., Suite 300, Port Arthur from 8 a.m. to noon and 1-4 p.m. Jan. 19 through 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Feb. 18.

For more information, call 409-985-4369.

The uniform election date is May 7. Early voting begins April 25 through May 3.