Copperas Cove city council incumbent withdraws from race, other candidates draw for ballot place

By LYNETTE SOWELL

Cove Leader-Press

Two of the three Copperas Cove city council races have been decided before voters even head to the polls in November.

On Thursday morning, prior to the ballot draw at the city secretary’s office, it was announced that Place 5 incumbent, Dianne Yoho Campbell, had filed a certificate of withdrawal from the Nov. 8 election.

Campbell will continue to serve in Place 5 until her term ends in November.

“It has been a privilege to serve our community with a great Council, and a dedicated City Staff. We have shared one vision…to do what is in the best interests of Copperas Cove,” Campbell told the Leader-Press on Thursday morning. “I have withdrawn from the Place 5 City Council Race to spend more time with my family.”

Candidate Manuel “Monty” Montanez will take the position in November.

Montanez told the Leader-Press on Thursday morning that he’s turning his focus from campaigning, to studying the city ordinances and all that goes with them.

“I’m learning the ins and outs so that when people do come up to me, I will have at least an idea of where to find the answer,” Montanez said. “As I’m looking at it, there are certain things that I want to know, who’s responsible for what, so that we can actually start reaching out and saying, ‘Hey, you know, I understand there’s certain things, but why is it that we are settling on this, or settling on that?’”

Meanwhile, another city council race which was previously uncontested now has two candidates.

Until Monday, John Hale was the lone filer for Copperas Cove city council Place 4, but Edith Natividad also filed to run for Place 4 on Monday, the last day to file. With Thursday morning’s ballot draw, Hale will be listed first on the ballot, and Natividad second.

The winner in November will fill the place currently occupied by Jay Manning.

Manning has served two terms and cannot run for a third term for that position.

For city council Place 3, incumbent Shawn Alzona is the lone filer for that office, and like Place 5, the outcome has likely already been decided.

With no one else filing, Alzona will get to serve his first full three-year term of office starting in November, which ends in November 2025.

Alzona is currently finishing up the term for Place 3, which had a vacancy when Dan Yancey won the Copperas Cove mayoral election in November 2021.

Over on the CCISD board of trustees, longtime incumbents Joan Manning (Place 4) and Mike Wilburn (Place 3) are running unopposed, and like Alzona, will get to serve a three-year term.

Manning was first elected in 1995 and Wilburn was first elected to office in 2007.

For Place 5 on the board of trustees, Heather Copeland filed to run for that position. The current Place 5 incumbent is Jeff Gorres, who is in his first term of office.

The last day to file as a write-in candidate for any of the races is Friday, Aug. 26.

The last day to register to vote in the November election is Tuesday, Oct. 11.

Early voting for the Nov. 8 election will begin on Monday, Oct. 24.