CITY OF KATY, Texas (Covering Katy News) — Two candidates have filed to run in the Jan. 31 special election to succeed Ward A Council Member Dan Smith, who is resigning with well over a year remaining on his term so he can run for higher political office.
Paula Taylor is a Katy High School social studies teacher and serves on the Keep Katy Beautiful board of directors. She is making her first run for political office. Cara Bonin is a contractor. She is making her second run for a Ward A seat. She lost to Janet Corte, the other Ward A council member, in the 2023 election.
Smith resigned from the council Dec. 8 to seek the Republican nomination for Waller County Precinct 4 commissioner. His resignation is effective when his successor takes office. The winner will serve the rest of the term that ends in May 2027.
Early voting starts January 20.
Paula Taylor's Goals
Taylor cited her 10-year participation in Keep Katy Beautiful as a reason she became interested in serving on the council.
"During those 10 years of Keep Katy Beautiful, I've learned a little more about city government and all the different things that the city is involved with," Taylor said. "I'm just more anxious to get more into the nuts and bolts."
Taylor said her teaching experience has also helped her understand topics such as demographics. She said she has, for the past seven years, taught a course, Advanced Placement Human Geography, which includes the study of city design.
"The three big questions that the course asks are, what do you see, where is it, and why is it there?" Taylor said. "And it's just really made me start looking around and noticing things in the community, noticing things where I am, and I want to be part of it."
Cara Bonin's Goals
Bonin's political experience includes time as a Republican Party precinct chairperson.
"I'd really like to focus more on the issues of the older parts of town that have been neglected," Bonin said. "While the council has been saying they're doing everything they can to make it better and push this hometown feeling rhetoric, I feel like that feeling has been gone for a long time."
She believes drainage and water issues have been neglected in the older parts of the city and also expressed a desire to focus on streets, transportation and walkability.
May General Election Candidacies Continue to Take Shape
Beyond the special election, three council seats will be open in the May general election, as the incumbents cannot seek re-election due to term limits.
Three Ward B residents have announced their intention to seek office. Former Ward B Council Member Durran Dowdle has not decided whether to seek the Ward B seat Rory Robertson must vacate or the at-large seat Chris Harris must vacate. Retired police officer Paul Follis has announced he would seek the at-large seat.
The third announced candidate, graphic designer Lyn Hunter Sullivan, announced she would seek the Ward B seat.
No Ward A resident has announced intentions to seek the seat that Corte must vacate. It's conceivable that the loser of the special election could file and try again to win election to that seat.
Prospective candidates still have time to consider their options. The term of office is three years. The filing period is Jan. 14-Feb. 13.