Mike Hernandez Endorses Frank Carter for July 2 San Angelo Police Chief Runoff Election

A run-off is scheduled for July 2 for one city council seat and for the San Angelo police chief race. In Single Member District 5 (SMD 5), upstart challenger Lane Carter edged incumbent Councilwoman Elizabeth Grindstaff by just four votes, 827-823. Since neither candidate received 50 percent plus one vote, a run-off is mandated. 

In the race for chief of police, challenger Lt. Frank Carter beat incumbent Police Chief Tim Vasquez 3,072 to 2,862 votes. In a four-way race, Carter received 33.64 percent of the vote, well short of the required 50 percent plus one.

Carter faces Vasquez in the run-off July 2.

Challenger in the police chief race Mike Hernandez, a Lieutenant in the San Angelo Police Department whose votes fell short, wasted no time endorsing incumbent Police Chief Tim Vasquez's opponent, fellow Lieutenant Frank Carter.

“Carter has my full support. I hope that those who supported me will do the same and support Lt. Carter. We need change at the police department,” Hernandez said. “We are both on the same page about our thoughts and ideas about the direction the police department needs to go. We were hoping it would come out in our favor, but now the voters have spoken, and I believe Lt. Carter is quite capable to carry the banner forward. I am very humbled and very proud of those who supported me on this journey. Their support was just priceless.”

Also, in a comment on our story, Jeff Davis said, "I would like to thank all of the wonderful people [who] supported my campaign. I would also ask that each and every one of you now support Frank Carter. It is time for change. Twelve years of what the police officers and citizens have endured is long enough. Pull the strength together, and let's get rid of what we have had. Thank you all, Jeff."

Here is the original story as election returns came in Saturday evening, with candidate reactions:

It's now 7 p.m. and the polls in San Angelo and Wall are closed. We will be providing an update on the numbers and our reporters are out at the candidate parties to await results and get the reactions once winners are announced. Early voting and absentee numbers are up, so here is where we're at.

Update: Shortly after 8 p.m., San Angelo LIVE! received word that eight of the 20 polling locations have been processed. Numbers will be released shortly.

Update 8:19 p.m.: Thus far, 10,285 votes have been counted. Here are the new numbers.

Update 9:30: All results are in. Here are the final numbers.

Update 10:30 p.m.: Lt. Mike Hernandez endorses Lt. Frank Carter for Chief of Police.

San Angelo Police Chief final results:

SMD 1 Winner: Bill Richardson

SMD 3 Winner: Harold "Harry" Thomas

SMD 5 Runoff: There will be a run-off election between Lane Carter and Elizabeth Grindstaff, July 2.

Wall ISD final results:

In the Wall ISD, Erwin Frank Schwartz, Jr. and Chris Wilde won places on that school district's board of trustees.

Candidate Reactions

Trinidad Aguirre, City Council Candidate SMD1

With the early and absentee votes posted, there has been some mixed reaction. For Single-Member District 1, Trinidad Aguirre is taking early returns in stride; however, his supporters are stunned Bill Richardson is in the lead.

Previous City Council member Paul Alexander said, "Trinidad lost to a coward who has been kicked off most local blogs for inappropriate posts, and who is a mental case that I've had to alert security at council meetings about."

He added that it's a case of a percentage of non-Hispanics voting for the white guy, and not knowing Aguirre is a former CEO of a Fortune 500 company while Richardson is "a solitude mental case." Alexander's full thoughts are on his Facebook page here.

Jeff Davis, Chief of Police Candidate

Chief of Police Candidate Jeff Davis said he feels through this campaign, he has met a lot of wonderful people.

"Their awareness across the board has risen to a new level. I mean early voting showed that. I think that, if nothing else, some of our ideas will be implemented if we don't get elected," said Davis.

Davis noted that he did eight years worth of research on all the issues and solutions, and he believes his campaign had a really good platform.

"We ran the course and stayed honest," he added. "We played clean, and we just wanted to address the people. We believe in this community. Law enforcement is awesome here, but leadership is lacking a little bit. I believe that's why we stepped up to the plate."

Davis said, eight years ago, he started talking to the men. He retired from the police department in 2007 as a police officer. When he asked people how they felt about local law enforcement, they said they feel like they're boxed in. He said many of them told him these feelings stemmed from policies and procedures. With the accredited policing so-to-speak, it doesn't really work in San Angelo, Davis added.

"Rather than the community adjusting to the police department, the police department needs to adjust to the community," said Davis. "This community is unique because we're like an oasis. We're in the middle of nowhere."

He added that San Angelo is a city without an interstate, and it's not a metropolitan city; that's makes San Angelo and its people unique. This knowledge, and the comments from police officers who said morale was down, started Davis on this path, he said.

He described the foundation of the police force as "faulty," and said his goal is to get the ground troops going and utilize "the fishbowl effect."

"The fish sees you, and you see it on a regular basis," Davis explained. He added that it's important to get back to having a relationship. He noted that he would never delegate something to officers that he himself is not willing to do.

A supporter of Davis, Steve Hill, who was a fireman for 26 years, said Jeff was was on the PD for over 25 years, and he was asked to run for chief back then because officers weren't happy with Vasquez.

"All of the officers were just unhappy with him," said Hill. "That was just evident with the poll that came out when they polled all the officers."

He said after Jaime Padron was murdered in Austin, that "lit a fire in Jeff" and in himself. That's why he supports Davis, he said.

Hill added that he can make a list of at least 20 police officers who do not care for Vasquez, but they can't speak up for fear of retaliation, so he wants to see Davis, Carter or Hernandez take the helm.

"Anyone but him," Hill stated.

Tim Vasquez, Chief of Police Incumbent

Chief Tim Vasquez said he's excited about the runoff. He says now that it is narrowed down to just two candidates, "we can focus on the facts."

"This isn't about buying an election," he said.

This statement is in reference to the Odessa family who donated $30,000 to Frank Carter's campaign. Vasquez said he was behind on fundraising because of that.

"I can tell you this; I raised more money from more local people than Carter or any of my other opponents."

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Above: Stephen McLaughlin, campaign manager for Grindstaff, Vasquez, Aguirre, and Thomas, reads the early returns from the May 7 election at the watch party at Sealy Flats. (LIVE! Photo/Joe Hyde)

Frank Carter, Chief of Police Candidate

At his election party taking place now, Frank Carter said if he wins, the first step is to take time to gather his thoughts.

"You don't want to go [into the job] and turn everything upside down the first day," he said.

He added that he will get his leaders in the right position, formulate a plan and go from there.

He said he could bring leadership and experience to the Chief of Police position.

"I've got the most patrol commander experience of anybody in the department," Carter said. "I know how to expand the manpower there. I know what policies need to be changed in order to get these officers back working."

In regards to his campaign focus, Carter said safety for the community is his goal, and he'll do that by reducing crime. He reiterated that drugs are the root of all crime.

"I think we need to strengthen that unit, as well as our patrol division and focusing on the issues at hand," Carter said.

Carter said, for the future, he hopes to work with the City to expand the number of patrol officers and detectives so they can work towards a common goal of reducing crime.

Kim Graves, who works on Carter's campaign, said it has been a phenomenal experience during this political process.

"We have a phenomenal team," she said. "We've all come together well and did the best we could to get his name out, and to let everyone know who Frank Carter really is."

Graves reiterated that the message of Carter's campaign was about making San Angelo safe again.

"We worked around that slogan," she said.

Graves said there was a high turnout this election compared to the previous two.

"We've had a great response to the message we tried to put out," Graves said.

Harry Thomas, City Council Candidate SMD 3

Harry Thomas said the people who voted today really know the difference between him and Cardenas.

"I think I'm looking out for everyone in the district, and not just one particular segment of the population," said Thomas.

Thomas said being on the Boys and Girls Club Board of Directors, he's worked with people of all backgrounds.

"I work with all people, and I will continue to work with all people," he said.

Now that he's won, Thomas is ready to take the helm. He's been going to the City Council meetings for the last three years, so he knows what the issues are.

Thomas said first business will include looking at other options to the water issue, and to work with the Water Advisory Board to understand the issues. He said he's not ready to spend $136 million on water reclamation before looking at other opportunities. He wants to look closer at the Hickory Water Project. Speaking of Hickory Water Project and Water Reclamation, stayed tuned. San Angelo LIVE! has a story that will provide some answers for Thomas.

Lane Carter, City Council SMD 5

Lane Carter, who is in a slight lead over incumbent Elizabeth Grindstaff, said he had no idea the race was going to be so close.

"I'm glad that I pulled the majority off," he said. "That just means I have to get out there again and go get those votes that the others picked up."

Carter said he's been getting tons of calls and people telling him they're backing him and saying, "Let's do this."

"I'm ready to get out there," he said.

Carter also wanted to thank all the people who voted for him.

"It's not won yet," Carter pointed out. "I can't sit back. I have to keep going as I have been. I want everyone to know that this shows a lot of people aren't happy with how our city is being ran. It shows that people are ready for that change--that more sensible government that can be the voice for them. It's a race!"

Elizabeth Grindstaff, City Council SMD 5

Elizabeth Grindstaff said she was expecting a runoff. 

“With three running against me, I am not surprised to be in a run-off.  I’ll get back to work next week and continue on a campaign path that represents the values and concerns of SMD5.  A margin of four votes is really close and easy to overcome. Most important, I am grateful to those who voted for me and ask that they vote again for me July 2 in the runoff,” Grindstaff said.

Like Chief Tim Vasquez and his challenger Frank Carter plan to do, Grindstaff said she will take time off to examine the campaign and results and make adjustments before launching into the campaign for the runoff.

Note: Joe Hyde and Cameron Niblock contributed to this article.