Two members of the Princeton Independent School District Board of Trustees have filed for re-election to three-year terms and will face at least one challenger. 

And three members of the Princeton City Council are up for re-election with two seeking another term.

PISD Board President Cyndi Darland is seeking her second term and Vice President Chad Jones is seeking a third. 

They were the top two vote getters among six candidates in the 2020 election. Darland received 2,966 votes (27.35%) and Jones received 1,888 votes (17.41%).

Melissa Ait Belaid, a Plano ISD teacher who has lived in Princeton for nearly three years, is seeking her first term on the board. Belaid’s profile said she had a BA from the University of Missouri and master’s degrees from American University.

Five seats on the Princeton council were up for election with the terms of three councilmembers expiring and two new seats, Place 6 and Place 7, being added under the home rule charter adopted last November.

After the implementation of single-member districts in 2030, all members must reside within the district corresponding to their council place.

Place 3 Councilmember Bryan Washington and Mayor pro tem Steven Deffibaugh, who holds Place 5, have both filed to run for another four-year term. Incumbent Keven Underwood has not yet filed his paperwork.

Washington won his seat in 2020 with 2,207 votes (54.64%). Underwood received 1,702 votes (41.62%) in the general election and 130 votes (65.33%) in a runoff required because no candidate won a majority of votes – 50% plus one – in the general election. Deffibaugh received 2,070 votes (54.37%).

Ben Long, a project safety manager, has filed as a candidate for a three-year term in Place 6

Carolyn David-Graves, an institutional review board (IRB) coordinator at Medical City Plano, has filed to run for Place 7, a term that would run for three years.

Ryan Gerfers, a Princeton ISD life skills teacher and coach, has filed to run for a four-year term in Place 4.

Candidate packets and applications for a place on the ballot may be picked up from the City Secretary’s Office located in the Princeton Municipal Center, 2000 E. Princeton Drive, and turned in by 5 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 21.

Candidates for city council must be over 21 years of age, a qualified voter residing in the city of Princeton for 12 months prior to the election, must reside in Princeton continually while serving in office and meet all requirements of the Texas Election Code, Title 9.

The last day to register to vote is Tuesday, Oct. 10.

Early voting begins Monday, Oct. 23, and ends Friday, Nov. 3.

The election is Tuesday, Nov. 7, with polling at the Steven and Judy Deffibaugh Community Center, 416 N. Fourth Street and the First Baptist Church Branch, 7011 FM 546.

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