Hall tops Klander in lone contested city race

Fewer than 300 people out of Yoakum’s estimated 7,694 residents cast a ballot in Saturday’s race to decide who the city’s top officials would be, Saturday night’s unofficial election night numbers showed.

The population estimate offered is based on how many people the U.S. Census showed as residents of the city as of April 1, 2020. Voter numbers, according to Saturday’s accounting of city election participants, rang in at just 299. That represents less than 4% of the city’s total population.

But it proved just enough to oust one of the incumbents serving on the council, unofficial results showed, when Place 2’s Glenn Klander lost his bid for reelection to Charles L. Hall by a vote of 140-146.

Early voters would have returned Klander to his seat 90-65, unofficial numbers showed, but Hall prevailed with election day ballots coming in 81- 50 in his favor.

Also on the ballots were Mayor Carl O’Neill, the Place 1 council candidate, and Place 3 councilwoman Tanya Wenzel, both of whom finished with 241 total votes, unofficial numbers showed.

Before those totals become part of the “official’ city record, they must be reviewed and voted on by the council, which is scheduled for Tuesday.