Koopmann Wins Crowded Field for Schulenburg Mayor’s Seat
Schulenburg voters picked Connie Koopmann as mayor in the city election on Saturday, May 6.
Koopmann previously served as an alderman and as Mayor of Schulenburg from 1997 to 2001. She ran for mayor this year in a crowded field of four candidates, gathering the most votes, 133, according to unofficial results. Incumbent mayor Elaine Kocian finished in second place with 105 votes. Kocian has served as mayor since 2018.
Jake Berger came in third place with 86 votes and Robert “Armen” Herzik finished last with 51.
“I appreciate everyone for coming out,” Koopmann said. “If they voted for me, I appreciate it, and they didn’t vote for me, thank for for coming out. Everyone has the right to vote and it’s good they exercised that right.”
Koopmann said she was pleased with the voter turnout in Schulenburg. She said the Schulenburg ISD school board election helped to bring voters to the polls Saturday.
Koopmann spoke about her decision to run this year.
“When I was mayor previously, from 1997 to 2001, my kids were in high school and it was hard on the family. Politics has always been something that caught my eye and I was always interested in it. I felt it was time for me to jump back in. I think it is time for Schulenburg to see some changes. Taxpayers need to know how their money is being spent. That’s the biggest question I heard during the campaign. People want to know how their dollars are being spent. What are we getting out of it? Are we spending it wisely?”
Koopmann filed for election before Kocian, and she said she considered withdrawing after she learned that Kocian entered the race.
“A lot of people told me, ‘No, keep your name in there,’” Koopmann said. “I told them I will, but I didn’t put out any signs in Schulenburg. That was a big expense and I wasn’t putting a lot of money in the campaign. I figured if the voters wanted a change, they’ll vote it in.
“The first time I was mayor, I walked in totally green,” she said. “At least this time I kind of know what we’re doing. Hopefully we’ll come up with some good ideas, and I can lead the Council in the right direction.
“We have two new council members and they’ll have to learn a whole lot,” she added. “I talked to one of them today and told them, ‘You can’t go in and make drastic changes.’ It has to be for the betterment of the 2,700 people who live in this town and not just five people. You can’t make changes like that, and if you’re here for that, you’re here for the wrong reasons. We have to make our town better.”
City Council
In the election for Place 2 on the Schulenburg City Council, Frank Wick III defeated Tina Bohlmann by a vote of 214 to 151.
Scott Stoner defeated Douglas Behlen for Place 3 on the Schulenburg City Council by a vote of 237 to 127.