Despite having a record turnout for this year’s Tomball City Council election, Mark Stoll and Roy Lazenby, who are in a run-off for the Position 2 seat, expect much lower numbers this time around.

“The hardest part is to get people to come out and vote,” Stoll, the challenger for Position 2, said.

Following the May 9 general election, Stoll notched 346 votes, or 39 percent, to Lazenby’s 397 votes, or 45 percent. A third challenger, Barbara Tague, earned 15 percent of the vote.

In order to win the position, a candidate needs to receive 50 percent of the vote. Both Lazenby and Stoll suspected that with three candidates vying for one position, a run-off was likely.

“Being a three person race, it was probably inevitable that it was going to be a run-off,” Lazenby said.

The challenge now for Stoll and Lazenby is to get those who already went to the polls once, to do so again.

“I think now it’s a matter of convincing people to get out and vote,” Lazenby said. “People are on vacations or doing other things, I think the challenge on both our parts is get the people to vote.”

Stoll said he is working to tell potential voters how important this election is.

“I try to convince people what I’m trying to do is that this vote is an important vote, this can make a difference on how city council votes,” he said.

Stoll added that is “walking streets, knocking on doors” and sending out postcards and mailers “trying to get people who voted the first time and who didn’t vote.”

Lazenby said he is focusing on identifying those who voted for him previously and working to get them back to the polls.

“That’s what we’ll concentrate on,” he said. “Hopefully they’ll come back out again.”

This year, more than 16 percent of registered Tomball voters came out to the polls, the highest number in more than three years.

Stoll believes the large turnout meant Tomball citizens are ready for a change on the council.

“I was very surprised with the number of people who came out for early voting,” he said. “When you get a large turnout for a council race, it tells me people are looking for a change.”

Lazenby added that at this point in the election, the voters are familiar with where each candidates stands on the issues, and pointed out that the differences between he and his opponent are not that great.

“I don’t know that there are nay volatile issues between Mark and I,” Lazenby said. “I think he’s a good young man.”

Early voting will be held each weekday at Tomball City Hall, 401 Market Street, beginning June 1 on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday between 7:45 a.m. and 5 p.m., and on Tuesday between 7:45 a.m. and 7:45 p.m., and on Friday between 7:45 a.m. and 4 p.m.

Election Day is June 13 with the polls open between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m.

For more information about the run-off election, visit www.tomballtx.com.

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