Seadrift Mayor DeForest swears in Councilmen Geoff Hunt, June Cantrell, and Kenneth Reese.
Seadrift Mayor Elmer Deforest recently swore in one new and two re-elected City Councilman at the Seadrift City Hall. Councilman Kenneth Reese, 70, replaces Councilman Buddy Cross who decided not to run again. Councilman Reese is a former “Shift Supervisor” for Victoria and Coleto Creek Power Stations were he served for almost 45 years. Councilman Reese is a native of Seadrift who worked for Koehls Grocery in Seadrift from 1962 to 1964 and then graduated as a Sandcrab in 1965. Mr. Reese then went on to marry Barbara Gray of Seadrift and moved to Victoria, but returned to Seadrift on a weekly basis to visit family and friends. Mr. Reese retired and moved back to Seadrift in 2012. Mr. Reese stated, “I love Seadrift. I didn’t realize it until I had to live through the daily grind of the big city for 45 years. After moving back I wanted to stay in touch with city business and began attending Council meetings on a regular basis. In the past years I have seen Seadrift make a turn for the better. I decided to run for Council because I wanted to be a part of keeping our city moving in a positive direction. I want to see Seadrift grow and prosper so our kids and grandkids can grow up in this beautiful little town”
Re-Elected Alderwoman June Cantrell, who is also Mayor Pro-Tem, has a lifetime of legal experience starting at age 19 working in a one girl and three attorney legal office. She then went on to work for a legal firm in Phoenix for several years before moving to a very large law firm in Houston She eventually moved back to Austin where she was hired as a Executive Assistant to the Managing Partner of another law firm, Later she served as a paralegal to another partner, advancing to Office Administrator, and eventually worked for attorney John Griffin of Victoria, After her life in the legal field, she went into the ministry. Ms. Cantrell has also spent the last seven years as Pastor of the First United Methodist Church of Seadrift and Austwell. She stated that she has always had an interest in government and how government works and, “giving what I can to our community.”
Re-Elected Councilman Geoff Hunt, 33, has been employed with Point Comfort Towing as a Captain of a harbor tug for 10 years. He grew up in Seadrift and now raises two young daughters who attend Seadrift Grade School. Mr. Hunt has been working diligently on streets and drainage and has been instrumental in being the first contact with many residents in regards to their questions about streets and drainage. He has assisted tremendously with the implementation of the Council’s street and drainage plans.
From Mayor Elmer Deforest:
“I’ve enjoyed working with several Councils over the last few years. The City has made progress in addressing numerous issues because the council members have seen the needs and have put aside differences to concentrate on the important needs of the City so that it has the potential to get better and grow. In the last few years the City has gained numerous new residents who have constructed residences because they can see the potential and like the fact that the overall crime rate has been reduced, making the City a safer place and better place to visit and live.
The City gained its first franchise business when the Family Dollar came to town. It is hoped that more will eventually discover this “City by the Sea”. During my first and second year as Mayor, the City had to borrow money to be able to make payroll and pay bills. Since then, the City has paid off those loans and now we can see the City operating with a small surplus and adding to the funds used to repair and rebuild selected streets and drainage. The City has been able to begin the process of repairing and rebuilding some streets and drainage, with a few more yet to be done in the next eighteen months. Council will revisit the street work next year to review and select some additional streets to prioritize. I wish we could do all of them at the same time here and now, but our meager finances will only allow a few to be done each year. The City has other challenges coming up in the future with wastewater and water system improvements necessitated by growth taxing the City’s current capacity and to satisfy regulatory requirements.
I look forward to working with the new Councilman, Kenneth Reese, as well as the existing Council members as we continue working together to the betterment of the City as a whole.”
