TYLER, Texas (KLTV) – Tyler Mayor-elect Stuart Hene sat down with Blake Holland for this week’s edition of East Texas Politics on East Texas Now to discuss his runoff victory.
Hene won the recent mayoral runoff with more than 57 percent of the vote and will be sworn in at the June 24 Tyler City Council meeting.
Hene finished second to John Nix in the May election, which led to the runoff. The May race was a four-person contest that also involved former council members Shirley McKellar and James Wynn. When asked what he thinks made the difference in the runoff, Hene said he believes it was his campaign connecting with McKellar and Wynn’s supporters.
Holland also asked Hene about his thoughts on a planned data center on West Erwin Street. Hene said he attended a recent community meeting featuring the developers and believes the project will face an “uphill battle.”
Former Tyler mayoral candidate John Nix, who lost to Hene, is also featured in this week’s show. In his interview, Nix addressed whether he’ll run again and why he thinks his campaign still sparked change.
When asked about the planned data center, Nix said the city should have already had a policy in place to address data centers. Nix believes this is an example of the city being reactionary instead of proactive.
Smith County Republican Party Chairman David Stein, who is also president of the Texas Republican County Chairmen’s Association, joined the program to talk about the recent Texas GOP Convention in Houston.
East Texas Politics on East Texas Now streams Fridays at 6:30 p.m. with an encore presentation Sundays at 10 a.m. You can watch at kltv.com/live or using the free KLTV or KTRE apps on Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, or Android TV. The show will also be available on demand after the Friday night stream.
The series features interviews with elected officials and candidates, plus analysis of local, state, and national political news.
Blake Holland is a news anchor and reporter for KLTV and KTRE. He anchors East Texas’ most-watched newscasts at 5 and 6 p.m. Since joining KLTV and KTRE in 2018, Holland has covered national political conventions, presidential visits, and interviewed gubernatorial and presidential candidates, plus extensive reporting on regional political news including weekly coverage of Smith County Commissioners Court.
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