As you may have noticed, the general election for Mayor of Cibolo has concluded. We had 5 great candidates for Mayor of Cibolo and the way the charter for Cibolo reads, any candidate for an elected office must receive more than 50% of the total votes for that office. During the general election, I received 35% of the vote & my closest competitor received 20% of the vote, so we’re headed to a runoff.

Early voting for the Cibolo Mayor runoff election is happening now & voters can cast their votes on Elbel road in Schertz at the Guadalupe County Election office near 3009 behind Slim Chickens from 8am to 5pm M-F. The last day for early voting is Friday, December 30th 2022.

Election Day for the runoff election is on Tuesday, January 3rd 2023 from 7am to 7pm at Cibolo Fire Station #2 on Cibolo Valley Drive.

Please make plans to come out to vote for Mark Allen to be the next Mayor of Cibolo!

I’m so humbled that my good friend Rich would send this to me; what a pleasant surprise and I really appreciate him for taking the time to speak out on my behalf with his personal endorsement and his kind words. It really means a lot coming from Rich.

Rich Stinson is the Strategic Communications, Government and Military Affairs Manager for the San Antonio Airport System. Prior to joining the City of San Antonio’s Aviation Department, he proudly served 24 years before retiring from the U.S. Army. Rich has served in various leadership positions at the tactical, operational, and strategic level in conventional, joint, and special operations units. He is a combat veteran with multiple combat tours in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Iraq, Afghanistan, and the continent of Africa. Rich holds a bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering from Auburn University, a Master’s in Business Administration from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, as well as a Master’s in Public Administration from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. Rich is a fervent community volunteer and has coached a youth football team to a State District Championship in both Georgia and Kentucky, is a member of the Honorable Circle of Kentucky Colonels as named by Governor Beshear and was featured as a “San Antonio Mover & Shaker.” He is the current President of the Army Auburn Alumni Affiliate, served on the Board of Directors for Our Community Salutes and the Dee Howard Foundation, is the former President of the Alamo Chapter of the Association of the United States Army, and is a graduate of the Alamo Federal Executive Board Leadership Program.

About Me:
My name is Mark Allen & for those of you who don’t yet know me, I was elected to serve the citizens of Cibolo as our District 5 city council representative back in 2018. I ran for re-election unopposed in 2021 & have now served as city councilman for 4 years. My wife & I moved to Cibolo (from Schertz) back in 2013 & we choose Cibolo because of the great schools, great neighborhoods, & most importantly, the wonderful friends & neighbors we have met. We have a 20 year old son whom enjoyed competing on the swim team at Steele & graduated in 2020 plus an amazing 11-year-old daughter whom enjoys swimming, spending time with her friends, & cheerleading.

My Platform:

• Fix Our Roads
• Bring Great Businesses to Cibolo
• Keep Our Property Taxes Low

Promises Made, Promises Kept:
You may remember talking with me on your front porch back in 2018 when I originally ran for city council & when asked what I wanted to accomplish by running for office, hearing me say to get our roads fixed, to bring great businesses to Cibolo, & to keep our property taxes low. These remain my priorities as I look to take the next step by running for Mayor of Cibolo.

Since 2018, we have secured funding (without raising taxes) to reconstruct Cibolo Valley Drive, secured funding & commitment from TxDOT to widen FM 1103 to 5 lanes, with sidewalks & bike lanes included, from i35 to 78, & finally secured funding & scheduled 9 other Cibolo roads to be fixed.

We’ve also expanded our footprint of Cibolo businesses by over 30% in welcoming AW Texas (Toyota Transmissions Factory), the Cibolo YMCA, Living Spaces, Santikos, Willie’s Ice House, Magnolia Pancake Haus, & H-E-B (coming soon), among many more great new businesses as well as more to come!

In 2019 I voted against an increase for our property tax rate, in 2020 I voted to lower it, & in 2021 we kept it the same.

Right now, about 75% of our annual budget derives from property taxes, with only about 25% coming from sales taxes & other fees. I feel this ratio is out of balance & I plan to continue working to get that ratio more balanced whereby 50% coming from property taxes & 50% from sales taxes & other fees. I also seek to reduce unnecessary spending & to reduce annual recurring expenses for the city, without sacrificing the great community services that our citizens deserve.

So far, I’ve only accomplished about half of what I set out to accomplish back in 2018 & feel that as your Mayor, I’ll be able to continue to attract great businesses to Cibolo, keep our property tax rate low, & to see through the FM 1103 expansion project from start to finish.

Please remember to mark your ballot this election with Mark Allen for Mayor of Cibolo!

The following neighborhoods are included in Cibolo District 5:

• Landmark Pointe
• Mesa
• Turning Stone
• Foxbrook
• Saratoga
• Willow Pointe (some streets)
• The Enclave at Riata Oaks
• Charleston Park
• Braewood
• Estates at Deer Creek
• Royal Oaks
• Deer Creek (most streets)
• Cher-Ron

District 5 also includes the stand-alone (rural) houses located nearby these neighborhoods along Green Valley Road, Dean Road, Town Creek Road, etc.

If you are not sure if you live in Cibolo District 5, you can click on this link, type in your address, & then you will be taken to a location on the Cibolo Districts Map that will confirm which district you live in:

City of Cibolo – Single Member Districts

(Cibolo District 5 is the purple district on the map)

If you do live in District 5 & you are on Facebook, please join the Cibolo District 5 Facebook Group to stay up to date on issues that are important to residents within our district.

Cibolo District 5 Facebook Group

Election Results – Final

Elaine S. Schlather Intermediate School

230 Elaine S. Schlather Pkwy., Cibolo, TX 78108 (Map)

Schertz Community Center North

3501 Morning Dr., Cibolo, TX 78108 (Map)

Schertz United Methodist Church

3460 Roy Richard Dr., Schertz, TX 78154 (Map)

Crosspoint Fellowship Church

2600 Roy Richard Drive, Schertz, TX 78154 (Map)

Marion Dolford Learning Center

200 W. Schlather Lane, Cibolo, TX 78108 (Map)

Schertz Elections Office

1101 Elbel Rd., Schertz, TX 78154 (Map)

Here is a link to the full list of Election Day Voting locations in Guadalupe County:

https://www.cibolotx.gov/DocumentCenter/View/2722/Nov-2018-Election-Day-Vote-Centers

You may vote on the District 5 ballot at any Guadalupe County polling location.

The big day is upon us.  If you are like me, you celebrate Valentines Day on February 14th, Easter on Easter Sunday, the 4th of July on the 4th of July, Halloween on October 31st, Thanksgiving on Thanksgiving Thursday, Christmas on December 25th, & New Years Eve on December 31st.  I vote on Election Day, the 1st Tuesday of November every time we have an election.  Call me a traditionalist, but that is just how I have always done things.  I am looking forward to letting my voice be heard at the polls & I am proud of everyone here in District 5 & Cibolo as a whole whom has already cast your votes.  I am humbled & appreciative of all the support I have received so far from everyone.  If elected to represent our great District up at Cibolo City Council, I will keep every promise I have made to everyone.  I am a HUGE believer is promises made, promises kept.  Any elected official must be a person of their word in order to be accountable to our citizens.  I will not let you down District 5.  Please cast your vote for Mark Allen to represent you & your family’s best interest up on Cibolo City Council on November 6th 2018!

Here is the full schedule:

Monday, Oct. 22^nd  through Friday, Oct. 26^th, 2018 – 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Saturday, Oct. 27^th, 2018 – 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Sunday, Oct. 28^th, 2018 – 1:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Monday, Oct. 29^th, through Friday, Nov. 2^nd, 2018 – 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

The ONLY early voting location in Cibolo is at:

Fire Station #2

3864 Cibolo Valley Drive

Cibolo, TX 78108

You may also early vote at:

Schertz Elections Office Annex

1101 Ebel Road

Schertz, TX 78154

Here is a link to the Early Voting Information page:

https://www.cibolotx.gov/DocumentCenter/View/2721/Nov-2018-Early-Voting-Schedule

Right now, the sales tax rate in the City of Cibolo is 8.25% for all purchases made in our city.  On November 6^th, Cibolo voters will be able to vote on Prop A which calls for the re-authorization of a quarter percent sales tax to be used for the maintenance & repair of municipal streets within Cibolo.  This is not a vote for a NEW tax, but rather a renewal of this tax percentage amount that will be used to repair & maintain our roads.  Our current sales tax rate of 8.25% will remain as is & it will not go up.  If we do not vote to re-authorize this quarter percent sales tax amount, Guadalupe County or the State of Texas will pick up this quarter percent, leave our sales tax percentage as it is today, 8.25%, & take the money generated from this quarter percent & use it for road improvements outside of Cibolo.  We are going to be paying 8.25% in sales taxes either way, this vote is to keep the quarter percent sales tax revenue we all pay right here in Cibolo & spend it to maintain & improve Cibolo roads instead of roads elsewhere in Texas.

Moving forward, I don’t see a compelling need to further raise property or sales taxes.  New housing startups are breaking ground every day here in Cibolo.  These properties will soon be added to our current $2B dollar taxable properties total, thus generating new property tax revenue for our city.  Santikos is breaking ground in District 1 & will be open for business early next year.  This development will bring in a bonanza of tax revenue not just out of Cibolo resident pocketbooks, but from moviegoers in surrounding cities & folks traveling on i35.  New businesses have been slow to open within our city interior, but I feel that we have a growing population with high median incomes, plenty of land, improving infrastructure, & that Cibolo is an attractive destination for many national & regional chain businesses & franchises.

Cibolo has a bright future & I plan to help provide the foundation for the future of our city & the vision to guide our community to new horizons that will make Cibolo the best place to raise a family in South Texas.

What I don’t support is land in the ETJ being sold to a housing or apartment developer & for that property to be developed to include houses or apartments built without Cibolo permits or building standards.  If & when subdivisions are built by commercial home or apartment developers in the ETJ, they should not be allowed to tap into Cibolo’s water or sewage system until they become annexed.  When these developments eventually become annexed into Cibolo, they will include sub-standard housing that was built without code enforcement.  I am in favor of forcing annexation for these properties where mass new home construction is taking place, so that they will have to obtain building permits from the City of Cibolo, pay property taxes to our city, & be allowed access to our water & sewage system.

If / when we approve new housing developments, we must hold the developers responsible for paying adequate impact fees & also request that they help improve our infrastructure.  We need current & future housing developers to pay to widen & improve roads that are traveled on in order to enter their developments & we must also continue to insist that every new neighborhood has at least 2 ways to get in & out of the subdivisions.