Former Kerrville Mayor Joe Herring Jr. announced Tuesday he is running for Place 3 on the Kerrville City Council.
With current Place 3 Councilwomen Judy Eychner running for mayor it opened the seat up, and Herring stepped into the fray. Who will run against Herring remains unclear — if anyone.
In the 2020 election, the candidates with a deep history in Kerrville won seats on the City Council, and there’s probably no one with deeper ties to the community than Herring, who operates with the family’s printing business with his sister. Herring has spent years collecting Kerrville’s history, has written extensively about the community’s place in the Texas story and has been engaged in a wide range of community projects, including serving on the board for the future Heart of the Hills Heritage Center.
However, Herring was on the fence about a return to the City Council, but he was asked by current council members and community leaders to run. Herring attended last week’s City Council meeting.
Herring and Place 4 incumbent Brenda Hughes are the only candidates to have filed for City Council. Former City Councilman Vince Voelkel filed Friday to run for mayor and will compete against Eychner.
When he was elected in 1992 he was the city’s youngest mayor — at 30. It’s a distinction he still holds. He served one term but said there was joy in serving the community he’s called home for most of his life.
“I enjoyed being on City Council,” Herring told The Lead. “I enjoyed the work. I think part of me missed what I had experienced so long ago. From my experience, it was a wonderful part of my life.”
Herring said there are four issues he thinks are important: ensuring water quality and access; managing growth; building the city’s proposed public safety building; and he emphasized that treating each other with respect and kindness is critical.
