Michele Carew started her first day on the job Monday, taking over from Jacque Callanen who had held the position since 2005.
BEXAR COUNTY, Texas — After two decades, Bexar County has a new person in charge of the elections.
Michele Carew started her first day on the job Monday, taking over for Jacque Callanen who had held the position since 2005.
“We did meet about a week ago,” Carew told the media. “There was some information given to me about the May election. I know that the contracts have been looked at and executed. I know ballots are currently in the process of being drawn up. We will be talking about that.”
The May 3 San Antonio mayoral election will be the first Carew will be in charge of.
“I have more than 14 years worth of experience working Texas elections,” she said. “I’ve had over 100 elections under my own belt, although small county, but still the same game. My years of experience in elections range from being just a clerk in an office to becoming the elections administrator… After that, I spent some time working in the tech side for, software companies.”
Carew was the former elections administrator for Hood County, until she resigned.
“My resignation at Hood County, to me, it was a very tough decision to make,” she stated. “So, when I left, I still had the support of the Commissioners Court, the Election Commission and all of the judges and clerks. So I feel that although I left, maybe when I didn’t want to, I still left with a lot of backing from the local stakeholders are in good county.”
Bexar County Judge Peter Sakai called the letter of recommendation Carew had received from the Hood County Judge “glowing.” Carew beat out over 200 candidates for the job, including some internal candidates.
The new elections administrator already has a list of priorities she’s focusing on, including increasing voter access and maintaining a safe and secure election.
“We’re going to be talking more about accessibility for our disabled voters. We’re going to be talking about opening additional poll sites,” Carew said “We also will be talking about communication between our office and the community. Another thing that we’ll be working on will be, the website of course, was at the very top of the list.”
She is also foreseeing challenges she’ll be tackling as she takes on the role, including hiring more poll workers. The average age of poll workers in Bexar County most recently, was 72-years-old.
“What’s most important is that everything is taken care of and that we’re covering it and that we’re within the law,” Carew said “So my challenge will be honestly, finding more election workers and, anyone that’s bilingual, those are the main challenges right now that I see.”