Tyler Junior College Place 9 Race Heads To Runoff

By LAUREN GROVER
Staff Writer
A runoff election will be necessary to determine whether Melinda Coker or Rohn Boone will win the TJC seat up for grabs.
In a three-way race for the Place 9 seat, Mrs. Coker led with 2,628 votes (41.2 percent) to Rohn Boone's 2,541 votes (39.8 percent). Steven Sherwood trailed with 1,209 votes (18.9 percent).
A candidate must win at least 50 percent of the vote to win the Place 9 seat. The runoff election will take place no later than May 31.
Mrs. Coker could be the third woman on the nine-person board. The Place 9 position opened earlier this year when David Couch decided not to run for re-election.
Incumbents Ann Brookshire and David Hudson went unopposed Saturday with 4,871 and 4,769 votes, respectively.
Mrs. Coker said her eight years of experience as a leader in TJC's career planning office gives her perspective on the college's eclectic student body, talented faculty and hard-working staff, one that should be voiced on the board.
"My strength is knowing what the students need and what the TJC community is about," she said in April at a meeting with the Tyler Paper's editorial board.
"You can have so many numbers people. I had my own business, I know how to read a financial statement, but we have plenty of experts on the board who can
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