Pace takes Position 4

ECISD's Position 4 trustee incumbent Doyle Woodall lost his seat Saturday to challenger Tom Pace in a tight municipal election race - losing his hold by just 22 votes.

Pace got a nod from 53 percent of voters - 205 votes.

"I'm elated," Pace said. "I think you're always surprised, because you never know how the voters are going to react."

Woodall, who campaigned to "give power back to teachers in the trenches," wished good things for Ector County School District's new Position 4 trustee.

"I just want to thank the people of Odessa for letting me serve on the school board for four years," Woodall said. "As long as they're focused on kids, it doesn't matter who's sitting in those chairs."

In 2004, Woodall won with 488 votes, or about 70 percent, defeating incumbent Tommy Salmon, who had 212 votes, or about 30 percent.

During this campaign, Pace said he would like to foster more parental involvement and is proud of the district's efforts to keep kids in school. He's continually praised ECISD's AVID program, saying it's a step in the right direction.

"I think I've got a lot of homework to do before I'm ready for the next board meeting," Pace said. "Hopefully after that, I'll be a good contribution to the school board."