Galveston picks new mayor in runoff

Retired businessman Lewis Rosen became Galveston?s new mayor on Saturday, beating out incumbent Joe Jaworski in a heated runoff election.

Rosen, 69, was elected with about 57 percent of the vote, while Jaworski, who was elected in 2010, came in with about 43 percent. A total of 6,625 voters cast ballots.

In a runoff for the Island?s City Council District 4 position, Norman Pappous defeated incumbent Dianna D. Puccetti.

Pappous, currently a Galveston ISD trustee, declared on his Facebook page: ?District 4 has WON!!?

This year, candidates? campaigns centered on a state-negotiated agreement with the Galveston Housing Authority that committed the city to the rebuilding of 569 public housing units damaged on Galveston Island by Hurricane Ike in 2008. Those units were later demolished.

Jaworski and Puccetti supported GHA?s plan to replace them with mixed-income development public housing.

However, Rosen argued that the city should fight the agreements. Instead, he supports using housing vouchers, known as Section 8 vouchers, that would allow low-income residents to rent an apartment.

Rosen could not be reached for comment late Saturday.

Another runoff election occurred Saturday in Pearland for the City Council Position 4. Keith Ordeneaux won with 964 votes while Tammy Dexter received 571, according to unofficial results.

?Thank you for all your support and help,? Ordeneaux wrote on his Facebook page. ?I could not have done it without you.?

anita.hassan@chron.com

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