Walker’s Historic Landslide Over Sheffield: A Wake-Up Call for Eanes Leaders

Westlake Hills, Texas – May 21, 2025

By Aaron Silva, Concerned Dad

I had to wait a couple of weeks to let the election results sink in before writing this story.  Fact is, it’s more clear now than ever before, Eanes voters have unleashed a roar that should shake every trustee to their core: Catherine Walker crushed Heather Sheffield in the Place 6 race on May 3, winning 3,137 votes to Sheffield’s 1,845—a 26-point landslide that marks the first incumbent trustee loss in 14 years. With a 63% popular vote crossing liberals, independents, and Republicans, Walker’s victory signals that her platform designed to put “unity” back into community, fiscal responsibility and transparency could easily unseat any current trustee, especially as support for establishment candidates and incumbents has been crumbling for years—from 55% in 2021 to Sheffield’s 37% now. This cleaner election, sanitized from the Westlake Smear Cartel’s

anonymous attacks that poisoned past races, saw parents and voters swiftly overwhelm Sheffield’s supporters, amplifying Walker’s mandate. As a dad, I see this as a blaring alarm for the BOT and administration to change direction, unite the community, and get creative in solving the district’s crises—because their current approach is failing our kids, our budget, and our trust.

Support for Establishment Candidates: A Steady Decline

The writing’s been on the wall for years: support for Eanes "establishment" candidates and incumbents has been softening with every election. The chart below tells the story—a steady decline in margin of victory over business-minded challengers that’s now hit rock bottom. In 2021, James Spradley and Jennifer Champagne held strong with 55% and 54%. Sheffield clung to 54% in 2022 against Jim Withers. Diane Hern scraped by with 51% in 2023 and now Sheffield’s 37% marks the BOT’s breaking point—a 17% drop since her last win. This trend isn’t slowing down; it’s accelerating, and Walker’s landslide is the loudest signal yet that the current leadership model isn’t working.

A Cleaner Election: The Smear Cartel’s Retreat

While turnout remained relatively flat at 16.76%, consistent with prior years like 2024’s 16.55% and 2023’s 17.80%, one major change defined this election: it was the first in memory not infected by the Westlake Smear Cartel’s anonymous websites, Instagram, and Facebook pages. My wife Ivana and I are proud to have taken a stand last year against Smear Cartel CEO Trustee Kelly Marwill and her campaign manager Kim Taylor, advocating for clean, fair, and ethical elections. Our number one goal has always been to prevent these evil and venomous tactics from being used against good people and their families simply trying to serve our school district. In Sheffield’s past two races, the Cartel’s captains and lieutenants hid behind pseudonyms, slinging mud to prop her up. This time, they were forced to use their real identities when lurking on public social sites, and our community wasn’t having it. Social networks buzzed with parents and voters delivering swift condemnation whenever these characters tried to smear Walker or her supporters and donors. Unaccustomed to being publicly swatted on the nose, most retreated, deleting their posts or vanishing entirely along with Sheffield’s election prospects. This cleaner election let Walker’s platform shine, amplifying her mandate and showing that Eanes voters demand accountability—even from the loudest voices.

A Wake-Up Call for the Board

Walker’s 63% mandate isn’t just a win—it’s an invitation for the remaining trustees to cross the bridge she used as her campaign logo, uniting behind her vision to steer Eanes in a new direction. Her landslide shows just how many voters, from all corners of our community, walked across that bridge to deliver her victory, and it’s time for the BOT to follow. They need to rethink their leadership style and engage authentically with parents and taxpayers to tackle the district’s crises: a $6.3 million deficit; the closure of Valley View and Eanes Elementary due to a shrinking student population; a 20% teacher attrition rate; the fallout from a $210 million endowment offer that became a multimillion-dollar WACC lawsuit; the cancellation of Spanish Immersion for 700 estudiantes and a pending $20 million tax hike proposal that would net just $4 million. The BOT must get creative, prioritize transparency, and show they can lead with integrity—or risk being swept away in the next election. Walker’s win offers a chance to rebuild trust and fight for our kids, our budget, and our community—let’s hope they seize it, starting now.

Aaron Silva, Concerned Dad