Lisa Parrish, the first woman elected to be mayor of Keene, was sworn in Nov. 17 at Keene City Hall.
Parrish defeated the incumbent, Gary Heinrich, with 447 votes to 373. A Keene resident for more than 44 years, Parrish is graduate of Southwestern Adventist University and earned a Masters of Education degree from Tarleton State University.
Parrish served fours years as the Place 1 Council member, and has owned Lisa’s Learning Center for more than 20 years. Prior to owning and operating the learning center, she worked 20 years in corporate business and about seven years in education. She and her husband, Tim, have been married 32 years have two sons.
A total of 833 residents voted in the election, with 461 on Election Day and 372 early voting and mail-in ballots.
In the race for Council Member Place 1, Ray Johnson garnered 327 votes to claim the seat. His opponents, Samantha Gillin and Troy Smith received 269 and 186 votes, respectively.
James Belz claimed the Council Member Place 3 seat with 347 votes over David Read, 214 votes, and Terry Foster, 193 votes.
Gwen Beeson retained her Council Member Ward 2 seat with 662 votes. She ran uncontested.
The City of Keene is a charter member of the Keene Chamber of Commerce, and Mayor Parrish is a Keene Chamber member.
The Cleburne Times-Review contributed to this story.
