In an off-season political twist, Bexar County voters have selected their first-ever elected appraisal board members during a special runoff election, a change initiated by the state legislature with the aim of granting taxpayers more transparency in the property appraisal process. Landlord advocate Erika Hizel and conservative leader Robert Bruce are among the victorious, alongside legislative aide Naomi Elizabeth, who secured her place in May.

Hizel, a real estate company owner and advocate for small landlords, clinched Place 2 with a commanding majority, securing 64.2% of the votes against rival Stephen Spears. Hizel's group, the San Antonio Property Owners Alliance, is known for assisting landlords in the thorny valuation appeals labyrinth. Bruce emerged victorious in the Place 3 contest with a narrower margin, garnering 53% against G.L. "Larry" Lamborn, according to the San Antonio Report. Bruce's involvement with groups like the Conservative Partnership Institute and Texas Public Policy Foundation reflects his broader commitment to conservative fiscal policies.

In contrast to the typical electoral buzz, the turnout for the runoff was a meager reflection of Bexar County's robust electorate, with less than 1% of the 1.3 million registered voters bothering to cast a ballot. Of those approximately 12,000 participants, 168 apparently found the decision too confounding, leaving their ballots blank.

The roles filled by Hizel, Bruce, and earlier by Miller, who was a former district director to then-Texas House Speaker Joe Straus, are meant to demystify the appraisal process which impacts homeowners and taxpayers directly. The appointees will be teamed up with other board members selected by various taxing agencies, playing the critical part of hiring the chief appraiser and shaping the appraiser agency's financial direction. Moreover, an additional layer of scrutiny is introduced as the tax law grants the board new oversight powers over their counties' appraisal review boards.

Echoing a shared sentiment of reducing bureaucratic tangles, Bruce told the San Antonio Report that "he wants the board to set goals of reducing the number of protests and lawsuits filed over property valuations." The elected appraisal board members will have their swearing-in event in July, marking their official entry into the roles shaped by the Texas legislature, as the county ambles towards the property tax season.