SAN ANTONIO – The Bexar County Election Commission has announced Michele Carew as its new Bexar County Election Administrator, according to a press release.
The commission, chaired by Bexar County Judge Peter Sakai, made the decision unanimously on Thursday.
Carew will succeed Bexar County Elections Administrator Jacquelyn Callanen, who has served the county in this role for 20 years.
Callanen announced her resignation on June 28, 2024, following a Bexar County Election Commission meeting.
The commission hired the recruiting firm Robert Half Executive Search to lead a nationwide search. The recruitment attracted over 200 applicants and involved 46 candidate interviews.
The commission ultimately brought in five in-person interview finalists over the past two weeks.
“We emerged with a consensus that Ms. Carew would be the best person to lead Bexar County forward in this critically important position,” Sakai said in the release. “Her extensive experience overseeing more than 120 elections, her deep knowledge of election law, and her commitment to impartiality made her the ideal candidate.”
Carew is set to begin her role on March 1.
“I feel that serving the community is huge,” Carew said in an interview with KSAT. “I love the workers. I love the whole aspect of elections. I know a lot of people think that’s crazy, but it’s the excitement and knowing that I’m making a difference."
In the meantime, Callanen will continue to oversee the Bexar County Elections Department through the end of February.
Carew previously served as the elections administrator in Hood County, according to the Texas Tribune and ProPublica. She resigned from that role in 2021 following a prolonged campaign by President Donald Trump supporters to remove her from office.
“I’m confident that I can do the job because I have done the job, and just because I’m from a small county doesn’t mean that I’m small-minded,” Carew said.
At the time, the Texas Tribune and ProPublica reported that Carew was accused of harboring a secret liberal agenda and violating election laws, despite assurances from the Texas secretary of state that she was in compliance.
Carew has also overseen elections in Aransas County. She served as an officer in the Texas Association of Elections Administrators from 2017-2021, including president from 2020-2021.
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