By Mary Whitfill
Features Editor

Marsha Tunnell, a 16 year Coppell city council member, has announced her entry in to the race for mayor. Current Coppell mayor Doug Stover has taken on a new job that requires a majority of his time and as a result, will not be running for reelection.

Before being elected to city council in 1995, Tunnell spent nine years on the Planning and Zoning Commission, and served as chair for two years. She has had appointments to the Texas Municipal League Resolutions Committee, the Development Regulations Policy Committee and the Texas Attorney General’s Municipal Advisory Committee. Tunnell is also a current appointee to the National League of Cities steering committee of the Economic Development committee.

Tunnell is a self-employed event planner, giving her schedule the flexibility needed to put the needs of the city first. Tunnell says her main goal is to see the current and upcoming construction projects in the city help to grow the community and attract people to the area.

As of now, no one has filed to run against Tunnell, but candidate fillings will remain open until March 5. Tunnell told the Coppell Gazette that she feels she has service, experience and dedication that will be hard to match.

A journalism graduate from UNT, she and her husband now reside in Coppell with their three daughters Katy, Shannon and Madeline.