On Tuesday, North Texas voters decided key city and school district runoff elections that will directly impact citizens’ quality of life and their wallets.
Across the state, local elections usually held in May were moved to November this year due to concerns about the Chinese coronavirus. Several local races went to runoffs.
Below are unofficial results of runoff races in Collin, Dallas, Denton, and Tarrant counties.
Anna City Council
Father-and-son council candidates Hugh and Bryan Heath both lost their runoffs. Stan Carver defeated Hugh Heath for Place 3 with 60 percent of the vote, while Randy Atchley beat Bryan Heath to fill the unexpired Place 4 term, 65-35 percent.
Celina City Council
Wendie Wiggington won the Place 4 runoff with 59 percent of the vote over Ben Hangartner. Wiggington will replace Councilmember Carmen Roberts, who lost the three-way general election.
Frisco City Council (Collin and Denton counties)
Dan Stricklin won the runoff for the open Place 5 council seat over Laura Rummel, 53-47 percent. Stricklin was endorsed by Republican grassroots group Frisco Conservatives.
Princeton City Council
Keven Underwood won the at-large Place 4 seat over Jessie Lopez, 65-35 percent.
Balch Springs City Council
Angela Singletary won the runoff for the at-large Place 2 seat with 62 percent of the vote over Nelli Castillo. Singletary, a political newcomer, advocates lowering the city’s property tax rate to offset rising property values.
Coppell City Council
Attorney John Jun won the open Place 5 seat over Jim Walker. Jun campaigned on fiscal responsibility and family values.
Dallas County Community College District
Republican-backed challenger Cliff Boyd defeated Trustee William Wesley Jameson 55-45 percent in the runoff for the District 5 seat.
Dallas Independent School District
Trustee Dustin Marshall easily held his seat with 66 percent of the vote against challenger Nancy Rodriguez, who had finished first in the three-way general election. First elected to the board in 2016, Marshall has supported reforms designed to reward teachers and improve student achievement.
Duncanville City Council
District 2 Councilmember Don McBurnett held his seat against challenger Misty Bain with 52 percent of the vote.
Irving City Council
Mark Zeske, a teacher and planning and zoning commissioner, won the open Place 3 seat over businessman Abdul Khabeer, 55-45 percent.
Denton City Council
Mayor Pro Tem Gerard Hudspeth won the mayoral runoff over Councilmember Keely Briggs, 53-47 percent, making Hudspeth the first African-American elected mayor of Denton. Hudspeth was backed by grassroots Republicans and campaigned on keeping taxes low.
At-Large Place 6 Councilmember Paul Meltzer held his seat with 53 percent of the vote against challenger Jim Mann, who was also backed by local Republicans.
Connie Baker won the District 2 runoff to replace Briggs over Ronnie Anderson, 60-40 percent.
Pilot Point City Council
Mario Cisneros won the open Place 1 seat over Ricky Meinen, 61-39 percent.
The Colony City Council
Incumbent Councilmembers Brian Wade, David Terre, and Perry Schrag were all re-elected with over 80 percent of the vote.
Arlington City Council
District 7 Councilmember Victoria Farrar-Myers defeated challenger Antoine Lane, 82-18 percent. Farrar-Myers had finished first in a four-way race in the November general election.
Grapevine-Colleyville Independent School District
Coley Canter defeated Tommy Snyder for the open Place 5 seat, 63-37 percent. Canter was endorsed by local Democrats, while Snyder was backed by grassroots conservatives and endorsed by Republican Party of Texas Chair Allen West.
Haltom City Council
Kyle Smith defeated Bob Watkins for the open Place 6 seat, 62-38 percent.
Keller City Council
Former Keller City Councilmember Armin Mizani won the runoff for the open mayor’s seat over Tag Green, 59-41 percent. While on council, Mizani worked to reduce citizens’ property tax burdens and authored stronger ethics policies for city officials and staff.
Mansfield City Council
Michael Evans won the mayoral runoff over Councilmember Brent Newsom with 53 percent of the vote. Evans will fill the unexpired term of Mayor David Cook, who was elected November 3 to represent Texas House District 96.
Newsom’s Place 2 council seat will be filled by Tamera Bounds, who defeated Scot Bowman 54-46 percent.
Mansfield Independent School District
Place 7 Trustee Courtney Wilson won her runoff against challenger Yolanda McPherson with 53 percent of the vote.
White Settlement City Council
Mayor Ronald White retained his seat against challenger Jerry Burns, 54-46 percent.
Senate District 30 Special Runoff
Some North Texas voters will also be voting in a special legislative runoff election in December.
Republicans Shelley Luther and State Rep. Drew Springer are competing to represent Texas Senate District 30, which includes Archer, Clay, Cooke, Erath, Grayson, Jack, Montague, Palo Pinto, Parker, Wichita, Wise, and Young, and parts of Collin and Denton counties.
State Sen. Pat Fallon (R–Prosper) resigned the SD 30 position to run for the open 4th Congressional District seat, which he won on November 3. This month’s runoff winner will fill Fallon’s unexpired term. If Springer wins, yet another special election will be required to fill his House District 68 seat.
Early voting in the special runoff begins December 9. Election Day is Saturday, December 19.
