Irving voters elected two anti-casino city council candidates during Saturday’s local elections and sent a third casino gambling opponent to a June runoff.
The May 3 election results reinforced citizens’ recent defeat of a Las Vegas Sands-proposed gambling complex in Irving.
District 1 Councilman John Bloch, a casino opponent, defeated challenger Tony Grimes 52-48 percent with a margin of just 41 votes.
Anti-casino candidate Adam Muller beat Priscilla Vigliante for the open District 7 seat 51-49 percent with a 49-vote margin, adding another expected “no” vote on future gambling projects brought before the council.
A four-way race for the open at-large District 2 seat is going to a June 7 runoff between casino-friendly candidate David Pfaff, who received 47 percent of the vote, and casino opponent Sergio Porres with 45 percent.
Gambling was a hot topic during the election.
City council members first proposed rezoning Sands-owned property to allow casino gambling during a February 27 meeting.
At multiple meetings in March, Irving residents showed up in force to reject casino gambling in their city. Members of the local Catholic and Muslim communities were especially vocal opponents.
Councilmen Bloch, Luis Canosa, and Abdul Khabeer sided with citizens and opposed the city’s effort to fast-track approvals for the Sands’ casino-centered “resort” project.
A “shadowy political nonprofit” called Lone Star Conservative Action Fund, which appears to have ties to Las Vegas Sands, spent nearly $100,000 in direct campaign expenditures on behalf of Pfaff, Grimes, and Vigliante.
As of April 25, the Austin-based group reported spending $93,430 for campaign signs, mailers, push cards, and digital messaging for the three candidates.
“Despite spending a six-figure amount trying to buy the Irving City Council election, Sands lost two of three races, with the third going to a runoff,” posted Matt Rinaldi, an Irving resident and former Texas GOP chairman. “One of the two is pickup for the anti-casino side, so there will be an anti-casino majority. Runoff determines if it grows by 1.”
While legalization of gambling—which requires approval from the state legislature and Texas voters—is unlikely to occur any time soon, the Sands corporation has spent millions lobbying to legalize casinos in Texas.
Early voting dates in the runoff election are Tuesday, May 27, through Tuesday, June 3. Election Day is Saturday, June 7.
No ads. No paywalls. No government grants. No corporate masters.
Just real news for real Texans.
Support Texas Scorecard to keep it that way!
