UPDATED November 9 to show the Princeton mayoral race will not go to a runoff.
Tuesday’s presidential race isn’t the only November election still undecided—many North Texas voters will be going back to the polls next month to finish selecting representatives in key local races.
Across the state, local elections usually held in May were moved to November this year due to concerns about the Chinese coronavirus.
Record-high voter turnout in the general election increased participation in the nominally nonpartisan city council and school board contests, which have a direct impact on citizens’ quality of life and their wallets.
“The most important elected position in the United States of America is school board,” Republican Party of Texas Chairman Allen West told voters ahead of Election Day.
Not only do their policies help shape future generations of young Americans, as West noted, but school boards also set (and spend) school taxes, which make up the largest share of Texans’ property tax bills.
Several local city and school races ended with no candidate receiving a majority of the votes, so they are now going to December runoff elections.
Anna City Council
Two council races are headed to runoffs.
Candidate Hugh Heath finished first in the race for Place 3 with 40 percent of the vote (1,675 votes) and will face Stan Carver, who received 37 percent (1,552 votes), in next month’s runoff.
Bryan Heath, Hugh Heath’s son, drew 36 percent of the vote (1,485 votes) for the unexpired Place 4 term. He is headed to a runoff with Randy Atchley, who received 32 percent (1,319 votes), barely edging out third-place finisher and current Place 5 Councilmember Nathan Bryan by 16 votes.
Celina City Council
Place 4 Councilmember Carmen Roberts lost a three-way race to keep her seat. Wendle Wiggington finished first with 43 percent (2,361 votes) and goes to a runoff with Ben Hangartner, who drew 40 percent (2,185 votes).
Frisco City Council
Dan Stricklin and Laura Rummel were the top vote-getters in the seven-way race for the open Place 5 council seat. Stricklin drew 25 percent (8,816 votes) and Rummel 22 percent (7,640 votes). Republican grassroots group Frisco Conservatives endorsed Stricklin.
Princeton City Council
For mayor, Brianna Chacon finished first with 44 percent (1,902 votes). Because she is filling an unexpired two-year term, a runoff is not required.
For Place 4, Keven Underwood (42 percent/1,702 votes) and Jessie Lopez (39 percent/1,583 votes) will compete in a runoff.
Balch Springs City Council
Angela Singletary was the top vote-getter in a four-way race for the Place 2 at-large seat with 29 percent of the vote (1,641 votes). Singletary, a political newcomer who advocates for lowering the city’s property tax rate to offset rising property values, is in a runoff with Nelli Castillo, who finished a close second with 28 percent (1,596 votes). Castillo serves on the city’s Board of Adjustment. Incumbent Sammy Moon finished last with just 827 votes.
Coppell City Council
John Jun and Jim Walker are in a runoff for the open Place 5 seat. Jun received 48 percent to Walker’s 33 percent. Jun, an attorney who also ran for council in 2018, is campaigning on fiscal responsibility and family values. Walker serves on the city’s planning and zoning commission and the Coppell school district’s bond oversight committee.
Dallas Independent School District
Trustee Dustin Marshall finished second in a three-way race to challenger Nancy Rodriguez, a social worker and special education advocate. Marshall, who has supported reforms designed to reward teachers and improve student achievement since being elected to the board in 2016, received 40 percent (24,722 votes) to Rodriguez’s 45 percent (27,857 votes).
Irving City Council
In the race for the open Place 3 seat, teacher and planning and zoning commissioner Mark Zeske received 46 percent of the vote (4,814 vote). Zeske is headed to a runoff with Abdul Khabeer, a businessman focused on jobs and diversity, who got 33 percent (3,390 votes).
Dallas County Community College District
Trustee William Wesley Jameson is in a runoff after receiving 41 percent of the vote (36,109 votes) to challenger Cliff Boyd’s 30 percent (26,179 votes).
Denton City Council
Three Denton City Council races are headed to runoffs.
Mayoral candidates Keely Briggs and Gerard Hudspeth were the top vote-getters. Briggs, a third-term councilmember, received 49 percent (24,815 votes) to Mayor Pro Tem Hudspeth’s 42 percent (21,310 votes). Hudspeth, first elected to council in 2017, is campaigning on keeping taxes low and is supported by grassroots Republicans. He would be the city’s first African-American mayor.
At-large Place 6 Councilmember Paul Meltzer won 45 percent (21,409 votes) to 42 percent (20,108 votes) for challenger Jim Mann, who is also backed by local Republicans.
District 2 council candidates Connie Baker and Ronnie Anderson finished a close first and second in the five-way race to replace Briggs, with 29 percent (3,417) and 28 percent (3,361), respectively.
Arlington City Council
District 7 Councilmember Victoria Farrar-Myers finished first in a four-way race with 48 percent of the vote (47,222 votes) and goes to a runoff with Antoine Lane, who received 20 percent (20,180 votes). Lane is running on a platform of implementing a “$500 million investment” in an “economic development plan specifically for the descendants of American slavery for the city of Arlington.”
Grapevine-Colleyville Independent School District
Coley Canter received 38 percent of the vote (13,475 votes) and is headed to a runoff with Tommy Snyder, who finished second with almost 31 percent of the vote (10,856 votes)—just six votes ahead of third-place finisher Lori Crenshaw. Canter ran on a slate with two incumbent trustees and is endorsed by local Democrats, while Snyder is backed by grassroots conservatives and endorsed by RPT Chair West.
Haltom City Council
In a tight three-way race for the open Place 6, Bob Watkins and Kyle Smith each received 34 percent of the vote, with Watkins drawing 2,975 votes to Smith’s 2,947—just 16 votes ahead of third-place finisher Eric Morris.
Keller City Council
In the race for the open mayoral seat, former Keller City Councilmember Armin Mizani finished first with 47 percent of the vote (11,086 votes) and heads to a runoff with Tag Green, who received 39 percent (9,096 votes). While on council, Mizani worked to reduce citizens’ property tax burdens and authored stronger ethics policies for city officials and staff.
Mansfield City Council
Councilmember Brent Newsom and Michael Evans are in a runoff to fill the unexpired term of Mayor David Cook, who was elected Tuesday to represent Texas House District 96 after five-term State Rep. Bill Zedler decided to retire at the end of this session. Evans received 39 percent of the vote to Newsom’s 30 percent.
In the race to fill Newsom’s Place 2 council seat, Tamera Bounds drew 43 percent and Scot Bowman drew 32 percent. A small portion of Mansfield is in Ellis County.
Mansfield Independent School District
Place 7 Trustee Courtney Wilson finished second with 39 percent (20,003 votes) and will face challenger Yolanda McPherson, who received 42 percent (21,172 votes).
White Settlement City Council
Mayor Ronald White finished second in a four-way race to retain his seat, with 26 percent of the vote (1,184 votes). Challenger Jerry Burns received 33 percent (1,493 votes).
Election Day for local runoffs is Tuesday, December 8.
Texas Senate District 30
Some North Texas voters will also be voting in a special state senate runoff election in December.
Republicans Shelley Luther and State Rep. Drew Springer (Muenster) are competing in a runoff to represent Senate District 30, which includes Archer, Clay, Cooke, Erath, Grayson, Jack, Montague, Palo Pinto, Parker, Wichita, Wise, Young, and parts of Collin and Denton counties.
Luther and Springer each earned 32 percent of the vote in a six-way special election in September, with Luther winning 164 more votes than second-place finisher Springer.
State Sen. Pat Fallon (R–Prosper) resigned the SD 30 position to run for the open 4th Congressional District seat, which he won on Tuesday.
Early voting in the special runoff begins December 9. Election Day is Saturday, December 19.
