Voters in McKinney rejected a misleading ballot proposition that would have extended city officials’ term limits and allowed George Fuller to run for a third term as mayor next year.
The North Texas city currently limits the mayor and city council members to two consecutive four-year terms.
Proposition A would have changed the city charter to extend the limits to three consecutive terms.
Fuller’s second term expires in May 2025. Without the charter change, Fuller is now ineligible to run for mayor again next year.
“Many people believe eight years is long enough for anyone to serve,” said Tammy Warren, president of McKinney Values, a conservative PAC that opposed Prop A.
Local voters not only objected to allowing city representatives to stay in power longer, but they also objected to the misleading language that was on Tuesday’s ballot.
The Prop A ballot language approved by the mayor and council members did not mention the city’s existing term limits.
It simply asked if the city charter should be “amended to provide that mayor and city council members shall have term limits consisting of three (3) consecutive, four (4) year terms beginning with the 2025 election.”
Some McKinney voters said they voted for Prop A, thinking that the choice was between term limits or no term limits, and they would have voted against the measure if the ballot language had been clearer.
Still, Prop A failed 49-51 percent—a difference of about 1,900 votes. More than 6,300 voters did not cast a vote either way.
Supporters of extending the term limits said they believed Fuller had done a good job bringing new development to the city, including his controversial efforts to expand the city-owned airport.
Bridgette Wallis, publisher of McKinney Citizen to Citizen, reported that special interests with ties to Fuller financed the pro-Prop A campaign.
“Imagine, the pro-Prop A people spent over $47,000, and they couldn’t even get 50% of the vote,” Wallis posted.
“‘Let the voters decide,’ they said. We did!” posted Tom Michero, who heads the Keep McKinney Unique PAC that opposed Prop A.
Michero said he is “delighted” with the results. “This will allow and encourage more citizen participation in our city government. Four seats on the city council will become available in May of 2025. I encourage everyone to get involved in keeping McKinney unique.”
Candidate filing for the May 3, 2025, McKinney city election begins January 15. Seats up for election are mayor, District 1, District 3, and At Large 1.
Collin County Citizens for Integrity PAC, a third group that opposed Prop A, has pledged to vet and support “candidates of integrity” in the 2025 election.
“McKinney needs new leadership. Voters have spoken. It’s time to turn the page,” the group’s founder Paul Chabot wrote in a statement.
Voters also rejected Proposition B, which would have increased the pay for the city’s elected officials. They approved Propositions C and D, which allow the city to “clean up” any outdated provisions or non-substantive errors in the charter.
