The race to serve as the next councilman for Odessa City Council Place 4 failed to see a clear victory with the November 6 general election results.
The race originally held three contenders for the position: Tom Sprawls, Richard Pierce, and David Malliat. Sprawls came in first, garnering 2,493 votes, with Pierce as a close second with 2,254 votes.
David Malliat, a local small business owner, came in third with 280 votes.
With none of the candidates receiving over 50 percent of the vote, Sprawls and Pierce will now head into a runoff. Odessa City Council is reportedly looking to set the election date on December 11, with early voting beginning as early as November 26 and continuing on select days. The official date will likely be decided at their next meeting.
Both Odessa-natives, Sprawls is retired after working as general manager for West Texas Peterbilt Trucking for 24 years. Richard Pierce is a master plumber and manager with a local contracting company.
Other city council races saw clear victories, including the election of local accountant Peggy Dean to the newly created at-large position. Grassroots activists petitioned earlier this summer for a measure to create the position in order to bring greater accountability to the council. Dean was unopposed.
Retired fire marshal Detra White bested Craig Stoker for the District 3 council position, and Mari Willis won in the race to serve as the new District 5 councilwoman.
