Local runoff elections yielded mixed results for conservatives in several North Texas cities, including a pair of wins in Frisco and a loss in McKinney.
Runoffs were held Saturday in races in which no candidate received a majority of votes in the May 3 general elections.
Frisco
In runoffs for two Frisco City Council seats, Republican-endorsed candidates Burt Thakur and Jared Elad defeated their establishment-backed opponents, respectively winning 55 and 53 percent of the vote.
Thakur beat Place 2 incumbent Tammy Meinershagen, who was exposed in an audio recording disparaging members of the city’s South Asian community. The incident led the Dallas Morning News to retract its recommendation of Meinershagen for the June 7 runoff.
Elad won Place 4 over former Frisco school board trustee Gopal Ponangi, who was endorsed by Mayor Jeff Cheney and four other city council members.
Thakur and Elad were endorsed by the Republican Party in both Collin and Denton counties—Frisco spans the county line—as well as by the Republican Party of Texas.
“Every election, including so-called ‘nonpartisan’ elections, is a contest between conservative values and leftist progressive values, and conservatives won last night,” posted local CPA and Collin County Young Republican Rohit Joy following Frisco’s runoff results.
Former Frisco ISD school board candidate Kelly Karthik called the election of Thakur and Elad “nothing short of historic” because the system is “rigged to exclude outsiders.”
“For years, frustration has quietly built among Frisco residents who’ve watched a well-oiled political machine control Frisco City Council—a cabal that endorses, funds, creates PACs, and promotes only their handpicked insiders,” Karthik posted on social media. “Many great candidates have stepped up, but let’s be honest: running against the cabal has felt nearly impossible.”
“It wasn’t just a win for Burt and Jared. It was a win for all of us,” wrote Karthik.
In another win for conservatives over the “cabal,” Frisco voters defeated a taxpayer-funded performing arts center promoted by Mayor Cheney that was on the May ballot.
McKinney
In the runoff for the open McKinney mayor’s seat, establishment-backed developer Bill Cox beat pastor and Republican former state representative Scott Sanford, winning 53 percent of the vote.
The previous mayor, George Fuller, was term-limited out of office after voters rejected a plan to extend the limits to three terms.
Fuller backed Cox, as did other city officials, the Texas Realtors PAC, and McKinneyTEAM PAC. Area Democrats also backed Cox over Sanford. Cox is a former member of McKinney City Council and the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission and a former chairman of the local Chamber of Commerce.
Sanford was endorsed by Gov. Greg Abbott and a long list of federal, state, and local Republican officials, as well as the Collin County and Texas GOP. Sanford was also recommended by the Dallas Morning News, which stated that “McKinney’s governance is out of sync with residents… Sanford is best suited to bring the leadership change we think residents are looking for.”
One polarizing issue in the race was the expansion of the city-owned airport, which Cox and Fuller advanced after voters twice rejected funding it with property tax dollars. The airport expansion has since become the target of a lawsuit.
While the airport and the rate of city development were issues raised in the campaign, allegations that Cox extorted money from a developer while on the City Council in 2008 were not. The claims were dismissed as part of a larger settlement agreement with the developers.
During a spirited victory speech Saturday night, Cox thanked Mayor Fuller and the assembled volunteers for his win, shouting “This is our town!”—presumably a reference to Sanford’s endorsements from Abbott and other non-McKinney residents.
“People said, ‘Be a real person.’ Sonofab****, I’m a real person now!” Cox added.
In the runoff for the open McKinney City Council At Large 1 seat, Ernest Lynch beat Jim Garrison 63-37 percent.
More voters participated in McKinney’s runoffs (21,712) than in the May General Election (19,350).
Results of other North Texas runoff races on Saturday’s ballot:
Anna City Council Place 2
Nathan Bryan won with 64 percent of the vote over Allison Inesta.
Dallas City Council
— For Place 8, Lorie Blair beat Erik Wilson 56-44 percent.
— For Place 11, Bill Roth defeated establishment-backed Jeff Kitner 54-46 percent. Councilwoman Cara Mendelsohn congratulated Roth, posting that the people of District 11 “took this seat back from the political class to have real representation at city hall.” More voters participated in the D11 runoff (7,610) than in the General Election (6,187).
Denton City Council District 3
Suzi Rumohr beat Margie Ellis 66-34 percent.
DeSoto City Council
— For Place 1, Ken Waters won with 61 percent of the vote over Everett Jackson. City officials had questioned whether Jackson should be disqualified for failing to submit all required documents. The Dallas County Republican Party accused the city of “election interference” motivated by partisan politics.
—For Place 3, Debrah North beat Wil E. Adams Jr. 52-48 percent.
Garland Mayor
Councilman Dylan Hedrick won the open mayoral seat with 52 percent of the vote over Deborah S. Morris, who had been the top vote-getter in the six-way May election. Mayor Scott LeMay was term-limited out of office.
Grand Prairie City Council District 4
Incumbent John Lopez defeated Marketta Nimo 55-45 percent.
Irving City Council Place 2 (At Large)
David Pfaff beat Sergio Porres 53-47 percent. North Texas Democrats campaigned for Pfaff.
A proposed Las Vegas Sands casino complex was a key issue in the race. Porres and two other candidates on the May ballot—District 1 Councilman John Bloch and Adam Muller—ran on an anti-casino platform. Bloch and Muller were elected in May. Gambling opponents had hoped to solidify the council’s anti-casino stance by electing Porres in the runoff.
Lewisville City Council Place 4
Lonnie E. Tipton beat Joshua Chanin for the open seat with 57 percent of the vote. The Denton County Republican Party endorsed Tipton.
Pilot Point City Council Place 6
Andrew Ambrosio beat Steven Birkelbach 72-28 percent.
Rowlett City Council Place 6
John Pershing Bowers III beat Pamela Bell 56-44 percent.
All results are unofficial until canvassed.
