Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings easily won re-election Saturday evening. He won with about 73 percent of the vote. His opponent, lawyer Marcos Ronquillo, had just 27 percent.
Here's a roundup of some of the more prominent North Texas races.
Longtime Arlington mayor loses
In Arlington, longtime mayor Robert Cluck lost. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports:
First-time candidate Jeff Williams ousted longtime Arlington Mayor Robert Cluck late Saturday in perhaps Tarrant County’s most hotly contested municipal race. Williams, a prominent business leader, won nearly 58 percent of the vote, with 27 of 28 precincts reporting. Cluck, who was seeking his seventh two-year term, had just over 39 percent of the vote, according to incomplete and unofficial results. The counting was far from complete, but the incumbent conceded the likelihood of defeat. “It’s been a great run,” an emotional Cluck said Saturday night at his election watch party, where supporters applauded him, embraced him and thanked him for 12 years of service. “I don’t regret anything.”
Arlington gives red light cameras the red light
Arlington voters also decided to get rid of red light cameras. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports:
Red-light cameras will soon be turned off in Arlington. While lawmakers are still debating whether to shut off the cameras statewide, Arlington residents headed to the polls in higher-than-expected numbers Saturday to weigh in on the issue. With 27 of 28 precincts reporting, 59 percent of voters supported banning the cameras. “Arlington has spoken,” said Kelly Canon, an Arlington Tea Party member and one of those who gathered more than 11,000 signatures on a petition to force city leaders to put the issue on the ballot. “This should be a loud enough and clear enough message.”
Rawlings easily wins re-election
Rawlings told The Dallas Morning News that voters were voting for “a vision for Dallas.” The News reports:
At a victory party at the NYLO Dallas South Side hotel, the mayor said the election results affirmed that Dallas voters support his vision for a road and a park along the Trinity. The new City Council must find a middle ground on the project, he said. “If we can grow a set of ears instead of yelling at each other, we can accomplish a lot,” he said. He said the results also showed the voters have confidence that he can “attack the tough, gnarly issues” like crime and poverty. A Dallas Morning News poll last month found that most voters believe the city is headed in the right direction and that they give Rawlings high marks.
San Antonio mayor's race headed to a runoff
Elsewhere in Texas, Former state Sen. Leticia Van de Putte is headed to a runoff for San Antonio mayor against interim Mayor Ivy Taylor.
With all precincts reporting, Van de Putte had 30 percent of the vote Saturday compared to 28 percent for Taylor, but both advance to another round of balloting. Left out of the runoff is former state Rep. Mike Villarreal, who finished third in the 14-candidate field with 26 percent. Former Bexar County Commissioner Tommy Adkisson was a distant fourth with 10 percent.
