In many parts of southern Denton County, voters reaffirmed local officials by re-electing the incumbents on Election Day, but in some areas, voters wanted to make a change.
The following information is according to unofficial election results from the Denton County Elections Office in local contested races in which all precincts are reporting.
In Argyle, the incumbents came out ahead. Town Council members Ronald Schmidt and Cynthia Hermann defeated their challengers — Shane Campbell and Chet Schrader, respectively — with about 58% of the vote each.
“I feel elated, but also humbled and honored that I get to serve my community another two years,” Schmidt said. “Folks are telling us they like the track we’re on, they realize there’s a lot more work to be done and they have confidence in us to see it through.”
Schmidt called the campaign “one of the hardest things I’ve ever done,” and he hopes to help foster the “healing process for the community to come back together.”
In Argyle ISD, Incumbent Jeff Williams also won re-election with about 58% of the vote.
In Bartonville, Incumbent Jeff Traylor easily won re-election for Town Council Place 1 with 68% of the vote. In a special election to fill the unexpired seat in Place 4, Bridget Melson defeated Harry Otto with about 69% of the vote.
In Copper Canyon, longtime Mayor Sue Tejml was defeated by former Bartonville mayor Ron Robertson, who received 58% of the vote. Robertson said he was not looking to run for mayor until he was approached by several residents in January, asking him to run to take the town in a new direction. He said he’s grateful for all the help he received from his supporters.
“I’m just looking to put Copper Canyon to where the people can trust the council, mayor and town hall in general,” Robertson said. “Things have not been run properly at the highest level … Copper Canyon today is where Bartonville was in 2002, and I want to bring it to the next level.”
Robertson said he disagreed with Tejml about residential development.
“The mayor’s last action was to push for high-density housing, and I’m not looking for that at all,” Robertson said. “I favor rural, 1-acre minimum housing.”
The race for Place 2 on Town Council is too close to call, because with all precincts reporting, the difference is just three votes. Incumbent Jeff Mangum got 242 votes, and Ted Stranczek received 245.
In Place 4, Robin Davis won with 62%.
Voter turnout in Copper Canyon was 40.03%.
In Denton, City Council incumbents Gerard Hudspeth and John Ryan won re-election with about 55 percent of the vote each. Outgoing Place 3 Council member Don Duff will be replaced by Jesse Davis, who trounced his two opponents with 66% of the vote.
In Flower Mound, two new faces will join Town Council, as Place 1 Councilman Jason Webb chose to not seek re-election and Place 3 Councilman Kevin Bryant was term-limited. James Pierson won the three-candidate race for Place 1 and Benjamin Bumgarner took Place 3, each receiving about 54 percent of the vote.
“We beat the machine y’all!” Bumgarner, 38, said in his victory speech. “You all have spoken and the message is clear, we will follow the Master Plan, we will hold developers accountable and we will listen to the residents of Flower Mound. And lastly, no more apartments on my watch.”
“I want to be able to change the direction that we’re going in a way that brings us all together for the best that we could possibly be for Flower Mound,” Pierson said.
Flower Mound voters also narrowly approved one charter amendment, compensation for mayor and council members. The mayor will receive a $300 monthly stipend, and each Council member will receive $200 monthly stipends. Voters rejected three other charter amendments: publication of ordinances, certification and copies of budget, and budget appropriations.
Voter turnout in Flower Mound was 6.5%.
In Lewisville, Kristin Green trounced Jon Dahlvig with 79% of the vote for Place 5 on City Council.
In Lewisville ISD, Katherine Sells successfully defended her seat from challenger Jacob Collier, winning re-election with about 63% of the vote.
In Northwest ISD, DeAnne Hatfield won the four-way race for the unexpired seat in Place 1, receving 48 percent of the vote.
About 22,600 ballots were cast in Denton County, about 5.36% of registered voters.
For full elections results, visit:
Denton County: https://results.enr.clarityelections.com/…/9…/Web02.226438/…
Tarrant County: http://access.tarrantcounty.com/en/elections.html
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