One Irving City Council race is headed to a runoff and two others were narrowly decided Saturday, unofficial election results show.
The three seats were on the ballot in the Dallas suburb, where low voter turnout belied a race animated by debates over a proposed “destination resort” from casino giant Las Vegas Sands Corp. — a plan that drew hundreds of opponents to City Hall earlier this year and shaped some of the candidates’ campaign stump speeches.
John Bloch, the one-term incumbent representing District 1, sought a second term in a rematch against Tony Grimes, a former Irving ISD school board trustee.
Unofficial final results showed Bloch prevailing over Grimes, 52% to 48%.
District 2 City Council member Brad LaMorgese did not run for reelection. This district is at-large, meaning all residents within the city limits could vote in the race.
Four names were on the ballot for District 2, though one of the candidates, Mark Zeske, announced he was no longer seeking the position. His decision came after the withdrawal deadline.
Unofficial final results showed David Pfaff ahead with 47% of the vote, while Sergio Porres, the next highest vote getter, was close behind with 45%.
Since no candidate received more than half of the votes cast, Pfaff and Porres will head to a runoff as the two highest vote-getters. The official order for a runoff will likely appear in coming days once the results are finalized, and that runoff election will be held June 7.
District 7 City Council member Kyle Taylor has served three , which is the term limit in the city’s charter. Two candidates — Adam Muller and Priscilla Vigliante — ran for the seat.
Muller closely prevailed over Vigliante, unofficial final results showed. He garnered 51% of the vote to her 49%.
The races were further shaped by spending from an organization described by some as a “dark money” group — a term critics use to describe a type of group that can engage in campaign activity that is not required to disclose its funding sources.
The group, Lone Star Conservative Action Fund, erected signs and sent messaging for candidates with opponents backed by Families for Irving, a political action committee that ed four of the nine current City Council .
As of the last campaign finance filings before the election, Lone Star Conservative Action Fund had spent more than $93,000 ing three candidates. Families for Irving, on the other hand, reported spending about $1,600 during the same period and had more than $15,500 in cash on hand.
During voting Saturday, Clayton Draughon, 28, and his wife, Annie Draughon, stood in the shade outside Irving City Hall. They had already cast their ballots but chose to stay and hand out bilingual flyers backing candidates opposed to a casino proposal that has animated the election.
Debate over the “destination resort” near the old Texas Stadium site has shaped discussions on the campaign trail. After critics flooded City Hall to oppose a proposed zoning ordinance for the project, Sands Corp. requested the City Council strip the gambling portion of its proposal. The amended ordinance then ed in two separate 6-3 votes.
Critics of the proposal, including the Draughons, worry changes to the composition of the City Council could give Sands Corp. a second shot at ing its original proposal — something they say would undercut the city’s family-friendly character. In March, Clayton Draughon created a petition opposing the proposal that got more than 6,000 signatures.
“We’ll accept whatever happens, but we certainly hope it goes one way,” said Annie Draughon, 34.
Jay Tripp, 60, also considered the candidates’ stances on the Sands Corp. proposal. But he said he was more motivated to vote against those endorsed by Families for Irving, the political action committee that, according to its website, seeks to make the city “the best place in America to raise a family.”
The PAC has focused its platform on restricting access to what it deems explicit content in libraries and the arts, expanding single-family housing and promoting school choice.
Tripp said he agreed with some of the PAC’s goals but objects to the way its have pursued them, particularly efforts by Bloch to change library policies.
“I don’t need an organization to tell me what‘s important,” he said.
A PAC spokesperson previously told The Dallas Morning News the group has no official position on the Sands proposal, though some of its endorsed candidates do.
