3 days ago
Simmons leads Perez in Mansfield Place 5 early voting results
Todd Simmons declared victory in the Mansfield City Council Place 5 race over opponent Melisa Perez on Saturday night after the final unofficial polling data came in.
Simmons led with 62.64% of the Tarrant County unofficial results over Perez's 37.36% in the race.
Johnson County unofficial polling data shows Simmons with 333 votes over Perez's 58. In Ellis County, unofficial election results show Simmons as having 75.86% of the 29 votes cast.
The Saturday runoff election was the result of no one candidate receiving more than 50% of the votes on May 3. There were four candidates on the ballot in May: Eric Rozak, Lance Hood, Simmons and Perez.
Perez had 39.79% of the Tarrant County vote in Place 5, followed by Simmons with 35.58%, Hood with 15.57% and Rozak with 9.06%. Tarrant County saw 8,289 of the total 9,495 voters for the Place 5 race.
In Ellis County, Simmons has 42.62% of the vote, Perez has 29.51%, Hood has 16.39% and Rozak has 11.48%. In Johnson County, Simmons leads with 45.43%, followed by Hood with 25.12%, Perez with 21.70% and Rozak with 7.76%.
The candidate who wins will take over the position for Julie Short, who won the seat in 2018. Short left the post before her term expired to run for Mansfield mayor against incumbent Michael Evans but lost.
Simmons, a financial adviser, ran to help guide Mansfield's path as the city grows. He said in a Star-Telegram survey that his top three policy priorities would be to fully evaluate any project proposed for fiscal and community impact; strive for diversifying the tax base and continue to lower the tax rate; and ensure public safety and municipal employees are earning a competitive salary.
He said that when he saw the early voting results, he was 'jumping up and down' with glee. He said he thinks he's 'got a real chance.'
'I tried not to react to a lot of the negative stuff that was being said and just focus on what my priorities were, what my plans were going to be if I did get elected,' Simmons said. 'And I really think it resonated with people in Mansfield. I think they're just tired of the ugly, mean, nasty campaigns and just wanted to see change.'
Simmons said that if elected, his first priority is to start working with the city council to bring in new businesses, diversify the tax base and make sure that any new developments are properly approved.
'What this current council is trying to do is work with property owners and new businesses to come to town to try to negotiate deals, or not negotiate deals, but put deals together to try to get some of these pre-approved developments off the books,' Simmons said. 'And so I definitely think we need to work on that, because the city cannot request a zoning change from a property owner. It's not legal. The property owner has to do that.'
Perez, an entrepreneur, ran for Place 5 promising to ensure responsible growth, strengthen public safety and support local businesses. Her website says her 'leadership is defined by her unwavering commitment to fairness and ethical integrity.' It also says she has a strong 'belief in consistency and accountability,' which shapes her decision making and community service.
