Voters in the Big Bend and Permian Basin weighed in on local city council races on Saturday, including a race in Midland to fill the seat of a city council member who died suddenly in January after accidentally shooting himself.
Here are the results of notable races across the region.
Midland City Council
Midland voters elected Eric Davidson on Saturday to fill an empty seat on the Midland city council. The special election was called earlier this year after the death of councilmember Dan Corrales.
Davidson won the election, beating out four other candidates for the at-large city council position. Davidson is a hydrogeologist who manages a chemical company specializing in the oil and gas industry. Corrales’ term was set to expire at the end of the year, so Davidson will only serve on the council for the remainder of 2024. Voters will head to the polls again in November to decide who will fill the at-large council seat beginning in 2025.
| James “Bull” Henry | 292 |
| Eric Davidson | 1,791 |
| John Burkholder | 1,555 |
| Cheston Blank | 65 |
| Ben Roberts | 499 |
Marfa City Council
Voters in Marfa reelected three city council members to their seats on Saturday, as newcomer candidate Tony Georges — spouse of current Councilmember Travis Acreman — failed to win enough votes to oust any of the incumbents.
Councilmembers Eddie Pallarez, Mark Morrison and Mark Cash easily held onto their seats, with each candidate receiving more than 100 votes to Georges’ 22 votes.
Three city council seats were open in the election. In Marfa, city council members all serve in an “at large” capacity as opposed to serving specific precincts, so the top three vote getters in Saturday’s election won those seats.
Acreman, fellow councilmember Raul Lara and Mayor Manny Baeza are not up for reelection until next year.
| Tony Georges | 22 |
| Eddie Pallarez | 140 |
| Mark Morrison | 111 |
| Mark Cash | 124 |
Alpine City Council
Voters in Alpine elected two new city council members on Saturday.
Reagan Stone won the race for the Ward 1 council seat over Jennifer Peel in a special election to replace incumbent Judy Stokes, who announced her resignation in January.
Lucy Escovedo won the election for the Ward 4 seat over Lori Griffin by just one vote — 33 to 32.
In Texas, candidates for public office have the right to petition for an election recount, though it was not immediately clear on Saturday if Griffin would do so.
Ward 1
| Jennifer Peel | 35 |
| Reagan Stone | 42 |
Ward 4
| Lori A. Griffin | 32 |
| Lucy E. Escovedo | 33 |
