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TROPHY CLUB — Trophy Club’s political season had it all: heated debates, nasty e-mail exchanges, letters from attorneys — even lawsuits.
But by 7 p.m. Saturday, a new mayor and council member had been elected, and the town’s long-standing debate on municipal utility districts appeared to be over — at least for this election.Connie White, 62, ousted incumbent Nick Sanders in the mayor’s race, becoming the first woman elected mayor of Trophy Club. She received 50.3 percent of the vote while Sanders received 49.7 percent in unofficial returns."I’m so excited," said White, a retired project management consultant. "I felt strongly that we had to run a really clean campaign and it worked. The citizens wanted to change. As I promised, I am going to bring back some peace."For the two open council seats, newcomer Bill Rose earned a spot, receiving 32.4 percent of the votes, followed by incumbent Kathleen Wilson, who received 27.7 percent. Jim Moss had 22.1 percent and Joseph Boclair had 17.7 percent.Trophy Club residents also weighed in on who should provide water, sewer and fire services — an issue that has divided the town, prompted a lawsuit and landed both sides in court.They voted against Proposition 2, which would have allowed the town to abolish Municipal Utility District No. 2, 51.7 percent to 48.3 percent. In separate questions, residents voted for MUD 1 and MUD 2 to consolidate.Officials said the results mean that the town’s four governmental bodies — the Town Council, the Master MUD, MUD 1 and MUD 2 — will now be reduced to two governmental bodies. There will be one MUD board and the Town Council."I am very happy with the consolidation," said White, who was chairwoman of the Master MUD. "I always felt that was the best thing for the residents," she said. "This means we will only have one MUD board." Residents also voted on more than 20 other proposed charter amendments. They voted to extend council term limits from two years to three; to impose a term limit that prohibits the mayor and council members from serving more than six successive years; and to allow council members to be recalled and removed for incompetency, misconduct, malfeasance in office or intentional violation of charter previsions.They also voted for Proposition 19, which allows less flexibility in the town’s budget process and sets specific guidelines for the mayor, council and town manager; and for Proposition 21, which requires the council to adopt a code of ethics, establish an independent ethics commission and provide funds for them to operate.Residents voted against increasing the council from five members to six. They also voted against paying the mayor $125 per council meeting and council members $100 per meeting."The voters were really involved," said Rose, 61, a retired lieutenant colonel in the Air Force and American Airlines pilot. "We had 1,635 voters, and that turnout is 30.5 percent. That is outstanding. . . . I look forward to getting my feet on the ground and moving forward."MELODY McDONALD, 817-390-7386
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