Bhojani overcomes Tea Party candidate, takes Euless City Council seat in close vote

Salman Bhojani, whose opponent had a campaign heavily funded by Republican state Rep. Jonathan Stickland, won a seat on the Euless City Council after defeating Molly Maddux by a margin of 37 votes in Saturday's voting.

Bhojani garnered 2,119 votes, or 50.44 percent, while Maddux had 2,082 votes, or 49.56 percent, in the Place 6 race. Stickland had criticized Bhojani, a 38-year-old attorney, for being a Muslim and "lifelong Democrat."

In Place 5, incumbent Harry Zimmer won by a wide margin with 1,621 votes, for 74.05 percent, to Tim St. Clair’s 568 votes or 25.95 percent.

Maddux, a 63-year-old retired teacher, said in Facebook posts that she was not going to weigh in on Stickland’s comments about Bhojani.

The race grew heated at the beginning of the early voting period when Stickland posted messages on his Facebook page warning Euless residents to beware of Bhojani and his “dangerous agenda.”

Stickland told the Star-Telegram that he did not tell people not to vote for Bhojani because he is Muslim. Stickland said he disagrees with Bhojani on issues.

Bhojani said he wanted to focus on issues affecting Euless and that religion should not be part of the City Council race. Maddux accused him of spending campaign funds on restaurants like Krispy Creme Donuts.

Bhojani said he wants to work to make Euless an even better city.

This story was originally published May 5, 2018 at 8:07 PM with the headline "Bhojani overcomes Tea Party candidate, takes Euless City Council seat in close vote."