Thalman, Wolff best in a runoff full of surprises

Two Arlington City Council seats remain to be decided in the June 10 runoff election.

In the race for an open District 3 seat in southeast Arlington, Marvin Sutton and Roxanne Thalman qualified for the runoff with 44 and 35 percent of the vote May 6, respectively.

Thalman, 34, a development analyst, has more experience working with city leaders and has taken more of a leadership role in city organizations than Sutton, 54.

The winner replaces Councilman Robert Rivera.

In District 5, incumbent Lana Wolff led challenger Dakota Loupe, but was unable to avoid a runoff.

Wolff, 70, a 14-year council member, has long represented downtown Arlington and talks about “many projects” she is fired up about.

“I’m not just through yet,” she said.

Loupe, 22, has a made an otherwise uneventful race interesting. He has some creative solutions to make sure college students and small businesses get a voice, and brings younger eyes to Arlington’s renaissance.

He earned 34 percent of the vote, so some residents must like his ideas. He said he has “the time, the ambition and drive and fresh perspective.”

This likely is not Loupe’s year. Wolff led the first election with 46 percent of the vote. But he has established himself as someone to watch.

The Star-Telegram Editorial Board recommends Roxanne Thalman in District 3 and Lana Wolff in District 5 on the Arlington City Council.

This story was originally published May 17, 2017 at 8:06 PM with the headline "Thalman, Wolff best in a runoff full of surprises."