Mansfield elects its first-ever African American mayor
MANSFIELD, Texas - Michael Evans won the runoff election for mayor of Mansfield, making him the first African American mayor in the city's history.
Dr. Evans, who is a pastor at Bethlehem Baptist Church and a former Mansfield ISD School Board member, received 53.11% of the vote Wednesday.
He said he felt quite a bit of relief with the results after he had been campaigning for more than a year.
Evans added that he was excited for the future of the city of Mansfield, and looks forward to representing the wide array of people who live in the city.
“One of the good things about Mansfield is we get to celebrate our diversity,” he said. “I’m excited we get to do that here in this town.”
Evans said he will focus on attracting a diverse group of economic development, with different types of companies, retail businesses, and restaurants.
He added that he’ll work to keep Mansfield one of the safest cities in the country, by having a good quality of individuals in law enforcement and first responders.
The special election for mayor came after the resignation of David Cook, who ran for the Texas House District 96, which was vacated by Bill Zedler. Cook was elected to the seat and will take office in January.
Evans faced off against Brent Newsom after they were the top two vote getters back in the November general election. The race was forced to a runoff after neither received more than 50% of the vote.