Frisco residents went to the polls Saturday to vote in a historic city election where an open seat for mayor was on the ballot for the first time in nine years. The city’s population, which now sits at about 245,000, has grown by around 40% since the last time residents had such an opportunity in 2017.
The election will influence the course of development in Frisco, where about 13% of land is left to be zoned. The election was also dominated by discussions about racial diversity in the city. Frisco’s population is about 30% Asian, and the city made national headlines a few months ago when activists spoke about alleged H-1B visa fraud and an “Indian takeover” at City Council meetings.
Four candidates are running to succeed incumbent Mayor Jeff Cheney, who is term-limited, including former City Council members John Keating and Shona Sowell, retired construction business owner Rod Vilhauer and former Frisco ISD board trustee Mark Hill.
Residents also had the opportunity to vote for representatives for Places 5 and 6 on the City Council. Laura Rummel, incumbent council member for Place 5, is being challenged by IT professional Sreekanth Reddy and semi-retired technology executive Vijay Karthik.
Four candidates are running for Place 6, a seat left open by incumbent Brian Livingston, who is term-limited. The candidates include chair of the city’s planning and zoning commission, Brittany Colberg, nurse Sai Krishnarajanagar, chiropractor Matt Chalmers and retired urban planner Jerry Spencer.
Around 4 p.m., campaign volunteers were camped out at Collin College’s Frisco campus, holding up signs and shouting “Thank you for voting” as residents walked by.
Israr Nasir came to the polling center with his family and said he was motivated to vote because of “disinformation” spread about ethnic and religious minorities by Vilhauer. The mayoral candidate said on a podcast that South Asian immigrants were moving “in and out of Frisco like rats.”
“I’ve heard some disturbing stuff being said, and I was not happy,” Nasir, who is Muslim, said. “We want to … continue to live here. God knows we pay our share of property taxes.”
Subhash Somu, a student at the University of Texas at Arlington, said he came out to vote because he is concerned about the rate of Frisco’s growth.
“The city is developing too quick without building the proper infrastructure for that,” he said.
Somu, who is South Asian and has lived in Frisco since he was five years old, said he was concerned by the “H-1B crisis” in the city and believes the visa program is being abused. A Republican, he backed Vilhauer for mayor because he was endorsed by the Denton County Republican party.