Sachse residents will have new faces on the dais after a new mayor and two new councilmembers won their races.

Voters went to the polls Saturday, May 7, to elect their representative body which will have an infusion of new blood.

Councilmember Place 6 Jeff Bickerstaff won his mayoral race with 784 votes, defeating his challenger Sachse Chamber of Commerce President Teddy Kinzer, who received 664 votes.

“I am very excited about the opportunity to keep Sachse moving forward,” Bickerstaff said. “I want to give a heartfelt thank you to everyone who came out to vote. Sachse is a wonderful community and has a bright future ahead of it.”

Parks and Recreation Board President Lindsay Buhler won the race for Sachse City Council Place 5 with 884 votes and defeated former Sachse Economic Development Corporation President Spencer Hauenstein, who received 475 votes.

“I am honored to get to serve the city of Sachse as Councilwoman for the next three years,” Buhler said. “Thank you to everyone who supported me and voted in this election. Sachse has a bright future and I am thrilled to represent our city.”

The final municipal race on the ballot was Sachse City Council Place 6.

Municipal Development District board member Matt Prestenberg defeated resident Adrian Rodriguez with Prestenberg receiving 788 votes compared to Rodriguez’s 529.

“Thank you to the citizens of Sachse for entrusting me with your vote,” Prestenberg said. “I look forward to serving this great city as one of the newest council members.”

Sachse’s mayor and council are both elected at-large which means residents can vote for any candidate regardless of where they live in the city.

Dallas County residents also voted in the Garland ISD board of trustees elections the same day. Place 1, Place 2 and Place 3 were on the ballot.

The race for Place 1 pitted incumbent Larry Glick against Bob Duckworth. Glick defeated Duckworth receiving 5,523 votes to Duckworth’s 3,724.

Place 2 and Place 3 incumbents Johnny Beach and Linda Griffin both won re-election after neither drew a challenger.

Texas voters also approved two amendments to the Texas Constitution, both of which concerned property taxes.

Proposition 1 was approved with 1,118,313 voting in favor and 168,398 voting against the measure.

The proposition would lower the tax rates for homeowners who are elderly or disabled to reflect tax rate decreases enacted by the Legislature in 2019. 

Proposition 2 was approved with 1,102,907 votes in favor and 197,254 against. The measure increased the exemption of a home’s value for school tax purposes, which was previously $25,000, to $40,000.

State legislators outlined a plan to reimburse school districts across the state a total of $4.4 billion for any lost revenues as a result of the tax changes but the plan only runs through 2026. It is unclear if lawmakers have a plan to cover any lost funding after 2026.

All election results are unofficial until canvassed by the city and state.

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