Ishmael Harris wins Bastrop mayoral seat with 62.87% of unofficial vote

[RandySF]

Ishmael Harris will be Bastrop’s next mayor after winning 62.87% of the vote in the June 7 special runoff election. Candidate Willie DeLaRosa received 37.13% of ballots cast.

Some context

The race to become Bastrop’s next mayor began following former Bastrop Mayor Lyle Nelson’s resignation in January.

Three candidates qualified to participate in the elections May 3, including DeLaRosa, who received 34% of the votes, Ward Northcutt with 17%, and Harris with 49%.

The race was set for a runoff between DeLaRosa and Harris, as none of the candidates received at least 50% of the vote on May 3.





https://communityimpact.com/austin/bastrop-cedar-creek/election/2025/06/07/ishmael-harris-wins-bastrop-mayoral-seat-with-6287-of-unofficial-vote/

[70sEraVet]

1. I came across a curiously Nixonian phrase in an article about this election.....

Willie DeLaRosa, in a statement to the Austin American-Statesman newspaper naming off his qualifications for the office of Mayor, said this:
"It doesn’t matter skin color, it doesn’t matter what your last name is."
https://www.statesman.com/story/news/politics/elections/local/2025/04/21/3-candidates-vying-to-be-bastrops-next-mayor-on-may-3/83199721007/
Mr. DeLaRosa was running against a black man whose last name is 'Harris'.
Mr. DeLaRosa lost that election.

Maybe I'm being unfair, and reading too much into that one phrase, and if so, my apologies to Mr. DeLaRosa. But it just reminded me of something I had heard: that Nixon, in his Presidential race against JFK, said a candidate's religion shouldn't matter -- in fact, he made sure to say it in EVERY campaign speech.