Plano city council member Shelby Williams has formally resigned to run for county commissioners鈥� court.
The city council accepted Williams鈥� resignation at a special called meeting on Friday. The council also called for a special election to fill his seat on May 3.
Plano Mayor John Muns congratulated Williams on his next steps.
鈥淲e wish you the best,鈥� Muns said. 鈥淚 know you will do a great job at the county.鈥�
Williams will stay on the city council until the voters elect a new member in May.
The council also appointed council member Anthony Ricciardelli as the interim board member to the Dallas Area Rapid Transit Authority board of directors. Ricciardelli has two months left on city council. He is term limited and can鈥檛 run for his seat again.
Paul Wageman, who resigned, has represented Plano on the board since 2012. Wageman has faced controversy over his lobbying work for Uber. He has suggested reducing bus and light rail services in Plano in favor of GoLink. DART uses Uber when GoLink services aren't available.
Williams was first elected to Plano city council in 2019. Council seats are term limited, so this would鈥檝e been his last. He still had two years left in his term. But Williams said he timed his resignation to coincide with an existing election to save taxpayers money. Plano has several other city council races and a bond election on May 3.
鈥淚'm trying to exercise the fiscal responsibility that I always have, as much as it truly pains me stepping down early to spare that expense,鈥� he said.
Williams announced he was considering a run for county commissioners鈥� court precinct 4 seat to replace Commissioner Duncan Webb, who isn鈥檛 running again.
Williams is also the Collin County GOP Party Chair. He was elected chair last year during the Collin County GOP primary runoff. Williams said he won鈥檛 have to resign as chair until he officially files for candidacy, possibly sometime in October. Collin County GOP precinct chairs would elect the new chair, which wouldn鈥檛 cost taxpayers any money.
The GOP primary for the commissioners鈥� court seat is expected to occur sometime next year, with the term starting in 2027. Williams said his experience as a city council member would be as asset if he鈥檚 elected county commissioner.
鈥淥ne of the things that Duncan Webb has been noted for is transportation, and that's also been one of my focal points on Plano City Council,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t's a natural transition.鈥�
Williams also said he would focus on managing the county鈥檚 growing pains, something he has dealt with as a Plano council member. Collin County is one of the in the nation according to the census. The is about 1.2 million as of July 2023, compared to 782,341 residents in 2010.
Early voting for the May 3 election is scheduled for April 22 through April 29. Candidates who are interested in running for Williams鈥� seat, Place 5, have until March 24 to file to run for office.
Got a tip? Email Caroline Love at clove@kera.org.
Caroline Love is a corps member for 四虎影院.
四虎影院 is made possible through the generosity of our members. If you find this reporting valuable, consider today. Thank you.
