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Rodney Anderson wins Grand Prairie City Council special election

Gabriel C. P茅rez
/
KUT
Grand Prairie voters across three counties cast their ballots in the March 14 special runoff election. They chose between Rodney Anderson and Ana Coca for an at-large city council seat.

Former Texas House representative and former Dallas County Republican Party chair Rodney Anderson won the special runoff election for Grand Prairie City Council Place 8 on Saturday.

He defeated educator and community advocate Ana Coca by 84 votes, . Turnout was low, as is typical for local special elections, with only 3,934 ballots cast.

Grand Prairie鈥檚 electorate stretches across Dallas, Tarrant and Ellis counties.

Ana Coca and Rodney Anderson faced each other in a runoff election for Grand Prairie City Council Place 8 on March 14.
Courtesy / Ana Coca and Rodney Anderson
Ana Coca and Rodney Anderson faced each other in a runoff election for Grand Prairie City Council Place 8 on March 14.

Sunday, 鈥淚 will have much more to say at a later time. It鈥檚 been a long day and I鈥檓 seriously thankful people cared enough to go vote.鈥

鈥淔or perspective, Grand Prairie as a city is larger than the house district I represented in both population and land mass,鈥 Anderson continued. 鈥淚t is a big, big city and this is an at large seat. Thank you to everyone who voted for me, and I will work hard to earn the votes of those who didn鈥檛.鈥

In a social media post, , 鈥淚n just three short months, this community came together in an incredible way. Neighbors volunteered their time, friends donated what they could, and so many people showed up because they believed in Ana and the vision she had for Grand Prairie.鈥

鈥淐oming within 84 votes of victory is AMAZING and a powerful reminder of what is possible when the community speaks up,鈥 the post read.

Anderson steps into the seat amid significant changes to the makeup of the city council.

He takes over Place 8, an at-large seat, from Grand Prairie Mayor Pro Tem Junior Ezeonu. Ezeonu recently won the Democratic primary for Texas House District 101 and is in the general election.

Another Grand Prairie City Council member, Mike Del Bosque, died Friday at 53. His District 3 seat will remain vacant until the May 2 municipal election, city officials confirmed.

Got a tip? Email Andy Lusk at alusk@kera.org.

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Andy Lusk is 四虎影院's mid-cities communities reporter. He is a returning Report for America corps member, having spent two years with KUCB, the NPR member station serving Alaska鈥檚 Aleutian and Pribilof Islands. While in Alaska, Andy was an award-winning general assignment reporter with a focus on local and tribal government. When he's not reporting, he's usually out hiking. Andy is an alumnus of New York University.