Tommy Cones has previous City Council experience, serving two separate stints on League City City Council totaling about nine years starting in 1999, he said.
Cones retired from the League City Volunteer Fire Department in the spring after 20 years. He left as its assistant chief.
Priorities for Cones will be to maintain the lowest possible property tax rate while providing support for the city’s police and fire departments and infrastructure improvements.
"I wanna make sure that we have enough money to provide a great service ... but all still trying to maintain a low tax rate," he said.
Cones is not planning any major changes or moves; now that he is retired, he has more time to dedicate to City Council, he said.
"I ran because I love the city, of course," he said.
Tom Crews did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Update 7:05 a.m. Nov. 9
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With all Galveston County and nearly all Harris County voting centers reporting, two League City City Council race winners have been determined.
Tommy Cones has won Position 2 with 71.55% of votes, or 21,609 votes, compared to challenger Billy Fregia's 28.45%, or 8,592 votes. Tom Crews has won Position 3 with 57.38% of votes, or 16,889 votes, compared to Chris Dodson's 29.71%, or 8,743 votes, and Brian Hanby's 12.91%, or 3,800 votes.
Meanwhile, the Position 7 race will head to a runoff election, as none of the three candidates secured at least 50% of the votes. Larissa Ramirez won 39.3% of votes, or 11,583 votes, and Sean Saunders won 38.92% of votes, or 11,471. Third candidate Ange Mertens, who will not be in the runoff election, won 21.79% of votes, or 6,422.
Results are unofficial until canvassed.
Update 11:10 p.m. Nov. 8
With 48 of 53 Galveston County voting locations reporting, at least two League City City Council candidates have strong enough leads to call the election.
Tommy Cones for Position 2 has 19,250 votes, or 71.6%, compared to 7,646, or 28.4%, for Billy Fregia.
Cones, a former City Council member, retired from the League City Volunteer Fire Department in the spring after 20 years. He left as its assistant chief.
According to previous Community Impact reporting, Cones’ priorities will be to maintain the lowest possible property tax rate while providing support for the city’s police and fire departments and infrastructure improvements.
For Position 3, Tom Crews has 14,948 votes, or 57.2%. His challengers, Chris Dodson and Brian Hanby, have 7,804 votes, or 29.8%, and 3,406, or 13%, respectively.
Crews, who has served on a few League City committees, said he would prioritize gathering information to better understand his role as a council member. He wants to listen to residents to understand their concerns, he said.
Cones and Crews did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The race for Position 7 is too close to call. Larissa Ramirez has 10,226 votes, or 39%, and Sean Saunders has 10,172 votes, or 38.8%. The third candidate, Ange Mertens, has 5,814 votes, or 22.2%.
The incumbents for all three positions did not run for re-election.
For Position 2, Hank Dugie is leaving City Council to be Galveston County treasurer. Larry Millican in Position 3 is also leaving his council term unfinished. For Position 7, Nick Long ran unopposed for mayor.
Original story
Tommy Cones, Tom Crews and Sean Saunders have taken the leads in their respective races for League City City Council positions.
With early votes from Harris and Galveston counties in, Cones has 15,794 votes, or 71.8%% of the total. His challenger for Position 2 on City Council, Bill Fregia, has 6,209 votes, or 28.2%.
For Position 3, Crews has 12,150 votes, or 56.9% of the total. Challengers Chris Dodson and Brian Hanby have 6,394 votes, or 29.9%, and 2,826 votes, or 13.2%, respectively.
Finally, for Position 7, Saunders has 83,20 votes, or 38.9% of the total. Challengers Larissa Ramirez and Ange Mertens have 8,155 votes, or 38.2%, and 4,953 votes, or 22.9%, respectively.
Results are unofficial until canvassed. Visit communityimpact.com/voter-guide to see results from all local elections in your community.
