Both incumbents Tom Crews and Justin Hicks told Community Impact Nov. 6 they were thankful to voters for reelecting them to positions on League City City Council.
"Thank you to the citizens for voting me back in," Hicks said. "It's a testament to the work that I do for them and ... I had great volunteers," Hicks said.
Both Crews and Hicks said separately they felt voters looked past negative attack ads targeting them.
"It was very close, but in the end voters saw through the negativity" Crews said.
As of 11:45 p.m. on Nov. 5, which is the last time Galveston County updated its vote totals, both candidates had leads in their races. Hicks was up by more than 3,000 votes, while Crews was up by just under 400 votes, according to unofficial results from the county.
Update 7:30 a.m. Nov. 6
Results for the two competitive races for League City City Council remain much the same as Nov. 5, with both incumbents maintaining leads, according to unofficial results.
However, a few votes have been counted since. Here are the current results:
Incumbent Tom Crews maintains his lead with 23,253 votes to Scott Higginbotham's 22,859 votes and incumbent Justin Hicks has won his race with 23,919 votes to 20,386 votes, unofficial results show.
While results are nearly final, they will not be official until canvassed in the weeks after the election.
In a social media post on Nov. 5, Hicks thanked League City for reelecting him.
"I will continue to listen to and respond to each and every one of you over the next four years. Together we will make League City even greater," he said.
Updated 11:30 p.m. Nov. 5
Both incumbents running for League City City Council are headed to a likely victory in two closely contested races, according to unofficial results from Galveston County.
Incumbents Justin Hicks and Tom Crews both continue to hold narrow leads after all 49 polling centers in the county have reported results, according to unofficial results.
Crews has a lead over Scott Higginbotham with a vote total of 23,209 to 22,833, unofficial results show. Hicks has a lead with a vote total 23,883 to Joe Italiano's 20,354 votes.
Updated 10:30 p.m. Nov. 5
As of 10:30 p.m., unofficial voting results show Tom Crews and Justin Hicks hold their leads in the races for League City City Council’s positions 3 and 5, respectively.
With 32 of 49 Election Day polling centers reported, unofficial voting results show Crews with 21,979 votes to Scott Higginbotham's 21,569 votes for Position 3, and Hicks with 22,542 votes compared to Joe Italiano’s 19,304 votes in Position 5, according to Galveston County.
Posted 8:30 p.m. Nov. 5
With polls starting to close across Texas at 7 p.m., results for both of League City City Council’s competitive races are rolling in.
As of 8 p.m., early voting results show Tom Crews and Justin Hicks have leads in the races for League City City Council’s positions 3 and 5, respectively.
What readers need to know
Early votes show Crews with 19,175 votes to Scott Higginbotham's 19,119 votes for Position 3, and Hicks with 19,859 votes compared to Joe Italiano’s 16,998 votes in Position 5, according to Galveston County.
For Position 3, Crews is the incumbent candidate. He has served on City Council for two years and serves on the League City's finance and charter review committees. In a Q&A with Community Impact in September, Crews said he was running to keep taxes low, enhance traffic flow and increase government transparency.
Higginbotham, challenging Crews, is a business owner and serves on the city's Planning & Zoning Commission and on the Ethics Review board. Higginbotham in his Q&A said he wanted to keep taxes low and support first responders while managing future growth and planning for League City.
Meanwhile, Hicks is the incumbent candidate for Position 5 and serves as mayor pro-tem. In a Q&A with Community Impact in September, Hicks said he will protect public safety, build unfunded infrastructure projects and keep property taxes low.
Italiano, challenging Hicks, is a financial consultant, licensed certified public accountant in Texas, certified financial planner and serves on the League City Finance Committee. Italiano in his Q&A said he wanted to maintain “fiscal discipline” and improve infrastructure and traffic concerns.
Click here to see each candidate’s Q&A for Position 3, and here to read the Q&A for Position 5.
What else?
Position 4 is also on the ballot for League City, but incumbent Courtney Chadwell ran unopposed, according to League City filings.
Looking ahead
Community Impact will update this article as more Election Day totals are released. All results are unofficial until canvassed.
Visit communityimpact.com/voter-guide/election-results to see results from all local elections in your community.
