Newly appointed McKinney council member disqualified by technicality

Thornton’s name rose to the surface whenever residents of McKinney’s east side were tapped for who should serve District 1.

Drane spoke shortly after Thornton, owning the mistake and publicly apologizing for the error.

“I made a regrettable mistake,” Drane said. “This was not a mistake or error with any harm intent or misleading intent.”

Mayor George Fuller put the onus not only on Drane, but on all officials involved in Thornton’s appointment—including himself.

“We all need to, in the future, do better,” Fuller said. “But the reality is a line drawn around a significantly large district going down the middle of a street is tremendously easy to [misinterpret]. It's completely understandable.”

Following the public comments, the council members said they intend to appoint Angela Richardson-Woods, a member of the McKinney Community Development Corp. board, at a special City Council meeting to be held Dec. 21. Richardson-Woods was also a favored name among east McKinney residents and was the runner-up to Thornton during these discussions.

Miranda Jaimes contributed to this report