By Andy Sevilla

With just a few days left in the race for Kyle’s next mayor, Todd Webster holds a financial lead over Brad Pickett, taking in more than four times as many political contributions and expending three times as much in a run that’s hitting overtime.

Eight days out of the runoff election, Webster collected $1,500, compared to Pickett’s $349.

Webster’s largest contributors this go-round were the LAN-PAC (Lockwood, Andrews and Newnam, a planning and engineering firm) and John Pitts of Houston, each donating $500. 

Thomas Turk contributed $250 to Webster’s campaign, while David Mahn and Ellen Claire Williams donated $150 and $100, respectively.

“I have a great group of people who are helping me and we have been working hard to reach out to as many voters as possible prior to the runoff election,” Webster said. “I am cautiously optimistic that our efforts will lead to a favorable outcome on Election Day.”

He acknowledged, however, that run-offs are different from regular elections.

“I’m grateful for the people that did come out [on May 10],” Webster said. “I wish I’d had 30 more. The bigger thing is a run-off election is completely different,” he said.

Historically, run-off elections bring out much lower numbers of voters.

During the same reporting period Pickett reported collecting $349 from at least seven different contributors. Those donations were reported non-itemized, meaning each contributor forked over $50 or less.

Pickett did not respond to a request for comment.

And while Pickett has spent $1,045.02, with almost half of that going toward door hangars, gas and in-district travel, Webster has expended close to $3,500 in his runoff bid for the city’s highest elected office. 

Pickett reportedly spent $551.58 in separate political expenditures of $100 or less. Those costs are not required to be identified, per state election rules. Pickett did, however, identify three expenditures in his campaign finance report: $358.30 for door hangars, $91.86 for gas at HEB, and $43.28 on ink cartridges at HEB. 

It was not known why more than $500 in expenditures of $100 or less were not itemized, while two expenditures of $100 or less were.

Webster accounted for every penny of the $3,489.58 he spent between May 3 and May 23 in his runoff run.  

Included in those expenditures was a $600 consulting expense to former mayor James Adkins, who was a candidate in the mayoral three-way race on May 10. He got 24 percent of the vote and now is working for Webster’s campaign.

Every day of early voting last week and on Tuesday, Adkins was on the corner of Center and Front Street, just across the street from City Hall, holding a Webster sign and convincing voters why they should vote for his candidate over Pickett. 

Why did Adkins throw his support behind Webster?

“He has experience on the council, he knows what the city needs and he kind of going that direction. He listens to the people,” he said. “We both kind of aligned on the same line. He respects the people, he loves the city and he’s working to see the city go forward.”

Adkins was the town’s mayor when Webster served on the city council.

“I served with Webster. You see the way this town look right now? We did all of this together,” he said, referring to many of the changes in the downtown historic district during the early and mid-2000s.

“There was a renaissance in the city, but to be fair, we had resources, because the town was in fast growth mode,” Webster said. “But it was a group effort.”

He recounted the public meetings and hundreds of volunteers from Kyle who helped set the city’s priorities.

He ticked off a list of upgrades and repairs to infrastructure, including sewer pipes and the public water system. He also mentioned building a new city hall, a new fire station, the public pool and more. 

Adkins added that, at the time, the police department had only four vehicles. He and the council worked together to get more vehicles.

Holding a Webster sign, Adkins was waving at passersby as they drove through the downtown area near city hall and the VFW, many honking their horns and waving back.

In a grass-roots election where every vote counts, Webster has also recruited Mark LeMense and Cicely Kay to consult for the campaign. He also has spent campaign dollars on advertising, printing, and on food and beverages for volunteers. 

In an emailed response over the weekend, Webster said he is fighting to represent Kyle. He said he has heard the concerns of residents.

“I will not let them down,” he said. “If they see fit to elect me as their mayor, I will honor their support with independence, integrity and hard work on their behalf.” 

Webster said while there are challenges to overcome in Kyle, like city infrastructure, he has a positive view of the city.

“I know that our community has a great deal to offer,” Webster said. “My campaign is focused on what we can accomplish if we properly position the city to compete for major economic development projects that are moving to Texas.”