An overwhelming majority of Kyle voters tabbed current city council member Travis Mitchell as the city's next mayor in Tuesday's election.
Mitchell claimed the mayor's seat with 59 percent of the vote. Mitchell held a 304 vote lead over Bill Sinor after early voting totals were released. Sinor finished second with 17 percent of the vote, with Jaime Sanchez taking 12 percent. Nicole Romero-Piche finished with 11 percent of the vote.
Mitchell said he "didn't expect" to claim the mayor's seat by as wide a margin as he held. Mitchell held a 300-plus vote lead over his next closest opponent after early voting numbers were released. He added that he had campaigned as if he was behind in the polls and worked to engage with as many voters as he could.
"I wanted to have a lot of confidence and to really put in the work necessary to secure the win. I felt like I did that," Mitchell said. "I knew whatever the results showed, I could sleep well, because I worked hard."
In the race for the District 4 seat, Alex Villalobos, a Texas State University police officer, claimed victory by taking 56 percent of the vote Tuesday. Candidate Tim McHutchion finished with 43 percent of the vote.
However, only 11 votes separated the two candidates after early voting totals were released. Villalobos said he waited in anticipation for the general election votes to come in and felt "sense of relief" upon realizing he had a wider lead.
Villalobos said he was honored by voters' support and he hopes to represent them "in a very honorable way."
"At the end of the day and election, the people and community have enacted their voice," Villalobos said. "They see in me a person who can represent them appropriately."
Voters also tabbed current Planning and Zoning commissioner Dex Ellison to be the person who will fulfill Mitchell's unexpired term for the District 1 seat. Ellison claimed the win by taking 53 percent of the vote, according to unofficial, final results. Ellison held off a substantial Election Day rally from candidate Marco Pizana, who took 46 percent of the vote.
Ellison said he was exhausted from "all the hard work" he put in during the campaign, which involved block walking anywhere from four to six days per week. He also thanked many of the mentors that helped guide him during his run.
"I'm just ready to do some work," Ellison said. "I'm tired about talking about myself, I'm tired about talking about what I want to do. I want to take my experience from Planning and Zoning...to city council to continue to help."
According to Hays County election results, roughly 8,000 people participated in the Nov. 7 election. All results will be canvassed by the Kyle and Buda City Councils at a later date.
Kyle Election Results
Mayor
- Travis Mitchell 963 59.37%
- Bill Sinor 284 17.51%
- Jaime Sanchez 196 12.08%
- N. Romero-Piche 179 11.04%
Kyle City Council, District 1
- Dex Ellison 818 53.68%
- Marco Pizano 704 46.32%
Kyle City Council, District 4
- Alex Villalobos 215 62.5%
- Tim McHutchion 129 37.5%
