Pro-Airport Expansion Candidate To Win McKinney Mayor’s Race
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The mayoral race in McKinney was decided in a runoff election on Saturday, with commercial real estate executive and current zoning commissioner Bill Cox coming out on top over local pastor and former state lawmaker Scott Sanford.
Unofficial results show 52.55% of McKinney voters supported Cox in the runoff, which actually saw more turnout than the May general election. Roughly 2,400 more people voted for mayor on Saturday than last month when there were four candidates on the ballot.
In certain respects, the race was a referendum on how city officials have been managing McKinney’s growth and development. Cox, who in addition to heading the zoning commission previously served on the McKinney City Council, received endorsements from outgoing Mayor George Fuller and several former and current council members.
Critics of Cox and Fuller claim the city has been pursuing boondoggles under the banner of potential economic impact. The planned expansion of McKinney National Airport for commercial service, which voters declined to fund in two bond elections, has loomed large over the race. Officials have been moving forward with the project, saying they would use sales tax revenue to advance it.
A study conducted by Sky Synergy and Intervistas Consulting outlined the potential economic benefits of expansion:
- More than 3,200 jobs (direct on-site and indirect)
- Wages projected to reach $265 million
- Overall economic impact of $850 million
- Some $115 million in tax revenue, of which McKinney is projected to get $5 million
“McKinney still has leadership that understands what they want, and we were fortunate to be on the side of what McKinney wants,” said Cox on Saturday, according to The Dallas Morning News.
Adding a commercial passenger terminal to the airport has been touted by officials as a potential driver of future tax revenue and economic growth for the city, which has seen its population swell from around 54,000 residents to over 224,000 in just the last 25 years. Such a demographic shift and its corresponding development (more multifamily housing and commercial builds) has some residents uneasy about McKinney’s future. They had their candidate in Sanford.
“Let’s not become a big city suburb with big city problems,” Sanford said on Saturday, DMN reported. “We want to maintain the unique charm of McKinney.”
While he had less support from current and former city officials than Cox, Sanford garnered endorsements from officials at the state and county levels, including Gov. Greg Abbott.
