Dillon Meek campaigns outside the Waco Multi-Purpose Community Center on Election Day. He won the race for the Waco mayoral seat.
Dillon Meek campaigns outside the Waco Multi-Purpose Community Center on Election Day. He won the race for the Waco mayoral seat.
Waco mayoral candidate Dillon Meek (left) and Waco ISD school board candidate Keith Guillory (right) campaign outside of the Waco Multi-Purpose Community Center. Guillory won 47.2% of the vote in his race for school board.
Kelly Palmer campaigns outside the Waco Multi-Purpose Community Center on Election Day.
The Waco City Council will see half its seats turn over this month after voters Tuesday chose former councilman Dillon Meek for mayor along with new members Kelly Palmer and Josh Borderud.
Meek, 35, won a decisive 69% of the vote against small-business owner and bicycle advocate David Morrow in the race to replace outgoing Mayor Kyle Deaver. Meek won 22,589 of the 32,763 votes cast in the election.
Palmer, 29, a social worker and Baylor University instructor, won the three-way contest for the District 4 seat, winning 46.9% of the vote to defeat council-appointed incumbent Darius Ewing and former councilman Rick Allen, who received 31.3% and 21.8% respectively. The city of Waco charter allows council members to be elected by a plurality of votes without a requiring a runoff.
Borderud
Borderud, 40, a Baylor Law School official, won the seat being vacated by John Kinnaird, winning 51.4% of the vote to narrowly defeat attorney Aubrey “Robbie” Robertson, who won 48.6%.
The new representatives will take office following the council’s Nov. 17 business session.
District 1 Councilwoman Andrea Barefield will also be sworn in for a second term after winning 71.5% of the vote to defeating nightclub owner Randy Gober.
Meek represented District 4 from May 2015 to July 2020, when he had to step down because he moved out of his North Waco district, leaving a vacancy the council filled with Ewing.
Meek has also served on boards for the Waco Downtown Farmers Market, Unbound Waco, the Metropolitan Planning Organization, City Center Waco, Greater Waco Chamber of Commerce, Waco Sports Commission, and Inspiracion.
“There’s a lot of important conversations,” Meek said. “My platform has been focused on growing our economy in a diversified way.”
Dillon Meek campaigns outside the Waco Multi-Purpose Community Center on Election Day. He won the mayoral race.
Meek said that time on council helped him build relationships that will serve him well when it comes to improving Waco’s infrastructure and taking over the fight against the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
“I look forward to sitting down with the council, city staff, stakeholders in the community, small business owners, and pastors,” Meek said. “Listening and seeking to understand the needs that all sectors of the community face... and making sure all Wacoans have the opportunity for success.”
Meek came to Waco in 2003 to attend Baylor University, where he met his eventual wife, Lindsey. After attending Baylor Law School he worked for Haley & Olson and Rydell Holdings before moving into his current position as general counsel for First Title. He was named Waco Today’s Person of the Year in 2016.
Kelly Palmer, a professor at Baylor University and social worker.
Meanwhile, Palmer said after she takes a post-campaign break, mounting a response to COVID-19 will be her first priority as a councilmember.
“Especially now that we’ve seen our case count continue to spike through spring and summer, and the way it’s disproportionately affected those who are low-income and people of color,” Palmer said.
She said she owes her victory to the deliberately inclusive campaign she ran. Volunteers helped older voters access mail-in ballots, reached out to young voters at Waco ISD to teach them about the voting process and distributed bilingual campaign materials in English and Spanish.
“There wasn’t just one single thing we did,” Palmer said. “We tried to reach across the board.”
Kelly Palmer campaigns outside the Waco Multi-Purpose Community Center on Election Day.
In District 3, Borderud was neck-and neck with his opponent Aubrey Robertson for the District 3 spot but won with 51% of the vote. Aubrey Robertson, a trial lawyer and former chief felony prosecutor, serves as a director for the Waco-McLennan County Bar Association.
“I think my emphasis on economic development, managing growth during the pandemic and my focus on infrastructure had resonance,” Borderud said. “I did not expect it to be as close as it was, but I am grateful. I did not expect the emotional roller-coaster from the returns tonight.”
He said his immediate plans include attending orientation for new council members, forging relationships with the councilmembers and strengthening existing friendships.
Borderud is the director of clinical programs at Baylor Law School where he supervises the attorney of the Veterans Clinic, the Trial Advocacy Clinic, and the Estate Planning Clinic.
He has also served on the Waco Plan Commission, Capital Improvements Advisory Committee, Zoning Board of Adjustment, and Animal Welfare Advisory Board, Waco Metropolitan Planning Organization Policy Board and as a trustee for the Heart of Texas Region MHMR Center. He is also treasurer of the Waco-McLennan County Bar Association.
While national races’ turnout was high turnout in Waco city races saw even more dramatic increases. The city elections, along with school board elections, are typically held in May but were delayed to November because of COVID-19. Some other jurisdictions in the state hold local nonpartisan races in November as standard.
In Tuesday’s Waco mayoral race, 32,763 voters cast a ballot, while 4,463 voted in the District 1 race, 7,866 voted in the District 3 race, and 4,164 voted in the District 4 race.
Just two Waco mayoral or Waco City Council races since 2010 have drawn more than 1,000 votes. The District 5 race won by Jim Holmes in 2017 saw 1,352 votes cast, or 7.7% of eligible voters in that district. The mayoral race in 2010 saw 5,126 votes cast. It shared a ballot with a state senate special election, and countywide turnout in that race hit 11,112 voters, or 8.8% of the total eligible voters.
Photo gallery
Charles “Doc” Anderson (left) shakes hands with Pete Sessions as election results come in Tuesday night. Anderson was reelected to a ninth term representing Texas House District 56, and Sessions won the Texas District 17 seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Pete Sessions speaks to reporters Tuesday after learning he would win the Congressional District 17 race.
Pete Sessions, Republican winner of the Congressional District 17 race, greets voters Tuesday.
Pete Sessions, Republican winner of the Congressional District 17 race, talks on the phone Tuesday as Democratic challenger Rick Kennedy concedes the race.
Kelly Palmer, winner of a Waco City Council seat, campaigns outside the Waco Multi-Purpose Community Center on Election Day.
Kelly Palmer campaigns outside the Waco Multi-Purpose Community Center on Election Day.
Waco mayoral candidate Dillon Meek (left) and Waco ISD school board candidate Keith Guillory (right) campaign outside of the Waco Multi-Purpose Community Center. Guillory won 47.2% of the vote in his race for school board.
Dillon Meek campaigns outside the Waco Multi-Purpose Community Center on Election Day. He won the race for the Waco mayoral seat.
Pete Sessions, Republican winner of the Congressional District 17 race, talks on the phone Tuesday as Democratic challenger Rick Kennedy concedes the race.
Pete Sessions waits for election returns at a watch party on Tuesday night.
Pete Sessions waits for results at his election night watch party.
Voters leave the Waco Multi-Purpose Community Center after casting their ballot on Election Day.
Voters leave the Waco Multi-Purpose Community Center after casting their ballots on Election Day.
Dillon Meek campaigns outside the Waco Multi-Purpose Community Center on Election Day. He won the race for the Waco mayoral seat.
Dillon Meek campaigns outside the Waco Multi-Purpose Community Center on Election Day. He won the mayoral race.
Keith Guillory campaigns for the Waco ISD board of trustees outside the Waco Multi-Purpose Community Center on Election Day.
Keith Guillory campaigns for the Waco ISD board of trustees outside the Waco Multi-Purpose Community Center on Election Day.
Keith Guillory campaigns for the Waco ISD board of trustees outside the Waco Multi-Purpose Community Center on Election Day.
Voters line up to vote at First Assembly of God on Bosque Boulevard on Election Day.
Young voters leave the Dewey Community Center after casting their ballots on Election Day.
Voters walk into the Bellmead Civic Center to cast their ballots on Election Day.
Voters cast their ballots at St. Louis Activity Center on Election Day.
Voters walk into Carver Park Baptist Church to cast their ballots on Election Day.
Election workers at the Waco Multi-Purpose Community Center on Election Day.
Campaign signs adorn the grounds of First Assembly of God on Bosque Boulevard.
Voting lines remained steady at First Assembly of God on the last day of early voting Friday, Oct. 30, 2020. With Election Day still to go Tuesday, 80,705 McLennan County voters already have cast a ballot, more than the full 2016 presidential election.
Voting lines remained steady at the Hewitt Library on the last day of early voting Friday, Oct. 30, 2020. With Election Day still to go Tuesday, 80,705 McLennan County voters already have cast a ballot, more than the full 2016 presidential election.
Voting lines remained steady at the Hewitt Library on the last day of early voting Friday, Oct. 30, 2020. With Election Day still to go Tuesday, 80,705 McLennan County voters already have cast a ballot, more than the full 2016 presidential election.
Voting lines remained steady at First Assembly of God on the last day of early voting Friday, Oct. 30, 2020. With Election Day still to go Tuesday, 80,705 McLennan County voters already have cast a ballot, more than the full 2016 presidential election.
On Oct. 18, 2020, a poll worker takes a machine to a voter using the curbside option, which is available to voters with a disability, those under quarantine who have tested negative for COVID-19 and those who fear contracting COVID-19.
Voters leave the poll at Waco’s Multi-Purpose Community Center on Paul Quinn Campus during the first week of early voting. Waco’s NAACP hosted its first of two “Souls to the Polls Caravan” events Sunday, Oct. 18, 2020, offering churchgoers rides to the polls after Sunday services. They will host a similar event next Sunday. “Souls to the Polls” is a longstanding early voting tradition.
Nika Davis, pastor of Second Missionary Baptist Church, right, gives a fist bump to McLennan County Precinct 2 Commissioner Pat Chisolm-Miller, left, at the Waco Multi-Purpose Center on Elm Avenune on Sunday, Oct. 18, 2020. Davis was casting his ballot during the first week of early voting.
Lesia Cobbs distributes more than 250 free lunches from Papa Jack's BBQ on Sunday, Oct. 18, 2020 to voters who cast ballots at the Waco Multi-Purpose Community Center on Elm Avenue.
Voters wait cast their ballot during early voting Sunday at the Waco's Multi-Purpose Community Center on Paul Quinn Campus. Waco's NAACP hosted its first of two "Souls to the Polls Caravan" events Sunday, Oct. 18, 2020, offering churchgoers rides to the polls after Sunday services. They will host a similar event next Sunday. "Souls to the Polls" is a longstanding early voting tradition.
Lesia Cobbs distributes more than 250 free lunches from Papa Jack’s BBQ on Sunday, Oct. 18, 2020 to voters who cast ballots at the Waco Multi-Purpose Community Center on Elm Avenue.
Local residents wait to cast their ballot at the First Assembly of God during the first day of early voting on Oct. 13, 2020. Voters arrived early and had to wait for the polls to open as the line of people wrapped through the church's parking lot.
Voters line up Tuesday at the First Assembly of God Church for the first day of early voting on Oct. 13, 2020. A line had already formed by the time poll workers arrived, an hour before the site opened, and 1,220 people cast a ballot there Tuesday.
First Assembly of God saw 1,220 voters cast early ballots Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2020, on the first day of early voting.
People line up Tuesday outside the Waco Multi-Purpose Community Center, 1020 Elm Ave., for the first day of early voting on Oct. 13, 2020. Countywide, 5,154 cast ballots in-person Tuesday, including 1,071 at the community center.
Voters line up Tuesday at the Hewitt Library for the first day of early voting on Oct. 13, 2020. Countywide, 5,154 cast ballots in-person Tuesday, including 1,114 at the library.
Local residents wait to cast their ballots at the Hewitt Library during first day of early voting on Oct. 13, 2020.
Local residents wait to cast their ballots at the Hewitt Library during first day of early voting on Oct. 13, 2020.
People line up Tuesday outside the Waco Multi-Purpose Community Center, 1020 Elm Ave., for the first day of early voting on Oct. 13, 2020. Countywide, 5,154 cast ballots in-person Tuesday, including 1,071 at the community center.
People line up Tuesday outside the Waco Multi-Purpose Community Center, 1020 Elm Ave., for the first day of early voting on Oct. 13, 2020. Countywide, 5,154 cast ballots in-person Tuesday, including 1,071 at the community center.
Voters line up Tuesday at the First Assembly of God church for the first day of early voting on Oct. 13, 2020. A line had already formed by the time poll workers arrived, an hour before the site opened, and 1,220 people cast a ballot there Tuesday.
Local residents wait to cast their ballot at the First Assembly of God during the first day of early voting on Oct. 13, 2020. Voters arrived early and had to wait for the polls to open as the line of people wrapped through the church's parking lot.
Voters line up Tuesday at the First Assembly of God church for the first day of early voting on Oct. 13, 2020. A line had already formed by the time poll workers arrived, an hour before the site opened, and 1,220 people cast a ballot there Tuesday.
Local residents wait to cast their ballots at the Hewitt Library during first day of early voting on Oct. 13, 2020.
Local residents wait to cast their ballot at the First Assembly of God during the first day of early voting on Oct. 13, 2020. Voters arrived early and had to wait for the polls to open as the line of people wrapped through the church's parking lot.
People line up Tuesday outside the Waco Multi-Purpose Community Center, 1020 Elm Ave., for the first day of early voting on Oct. 13, 2020. Countywide, 5,154 cast ballots in-person Tuesday, including 1,071 at the community center.
Local residents wait to cast their ballot at the First Assembly of God during the first day of early voting on Oct. 13, 2020. Voters arrived early and had to wait for the polls to open as the line of people wrapped through the church's parking lot.
Local residents wait to cast their ballot at the First Assembly of God during the first day of early voting on Oct. 13, 2020. Voters arrived early and had to wait for the polls to open as the line of people wrapped through the church's parking lot.
Local residents wait to cast their ballot at the First Assembly of God during the first day of early voting on Oct. 13, 2020. Voters arrived early and had to wait for the polls to open as the line of people wrapped through the church's parking lot.
Rhiannon Saegert
Rhiannon Saegert is a graduate of the University of North Texas who formerly worked at The Ardmoreite in Ardmore, Okla., the Denton Record-Chronicle and Eater magazine.
