The winners of this year’s Tomball City Council election both believe their positive messages during their recent campaigns were the primary reasons they were chosen by city voters.

Preston Dodson and Field Hudgens were elected to the council after handily defeating their opponents in their respective races.

Dodson defeated Bill Webb by nearly 200 votes, 483-282, in the Position 5 race. In the Position 1 contest, F.S. “Field” Hudgens defeated July Wilson and William Harris. Hudgens garnered 430 total votes to Wilson’s 305 and Harris’ 25.

Each were sworn in during a May 17 special meeting.

Also at that meeting, Mark Stoll was chosen by council to serve as the city’s new Mayor Pro-Tem, a position formerly held by David Quinn. Quinn opted not to seek re-election.

Dodson said he believes his positive message resonated with voters.

“I think the voters in Tomball recognized me as a voice for the future progress of Tomball,” Dodson said. “I think there was so much negative coming from the opposition that they (the voters) reacted negatively to the negativity.”

He added that he hopes the Tomball community can “pull together to make this a better place.”

Among the issues Dodson is anticipating the council to address in the coming months are the city’s platting process. The city charges what many believe to be cost-prohibitive amounts for platting fees for even minor changes to their property and Dodson said he hopes the council can work to make the process “simpler and less expensive” for property owners.

“It’s an important thing to do and do it quickly,” he added.

Dodson also called moving forward with the city’s Downtown Specific plan a “high priority” for the council.

“We need to improve how our town looks,” he said. “We have a lot of future and we have to attract good business and rooftops.”

Hudgens said he believed the voters “wanted someone on city council who is positive, has a business background and brings a fresh breath to city council.”

He added that he believed it was important for residents to have someone serve who “is involved in their day-to-day lives in more than just one area, someone who is involved in the schools, who has a little more experience as a business owner and has been here for a while.”

Hudgens and Dodson both said they were anticipating council to address improvements to the city’s zoning ordinance.

Hudgens said he hoped to make the plan “more user-friendly for commercial and residential owners.”

This year’s council election had a 14.76 percent turnout of the city’s 5,234 registered voters. That number is down from last year’s 19.15 percent voter turnout. 

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