A runoff election in Irving on Saturday will cap a contentious city council race shaped by outside political spending, competing visions for developing one of the city’s key properties and the broader, yearslong debate over whether casino gambling should be legalized in Texas.
Two political newcomers — David Pfaff, a retired business owner and former chairman of the Irving Chamber of Commerce, and Sergio Porres, an IT consultant — are vying for the city’s at-large District 2 seat after neither earned enough votes to win on the May 3 election.
The outgoing District 2 city council member, Brad LaMorgese, did not run for reelection. Four names were on the May 3 ballot, though one of the candidates had earlier announced he was no longer seeking the position. Pfaff earned 47% of the vote to Porres’ 45%, while a third candidate, Vicky Akinyi Oduk, garnered 5% of the vote.
Pfaff has received endorsements from the Irving Professional Fire Fighters Association and the Irving Police Association. Porres, meanwhile, has been endorsed by Oduk and is backed by Families for Irving, a local political action committee that supported four of the nine current members of the City Council.
More than 7,000 ballots were cast in the runoff during early voting from May 27 to Tuesday, according to Dallas County voting data reviewed by The Dallas Morning News.
Campaign disclosures for Pfaff and Porres, political action committees, and “dark money” groups — organizations that are not required to disclose the source of their funds — show the race has drawn attention outside of Irving.
The full scope of spending will not be clear until after the runoff, but filings show political groups have already poured hundreds of thousands of dollars into the District 2 race and the two other council contests decided in May.
Resort proposal drew reaction at City Hall
The impetus for much of the political spending appears to be a proposal by Las Vegas Sands Corp. to build a “destination resort” near the old Texas Stadium site, a key piece of property that has been dormant for years.
The proposal, unveiled earlier this year, drew hundreds of critics to city meetings where officials were considering a zoning amendment that included provisions for gambling.
The pushback, in part, led the casino giant to ask the City Council to strip the gambling portion of the proposal. The amended ordinance then passed in two separate 6-3 votes.
Miriam Adelson, whose family owns Las Vegas Sands casinos and bought a majority stake in the Dallas Mavericks in 2023, has poured millions into political donations in Texas in a push to legalize gambling — something that fell short in the Texas Legislature during this year’s session.
The Legislature would need to vote to send a constitutional amendment to voters statewide for consideration.
Special interest groups pour money into races
Porres has drawn notable financial backing ahead of the runoff, reporting nearly $110,000 in contributions between April 24 and May 28, the final reporting period before the election.
The filing shows more than half of that total, $65,000, came from two political action committees tied to Tim Dunn and Farris Wilks, two oil and gas billionaires who have built an influential donor network supporting conservative candidates across the state.
Porres has credited their support for his vocal opposition to the Sands proposal and casino gambling.
By the filing deadline, Pfaff had less money on hand, though he had earned endorsements and support from the Irving Professional Fire Fighters Association and the Irving Police Association.
Prior to the May election, Pfaff was supported by the Lone Star Conservative Action Fund, a group that is not required to disclose its donors under state law. A phone number listed in the group’s state filing also appears on lobbying disclosures filed in Dallas by a registered lobbyist for Las Vegas Sands.
The group spent more than $160,000 in support of three candidates in the election, including Pfaff. The funds, which were not direct contributions, went toward signs, mailers and advertising for the candidates.
Pfaff has said the City Council should not have considered the amended ordinance requested by Sands for its plans near the former Texas Stadium site and has expressed skepticism gambling would ever be legalized in Texas.
Before the June 7 election, Texans for Fiscal Responsibility reported spending more than $150,000 — for door knockers, printed materials and digital messaging — to support Porres and two other candidates running for local office in San Antonio, according to disclosures covering the group’s activity between May 4 and May 29.
The group, which grades state lawmakers on their economic policy votes and publishes annual ratings, was closely tied to the now-defunct Empower Texans, once a political vehicle backed by Dunn and Wilks. It’s not clear in the filing how the contributions were split between the three candidates.
Editor’s Note: This article will be updated with unofficial election results as they become available.
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