McKinney voters have elected to remove city council member La’Shadion Shemwell from office after a series of controversies involving race and policing in the city.

With nearly all Collin County precincts reporting Tuesday, more than 70% of voters supported North Texas’ first successful recall of a sitting council member in at least a decade.

At a city council meeting Tuesday night — likely Shemwell’s last on the dais — he listed his accomplishments while in office, including fighting large developments and approving funding for police body-worn cameras, public transportation and parks.

“I’m imperfect as we all are, but I strive to do the best thing I can for the community,” he said. “This is possibly my last night on the council because I make people uncomfortable with the conversations I raise.”

Shemwell called himself an “accidental councilman,” and said he never dreamed of running for office. He chose to run after a 2015 pool party that turned violent when a McKinney police officer slammed a teenage girl to the ground.

His tenure on the council was marked by controversies involving race. He regularly criticized the police in McKinney and elsewhere and joined protests against police brutality across North Texas. Last year, after the death of Atatiana Jefferson in Fort Worth, he declared a “black state of emergency” that claimed North Texas governments had “declared war on black and brown citizens.”

McKinney residents then began circulating a petition calling for his removal. The recall vote was initially scheduled for the municipal elections in May that were delayed because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Shemwell has sued the city in federal court, saying the city charter that set rules for the recall vote is unconstitutional. That suit is currently being considered by the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.

If Shemwell’s lawsuit is unsuccessful, the council can appoint someone to fill the rest of his term or call a special election. They have called a special city council meeting for Friday to act on Tuesday’s result.

Mayor George Fuller, who supported the recall effort and often sparred with Shemwell during council meetings, thanked the council member Tuesday for his service.

“One thing that I’ve always known and always felt is that you’re tremendously passionate and have a heart and I know that you want to do good in this community,” Fuller said during the meeting. “Thank you for serving.”

McKinney voters also declined to allow the city council to sell around 55 acres of park land just east of Highway 5 near the Heard Natural Science Museum & Wildlife Sanctuary.

Irving mayor

Mayor Rick Stopfer appeared headed toward reelection Tuesday after serving three years as mayor. He also served 14 years on Irving’s city council, among other local positions. His opponent, Olivia Novelo Abreu, is a retired professor at Irving’s North Lake College.

Frisco City Council

Frisco voters appeared set to reelect council member Brian Livington on Tuesday after a contentious race in which residents received mailers referring to the Muslim faith of one of his opponents, Sadaf Haq, and comparing her to U.S. Rep Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, a frequent target of President Donald Trump.

In Frisco’s other council race, Place 5, none of the seven candidates received a 50% majority to win the seat. The two with the greatest share of the vote as of 9 p.m., Dan Stricklin and Laura Rummel, were set to go to a runoff tentatively scheduled for December.