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The Rev. Michael Evans, a longtime civic leader and educator, became the first African American mayor of Mansfield on Tuesday after pledging to refrain from dirty politics and to build unity in the city.
“To God be the glory,” Evans, pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Mansfield, said late Tuesday night after the election was declared for him. “We’re Mansfield strong.”
Evans earned 53% of the ballots cast in Tarrant County while opponent Brent Newsom earned 47%, according to unofficial election results. Portions of the city are also in Ellis and Johnson counties.
Evans, who previously served several years on the Mansfield school board, claimed the historic win after building a multi-racial coalition of supporters and campaigning for nearly a year.
“I’d attribute the win to the grassroots effort of folks who came to work together,” he said after the polls closed Tuesday. “We refused to attack the other campaign. We handled our business.”
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Evans’ supporters gathered at a parking lot late Tuesday night after the polls closed. Drivers stayed in their cars and honked their horns as they listened to singers, church members and others speak about Evans’ leadership and pray for him.
One church member thanked God for Tuesday’s victory during the event. which Evans’ campaign broadcast on Facebook.
“Thank you now for the man of God who you have placed for such a time as this,” said a man who identified himself only as a church member during his prayer. “God continue to move on his heart. God continue to give him clarity not only on how to lead your people at Bethlehem, but to lead the city of Mansfield.”
Newsom, a Mansfield City Council member and the son of former Mansfield school superintendent Vernon Newsom, did not respond to requests for comment Tuesday night.
Evans called Newsom “a fine human being” Tuesday. He addressed some of the racially tinged rumors that surfaced during the campaign, purportedly from Newsom supporters who suggested that Evans would reduce police funding and support low-income housing.
Newsome, who is white, was endorsed by an unnamed law enforcement group, according to his campaign’s website.
In a video Evans posted on his campaigns Facebook page hours before the polls closed, he asked voters to ignore the “dog whistling” that he attributed to law enforcement who supported Newsom.
“Come on guys. Let’s stop the dog whistling,” he said in the video. “Y’all know better than some of the stuff we’re saying. Cut that mess out.”
“Let’s not tell lies. We ain’t doing that—defund the police and low income housing,” he continued. “That’s stereotyping. That’s kind of tacky.”
Earlier Tuesday while campaigning at the Tarrant County Sub-Courthouse on East Broad Street, Newsom denied that race played a factor in Tuesday’s runoff.
“Elections shouldn’t be about race. They should be about Mansfield,” he said. “Whether White, Black, Asian, Hispanic, I’ve not had those conversations [about race].”
Instead, he said, rising taxes are a more pressing concern for Mansfield homeowners.
“My concern is growth and making sure that we manage the property taxes appropriately,” Newsom said Tuesday afternoon. “In our data and research, that’s what everybody says — property taxes.”
Still, some voters said Tuesday’s runoff offered a chance to diversify Mansfield’s all-white city council.
“I’ve lived in Mansfield for 27 years and and I’ve never seen [ethnic] representation,” said 39-year-old Marisela Aramino, a Latina and former Mansfield ISD teacher. “That’s something that’s important for me and my kids to experience.”