Election News

Top results from May 6 election include one Dallas city council runoff

Voting results are in from the election on May 6.

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In the top results from an election on May 6 with multiple races around Dallas-Fort Worth, most incumbents kept their seats, but one Dallas City Council seat will have to be decided in a run-off election.

Mayors who were relected include Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson, Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker, and Arlington Mayor Jim Ross.

Frisco Mayor Jeff Cheney kept his seat with 55 percent of the vote, fending off challenger and former Frisco Fire Chief Mark Piland, who earned 42 percent.

In Richardson, City Council member Janet Dubey won the race to replace outgoing mayor Paul Voelker by 53 percent, beating fellow City Council member Bob Dubey's 46 percent.

Two Dallas City Council representatives - Adam McGough and Casey Thomas - reached the end of their term limit, leaving those districts open to a new council member. McGough's seat in District 10 has a new winner, but no candidates for Thomas' seat in District 3 earned 50 percent of the vote, requiring a run-off in June.

In Dallas County, voter turnout was 8.84 percent or 114,197 ballots cast.

Dallas City Council incumbents
Incumbents were all re-elected including Chad West in Oak Cliff, and Jesse Moreno in a newly redrawn District 2 that encompasses Deep Ellum, Love Field, and Casa View.

Carolyn King Arnold somehow got re-elected in District 4, Jaime Resendez was re-elected in District 5, as was Omar Narvaez in District 6 West Dallas, Adam Bazaldua in District 7 east/southeast Dallas, Tennel Atkins in District 8 far southeast Dallas, Paula Blackmon in District 9 northeast Dallas/Lakewood, Jaynie Schultz in District 11, Gay Donnell Willis in District 13 northwest Dallas, and Paul Ridley in District 14 Oak Lawn, Uptown, and Downtown. Cara Mendehlson in far North Dallas District 12 was unopposed.

Dallas City Council non-incumbents
District 3 in Southwest Dallas, a seat vacated by Casey Thomas, drew five candidates but none earned more than 50 percent, so there'll be a run-off on June 10 between the two top vote getters: Zarin Gracey, director of the Office of Business Diversity for city of Dallas, who got 1394 votes, or 46 percent; and Joe Tave, radio host and return candidate, who came in second with 777 votes.

Three other candidates - John Sims with 424 votes, Denise Benavides with 317 votes, and August Doyle with 104 votes - split the remainder.

District 10 in Northeast Dallas, Lake Highlands, a vacant seat left by Adam McGough, was won by Katherine Stewart, former director of Uptown Dallas, Inc. who earned 69 percent of voters, besting three other candidates who included Brian Hasenbauer, one-time City of Dallas Community Development Commissioner.

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Stretching the budget

A $100,000 salary in 2026 goes further in Dallas than it did last year

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A 2026 income study has good news for big earners in Dallas: A six-figure salary goes further than it did last year.

A Dallasite's $100,000 salary is worth $80,103 after taxes and adjusted for the local cost of living, according to the new financial analysis from SmartAsset. That's nearly 4 percent higher than last year, when the same salary had an adjusted value of $77,197.

Six-figure earners in Plano also got a slight — 2 percent — value boost to their salaries this year, the report revealed. A $100,000 salary in Plano is worth $72,653, compared to $71,372 last year.

SmartAsset used its paycheck calculator to apply federal, state and local taxes to an annual salary of $100,000 in 69 of the largest American cities. The figure was then adjusted for the local cost of living (which included average costs for housing, groceries, utilities, transportation, and miscellaneous goods and services). Cities were then ranked based on where a six-figure salary is worth the least after applicable taxes and cost of living adjustments.

Plano ranked 27th and Dallas ranked 47th in the overall ranking of U.S. cities where $100,000 is worth the least.

If the rankings were flipped and the cities were ranked based on where $100,000 goes the furthest, that places Dallas in the No. 22 spot and Plano as No. 43 nationally.

Manhattan, New York remains the No. 1 city where a six-figure salary is worth the least. A Manhattan resident's take-home pay is only worth $29,420 after taxes and adjusted for the cost of living, which is 3.10 percent lower than it was in 2025.

SmartAsset determined Manhattan has a 29.7 percent effective tax rate on six-figure salaries. Meanwhile, the effective tax rate on a $100,000 salary in Texas (based on the eight cities examined in the report) is 21.1 percent. It's worth highlighting that New York implements a statewide graduated-rate income tax from 4-10.90 percent, whereas Texas is one of only eight states that don't tax residents' income.

Oklahoma City, No. 69, is the U.S. city in the report where a $100,000 salary stretches the furthest. A six-figure salary is worth $91,868 in 2026, up from $89,989 last year.

This is the post-tax value of a $100,000 salary in other Texas cities, and their ranking in the report:

Austin (No. 53): $82,446
Lubbock (No. 59): $84,567
Houston (No. 60): $84,840
San Antonio (No. 62): $86,419
El Paso (No. 67): $90,276
Corpus Christi (No. 68): $91,110

According to the report, getting some "financial breathing room" by making six-figures really depends on where someone lives and what their lifestyle is. For residents living in the 42 states that levy some amount of income tax, their take-home pay dwindles further.

"And depending on how taxes are filed, reaching a $100,000 income may push a household from the 22 percent to 24 percent marginal tax bracket," the report's author wrote. "Meanwhile, locations with high costs across housing and everyday essentials may be less forgiving to a $100,000 income."

smartasset income finance six figures

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Stretching the budget

A $100,000 salary in 2026 goes further in Dallas than it did last year