Allen voters will have the opportunity to elect a new mayor in an upcoming election. Early voting is scheduled to start next week and end April 28. Election Day is May 2.
Mayor
Dave Shafer and Chris Schulmeister are running in the mayor’s race. Mayor Baine Brooks isn’t running for another term.
Shafer was previously elected in 2021 to the council Place 5 seat but lost his reelection bid to the current member, Carl Clemencich, in a runoff election in 2024. He lists public safety, proactive maintenance and fiscal discipline as priorities on his campaign website.
The Texas Observer reported that after the shooting at the Allen Premium Outlets in 2023, Shafer posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, that he was uncertain that the shooter held Nazi views. KERA reported that the gunman, Mauricio Garcia, included a Nazi symbol in his signature when he applied for a security guard license with the Texas Department of Public Safety in 2015. Authorities also said that Garcia had a swastika and SS tattoo.
“I definitely condemn the shooter, and any belief he had,” Shafer said in the social media post. “However, based on his other supposed tattoos and information reported in the press, I cannot say for certain he held Nazi views. I of course condemn any race-based ideology, including Nazism.”
He also retweeted a video comparing the LGBTQ pride flag to Nazi flags.
“That it is,” Shafer wrote in his retweet. “And the closer they get to being truly found out, the more they will deflect by accusing others.”
Schulmeister served on the Allen city council from 2019-2025, including two years as Mayor Pro Tem. He lists quality of life, affordability, revitalizing the city’s downtown and improving aging infrastructure as priorities on his campaign website.
“We have transitioned from decades of rapid growth to a mature city,” Schulmeister said on his campaign website. “City leadership recognizes it as do the residents of Allen.”
City Council Place 2
Tommy Baril is running unopposed for a second term.
He previously served as the president of the Allen Community Development before he was elected according to his city council bio.
Got a tip? Email Caroline Love at clove@kera.org.
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