All four people running for Denton's vacant District 1 City Council seat told a forum audience Saturday that they support strengthening the city's ethics ordinance, including a proposal that would require council members and candidates to disclose private meetings with developers, the Denton Record-Chronicle reported.
The League of Women Voters of Denton held the forum at Emily Fowler Central Library. The Record-Chronicle said it was the only District 1 forum before early voting and drew about 30 people, among them several former and current council members.
The candidates on the ballot are Ward Franz, Sunny Busby, Michael Herron and Kris Cox, according to the county's contest list. The winner will serve the rest of a term that ends in May.
A third election in under two years
District 1 residents are voting for the seat for the third time in less than two years. Vicki Byrd won reelection in May 2025, then stepped down to run for the Denton ISD board. Jordan Villarreal won the seat in May with 55.6% of the vote, defeating Herron and Cox, and resigned three months later, the newspaper reported.
Denton County's first-day turnout report, which sorts in-person voters by district, counted 960 voters in Denton District 1 on Monday. The county's mail ballot report shows 129 ballots returned from the district through Oct. 18.
What the candidates said
According to the Record-Chronicle's account:
- Franz, a semiretired consultant who moved to Denton last year, cited his knowledge of how government works, said the city needs jobs paying above minimum wage and stressed infrastructure and planning for growth. He joked about being called a carpetbagger when asked how long he had lived in Denton.
- Busby, a small business owner and clinical nutritionist who has lived in Denton more than 10 years, focused on accessibility, saying it adds to affordability.
- Herron, a pastor, veteran and longtime district resident, said veterans need support, called affordability a major issue and said some residents feel the council has not heard them. "Let's get it right this time," he said of the repeated elections.
- Cox, a school worker and member of the local Democratic Socialists of America chapter, called for removing data centers and Flock cameras, capping towing fees, restoring the city's after-school program and turning the empty City Hall West building into a Black cultural center.
