Coon, Haxton square off in Dallas Center special election Tuesday

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Ryan Coon, left, appointed to the Dallas Center City Council in March, will face Robert B. Haxton in a special election Tuesday.

Dallas Center voters will cast their ballots Tuesday in a special election for the city council. The polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the First Presbyterian Church at 1204 13th St.

Ryan Coon, appointed to the council March 13 to fill a vacancy created in January by the resignation of Dallas Center City Council member Ryan Pearson, is facing Robert B. Haxton in the special election.

Haxton presented a petition to the council in April, forcing the special election.

Haxton lost a bid for an at-large council seat in November with the reelection of incumbents David Bagby and Curtis Pion. He said he is the same Bob Haxton, “the Taxpayer’s Friend,” whom voters met last fall.

“I represent the old Dallas Center,” Haxton said Monday, “the folks who are maybe a little older and less affluent.” He said he wants to give a voice on the council to people and interests in the community that are less often heard.

He said his concerns still include the condition of the city’s streets, the city’s unnecessary residential tax abatement scheme and fiscal responsibility in the broadest sense.

“I do not want to burden taxpayers with tax increases because of unnecessary spending or burden future generations with our debt,” he said.[wpedon id=”85410″ align=”left”]

Coon is a Dallas Center native who served for most of a year on the city’s planning and zoning commission before her appointment to the city council. She said the council experience has pleased her so far.

“The opportunity to serve in this capacity has really been a great fit for me,” Coon said Monday. “I’m really enjoying it more than even I thought I would.”

Coon said she is passionate about things like downtown beautification, but she aims to beautify in a way that does not impact taxpayers but is accomplished through grants and private funding sources.

“I don’t have an agenda,” she said. “I’m here to be a representative of the community, and I care about what the people of the community want, and so I want to hear them.”

Tuesday’s election results are expected to be canvassed and made official Thursday by the Dallas County Auditor’s office.

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