April 18, 2026

By Mary Beth Gahan

With two weeks until Election Day, the race for Flower Mound Town Council Place 5 has heated up with high-profile endorsements, not-so-subtle jabs, and different visions for what the town should be doing.

Early voting for the municipal election starts on Monday and two town council spots are up for grabs, although one has already been decided. Chris Drew is running for reelection of Place 2 and is unopposed.

For Place 5, which is currently held by mayor pro tem Ann Martin, there are three candidates. Martin has served the maximum two terms and cannot run again.

The campaign has mostly centered around the differences in each candidate’s background and experience. One has been involved in youth sports, another is a familiar face in town government, and the third is a longtime resident and business owner.

Mitchell, who is a data analyst, has focused his campaign on issues relating to quality of life for families in Flower Mound. He has lived in the town for nearly six years and, like others, chose it as a place to raise a family. He has coached youth baseball for several years.

“My priorities include strengthening youth programs, supporting traffic safety, maintaining and enhancing parks and public spaces, and ensuring the voices of everyday residents, including moms, dads, and neighbors, are thoughtfully considered in local decision making,” Mitchell told North Texas Sun.

The other two candidates have garnered more attention. While the race is officially nonpartisan, political circles in the town are divided in their support.

Planning and Zoning Commissioner Clare Harris moved to the DFW area more than three decades ago and became a U.S. citizen 22 years ago.

Harris has been a Registered Nurse since July of 1995, according to state licensing records.

Harris previously served on the environmental conservation commission, which reviews applications from landowners with requests to remove trees like post oaks.

“I have a proven and public track record of showing up at town council meetings to stand up for residents for their quality of life, for water conservation, high-quality development, and our native tree canopy,” she said.

Now, she serves on the planning and zoning commission.

“I have pushed for high-quality commercial developments so we can reduce the residential property tax burden,” she said.

Some projects that have been considered by the town during Harris’s time on the planning and zoning commission have received significant public attention.

In October, the commission held a public hearing about Eden Ranch, a 335-acre planned development on the west side of town. During deliberation, Harris expressed concern about a master plan amendment that would remove a road that runs through the property, but ultimately did vote to recommend approval. With that project, two master plan amendments and a rezoning were approved by the town council.

In December, a self-storage unit was proposed at the corner of Old Orchard Lane and Flower Mound Road. Harris and the planning commission voted to recommend denial for the project. It subsequently failed to get town council approval.

Planning and zoning commission issues recommendations for the town council to take into consideration when they vote on developments, but a denial kicks in a rule that town council must have a super majority to overrule the recommendation.

Harris, who lives in Lakeside, recently recused herself from a vote on an extended stay hotel at Lakeside Crossing. The commission recommended denial and it will go before the town council on Monday.

Harris has the support of other town leaders like Drew, deputy mayor pro tem Adam Schiestel, and council member Janvier Werner, as well as at least two and zoning commissioners. In her last campaign finance report, she reported raising more than $11,000 in contributions.

Susan Cox, on the other hand, raised no money, but raked in the endorsement of the Denton County Republican Party, a local Relators group, and former LISD Trustee Angie Cox.

Cox moved to the Metroplex from Lufkin nearly 26 years ago and couldn’t imagine living in a city like Dallas, so her family chose Flower Mound for its rural atmosphere, she said.

She and her husband run several businesses related to fire and safety wholesale under a parent company, Eco Technologies Incorporated, which has an office in Highland Village.

Critics have said Cox doesn’t have the necessary government experience to be on town council, but she pointed to her resume as a reason that she is qualified.

“I may not be out here getting patted on the back or getting awards for it, but I do a lot in this town and I have for 26 years. I've been involved in a lot,” she said.

She didn’t vote in local elections for a long time, she said. In 2020, she realized “everything changes at the local level” and got involved politically, eventually serving as a Texas delegate.

Since then, she has campaigned for Rep. Brandon Gill. In a picture Cox posted on her campaign Facebook page, she is standing in a group next to Mindy Bumgarner, the wife of State Rep. Ben Bumgarner and candidate for the State Board of Education.

Still, Cox said she is “not in the inner circle.”

Facebook ads that are active for Cox’s campaign were paid for by Strategy Group Company, LLC, a high-profile consulting firm that recently was under scrutiny for its connections to former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and a $200 million ad campaign.

When asked about the consulting firm, Cox said she did not know and has “people in-house” who do advertising.

The advertising expense does not show up on her campaign finance report that runs through March 23, but the date of purchase is not known.

Cox said decided to run because she is a local who wants to bring about change, especially with the type of businesses the town brings in. She hopes to see more high-paying jobs so people who work here can afford to live here, she said. She also wants restaurants where kids can play while parents eat and date night spots that are closer than Southlake.

“They want to promote our town like its boujee,” she said. “But why are we bringing in all the cheapie?”

At a recent candidate forum hosted by The Cross Timbers Gazette, all agreed that traffic is a top issue in Flower Mound, but each had different visions of how to deal with bottlenecks.

Harris pointed to the adaptive signal technology used on Morriss Road as an example of what can be done to make traffic flow smoothly. She also said the traffic comes from residents of other cities, so communication between municipalities will be key.

“We need to work with our partners in Grapevine so there's not the bottleneck on 2499 in the morning when their lights are not in synchronization with ours,” Harris said. “There are lots of things we can do and technology is going to be a big part of that in the future.”

Mitchell said he would look at the data to see where the issue is and then talk with people in the know to alleviate traffic. He wants the city to look at pedestrian safety as well, especially with children on motorized scooters.

Cox said she would use her business management skills to get everyone in the same room to talk over the traffic issues.

“I don't have the answer for that, but as a leader who teaches other business leaders, I know how to go get the answers from the right people,” she said.

She has expressed her displeasure with recent master plan amendments that were approved along with housing developments and reiterated that during the discussion about traffic.

“On one hand, I think we need to slow the roll on the growth a bit,” she said.

By the end of the forum, the gloves were off again.

When asked what issues had been not covered in the discussion, Cox stood up. She talked about being a conservative Christian, but said it would not hamper her ability to make decisions for the entire town.

She then circled back to the division among political circles and referenced an interaction she had at another candidate event, but didn’t go into details.

“It is absolutely not a nonpartisan situation,” she said. “I was hit by a couple of things yesterday by our town leaders who were a little bit rude and disrespectful to me and as a resident of this town, I didn't appreciate it and I would hope that wouldn't happen to the future people who would like to run.”

In closing statements, Harris went last. She spoke about what she thinks residents want in a town leader and took jabs at Cox while she was at it.

“They deserve a council member who has cared enough to vote in local, mayoral elections over the last several years and they deserve a town council candidate who can meet deadlines and play by the rules of the Texas Ethics Commission,” Harris said, alluding to Cox’s delay in filing a campaign finance report earlier this month.

Cox asked for a rebuttal, but was denied.