Who ran, and what the count said
FACT: There was no mayor’s race in 2026. The mayor and Places 1 and 5 are elected in odd years; Places 2, 3, and 4 in even years, per the city’s election page.
FACT: Per the city’s candidate list and results reported by KERA:
| Place | Candidates | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Place 2 | Michael Dingman (incumbent) vs. Darla Thornton | Dingman won by 15 votes |
| Place 3 | Brad Turner vs. Justin Harnick | Turner won with 52%, about 24 ballots |
| Place 4 | Robert Fitzgerald (incumbent) vs. Michael Bachand | Fitzgerald won by 2 votes |
FACT: Election day was also the day pastry boxes carrying campaign flyers landed on doorsteps around the village, the start of what neighbors now call Pastry Gate.
The contest
FACT: Michael Bachand, who lost Place 4 by those 2 votes (274 to 272), filed suit on May 13, 2026, contesting the election: Cause No. 348-377803-26, Bachand v. Fitzgerald, in Tarrant County district court. The petition alleges three illegal votes were cast and asks the court to either declare Bachand the winner or void the result and order a new election. The caption names one defendant: Robert Fitzgerald. The City of Westworth Village is not a party to the suit. Court filings are public; look the cause number up yourself.
FACT: Then the city’s money entered the picture. On June 18, the council voted to reimburse Fitzgerald’s legal fees in that suit, a decision the Texas Attorney General has said public funds can never make. That story has its own page: Misuse of Public Funds.
OPINION: However the contest itself turns out, elections decided by 2 votes are exactly why every ballot rule matters, and why the process for challenging one should stay scrupulously clean on all sides.