By Edmond Ortiz
Windcrest’s incumbent mayor survived a challenge from the city’s former mayor on Election Day, Nov. 4, but a sitting City Council member was not so lucky in his re-election bid. Meanwhile, voters selected a Windcrest native to the council.
What you should know
Dan Reese secured a fifth term as Windcrest’s mayor with 51% of the vote, outdistancing former Mayor Alan Baxter, who received 39%, and Robert Maloy, a financial planner and a political newcomer.
A retired U.S. Air Force colonel, Reese was a Windcrest volunteer firefighter prior to his appointment as the city’s fourth-ever fire chief.
Reese has said the city has accomplished many things under his leadership, including expanding the police force, and parks and recreational amenities and opportunities, improving road infrastructure, and ensuring an adequately equipped fire department.
Following his re-election, Reese said he looks forward to milestones in the next year, such as the arrival of new City Manager Ronnie Guest, who begins work Nov. 10, as well as the formation of the town’s first comprehensive master plan.
Reese also said he is eager to see the staging of an economic summit at Windcrest International Business Park, the former Windsor Park Mall which more recently functioned as Rackspace Technology’s corporate campus.
“I look forward to working with the City Council, the citizens and staff at making the City of Lights even brighter,” Reese said on his official Facebook page.
Also of note
Realtor Rainbeau Presti tallied 55% and won the Place 4 council seat in a race with retired teacher Narquiz Cervantes. Presti succeeds Marcus Yak, who opted against a re-election bid after one term in office.
Presti sits on Windcrest’s animal services advisory committee and economic development corporation board. She also founded the local animal welfare group TxWeACT, and unsuccessfully ran for the council in 2024.
Presti thanked her supporters on a Facebook post after the election.
“I feel incredibly blessed by all your support and encouragement,” she said. ”I wish my grandparents were here to celebrate this with me, but I know they’d be proud I’m continuing their legacy of service and devotion to our community.”
Former Councilmember Rick Cockerham is returning to City Hall. He collected 43% of the vote, outpacing first-term Place 5 Councilmember Adam Astleford, who finished with nearly 37%. The Place 5 contest also included Billy Gipson, a retiree who serves with the city’s board of adjustment.
A federal government contract specialist, Astleford took to his Facebook page to express disappointment in the election results. But Astleford said he will remain active in the Windcrest community.
Astleford also praised election winners Reese and Presti, adding he felt “relieved” that Baxter, whose mayoral stint in the 2010s had its share of controversies, fell short in his attempt to return to power.
“There is strength in steady, consistent leadership and we are lucky as residents to have that,” Astleford said in his post.
