Election 2023: Yates takes 65% to defeat Beard for Place 4 council seat

The race to the finish at Saturday's Kentucky Derby was close.

The race to win Place 4 on the Abilene City Council, considered by many to a be true horse race, was not.

Brian Yates took 66% of the early vote and finished with 65%, unofficially, to soundly defeat Scott Beard for the council seat.

It was the first race for both men.

"I am surprised," Yates said of margin of victory as his election night party at Gloria's Grill downtown wound down. He believed he would win, getting 55% of the vote, maybe a little more. "This is a bigger margin than I expected."

When the final totals came in, 65%-35% in his favor, cheers rang out and Yates thrust his arms in the air.

"I would like to think it was hard work, and there was a differentiation the two of us as far as messages," he said. "I am not sure I would've drawn the lines at religion vs. business, but it did effectively illustrate the emphasis for the candidates and draw a distinction for the voters.

"It sounds like to me that the voters chose."

Yates said it wasn't putting business over religion, but the question of the "appropriate role of a city government. That was the distinction."

Beard, who was at 201 Mesquite Event Center with his supporters, was disappointed.

"I was a little surprised," he said just before final numbers came in, securing his defeat.

His opponent had a 2-to-1 lead after the first voting report and Beard did only slightly better election day.

"At the end of the day, we worked hard. We ran a good campaign," he said. "We made some rookie mistakes, certainly, and I've admitted to every one of them. We learned from those mistakes."

The Place 4 race grabbed the most headlines, with Beard in the spotlight as a pastor. He was questioned for the placement of campaign signs on church property — as did other churches — using church facilities for campaign duties, a misleading mailer to potential voters and incomplete campaign finance reporting.

His most recent report listed three churches — Fountaingate Merkel ($200), and Hope Chapel Foursquare Church ($200) and Remnant Church ($400), both Abilene — as contributors to his campaign. The IRS restricts campaign activity by churches, which are exempt from taxation.

"I hope that down the road, if there's another opportunity to run, we'll see," Beard said. "We'll come in a lot smarter and we'll work a lot harder, and we'll have better results."

What didn't resonate with voters?

"To me, it all starts with the morality of your city. We're going down roads that reflects what's happening in our nation. Values are a huge thing. You don't pastor here for 31 years and not have that passion. That's a passion. I don't mind that I focused on that again.

"I said from the beginning that if I lose this election because of my stance on values, then I lose it. I don't mind dying on that sword."

Yates will succeed Weldon Hurt, who gave up the Place 4 seat after two terms to run for mayor.

Beard since 1992 has been the pastor of Fountaingate Fellowship, a north Abilene non-denominational church.

Yates served in the U.S. Air Force and at Dyess Air Force Base. After retiring, he worked briefly at the Abilene Chamber of Commerce and then at Abilene Aero. He listed himself on election data as currently retired.

He said his first task was to get his name out there. Beard had name recognition from the successful "sanctuary city for the unborn" ordinance vote in 2022.

"Name recognition was the challenge for me," he said. "We made a concerted effort" to get his name out.

"I also attended so many events and made a personal connection with a lot of people. That, in addition to the multiple mistakes that (Beard) made from a campaign perspective, all that helped.

"It raised the awareness of this particular race, and that benefitted me more than it benefitted him."

Yates hasn't been retired long, so now it's back to work.

"I am way more excited about being on the council than running for the council," he said, smiling.

This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: Election 2023, Council Place 4: Yates made distinction, chose him