The intense three-month political slugfest between Jennifer Staubach Gates and her surprise City Council District 13 challenger, former mayor Laura Miller, ended with no election night drama. Gates cruised to a fourth term in the Preston Hollow and northwest Dallas district by a nearly 2-1 margin.

Miller, the controversial former Dallas mayor who made a last-minute decision to run for City Council, said she was surprised as early returns showed Gates with the big edge in votes. "I thought it would be tighter," said Miller, who called Gates around 10:30 p.m. to congratulate her on the win.

The Gates-Miller match-up was the most closely followed of the 14 city council races, with hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign spending, well-attended debates and a flood of mailers and other media.

Gates was hosting an election party at her home in northwest Dallas when a friend showed her the returns on his computer. Gates threw her hands up over her head and jumped for joy.

Dallas City Council member Jennifer Staubach Gates hugs husband John Gates as early voting results showing her with a lead on challenger Laura Miller were posted during an election night watch party on Saturday, May 4, 2019. (Smiley N. Pool / Staff Photographer)

"I was relieved," Gates said later, adding that the early returns matched "the overwhelming support I saw at the polls" Saturday.

Mayor Mike Rawlings, a resident of District 13 and among the three dozen or so guests at Gates' home, said the election was a resounding validation for the three-term incumbent, who ran unopposed in 2015 and 2017.

"I think it's clear the voters in this district love Jennifer Gates," Rawlings said. "She's always tried to do the right thing and be fair and they showed her they supported her."

Personalities and issues

The race to represent a broad swath of North Dallas, which includes some of the wealthiest real estate in North Texas, revolved around personalities as much as the issues.

From the moment Miller filed the paperwork for her candidacy in February, she presented herself as the fighter the district needs to protect the interests of homeowners.

"The homeowners in our area are under siege by developers, who are fully supported by our councilwoman without regard to traffic, pedestrian and parking problems," Miller said.

"And the homeowners need an advocate, and I'm happy to be their advocate," she said.

Early voters arrive at and exit Our Redeemer Lutheran Church, an early voting polling place, on Monday, April 29, 2019 in Dallas. The polling place is in Dallas City Council District 13, where incumbent Jennifer Staubach Gates faced challenger Laura Miller, a former mayor of Dallas. (Ashley Landis / Staff Photographer)

Gates, first elected in 2013, also accentuated their personality differences, presenting herself as a pragmatist who can bring together diverse constituencies. She drove that point home in the campaign’s last debate at Jesuit College Preparatory School of Dallas, saying voters had “a lot of stark differences” to consider in the contest.

“One of them is definitely our style and demeanor,” Gates said, “and I’m the one that’s going to be able to get things done.”

Former Mayor Laura Miller, who ran against incumbent Jennifer Staubach Gates for the Dallas City Council District 13 seat, gets a hug from her son Max as she addresses supporters during an election night watch party on Saturday, May 4, 2019. (Smiley N. Pool / Staff Photographer)

On Saturday, Miller said she was "disappointed" by the results. "I truly feel like the homeowners aren't being listened to in this district and that the developers have the upper hand."

Supporters of Miller's, like Bill Kritzer, vowed to keep pushing against rampant development. "We fought hard and we still have a fight ahead of us."

Preston Center in the crosshairs

At the heart of the race was a dispute over how Preston Center and the neighboring area should look. Miller jumped into the race to forestall a controversial proposed rezoning of a 14-acre tract containing condominium properties in the neighborhood north of Preston Center--an area known as “behind the pink wall”--that would double the allowable units per acre.

A concrete slab, all that remains of Preston Place Condominiums, which was destroyed by a fire, is seen in at 6225 West Northwest Highway on Friday, March 8, 2019. (Ryan Michalesko / Staff Photographer)

Miller opposes the change, saying the added density would bring residential high rises and too much additional traffic. Gates has hit back hard, saying that Miller has a conflict of interest in the zoning case because her husband owns a rental condominium in the area to be rezoned. And if elected, Miller would have to recuse herself from voting on the issue. Mayor Mike Rawlings recently sided with Gates on the issue when asked by a reporter.

Miller insisted she didn’t have a conflict of interest and said she would not recuse herself from the issue if elected.

Miller said the fight over development in the 14-acre tract wouldn’t be necessary if Gates would adhere to a two-year study called the Northwest Highway and Preston Road Area Plan. Gates signed off on the plan, which was approved by City Council in January of 2017. Eight weeks later, a fire destroyed Preston Place Condominiums, which stood in the area now set to be rezoned.

Miller, known as a combative politician in her decade at City Hall, accused Gates of scrapping the task force’s plan after Preston Place burned down. Development in and around Preston Center was limited to four stories in the area plan.

“I will bring back the plan,” Miller said.

Gates said she didn’t scrap the area plan. The plan championed by Miller was a vision that still required viable zoning changes. “I haven’t thrown out the plan,” Gates said. “We’re growing in Dallas, and we have to be able to grow appropriately.”