Stafford, a city located southwest of Houston, made history on Saturday, June 10, by electing Ken Matthew as its first minority Mayor. Matthew secured a victory in a run-off election, receiving 500 votes, while incumbent Mayor Cecil Willis received 484 votes. Matthew's extensive experience includes 17 years of service on the Stafford City Council, making him the longest-serving council member in the city at the time of his candidacy.

“I’m very excited. My family and my neighbors are excited. In 17 years on the Stafford City Council, I have never held a fundraiser. This election was won with love. I have never said anything negative about my opponents or about the city that I love,” Matthew expressed.

Matthew takes pride in Stafford's unique economic model, which relies solely on sales tax collections for city revenue, resulting in no city property tax. He emphasizes the need for careful spending by both himself and the city council. Additionally, Stafford is home to the only municipal school district in Texas, which Matthew successfully defended in U.S. Supreme Court decisions. He believes this arrangement provides students with increased attention and allows parents to have a greater say in their children's education.

“I’m also grateful for the diversity in this city that is in addition to economic diversity is

ethnic diversity. In this city Caucasian, African American, Hispanic and Asians are almost even with all four groups being in twenty-something percentages. We love in Stafford prizing our past which was a small rural railroad Italian family-based community. In Stafford we are focused on our future as a diverse exciting innovation,” Matthew said.

During the Saturday, May 6 General Election, Matthew's opponents took a confrontational approach, contrasting his own campaign that was rooted in love for his hometown of Stafford, where he has resided since 1980. Matthew ran as a staunch supporter of Stafford, Fort Bend County, Texas, and America. He holds a BBA and MBA degrees from the University of Detroit and has built a successful career in business management, primarily for growing technology firms in the Houston area.

“Stafford, like Houston has no City Manager and like the previous mayors I am against having a City Manager. Dallas, Fort Worth, San Antonio, and Austin have City Managers to run their city. Here locally Sugar Land< Missouri City and Rosenberg employ at a high cost to the city taxpayers a city manager. My life career, my academic and professional training is private sector American business management. We do not need the hundreds of thousands of dollars of expense to recruit, hire and maintain a city manager,” Matthew remarked.

Out of the 9,807 registered voters in Stafford, Matthew secured 500 votes, representing 50.81 percent of the total, while Willis received 484 votes. Willis, a graduate of Texas A&M University in 1965, had served on the Stafford City Council for 36 years before being elected as Mayor just last year, succeeding Mayor Leonard Scarcella, who held the position for over 50 years.

During the Saturday, May 6 Election, Willis faced challenges from three of his fellow city council members. In addition to Matthew, Wen Guerra and Don Jones also ran against Willis, necessitating their resignation from the city council to participate in the mayoral race.