A successor has been chosen to fill Stafford Mayor Cecil Willisâ vacated seat on the city council.
 Xavier Herrera defeated Tom Virippan in a special election Saturday to become the cityâs new councilman in Position 5.
Herrera received 546 votes, or 70.61 percent of the vote. Virippan garnered 226 votes, or 29.39Â percent of the vote.
The city released the unofficial election results at 8:20 p.m. Saturday.
 Herrera has been a Stafford MSD board member since 2015 and is the chairman of the cityâs planning and zoning commission. He is also the communications director for Fort Bend County Judge KP George.
Virippan also has a background in education, as a former teacher and principal. In November, he lost his election as the Republican challenger to incumbent State Rep. Ron Reynolds in House District 27.