Frisco mayoral, city council and school board candidates will be at two different forums at the same time Friday, one at Elevate Life Church and another at...
Elevate Life Church and the Islamic Center of Frisco are both hosting forums for local political candidates at the same time on Friday.Frisco mayoral candidates Mark Hill , a Frisco ISD board member and attorney, and Rod Vilhauer , a construction business owner, talk with constituents after a forum at Frisco Lakes, a retirement community in Frisco, on March 16, 2026.
On Friday evening, Frisco voters will have to choose between two forums to get to know the candidates running in the May 2 election for mayor, City Council and school board — one held at the Islamic Center of Frisco and another at Elevate Life Church. Both events start at 6 p.m. The dueling events and this municipal election cycle come after protests over the surge in racial and religious diversity in Frisco that have, who helped organize the mosque’s event. Mayoral candidate Rod Vilhauer and Matt Chalmers, candidate for Place 6 on the Frisco City Council, will attend the forum at the church, the candidates confirmed.Vilhauer, a retired construction business owner, had confirmed his attendance at the mosque’s forum in an email on Feb. 20, according to Haq. But on March 16, Vilhauer backed out of the forum citing a “prior engagement.” His campaign website was updated to reflect that he would be at a forum hosted by Elevate Life Church at 6 p.m. on March 27.Haq, who is chairperson of the Islamic Center of Frisco’s civics committee, said the mosque emailed all sixteen candidates on Feb. 19 to invite them to the forum. When Vilhauer backed out, representatives from the mosque asked his campaign if they would like to have a representative speak on his behalf Friday when mayoral candidates take the stage. The mosque said Kelly Naderi, who works for Vilhauer’s campaign, thanked them for the opportunity but said it wouldn’t be possible because the candidate’s campaign team would be with him at the other forum. Vilhauer said his Christian faith guided his decision to decline the Islamic Center forum and participate in the forum hosted by Elevate Life Church, where he is a member.“I believe a candidate’s values should be consistent, not convenient. Frisco is a city built on strong families and strong faith, and I will always be straightforward about where I stand,” Vilhauer said in a statement.Naderi wrote in a text that she was not at “liberty to disclose” when Elevate Life Church invited Vilhauer to the event. When asked about religious diversity in Frisco, Vilhauer said the city has to unify and he would “take a hard stand” against anyone governed by Shariah or the Quran. Mark Hill, an attorney and former Frisco ISD board trustee who’s also running for mayor, said in a Facebook post last week he was invited last week to the forum at Elevate Life Church but plans to attend the Islamic Center of Frisco forum.“I intend to honor my prior commitment to the Islamic Center of Frisco Candidates Forum scheduled a month ago, and encourage all other Candidates to honor their commitments,” Hill wrote in the post.Shona Sowell, a former City Council member who’s running for mayor, also encouraged the church to reschedule the forum and said she would attend the Islamic Center of Frisco forum because she had already confirmed her presence. Sowell said she attended an event at Elevate Life Church last month and she and Vilhauer were the only two mayoral candidates who agreed to attend.Haq said she hopes the church considers rescheduling its forum since the mosque planned its event earlier. She said she hoped the competing events would not “create division” givenEarly voting for Frisco’s May 2 election will run from April 20 to April 28. Candidates for Places 5 and 6 on the Frisco City Council and two positions on the Frisco ISD board will also be on the ballot.Angela Mathew is a reporter covering Collin County on the local government accountability team. Her primary coverage focuses on the cities of Frisco and Allen. Angela grew up in Mumbai, India, and graduated from the University of Notre Dame.‘More than just a roof and a door’: Welcome to a community for formerly homeless people
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