Tarrant County District Attorney Joe Shannon informed his staff today that he will not seek re-election. “It is now time for me to enjoy pathways which have long been postponed. I wanted each of you to be among the first to know that I will retire at the end of my current term,” Shannon said in an email.
Shannon has been considered vulnerable following a sexual harassment settlement that became public earlier this year. The battle for the district attorney’s office has already gotten crowded, though candidates can’t officially file until November. Candidates who have already filed campaign treasurer designations with the Tarrant County Elections Offfice are Judge Sharen Wilson, Assistant District Attorney Robert K. “Bob” Gill, attorney Wes Ball and attorney George B. Mackey. The election is in May 2014.
Shannon was appointed district attorney following the 2009 death of longtime DA Tim Curry and was elected to the position in 2010. In his email, Shannon noted that he has practiced law for over 51 years: “Over 26 of those years I have been in public service (more than 20 years in the Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney’s Office and six years as an elected member of the Texas House of Representatives).”
– Robert Francis