Saturday is Election Day for North Texas city councils, school boards and other local government districts. Countywide polling locations for Tarrant County voters will be open from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m.
Election results will be posted on the county’s election website after the polls close.
A total of 69,211 votes were cast in Tarrant County during the early voting period that began April 24 and concluded May 2, officials reported. Officials said 3,054 mail-in ballots had sent out through May 1 and 2,262 had been returned as of May 3. Mail-in ballots will be accepted through Election Day.
To assist voters with getting to the polls, Trinity Metro is providing free rides on buses, ZIPZONE on-demand rideshare service and para-transit service. For more information, call 817-215-8600.
The city of Fort Worth ballot this year includes two new two city council districts, the result of a city charter amendment approved by voters in 2016 to expand the number of council districts through the redistricting process to better represent the diversity of communities across the city.
The council ballot lists 27 candidates running in contested races and three incumbent council members running unopposed. The unopposed incumbents are District 2 Councilman Carlos Flores, District 3 Councilman Michael Crain and District 8 Councilman Chris Nettles.
Mayor Mattie Parker faces four challengers in her bid for a second term. She was elected in 2021, succeeding long-time Mayor Betsy Price who retired from the position. Parker is the youngest mayor of a major city in the nation.
Her opponents, similar to most of the non-incumbent candidates across the council district races, are unknown candidates and political novices.
Parker’s opponents are Adrian Smith, Alyson Kennedy, Jennifer Castillo and Ken Bowens Jr.
As a result of re-districting, District 4 incumbent Alan Blaylock is no longer a resident of the district and is running for the new District 10 seat. Vying for the District 4 seat are Charles Lauersdorf and Teresa Ramirez Gonzales.
In District 5, incumbent Gyna Bivens faces challengers Bob Willoughby and William McKinley Jackson. A fourth candidate, Gerardo Sanchez Corona, withdrew from the race.
District 6 incumbent Jared Williams faces Italia De La Cruz and Tonya Carter.
The District 7 seat is open because freshman incumbent Leonard Firestone opted not to seek re-election. Candidates for the seat are Jason Ellis, Caleb Backholm and Macy Hill.
District 9 incumbent Elizabeth Beck is seeking her second term. She faces challenges from Chris Reed, Jason Pena and Pamela Boggess.
District 4 incumbent Alan Blaylock was elected last year to fill the unexpired term of Cary Moon. He faces Brandon Jones in the District 10 race.
The new District 11 has drawn a crowd of candidates seeking to join the council for the first time. They are: Christopher Johnson, Jeanette Martinez, Ricardo Avitia, Rick Herring and Tara Maldonado Wilson.
Fort Worth ISD voters will choose new Board of Education members for districts 2, 3, 5 and 6.
Tobi Jackson, the District 2 incumbent and board president, faces challenger Patricia Carlson. District 3 incumbent Quinton “Q” Phillips faces two challengers, Mar’Tayshia James and Valeria Nevarez.
District 6 incumbent Carin “CJ” Evans faces opponents Kevin Lynch and Josh Yoder.
The race for seats on the Tarrant Regional Water District board is always competitive as challenges such as transparency and funding for the mammoth Panther Island project continue to linger.
Two board seats are up for grabs this year as a result of the death of longtime member Jim Lane last fall and the decision of longtime member Marty Leonard to not seek re-election. The top two vote-getters will be elected.
Charles “C.B” Team, who was appointed to fill Lane’s unexpired term, is the only incumbent in the race. Other candidates are Joe Ashton, Paxton Motheral and Chad Moore.
Voters outside of Fort Worth will have a variety of choices for new officeholders as well as bond issues to pay for new facilities in the booming Northwest ISD and Crowley ISD.