As filing opened Wednesday for the May 4 general election, candidates for seats on the Fort Worth City Council, the Fort Worth ISD school board and the Tarrant Regional Water District board wasted no time signing up to run
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The City Council race, with the mayor and eight council seats up for election, drew candidates for every race except District 4, the seat held by Cary Moon.
Mayor Betsy Price filed on Wednesday after announcing her intentions to seek re-election earlier. Deborah Peoples, chairwoman of the Tarrant County Democratic Party filed to challenge Price.
Incumbent council members Carlos E. Flores filed to run again for his District 2 seat. Incumbent council members Brian Byrd, of District 3, Jungus Jordan of District 6, Dennis Shingleton of District 7, and Ann Zadeh of District 9 also filed to run again.
In the race for the District 5 seat, incumbent Gyna Bivens has yet to file to re-election but challengers Thomas Brown, Tammy Pierce and Bob Willoughby have filed to run for the seat.
Michael Matos has filed to challenge Shingleton in the District 7 seat. Brian J. Dixon and Chris Nettles have filed to run for the District 8 seat now held by Kelly Ann Gray, who has yet to file to run again.
Leah Dunn has filed to challenge Zadeh for the District 9 set.
“We always see a lot trying to get in to run right in the beginning when filing begins, “ said City Secretary Mary Kayser. “Then it slows down.”
In the race for the TRWD board, the seats of Marty Leonard and Jim Lane are open this year. Lane said he intends to run again but has not yet filed. Leonard has not yet filed.
With the Panther Island project facing renewed scrutiny with the pending launch of a comprehensive review, the race is expected to draw multiple candidates, who are concerned about the project’s management. The project has failed for the past three years to receive a federal appropriation needed to help complete it.
Former board member Mary Kelleher, who was defeated after serving one term, has filed to run again. Also, attorney Gary Moates has filed to run for a seat on the five-member board. The top two finishers win the seats.
The past few election cycles became contentious battles for control of the water board. Millions of dollars were poured into the race through political action committees, a rare occurrence in a local race.
Local observers say that is unlikely to happen this cycle as the issue that ignited the feud has been settled.
Four seats on the Fort Worth ISD board also are up for election this year.
District 2 incumbent Tobi Jackson and District 3 incumbent Christene Chadwick Moss filed to run again.
The District 5 seat held by Judy Needham and the District 6 seat held by Ann Sutherland are also open again this year. Neither incumbent has filed yet but Carin “CJ” Evans is running for the District 5 seat and Lisa Saucedo has filed for the District 6 race.
Filing continues through Feb. 15. Cities, school districts and special districts across the state will also conduct elections on May 4.
Note: An earlier version of the story incorrectly stated when Mayor Price filed.