Donors make large contribution to Amy Cearnal's campaign for Arlington mayor
DALLAS (CBSNewsTexas) - Large contributions from two donors have raised the profile of first-time candidate for mayor in Arlington, Amy Cearnal, and put her on top in the fundraising race leading into Saturday's municipal elections.
Cearnal, a realtor challenging current mayor Jim Ross, has never run for public office. Through late April though she saw her campaign account swell to more than $116,000.
Most of the financial backing came from two men who each contributed $50,000 to the campaign; Gerald Stool, the president of Greenway Investment company in Dallas, and John Moritz, associated with several car dealerships in the area.
Introduced to the donors by a family member, Cearnal said the support had helped her get her name out in the last few weeks of the race, and she understood the donors were simply looking to even the playing field for a challenger.
"We need there to be a race here, we need there to be some things to be called into question, just to make sure we are on the right path," she said.
CBS News Texas was not immediately able to reach either donor Thursday for comment.
Ross brought in a little over $39,000 during the same reporting period. He said Thursday he had never seen such large donations from individuals in a municipal race.
Ross said the donors had previously approached him and city leaders in 2021, looking for support for an apartment development along North Collins and Interstate 30. The property, owned by the city and currently vacant, is directly across the freeway from AT&T Stadium. It is bordered by vacant land property records show is owned by Moritz Investments. It is also across N. Collins from Champions Park, a retail and commercial development from Greenway that has not been fully built out.
"What was proposed there by the people who donated this money was anything but the wow factor," Ross said.
Cearnal said there was never any mention of support for a development, should she win, in exchange for support for her campaign.
While on the campaign trail Cearnal said people had told her they felt the current city administration isn't always listening to resident's concerns.
"I do think there is a potential for change in some of the policy where it will be a little more, bring people to the table, and making sure we're really hearing from all 99 square miles of residents, and not just a few," she said.
Ross as well, emphasized he wants to consider the entire city when making decisions as mayor.
"I'm the mayor for all of Arlington," he said. "I'm going to make my decisions not based upon who gives money to who, but based upon what's in the best interest of Arlington."