High-Profile Mayoral Races Up For Grabs In 3 North Texas Cities Saturday
NORTH TEXAS (CBSDFW.COM) - Residents in Fort Worth, Arlington, and Plano are among those voting for a new Mayor.
In Fort Worth, ten candidates are vying to succeed Mayor Betsy Price, whose ten years of service is the longest in the city's history.
Among the ten candidates, there are four who have the most name recognition:
Mattie Parker, the former Chief of Staff for the city council and Mayor, who has received Price's endorsement.
Deborah Peoples, the Tarrant County Democratic Party Chair, who also ran for Mayor two years ago.
They also include council members Ann Zadeh and Brian Byrd.
UT Arlington Political Science Department Chair Rebecca Deen said two of the candidates may have the clearest advantage. "Ms. Peoples with her experience with the Democratic Party, she's got a wide organization. Miss Parker has the support of a lot of city leaders and endorsements. Also, these are non-partisan elections, but I think the partisan labels are a little bit more clear in this particular election than perhaps it's been in the past."
Deen said she believes because there are so many candidates in this race there will likely be a runoff, which would be held Saturday, June 5.
In Arlington, there are seven candidates running for Mayor.
Jeff Williams, the current Mayor, is leaving office because of term limits.
Among the candidates is Jim Ross, an attorney, businessman, and a former police officer.
Others include Councilman Marvin Sutton and former Councilman Michael Glaspie.
Deen said, Ross has an edge because he has been endorsed by Mayor Williams and various past Mayors.
"It has meant that he has had a deep well of financial support to be able to send out mailers really early and building up his name recognition because unlike some of the other council members in the race, he did not have necessarily name recognition among the broader electorate. But he has done a lot to increase that name recognition over the last several months."
Early voter turnout in Tarrant County is about 9%, and the county's elections administrator says it's the highest it's ever been for a municipal election.
In Plano, there are three candidates running to succeed Mayor Harry LaRosiliere, who's also facing term limits.
Council member Lily Bao, who has been endorsed by the Texas Attorney General and Collin County Sheriff and many other Republicans.
John Muns, a former Plano ISD Trustee and past Chair of the city's Planning and Zoning Commission and Lydia Ortega are also on the ballot.
The early voter turnout in Collin County is about 10%, higher than for municipal elections in 2019 and 2017.