North Texas mayors face little opposition in upcoming municipal elections
NORTH TEXAS (CBSNewsTexas) - Early voting for the May 6th municipal elections begins Monday, and the mayors of the largest cities in North Texas face little to no opposition.
"Usually, the mayors' races for Dallas, Fort-Worth are the signature events for these May municipal elections," Matthew Wilson, Political Science Professor at SMU in Dallas said. "This cycle, there's simply no drama in any of those."
Both Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson and Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker face minor challenges. Johnson faces a write-in candidate, and Parker has four opponents.
Mayors in three other North Texas cities face a similar situation. Irving Mayor Rick Stopfer is running unopposed, while Arlington Mayor Jim Ross and Frisco Mayor Jeff Cheney face challengers.
Wilson said one reason the mayoral races aren't attracting a lot of attention this year is that they are non-partisan. There's no Republican or Democratic messaging driving people to the polls.
Another factor Wilson said is that residents seem content with the incumbents and how the cities are being run. "There has not been this groundswell of anger and discontent with the existing government that we've seen in some places."
Last week, Irving's Mayor welcomed Wells Fargo Bank leaders and Governor Greg Abbott at a ground-breaking ceremony in Las Colinas for the bank's new regional campus.
Mayor Stopfer told CBS News Texas that his job requires a major time commitment and that he believes he didn't attract opponents because people are still in the process of re-evaluating their lives. "I think they're going through that, some of that still through Covid and I think people are genuinely happy with what's going on. I think others are concerned with how much time and energy do I need to spend to really do this job."
This year, the key difference is that when the mayors of Dallas, Fort Worth, and Arlington last appeared on the ballot, the seats were vacant.
"Usually absent some sort of scandal or mismanagement or controversy, it's difficult to unseat an incumbent." Wilson said, "And so, a lot of people who might be thinking about a mayoral bid would rather just buy their time, wait for an open seat opportunity."
In Dallas, former Dallas ISD Superintendent Michael Hinojosa decided against challenging Mayor Johnson.
Johnson received endorsements from dozens of elected leaders at all levels of government early on and raised more than $1.2 million. Records show as of April 2, he has more than $1.16 million in his campaign account.
There are also city council and school board races along with bond elections.
In Denton, voters will consider removing Council Member Jesse Davis in a recall election.
After redistricting, Fort Worth has two more council members for a total of ten.
You can vote early this week, April 24-28, between 8 am and 5 pm at a polling location in your county. On Saturday and Sunday, the times are different depending on which county you live in. On the following Monday and Tuesday, May 1 and 2nd, you can vote 7 am until 7 pm.
Remember, you will need to bring your driver's license or another form of photo ID.
Follow Jack on Twitter; @cbs11jack
