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FORT WORTH — The early starters will meet in a runoff to replace the late Chuck Silcox on the City Council, while Mayor Mike Moncrief and most other incumbents won re-election with more than 70 percent of the vote.
Eric Fox and W.B. "Zim" Zimmerman began getting organized for the District 3 council race in December, shortly after Silcox died. Fox got 41.8 percent of Saturday’s vote and Zimmerman got 32.5 percent in unofficial, complete returns. The other five candidates got between 3 and 8.9 percent of the vote.The mayor’s position and all eight council seats were up for election. Only two positions were uncontested, and most of the attention was on District 3, the only open seat.District 3Silcox, who represented west and southwest Fort Worth for 17 years, died in October.Both Fox and Zimmerman said it was sometimes hard to differentiate themselves from the others in the seven-way race."The problem is, if someone says something you know is wrong, there’s no way to refute it," Zimmerman said. Fox said that during the runoff, "I think the people in District 3 are going to be able to take a harder look at each of us."Zimmerman announced his campaign earlier, but Fox raised more money and lined up endorsements from U.S. Rep. Kay Granger, state Rep. Charlie Geren and others. Zimmerman questioned whether Fox could be independent, since he works as a lobbyist for Lockheed Martin. Fox said his experience working with government, including time as a congressional staffer, would help him handle transportation issues and cost-cutting at City Hall. The runoff is scheduled for June 13.Other candidates included Gary Hogan with 8.8 percent; Matthew Hudson, 6.5 percent; James Nuttall, 3 percent; Bill Lawson, 3.8 percent; and Elizabeth Jane McCune, 3.6 percent.MayorMoncrief was up against two old opponents. Clyde Picht served on the City Council from 1997 to 2005, and Louis McBee had previously run for mayor and the council. Picht and McBee questioned Moncrief’s leadership, particularly on natural gas drilling issues and the city budget. Moncrief got 70.3 percent of the vote, compared with 22 percent for Picht and 7.7 percent for McBee. District 4Danny Scarth won his second full term with 56.7 percent of the vote, beating Lupe Arriola and Jeffery Harris. Arriola attacked Scarth for supporting gas drilling, and said in one ad that "the City Council is actually looking at raising taxes to cover the shortfall they created." Scarth sent out a mailer decrying Arriola’s "outrageous negative attack ads." Arriola got 35.3 percent of the vote, and Harris got 8 percent.District 5Frank Moss got 76 percent of the vote over Melinda Hamilton and Carey Brown. All three candidates talked about the need for new homes and businesses in the district. Hamilton got 19.2 percent and Brown got 4.7 percent.District 6Jungus Jordan won with 74.7 percent of the vote over Glen Bucy and Paul Hicks. Bucy played up his age – 27 – and his service in the Army in Afghanistan. Hicks attacked the city’s failure to fix roads and code violations.Jordan stressed the role he has played on the regional rail plan and the Southwest Parkway. Bucy had 13.2 percent of the vote; Hicks had 12.1 percent.District 7Carter Burdette was elected to his second term with 69.8 percent of the vote over Charlie Murphy. Burdette, a retired oil and gas lawyer, has been a proponent of gas drilling in the city; Murphy called for a moratorium on drilling until safety and environmental studies could be performed.District 8Kathleen Hicks got 80.3 percent of the vote over Suzette Watkins. Both candidates stressed the need for more police protection, economic development and code enforcement in the largely low-income district. Watkins attacked Hicks for using tax incentives and other tools to attract businesses; Hicks said Watkins is out of touch with the need for improved buses and other public transportation.MIKE LEE, 817-390-7539
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