The Fort Worth District 8 City Council runoff election is almost a week away, but the contest between Ramon Romero and Kelly Allen Gray is already being waged vigorously in early voting.
As of Thursday, voters in the district, which includes Poly, Meadowbrook, Morningside and parts of Riverside and far south Fort Worth, had returned 280 ballots by mail, and 218 had voted in person, according to the Tarrant County elections administrator. Nearly half the 1,198 ballots cast in the three-way election May 12 were early.No precinct figures were available for the mail-in vote. But in-person voting is most active in Meadowbrook and Morningside, which Romero and Gray, respectively, won, both by big margins. Tuesday is the last day of early in-person voting before Saturday's election."I know we're a little bit behind the gun," Romero said Friday, heading into a four-day period in which both campaigns said they will aggressively try to get voters out early."It surprises us there is as much early voting as there is," he said. "The traditional precincts she won [in May] are turning out in greater numbers than ours."Romero said he expects to get support even in Gray's best precincts, and he drew significantly more votes on election day in May. Gray said she isn't necessarily surprised by the early turnout."I think we have a lot of support," she said.Romero, who won 45 percent in the May election, and Gray, who won 32 percent and has been endorsed by third-place candidate Marshall Hobbs, are vying to serve the one year left on the term of the popular Kathleen Hicks, who stepped down to run unsuccessfully for Congress. Hicks has not endorsed either candidate, and she declined a request for an interview.Sarah Walker, moderator of the Riverside Alliance, said she hasn't endorsed a candidate and fears the new council member will have a steep learning curve in the district, which has long hungered for development and more public resources."We've lost one of the greatest leaders we've ever had in Kathleen Hicks," Walker said.'Pass the torch'Romero, 38, a businessman born and raised in Poly, and Gray, 43, who grew up in Riverside and spent 12 years as executive director of the United Riverside Rebuilding Corp. affordable housing nonprofit in the district, are campaigning on drawing more development and public resources.Romero, who owns a pool contracting company, tile wholesaler, real estate business and the new Picante Sports Cantina restaurant at U.S. 287 and East Rosedale Street, served on the city's planning and zoning commissions, nominated by Hicks.He says he wants to unify the district's neighborhoods and use his expertise to bring a finer eye to city affairs. He touts the major mixed-use redevelopment of the old Masonic Home site, under way on East Berry Street, as an example of the district's potential.Romero is wading into the homelessness issue, saying the city should develop options for the newly homeless -- such as partnering with apartment complexes -- that don't involve a first stop to the district's East Lancaster homeless shelters. "We need to categorize homeless in a better way," he said.He also views East Lancaster as "arguably one of our city's most important gateways" into downtown and the Cultural District.Gray wants to bring more affordable housing to the district -- "you have to have younger people in the community" -- and she would boost city services in the district by increasing code enforcement."If our city doesn't look good, how do we promote it?" she said.Gray left a sales job to go into neighborhood work years ago. Using a grant, she helped found United Riverside in 2000, serving as executive director through April 30. It has built 25 homes and rehabbed two, Gray said.She said she stepped down to return to school. "It was time to pass the torch," she said.United Riverside has been in a lengthy dispute with the city over the eligibility of the buyers of two homes built and sold to them by the nonprofit and funded with city-administered federal money. According to documents obtained by the Star-Telegram under an Open Records Act request, the city deemed one buyer ineligible and is seeking the return of $109,027 from United Riverside.Gray, representing United Riverside, conceded in 2009 that the nonprofit needed to repay the money. But she said in a Feb. 13 letter to the city that United Riverside spent the money in question on operations and maintenance when it didn't hear back for 28 months on how to structure the payment.The city also seeks documentation from United Riverside on a buyer's eligibility for another home and, lacking that, is seeking the return of $71,474.In an April letter to the city, United Riverside's chairman, Roland Walton, said that the group sent the documents three times over seven years to the city and that the originals were ruined in a water-related accident in 2010.If the city "can't find the information, it doesn't fall back on us," Gray said in an interview Friday.The city also seeks the return of $40,218.29 from United Riverside for money spent to buy six vacant lots that the nonprofit hasn't built on.Gray said the downturn derailed the nonprofit's initial plans to build.Taking sidesGray and Romero are jousting over whether Gray, whose husband, Billy, is a 20-year Fort Worth police officer, would have a conflict of interest in voting on police pension and contract issues before the city.The Fort Worth Police Officers Association, whose political action committee endorsed Hobbs in the May election, confirmed last week that the PAC is endorsing Gray."Perception is reality," Romero said of Gray's position. "I believe it is a conflict of interest personally, even if it isn't legally."Romero said he hasn't taken a stance on the pension and contract issues. Gray said she hasn't, either."The assumption is just because your husband is a Fort Worth police officer that you will vote a certain way," she said. "That is not the case."Race is also a strong thread in the campaign. And some say the district, long represented by an African-American, should stay that way."I hear that," said Gray, an African-American. "I'm just running my race."The district today is 44 percent Hispanic and 33 percent black, and Hispanics have been clamoring for more representation in the city."There's no doubt there's some division there," Romero said. "But I'm praying that's not the case."Both campaigns have attracted contributions, with Romero's enjoying some noteworthy givers.Romero raised $18,261 between Feb. 13 and May 2, according to campaign filings. Contributions include $1,000 from congressional candidate Domingo Garcia; $500 apiece from attorney and Councilman Sal Espino, who represents Fort Worth's north side, and former Councilman Steve Murrin; $1,500 from the Greater Fort Worth Association of Realtors Political Action Committee; and $1,000 from the limited partnership headed by Happy Baggett, a developer of the Masonic Home project.Romero said last week that some of his supporters have been soliciting contributions from others.Baggett said in an interview that he's known Romero for years from working his project through the city."You better come to the table with all your stuff," Baggett said, citing Romero's business background. Of Gray, he said, "from what I've heard, very nice, very capable person. I just don't know her."Wanda Conlin, a Meadowbrook leader and publisher of the Greater Meadowbrook News, recently held a rally at her home for Romero and said she appreciates his business experience, desire to boost East Lancaster and service on the planning and zoning commissions."He was really good to District 8," she said. "If we went up there with an issue, he was neighborhood-friendly."Conlin said she has nothing against Gray. "We're going to support whichever one of them gets it because we've got stuff we need," she said.Gray's campaign reported raising $15,275 from Feb. 15 through May 2, including $4,080 from her husband, $2,000 from two family friends, $450 from the Texas Democratic Party and $400 from her sister, longtime activist Phyllis Allen.Opal Lee, chairwoman of the Community Food Bank on Belknap Street and a neighbor of Gray, said she's in Gray's camp."Got no problems with [Romero], except Kelly needs that spot," Lee said. "We need that spot. We need a woman on the council. The girl is sharp. She has done some extremely good things for the neighborhood."Scott Nishimura, 817-390-7808Have more to add? News tip? Tell us
