‘Unprecedented’ number of people running for Fort Worth mayor, council in May election
Fort Worth voters have the greatest choice of candidates for mayor in recent history and will elect fresh faces and perspectives to the council for the first time since 2017.
Mayor Betsy Price’s absence from the ballot has opened the field for 11 candidates, the most packed race in at least a decade. With two council members vying for the mayoral seat and Councilman Dennis Shingleton’s retirement, the heated contest has trickled down to council races. Every council seat is contestedwith at least four candidates running in most districts.
Filing ended Friday. The election is May 1.
Price, in a written statement to the Star-Telegram, said she expected the race for mayor would draw significant interest without her, noting that five candidates ran in 2011 when she was first elected. She said she was excited to see new ideas brought to the City Council.
“We’re a rapidly growing city, and some change is healthy as we continue to grow,” she said. “We’ve built a lot of great things in the past decade, so I look forward to seeing how someone new will build onto those foundations.”
The mayoral field includes her council colleagues Brian Byrd, who has been endorsed by Republican U.S. Rep. Kay Granger and Ann Zadeh, who received endorsements in 2019 from former councilmen Jeff Davis and Joel Burns, among others. Mattie Parker, the former chief of staff for Price and the council, has the backing of several of Fort Worth’s establishment, including members of the Bass family. Deborah Peoples, the county Democratic Party chairperson, gave Price her toughest race in 2019.
Six political newcomers are also running for mayor: Daniel “DC” Caldwell II, Mylene George, Mike Haynes, Cedric C. Kanyinda, Steve Penate, Chirs Rector and Leroy Scott.
The race for mayor has drawn an “unprecedented number of candidates, at least in my memory,” said Bill Meadows, a former city councilman whose father was also on the council in the 1970s. Thinking back to the 1980s, he said he couldn’t recall a time the council and mayoral races drew so many candidates or multiple credible candidates with the ability “to draw material votes.”
Such interest in local politics may have been a long time coming, he said.
“One could argue it’s the maturation of Fort Worth,” Meadows said. “We’re a big city now.”
The high volume of candidates could help improve Fort Worth’s lagging voter turnout, said Emily Farris, an associate professor of political science at TCU.
Fort Worth has ranked near the bottom of major American cities in voter turnout. The 2019 race for mayor saw just 38,743 people cast votes, about 9% of registered voters and a small improvement over the 2017 race when about 8% turned out for the mayoral election. A little more than 10% of voters cast ballots in 2011.
“We haven’t done some real foundational work to try to increase voter turnout but certainly like new faces will drive a little bit of voter turnout,” Farris said.
Price has not made an endorsement for mayor, but said whoever is elected should “keep service above self.”
“The mayor’s job is incredibly demanding,” Price said. “You should always be in this because you have a passion to serve and a willingness to dedicate your time, energy and heart to Fort Worth.”
Here’s a look at who’s running:
Fort Worth Mayor
- Brian Byrd, physician and District 3 councilman
- Daniel “DC” Caldwell I, educator
- Mylene George, marketing coordinator
- Mike Haynes, CEO of Haynes Distribution Hub
- Cedric C. Kanyinda, IT professional
- Mattie Parker, CEO of Cradle to Career
- Steve Penate, Real Estate broker
- Deborah Peoples, retired and Chairwoman of the Tarrant County Democratic Party
- Leroy Scott, retired (Withdrawn)
- Chris Rector, author and disabled veteran
- Ann Zadeh, District 9 councilwoman
District 2
- Carlos Flores (incumbent), engineer
- Theodore Gray, business owner
- Jennifer Sarduy, communications manager
- Juan Sixtos, engineer
District 3
- Michael Caceres, school counselor
- Tonya Carter, customer service
- Michael Crain, Real Estate broker and District 3 director for Byrd
- Daniel “Double T” Fattori, detention officer
- Andy Gallagher, car dealer
- Katie Johnson, self employed
- Anne Low, magazine publisher
- Adrian Devine Smith, distribution
District 4
- Jorge L. Chavez, risk analyst
- Kristie Hanhart, business owner
- Cary Moon (i), business owner
- Max Striker, attorney
- Tara Wilson, registered nurse
District 5
- Gyna Bivens(incumbent), president and executive director of North Texas Leaders and Executives Advocating Diversity
- Antonio (Twin) Harris, law care
- Mar’Tayshia James, collector
- Richard Vazquez, Republican precinct chairman
- Bob Willoughby, entertainment merchandise
District 6
- Jungus Jordan (incumbent), retired U.S. Air Force
Tiesa Leggett, vice president of advocacy at the North Texas Commission
- Jared Williams, nonprofit leader and science educator
District 7
- Connie Cottrell, transportation security officer
- Morris Curlee Jr., business owner
Leonard Firestone, entrepreneur
Nick Genua, business executive (Withdrawn)
- Lee Henderson, political strategist
- Shawn Lassiter, educator (Withdrawn)
- Joseph Lockhart Jr., business owner
Michele Stephens McNill, reitred officer
- Zeb Pent, self employed
- Irvin (Tee) Thomas, sales
- Jake Wurman, real estate agent
- Miguel Zamora, senior marketing coordinator
District 8
- Kelly Allen Gray (incumbent), public servant
- Christopher Johnson, entrepreneur
- Tyrone King, carpenter
- Chris Nettles, self employed
- Millennium Woods, Jr., essential worker
District 9
Ricardo Avitia, administrative work
- Fernando Peralta, logistics specialist
- Elizabeth Beck, lawyer
- Doyle Fine, independent contractor
- Darien George, managing partner
- Jordan Mims, service industry
- Sabrina Renteria, event planner
- Erik Richerson, self employed
- Jared Sloane, operations director
This story was originally published February 12, 2021 at 5:47 PM.
