This all-women of color Arlington council race centers on safety, business growth
The diversity of candidates in one of Arlington’s most crowded city council races is not lost on the women vying for the seat.
The race feels different for Dora Tovar, who ran for Mansfield school board in 2015 as the only candidate of color on the ticket. Six years later, Tovar is running against four women of color in one of Arlington’s most racially diverse and fastest-growing areas.
“I’m just disappointed we don’t have a photo opp of all of us because it really is historic,” said Tovar, who runs a public relations firm.
The victor will succeed first-term council member Marvin Sutton, who is running for mayor instead of seeking re-election. Joining Tovar in the race are Nikkie Hunter, a health care administrator; Diana Saleh, an account manager; Tamiko Brown, a teacher; and Alixis Lupien, a clothing designer.
Jean Sinzdak, associate director of the Center for American Women in Politics at Rutgers University, called the race a “phenomenon,” and part of a wider trend of more women running for office at all levels of government.
“It’s a trend that we’ve seen, and it’s fantastic to see it going in that direction because there’s more people running and people of diverse backgrounds running,” she said. “It just makes the whole process more democratic.”
April 1 is the voter registration deadline in Texas. Early voting runs April 19 through April 27, and Election Day is May 1. Arlington residents will also choose a new mayor and City Council seats in single-member districts 4 and 5, as well as at-large District 8.
Unique issues, campaign challenges
Most of the candidates are new to campaigning for local office, but bring a range of experiences in community service and business operation.
Hunter most recently sat on the city’s Unity Council and Term Limits Advisory Committee and has for years volunteered with hospitals and nonprofits. Hunter said she did not originally plan to run, but changed her mind when she did not see candidates focusing on lowering the area’s crime rate.
“I’m the only candidate who originally wanted to focus on the crime and safety of our neighborhoods,” Hunter said. “I want to build a relationship with not only our city leaders, but also build a relationship with our police officers and our fire department to make sure that we are working together to get our crime rates down.”
Lupien said in a phone call with the Star-Telegram she is concerned with arrest rates, as well as economic development for small businesses. Lupien has run Ains and Elke Stylehaus, a vintage fashion business, since 2014 out of Arlington.
“I’d like to see more local business opening and actually being sustained,” Lupien said.
Both Lupien and Tovar said they would like to focus on making the city’s business dealings more inclusive, citing recent disparity studies that show minority- and women- owned firms are passed over for city contracts.
Beyond that, Tovar said, she would like to improve communication between the city and residents of District 3, especially for projects that do not require their vote.
“A lot of people feel like they haven’t been heard,” Tovar said. “A lot of residents have said to me, ‘Dora, it’s great that we have these great facilities, but the city leadership and staff only reached out to the community when they needed our vote.’”
In addition to improving access to council and forming a review board to investigate conduct complaints against Arlington Police, Saleh’s platforms include improving partnerships with schools and universities, supporting economic development, creating a permanent Unity Council and supporting transportation and road repair initiatives.
Saleh said her campaign has focused on addressing the concerns she has heard while campaigning.
“I think there’s definitely a need for fresh perspective and people are just very energized to see younger folks stepping up,” Saleh said.
Brown did not make herself available after multiple interview requests by phone and email.
Candidates are also learning how to campaign during a pandemic and on the heels of the deadly Texas freeze that left millions of Texans without power. Both Saleh and Hunter, who began campaigning before the storm, dedicated part of their campaign to providing food, water and resources to residents, or calling local stores to check supplies.
Tovar delayed her campaign due to both the freeze and campaign workers who wished to get involved after spring break.
Lupien said the storm and outages hurt her campaign efforts as she tried to get her political bearings, as it hamstrung people who could have helped and choked people’s ability to donate.
“I know what I need now for the next time, so if I don’t win this time, I definitely will be able to tackle the next election better than this one,” she said.
