Arlington residents to choose between well-known attorney, minister in mayoral runoff
Several people told Jim Ross the race for Arlington mayor would likely result in a runoff. As election results came in, Ross told supporters the same people did not, however, anticipate the race ending so close to him capturing the majority of votes needed to win the seat.
By the end of his campaign party at Arlington Clover Club, the attorney and businessowner told supporters he expected a runoff with Michael Glaspie, a minister and former three-term District 8 city council member. By Sunday morning, Ross received 47.39% of 31,132 votes for mayor, falling just short of the over 50% necessary to win the race outright. Glaspie received 21.12%.
“Here’s what you can anticipate from me: I will continue to work my butt off ... to let everybody in Arlington know that we are taking this thing home for sure at the end of this runoff,” Ross said during his watch party.
Ross, 60, is a former Arlington police officer and Marine. His namesake law firm represents the Texas Rangers and he recently opened Mercury Chophouse in Arlington’s entertainment district.
Glaspie, 74, who ministers for Mount Olive Baptist Church, said he benefited from “pockets of support” from his civic engagement. Glaspie has previously served on boards, including for the Arlington school district, Tarrant Appraisal District and Texas Health Arlington Memorial Hospital.
“I think we’ve been gaining momentum as we’ve gone along, so we’d like to continue to do that and make sure that we get our message out to people to understand more about me, the experience I have, the things I’ve done as well as the things I would like to do that would benefit Arlington,” Glaspie said.
The two received the most votes in a seven-person race to replace Mayor Jeff Williams, who could not run again due to term limits. Voters will decide between the two men during a June 5 runoff, with early voting scheduled between May 24 and June 1.
Ross’ platforms include supporting law enforcement, supporting small businesses; keeping taxes low; reducing traffic congestion and transportation opportunities; and improving education.
Glaspie has campaigned on leveraging Arlington’s uniqueness to both attract large businesses and support small businesses, reopening the economy following the pandemic and keeping COVID-19 vaccinations accessible; supporting first responders; keeping property taxes down; and improving education.
The open race drew a range of candidates. In third place, retired air traffic controller and District 3 council member Marvin Sutton received 14.95% of the vote. Sutton said in a phone interview Saturday evening he would continue to organize community events once the pandemic subsides and work on connecting residents with city hall.
Sutton said he was proud of his campaign, which relied heavily on individual contributions. His largest donation came from Progressive Women of Arlington, which contributed $1,000.
“Dollar for dollar, I think we had a better output for every dollar we spent compared to other campaigns,” Sutton said.
Glaspie was the second largest spender in the mayoral race and received endorsements from former Mayor Elzie Odom, former Arlington police chief Theron Bowman and former AISD Superintendent Jerry McCullough.
Ross, who spent over $181,000 from campaign contributions, received big-name endorsements from Williams, former Mayor Richard Greene and all four local police associations.
Other mayoral candidates include Kelly Burke, who received 7.35% of the vote; Dewayne Washington, who received 5.13%; Doni Anthony, who received 1.82%; and Cirilo “CJ” Ocampo Jr., who received 1.18%. Candidate Jerry Warden was declared ineligible due to felony convictions, but still appeared on the ballot. He received 1.05% of the vote.
Glaspie said he hopes the number of candidates reflects residents’ wishes to be engaged with city issues.
“On the one hand, you the idea of having that many people running for mayor is not exactly appealing to you when you’re running, but then on the other hand, it’s a reflection of how much concern there is in the community,” Glaspie said.
The race drew higher turnout than any previous race in recent memory, with figures over the past 20 years ranging from just over 10,000 to over 26,000 cast. Experts including Brent Boyea, UT Arlington associate political science professor, predicted the race would draw interest as Williams reached the end of his tenure.
Political consultant Craig Murphy of Murphy Nasica and Associates said the special election to fill the late Rep. Ron Wright’s 6th District seat would draw in more interest.
Council elections
Southeast Arlington’s District 3 council race is headed to a runoff after no candidate secured more than 50% of the 4,387 votes cast. Diana Saleh, an account manager eked out a narrow lead over health care administrator Nikkie Hunter, capturing 32.16% of the votes to Hunter’s 31.5%. The two defeated teacher and educator Tamiko Brown, businessowner Dora O. Tovar and clothing designer Alixis Lupien.
Residents in downtown and east Arlington elected Rebecca Boxall, an architect and planning and zoning commissioner, to District 5’s council seat. Boxall received 61.61% of the 2,834 votes, while pastor and engineer Kennedy Jones received 38.39%.
Andrew Piel, incumbent District 4 Councilmember and construction law attorney, comfortably held his southwest Arlington seat in a five-person race, receiving 68.58% of the 8,430 votes. Pastor and teacher Billy B.W. McClendon Jr. received 11.23%, attorney Anne Nwaefulu received 10.02%, attorney Cheyenne M. Zokaie received 6.28% and businessowner Nehal L. Mehta received 3.89%.
Retired health care professor won another term for District 8 City Council, an at-large seat. She received 76.17% of the 28,111 votes cast, while dog walker and sitter Chris “Dobi” Dobson received 23.83%.
This story was originally published May 2, 2021 at 9:20 AM.
