After election victory, Jim Ross lists his priorities as Arlington’s next mayor
When he began his mayoral campaign in November, Jimmy “Jim” Robert Ross said he was concerned about the city’s future after Mayor Jeff Williams termed out of office. Voters Saturday gave Ross, a businessman, attorney, Marine and former Arlington police officer, a chance to help the city keep moving.
Ross comfortably carried the majority in the runoff against former cuncil member and minister Michael Glaspie and ended Saturday night with 54.45% of the 20,790 votes cast to Glaspie’s 45.55%, according to unofficial results.
“I knew it was going to tighten up. Everybody tells me that’s what you should expect in a runoff,” Ross said. “It did tighten up a little bit, but luckily, we garnered quite a bit of support there in Arlington and our supporters have stuck with us.”
Ross said his priority remains bringing in more jobs and attracting new businesses.
“It hasn’t changed since the day I started talking about stuff on the campaign,” he said. “It’s been jobs, jobs and jobs. Arlington has to get better at developing and attracting new businesses and developments and stuff, so we have to do better at that.”
In addition to economic development, Ross’ platforms have included supporting quality education, improving traffic flow and transit options, reducing residents’ tax burdens and supporting law enforcement and public safety at the tail end of the pandemic.
In a phone interview with the Star-Telegram, Glaspie said he was proud of the campaign he ran.
“We reached out as much as we could and tried to identify places where we could connect with people and in return get them to come out to vote,” he said.
Ross fell less than 3 percentage points short of claiming the May 1 race outright over his six opponents and Jerry Warden, who was declared ineligible for previous felony convictions, but remained on the ballot after Ross’ campaign brought the issue to city hall.
While running an aggressive campaign that raised and spent far more than his opponents, Ross faced staunch opposition from people who saw him as the “establishment candidate” for his support from Williams and other big-name political figures. His opponents all gave their support to Glaspie before the runoff, and Ross spent myriad interviews and panel discussions asserting the differences between him and Williams.
Jim Ross’ background
Though the mayor’s race was his first foray into running for office, Ross has been active in the community for much of his 40 years in Arlington.
He moved to Arlington after receiving an honorable discharge from the U.S. Marines and spent 13 years as a police officer. During his time with APD, he was part of the agency’s first Special Operations Unit and spent six years investigating narcotics trafficking.
In 1999, Ross became a licensed attorney and eventually opened his own practice. Jim Ross Law Group holds offices in Arlington, Fort Worth and Dallas and is the Texas Rangers’ official law firm. In 2017, Ross opened Mercury Chophouse, known for its upscale, fine-dining setting and a panoramic view of the city.
Ross has said along the campaign trail that his experiences and range of careers distinguished him from his opponents.
“I’m the only candidate who can stand before you and say that I’ve done it all,” Ross told host Ed Gray on the Commish Radio Show in January.
Ross also contended with his label of the “establishment candidate,” due to his big-name backings and support from notable business owners and developers. The label has become all the more loaded in the years following the contentious vote surrounding Globe Life Field’s construction using taxpayer money and the 2018 charter amendment referendum that established the city’s stringent term limits. Ross told the Star-Telegram in April that he and Williams are “cut from two different cloths.”
“Just because I’ve received the support of Jeff Williams or Richard Greene does not mean that I am a cookie-cutter image of them,” Ross said, referring to the backing he received from the former mayors.
Williams, one of Ross’ earliest supporters, said he was confident Ross would serve the city well, while congratulating Glaspie on his campaign.
“I look forward to Michael continuing to be a leader here also, but I think Jim is going to be a great mayor,” Williams said.
This story was originally published June 6, 2021 at 8:15 AM.
