Your guide to the upcoming Tarrant Appraisal District board elections: Who’s running?
It’s been a difficult year for the Tarrant Appraisal District, which values Tarrant County property for the purpose of calculating property taxes.
In just nine months, board chair Kathryn Wilemon was recalled in an effort to improve transparency at the agency; Information Systems Director Cal Wood was terminated after he was recorded advocating for lying to the media; and longtime Chief Appraiser Jeff Law resigned after multiple taxing entities took votes of no confidence in his leadership.
While the board is in the process of appointing Law’s replacement, all five voting board seats are up for election.
Candidates can be nominated by taxing entities, which are required to submit their nominations by Oct. 15.
Each taxing entity is given a certain number of votes based on a calculation that uses the amount of property taxes the entity imposes. Their votes must be submitted by Oct. 15.
Here are the nominees so far.
New faces
Alan Blaylock, nominated by the Fort Worth City Council.
Blaylock is the District 10 council member. He ran in the 2022 special election to replace former council member Cary Moon in District 4. He is also the former head of the Heritage homeowners association. Blaylock has been a strong advocate for the “no-new-revenue” tax rate to keep property taxes down.
Gary Losada, nominated by the Keller City Council.
Losada served on the Appraisal Review Board from 2009 to 2016. He served on the TAD board of directors from 2020 to 2022. Losada said he was encouraged by community members and his family to finish the work he started on the board. “The culture’s got to change at TAD. That’s a thing that starts at the top by the board of directors,” he said.
Jerald Miller, nominated by Lakeside City Council.
Miller, a veteran of the music industry, is a familiar face at TAD board meetings. He has served as a consultant helping restore organizations in industries with outdated technology. As a board member, he would fight for the residents of Tarrant County and work to establish fixed formal policies at the organization, he said.
Gloria Pena, nominated by Arlington school district.
Pena served on the Arlington school board from 2004 to 2015.
Seeking re-election
Richard DeOtte, nominated by the Keller City Council
DeOtte was elected to the board in 2020. He sought the nomination after hearing from taxpayers that “TAD is out of control.” In his nearly four years on the board, he has worked to bring transparency to the agency, which, until the nomination of Vince Puente, was largely a solo job.
Vince Puente, nominated by the Keller City Council
Puente was nominated by Tarrant County in May 2022 to fill a vacancy left by former board chair Kathryn Wilemon, who was recalled in February. In his less than six months on the job, he was established himself as an advocate for transparency and for cutting spending at the agency.
This list will be updated with any additional nominations ahead of the Oct. 15 deadline.
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