Arlington races draw several mayor, council, AISD board candidates. Here’s who filed
Arlington residents have plenty of candidates to consider when deciding mayoral and council seats this spring.
Eight have signed up for the mayor’s race. The winner will replace Mayor Jeff Williams, who is terming out of the office he has held since 2015. Early voting runs April 19 through April 27, and election day is May 1.
Candidates in the mayor’s race are:
- Doni Anthony, sales
- Kelly Rashad Burke, business owner
- Michael Glaspie, minister and former District 8 City Councilmember
- Cirilo Ocampo Jr. (CJ), GIS
- Jim Ross, business owner
- Marvin Sutton, District 3 City Councilmember, retired
- Jerry Warden, talent purchasing agent
- Dewayne Washington, programmer
Most of the candidates are people of color. O.K. Carter, former Arlington Star-Telegram and Citizen-Journal publisher, said the race is the most diverse he has seen in the city.
Carter said several factors may have attracted candidates to the race, including the success of other candidates and the attention national politics have brought to local offices.
“All that sort of comes together and creates just a different political environment,” Carter said.
Brent Boyea, UT Arlington associate political science professor, said the crowded mayor’s race could be attributed to Williams’ popularity, as well as the higher turnover in city hall due to term limits. Under provisions voters approved in 2018, no one can serve more than six years as mayor or city council.
“You have people running for office who have an opportunity to run who maybe had not had it in the past,” Boyea said.
It remains to be seen whether the Arlington City Council will ask voters to consider less stringent term limits — the council’s committee recommended allowing candidates four terms and the opportunity to run again after two “cool-off” years. The council can vote to put the issue on the ballot now that two years have passed since the rule went into effect.
Some on Council and attuned to city government issues fear the high turnover caused by current term limits will cost the city institutional knowledge.
“You’re losing experience with government,” Boyea said. “It’s a lot more complicated than people give it credit for.”
No matter people’s feelings on term limits, Carter said, term limits seem to have worked in encouraging more political participation from non-establishment figures.
Some candidates made their intention to run known well before voters decided November races. Sutton, who is finishing his first term representing District 3, told Facebook friends of his plans to run July 4.
Ross, a former Arlington police officer who is now an attorney and owner of Mercury Chophouse, held a campaign kickoff Nov. 12, where prominent figures including Williams and former Mayor Richard Greene publicly endorsed his candidacy.
Even so, Boyea said, anything could happen in a race with a large candidate pool.
“If you have lots of people running and they divide the vote up a certain way, you kind of don’t know how it’s going work out, even if someone like Ross does have the financial name brand support in the city,” he said.
Voters in east and southeast Arlington will elect new council members. First-term representative Sutton gave up his candidacy to run for mayor, and District 5 Council member Dr. Ignacio Nunez is not seeking re-election. Other seats up for election include District 4, which represents west Arlington, and District 8, an at-large seat.
Residents in Arlington School District will also decide board members in places 1, 2 and 3.
District 3
Tamiko Brown, teacher/educator
- Nikkie Hunter, healthcare admin
Alixis Lupien, clothing designer
Diana Saleh, account manager
Dora O. Tovar, business owner
District 4
- Hunter Crow, secretary
- Nehal L. Mehta, business owner
Billy McClendon, Jr. (B.W.), pastor/school teacher
Anne Nwaefulu, lawyer
- Andrew Piel, attorney (incumbent)
- Cheyenne M. Zokaie, attorney
District 5
- Rebecca Boxall, architect
- Kennedy Jones, pastor/engineer
District 8
Chris “Dobi” Dobson, dog sitter/walker
- Barbara Odom-Wesley, retired (incumbent)
AISD Place 1
- Sam Abu
- Sarah McMurrough
- Watson Robinson, Jr.
- Polly Walton (incumbent)
AISD Place 2
- Melody Fowler (incumbent)
- Michael Perkins
AISD Place 3
- Daphne Jackson
- Aaron Reich (incumbent)
- Richard Weber
This story was originally published February 12, 2021 at 5:39 PM.
