Flores, Thalman joining councils, but it was close

North Fort Worth and southeast Arlington finally have new City Council members, and not one day too soon.

With local control and cities’ authority under attack in the Texas Legislature special session beginning July 18, both cities will need all hands on deck to argue that the government closest to the voters is the best.

Carlos E. Flores, an aerospace engineer who grew up on the north side, will represent District 2 on the Fort Worth City Council at a time of unprecedented growth.

The outgoing council member, Sal Espino, has left plans in place for a $900 million Panther Island central-city floodway development plan along the Trinity River near downtown, and for a $175 million shopping center to augment the Historic Stockyards.

Flores won the most votes inside Loop 820 with Espino’s support and also backing from Mayor Betsy Price and former opponents Jennifer Treviño and Tony Pérez. But opponent Steve Thornton had run before and had $100,000 in cash and in-kind gifts from a firefighters’ PAC. Sadly, his campaign raised misleading claims in the last days.

New Arlington council member Roxanne Thalman will succeed outgoing Robert Rivera, unless a recount reverses her three-vote margin over experienced campaigner Marvin Sutton. Thalman won by capturing precincts north of Sublett Road, and picked up 19 votes compared to her May total, while Sutton lost 234 votes.

Arlington council member Lana Wolff, a leader in the city’s downtown renaissance, also was re-elected over young challenger Dakota Loupe.

In Keller, former Mayor Pat McGrail rode a resounding turnout from the city’s southern neighborhoods back into office, succeeding Mark Mathews.

McGrail campaigned for consensus leadership in a city known for mean-spirited politics and petty disputes, driven in part by two volatile Tea Party factions and by a Midland-funded special-interest group that campaigns broadly against municipal debt and taxes.

What’s amazing is that McGrail and opponent Rick Barnes drew nearly 600 more voters Saturday than in the first election May 6. Keller’s 4,200-plus voters represented a 14 percent turnout, compared to 6 percent in the Fort Worth district and 5 percent in Arlington.

When an election is decided by three votes with a puny turnout, that’s a reminder that every vote counts.

This story was originally published June 12, 2017 at 5:19 PM with the headline "Flores, Thalman joining councils, but it was close."