Our Election Day recommendations: No on Fort Worth crime tax, West in Senate runoff
For decades, Fort Worth voters have approved extensions of the Crime Control and Prevention District, which collects tens of millions of dollars a year in sales tax to fund police operations. The elections have never been close; voters obviously and correctly believe that fighting crime and ensuring public safety are among a city’s highest priority.
But in Tuesday’s election, there are important differences: The city has asked for a 10-year term, as opposed to previous five-year extensions, and the vote comes amid an intense national debate about how police should operate and ongoing outrage about law-enforcement brutality against minorities.
For those reasons, we have recommended that voters reject the extension. The City Council should go back to the drawing board and consider a shorter-term extension and possibly a lower rate than the standard half-cent, to possibly free up revenue for other priorities.
This Editorial Board is not anti-police. We believe “defund the police” proposals go way too far, and we recognize that the additional funding that the crime district allocates has done a great deal to make the city much safer from the high-crime days of the late 1980s and early 90s.
But the needs of today are different, and we believe the next step in making Fort Worth safer is to emphasize programs to tackle mental illness, homelessness and other social ills, along with the dangers of recurrent gang violence.
BEHIND THE STORY
MOREHey, who is behind these endorsements?
Members of the Editorial Board, which serves as the Fort Worth Star-Telegram’s institutional voice, decide candidates and positions to recommend to voters. The members of the board are: Cynthia M. Allen, columnist; Steve Coffman, editor and president; Bud Kennedy, columnist; Ryan J. Rusak, opinion editor; and Nicole Russell, opinion writer.
Members of our Community Advisory Board may also participate in candidate interviews and offer their views, but they do not vote on which candidate to recommend.
Read more by clicking the arrow in the upper right.
How does the process work?
The Editorial Board interviews candidates, asking about positions on issues, experience and qualifications, and how they would approach holding the office for which they are running. Board members do additional research on candidates’ backgrounds and the issues at hand. After that, members discuss the candidates and generally aim to arrive at a consensus, though not necessarily unanimity. All members contribute observations and ideas, so the resulting editorials represent the board’s view, not a particular writer.
How do partisanship and ideology factor in?
We’re not tied to one party or the other, and our positions on issues range across the ideological spectrum. We tend to prefer candidates who align with our previously stated positions, but qualifications, temperament and experience are important, too.
Mayor Betsy Price and Police Chief Ed Kraus have said they share those goals. And the department has already taken some steps, such as an innovative Crisis Intervention Team that pairs officers with mental-health workers to help get treatment for those involved in nonviolent offenses.
By voting no, Fort Worth residents can prompt City Manager David Cooke and the council to take a broader look at our needs. We don’t pretend there are easy answers; the long-term economic damage from the coronavirus pandemic creates more budget problems and greater challenges in setting priorities.
One possibility that’s frequently brought up, though, is reducing the crime tax to have more money for mass transit. Or perhaps direct funding of mental-health programs. The point is to reconsider the city’s needs for the next decade beyond policing, while still ensuring the best possible training, equipment and staffing for our law enforcement.
To force that conversation, voters should say “no” to Proposition A on Tuesday’s ballot.
The vote was originally scheduled for May but was delayed because of the pandemic. The result is an odd pairing with the Republican and Democratic primary runoffs. Here are our recommendations in the two highest-profile races for Dallas-Fort Worth voters:
U.S. SENATE (D)
Royce West, a longtime Dallas state senator and lawyer, is the party’s best option to take on Republican incumbent John Cornyn. West has a record of bipartisan work in Austin that would enable him to be effective from day one in Washington, if he were to win. After decades in public service, he has a broad range of experience. But in particular, his work on policing issues could come in handy in the coming years.
West’s opponent, MJ Hegar of Round Rock, is a dynamic candidate with a compelling biography that includes military service. But West would make the more effective candidate and senator.
24th CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT (D)
The race to replace retiring Republican Rep. Kenny Marchant will be one of the most closely watched in the country. Republicans nominated former Irving Mayor Beth Van Duyne in the district, which stretches from northeast Tarrant County to Addison. Democrats should choose retired Air Force Col. Kim Olson.
She and rival Candace Valenzuela, a former board member in the Carrollton-Farmers Branch school district, don’t differ much on issues. Valenzuela may have a bright future as a progressive standard-bearer, but Olson would be best positioned to win over swing voters in the district.