Here’s our recommendation for southeast Arlington voters deciding City Council runoff
While the whole of Arlington decides its next mayor in a runoff, voters in just one council district, southeast Arlington’s District 3, will also choose a representative. We recommend they go with Nikkie Hunter to fill the open seat.
Hunter, a 44-year-old health care administrator, is a straight shooter focused on improving basic services for District 3. She wants to reduce crime, help ailing neighborhoods, and improve roads and other infrastructure issues. In our interview with the candidates, she rejected big development projects, arguing that southeast Arlington residents need help in their neighborhoods first.
Her involvement in service and connections position her to get the needed attention for her constituents. Hunter has a broad range of endorsements, particularly among police groups. Her work on Arlington’s Unity Council gives her extensive knowledge of the issues facing the city.
Diana Saleh, a 32-year-old account manager in business development, led the first round of voting by just 29 votes out of nearly 4,400 cast for five candidates. She and Hunter ran far ahead of the rest.
Saleh offers a sweeping set of policy ideas, but drill down and you won’t find a lot of specifics. District 3 residents especially won’t find much pertaining to their area’s needs. We like many of her ideas, such as leveraging better connections with the University of Texas at Arlington. But they need developing.
In our interview, Hunter always seemed to be a step ahead. Asked about needed projects, she rattled off specific streets for which she would seek repairs. When Saleh said she would convene small-business owners to assess their needs coming out of the coronavirus pandemic, Hunter noted she had already met with many, and their chief concern is getting customers to return and having city officials assure that it’s safe to do so.
We liked Hunter in the first round, too. Just before Election Day, we rescinded our recommendation when it was revealed Hunter had failed to disclose a personal bankruptcy in response to a question about civil cases and bankruptcies in the Star-Telegram’s Voter Guide. Hunter said she misinterpreted the question, and while that was a regrettable mistake, we have no reason to believe it was anything other than that.
We pledged to reconsider for the runoff, and we remain convinced that Hunter is better prepared to serve.
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.