Candidates Gear Up for Runoff Elections That Will Be Held This Month

By Anthony Spangler and Aman Batheja, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Texas

Dec. 9–FORT WORTH — The political machinery is about to crank up in the runoffs for unexpired seats on the Fort Worth City Council and the Texas House of Representatives.

Candidates Joel Burns and Juan Rangel Jr. are making their final pushes toward the Dec. 18 runoff that will fill the District 9 City Council seat vacated by Wendy Davis, who is running for the state Senate. And Dan Barrett and Mark Shelton are seeking to represent State House District 97, which from which Anna Mowery resigned in August. The four candidates collected the most votes in the Nov. 6 election but fell short of majorities.

“We should expect lower turnout than the first election because there were propositions on the ballot and there are fewer candidates now,” said Jim Riddlesperger, a political science professor at Texas Christian University who lives in both districts.

“You have to give the edge to Mark Shelton because of the demographics of the district,” Riddlesperger said. “The districts overlap, but they are not the same districts. So it is hard to guess what kind of impact that the City Council race will have on the state race. There are more Democrats who vote in the City Council district, and there are two Democratic candidates in that race.”

Texas House District 97

Recap

In the Nov. 6 special election to replace retired state Rep. Anna Mowery, Democrat Dan Barrett received 32 percent of the vote and Republican Mark Shelton got 23 percent, with the five other Republicans splitting the remainder.

Shelton, who is head of infectious diseases at Cook Children’s Medical Center, is running in his first election. He declined to be interviewed about his campaign this week, and instead provided a written statement reiterating his stances.

Barrett is a lawyer who challenged Mowery in 2006. He said his runoff campaign has focused on reaching independents and Democrats through mailers, phone calls and visits by Barrett and his supporters.

Endorsements

Shelton: Shelton has received endorsements from the Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC; the Texas State Rifle Association PAC; the National Rifle Association Political Victory Fund; and the Business and Commerce PAC, the political arm of the Texas Association of Business. He said Friday that he has been endorsed by four of his Republican opponents from last month’s special election: Craig Goldman, Jeff Humber, Chris Hatch and James Schull. But Schull, a Benbrook city councilman, said he never agreed to support Shelton, and Shelton then said there had been a “miscommunication” between him and Schull.

Barrett: Barrett has been endorsed by the Texas State Teachers Association, the Texas Parent PAC, the United Educators Association, the Texas League of Conservation Voters and the Texas Progressive Alliance.

Phone call

The source of a controversial automated call that went out to voters on Election Day morning remains a mystery.

The call heavily criticized Republican candidate Bob Leonard. The speaker suggested that Republican candidate Craig Goldman or a group that supported him was behind it. All seven candidates denied having anything to do with the call. Leonard and Goldman came in third and fourth place.

A group of Republicans including Leonard and Mowery asked the Tarrant County district attorney to investigate the phone call.

“We’re not ready to label it as anything other than an inquiry at this point,” Assistant District Attorney Ann Diamond said this week.

Candidates’ positions

Here are the candidates’ stances on several issues based on interviews and remarks made at public events.

Illegal immigration: Shelton wants to see state and federal officials work on securing the border. He supports outlawing “sanctuary cities,” which don’t enforce immigration laws. He said a border fence could help in high-traffic areas. Barrett said the state should punish large employers that hire undocumented workers. He called a border fence “a waste of money.”

House Speaker Tom Craddick: Shelton criticized those who tried to overthrow Craddick at the end of the legislative session this year and said Craddick has his support. Barrett said that the House needs a new speaker and that Craddick prevents members from properly representing their districts. “I’m tired of the politics of intimidation,” he said.

Electric rates: Shelton said he supports deregulation and suggested that electric rates might be even higher now without it. “If we can achieve true deregulation and competition in the energy market, I think we’ll all be better off,” he said. Barrett said that he supports promoting competition to reduce prices but that utility companies have gained an unfair advantage. “Deregulation obviously hasn’t worked, and we need to take a serious look at that,” he said.

Property appraisals: Shelton supports appraisal caps but says statewide reform is needed. “We have to keep these property taxes at market rate so young couples can still buy houses,” Shelton said. He wants members of appraisal boards to be elected rather than appointed. Shelton also wants senior citizens to have more protections from rate increases. Barrett said he would rather increase homestead exemptions than cap appraisals. “When it comes to giving a tax break to homeowners or strip centers, I’m going to pick homeowners every time,” Barrett said.

Fort Worth City Council District 9

Recap

Joel Burns and Juan Rangel Jr., both Democrats who claim strong Hispanic support, are in a runoff to succeed Wendy Davis. Burns took 37 percent of the vote and Rangel 23 percent.

The race has created some division among Hispanics and Democratic Party insiders. The district is 65 percent Hispanic, said Art Brender, chairman of the Tarrant County Democratic Party, who called the splits unfortunate.

“It’s gotten to a point where it’s distracting within the party,” Brender said. “I don’t think it is irreconcilable. When the election is over, we’ll need to get back to the table and settle our differences.”

District voters have seen a mailer touting Hispanic Democratic support of Rangel, a Fort Worth schools trustee and management consultant, saying he is an “unapologetic progressive candidate.”

“I think the Hispanic vote is going to be very important. But all votes are very important in a runoff,” Rangel said. “This could end up being a matter of a few votes, and it may depend on the Republican votes in the District 97 race.”

Burns, a real estate agent and city zoning commissioner, says he has fostered strong relationships with Hispanic neighborhoods during his work on neighborhood zoning issues and in his previous role on the city’s historic and cultural landmark commission.

“I think I’m strong with Hispanic support,” Burns said. “In spite of the Alamo Heights being a Hispanic-majority neighborhood, I got the most votes there [in November].”

The problem for Rangel, local political experts say, is that most of his support in the Nov. 6 election, in which he collected about 600 fewer votes than Burns, was in low-turnout precincts.

Endorsements

Burns: Tarrant County Labor Council; former U.S. Rep. Martin Frost; state Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Fort Worth; former City Council candidate Bernie Scheffler; Greater Fort Worth Association of Realtors

Rangel: Fort Worth Police Officers Association, Fort Worth Professional Firefighters Association, Fort Worth Councilman Sal Espino, Tarrant County Constable Sergio De Leon, former City Council candidates Chris Turner and Mark Pederson.

Candidates’ positions

Burns: Address nuisance properties, promote community policing, strengthen code compliance, cut red tape to promote central city development, quality housing, invest in infrastructure and fix older streets curbs and sidewalks, promote commuter rail and a new light rail system.

Rangel: Revitalize central city neighborhoods, use civil injunctions to crack down on gangs, partner with the Fort Worth schools to share resources, seek limitations on urban drilling, find ways in budget to cut waste and protect neighborhoods.

Early voting

Voters registered by Nov. 19, regardless of whether they voted Nov. 6, can vote in the Dec. 18 runoffs to fill unexpired seats for state House District 97 and Fort Worth City Council District 9. Early voting is 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Early voting sites

Tarrant County Elections Center, 2700 Premier St., Fort Worth

Benbrook YMCA, 1899 Winscott Road, Benbrook

Southwest Subcourthouse, 6551 Granbury Road, Fort Worth

Tarrant County Plaza Building, 200 N. Taylor St., Fort Worth

Worth Heights Community Center, 3551 New York Ave., Fort Worth

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