Jeanette Martinez wins Fort Worth City Council seat. Incumbents lose school board races

Fort Worth’s city council dias is now complete with Jeanette Martinez defeating Rick Herring in the June 10 runoff election.

While the race hasn’t been officially certified, Herring said it was clear from unofficial results released by Tarrant County that he would not be able to catch Martinez’s early vote lead.

He thanked his supporters, especially residents in the Riverside and Meadowbrook neighborhoods, for volunteering for his campaign and rallying to get out the vote.

“We’ll continue that bond to fight for our neighborhoods,” he said.

He also expressed pride at the lack of negativity in his campaign.

“We ran a clean campaign with integrity and honor and I’m proud of that,” Herring said.

Martinez said she was proud of the work her campaign put into the race, and that she was looking forward to representing the district to the best of her abilities.

In addition to her pledges to fix roads and lower property taxes, Martinez said she would be fighting to open a new library in south side Fort Worth, and to do more to help residents of the Echo Heights neighborhood deal with the effects of industrial pollution.

Herring framed the race as a David Vs. Goliath fight noting Martinez’s fundraising advantage and her support from Fort Worth’s political establishment.

He contended with a mailer campaign from Democratic State Rep. Ramon Romero critical of his record of voting in Republican party primaries. The flier called Herring a MAGA Republican who supported policies associated with Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and former President Donald Trump.

Herring pushed back on that characterization. While noting his personal politics are more centrist, he said partisanship has no place in city politics and promised to be a council member for all District 11 residents.

Concern over potential conflicts with Martinez’s job as an administrator for Tarrant County Commissioner Roy Brooks bubbled to the surface Saturday night.

“Who is our council person? Is it Roy Brooks? Is it Ramon Romero? Cause it’s not Jeanette Martinez,” said Cindy Boling, president of the West Meadowbrook Neighborhood Association.

Herring supporters have argued Martinez’s job represents a conflict of interest that would leave the district without a voice on votes involving joint projects between the city and county.

Both the city of Fort Worth and Tarrant County have said Martinez’s job does not inherently present a conflict of interest

Boling called Martinez a puppet and questioned her ability to represent the district.

“I am my own person. I can speak for myself,” Martinez said. She added that she was honored by the amount of support she got, and promised to listen and work for all the residents of District 11.

District 11, sometimes referred to as the horseshoe district, includes neighborhoods just east and northeast of downtown Fort Worth along with predominantly Hispanic south side neighborhoods of Rosemont and Hemphill Heights.

It was drawn in the 2022 redistricting process to give Fort Worth’s Hispanic community an opportunity for more representation on the city council. Hispanics make up roughly a third of the city’s population, but only District 2 council member Carlos Flores is of Hispanic heritage.

Fort Worth School Board District 5

Incumbent school board member Carin “C.J.” Evans concede the race to challenger Kevin Lynch.

“I would like to congratulate Kevin on taking a leadership role with our district. He will find that while challenging, it’s rewarding to see our students and teachers continue to excel in the classroom,” she said in a text message.

Lynch is leading with 60.5% of the vote compared to 39.5% for Evans with 35 of 42 vote centers reporting, according to unofficial results from Tarrant County.

Evans ran on a platform that emphasized student achievement and fiscal responsibility.

Lynch’s platform was nearly identical platform, but also put an emphasis on keeping so-called “political agendas” out of the classroom.

Evans wished Lynch the best and urged him to continue what her pro-tax payer and pro-student reforms.

Lynch said he was excited to get started noting the school district’s budget will be his first opportunity to make an impact.

His main focus will be on improving the district’s reading scores saying he wants to bring people together to make sure Fort Worth’s students know how to read.

Tarrant County College District 4

Incumbent trustee Bill Greenhill conceded his race to Laura Forkner Pritchett saying in a statement that it has been an honor to serve on the college district’s board for the past 10 years.

Forkner Pritchett ran on a platform emphasizing fiscal transparency, workforce training, lower taxes and an end to so-called “race based hiring.”

Greenhill wished Forkner Pritchett luck, while also warning against, “dangerous bad-faith actors who seek to unmoor our institutions of public learning from their egalitarian mission.”

Greenhill said his loss proves, “extremist actors are firmly entrenched into our public systems.”

Greenhill’s campaign attacked Forkner Pritchett for her connection to Mercy Culture Church. In a text blast, the campaign called the church controversial and warned it was trying to take over the community college district.

Mercy Culture pastor Landon Schott said in an Instagram post that Forkner Pritchett does not attend his church, but urged his followers to go out and support her.

He called Greenhill ineffective, and said his church is just getting started.