Five candidates are competing for a chance to replace outgoing state Rep. Tony Tinderholt in Texas House District 94, and it’s a weak field.
Among all the candidates, there isn’t much political experience and not many serious ideas about the most important policy issues affecting Texas. But of the bunch, Cheryl Bean strikes us as the best prepared to represent this district that covers parts of the mid-cities. She gets our recommendation.
Bean, 69, is self-employed and previously worked as an engineer for Lockheed Martin, Elbit and others, according to her Voter Guide questionnaire. She ran for Texas House District 97 in 2024. Bean has endorsements from Tarrant County Judge Tim O’Hare, Tarrant County Sheriff Bill Waybourn and Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller.
We have some concerns about the rhetoric Bean has used on social media, much of it centering on hysteria about Islam. And in a 2024 X post, she claimed the 2020 election was “stolen,” in contravention of evidence it was not.
Opinion
But this kind of internet slop has become so typical of today’s politics, it’s difficult to avoid, and we want to provide voters with some guidance in low-quality races like this.
Although she declined to interview with our board, Bean has expressed clear ideas on property tax reform.
In the Voter Guide, Bean advocates for capping property tax increases, reducing the frequency of increases, providing incentives to first-time buyers, eliminating taxes for those over 65 years old and using the state surplus to replace property taxes. She also mentions increasing local sales tax while decreasing state sales tax.
“This is a complicated push and pull thing. We cannot take away the property tax from the cities and leave them hanging dry where they don’t have the money to support our infrastructure and our first responders,” Bean said at an Arlington Republican Club candidate forum last month.
None of that is groundbreaking, and we don’t agree with Bean on parts of it, but her ideas were the best articulated out of the candidates in this race.
In the Voter Guide, Bean said she is opposed to Medicaid expansion, reclassifying or legalizing marijuana and to an expansion of gambling in Texas.
Jackie Schlegel is another competitor in this primary. She is the founder of Texans for Medical Freedom, an advocacy organization that has focused on vaccine policy. Schlegel, 46, did not participate in a candidate interview.
At last month’s candidate forum, she pointed to the property tax plan laid out by Gov. Greg Abbott, who has endorsed her.
Also running are certified public accountant Michael Daughenbaugh, 50, mortgage broker Michael Ingraham, 54, and registered nurse Susan Valliant, 63. We appreciate that all three of these candidates took the time to interview with us but don’t think they are prepared for the rigors of work in the Legislature.
This editorial is part of the Dallas Morning News Editorial Board’s slate of recommendations for the 2026 primary. Find the full project here.
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