With less than a month to go before the May 2 election, hopefuls for seats on the Arlington City Council and school board are making final pushes for campaign donations.<\/p>\n
Thousands of dollars are flowing as candidates vie for the mayor, some city council and school board seats, which will all appear on Arlington residents\u2019 ballots.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s what each candidate\u2019s war chest looks like:<\/p>\n
The Arlington Report, in collaboration with the League of Women Voters and KERA News, is hosting a candidate debate on April 16 at Tarrant County College Southeast Campus. The debates will include mayoral and city council candidates. The event is free and open to the public.\u00a0<\/p>\n
For more information and to register, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Mayor<\/p>\n Incumbent Mayor Jim Ross and Steve Cavender, real estate developer and the president of the River Legacy Foundation board, overwhelmingly lead the race in fundraising and spending.<\/p>\n Cavender, who announced his candidacy<\/a> on Jan. 20, has significantly outspent Ross by more than $71,000, according to recent campaign finance reports.<\/p>\n Between Jan. 1 and March 23, Cavender\u2019s campaign spent $78,863, while Ross spent $7,339.\u00a0<\/p>\n Roughly $58,000 of Cavender\u2019s spending has gone to Mayes Media Group, a Sunnyvale-based advertising and public relations firm run by campaign manager Brian Mayes.<\/p>\n Kathleen and Charles M. Long, owners of Arlington-based concrete paving company Reliable Paving, donated $40,000 \u2014 a bulk of the $59,076 he has raised.\u00a0<\/p>\n In 2023, Kathleen Long loaned<\/a> Ross\u2019 campaign $45,000, according to campaign finance reports. She did not respond to an Arlington Report request for an interview.<\/p>\n In an April 10 interview with the Arlington Report, Cavender said Long donated to his campaign after multiple meetings.<\/p>\n \u201cShe was tired of Jim Ross,\u201d Cavender said.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Ross raised around $50,000. Arlington lawyer John Foster and Snow Automotive LLC each donated $10,000.\u00a0<\/p>\n Snow Automotive lists Joe Bruner, former council member and small-business owner, as its president, according to the Texas Secretary of State website.<\/p>\n In an April 13 interview with the Arlington Report, Bruner said he trusted Ross\u2019 experience. Bruner said he didn\u2019t know much about Cavender\u2019s past, outside of hearing his questions during town hall meetings when Bruner was on the council.<\/p>\n \u201c(Cavender) has no experience in any type of job like this, and Jim (Ross) has been there long enough to get a lot done,\u201d Bruner said.<\/p>\n Ross also received $1,000 each from Via\u2019s CEO Daniel Ramot and Bowa Construction\u2019s CEO Nosa Ehimwenman.\u00a0<\/p>\n Via currently offers an on-demand ride service in Arlington, while Bowa Construction is a national construction management company with offices in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.\u00a0<\/p>\n Candidates Hunter Crow and Shaun Mallory have little to no campaign funds, according to campaign finance reports.<\/p>\n Crow, a Tarrant Democratic Party precinct chair who has run for other local offices, raised no contributions and spent $100 for the candidate filing fee, according to his campaign finance reports.\u00a0<\/p>\n Mallory, who owns Daesy\u2019s Tropical Sno, was not required to file a campaign finance report as his incoming donations total less than $1,110, a threshold set by the Texas Ethics Commission, according to the city secretary\u2019s office.<\/p>\n City Council<\/p>\n Four council seats will appear on ballots in Arlington. The race for District 8, an at-large seat, has generated the most campaign funding.<\/p>\n Arlington ISD trustee Melody Fowler, Realtor Corey Harris and UTA professor Jason Shelton are vying for the District 8 seat. That seat is currently held by Barbara Odom-Wesley, who is in her third and final term.<\/p>\n The three lead the pack of 10 council candidates in political expenditures, spending a collective $35,000 since the beginning of the year, according to campaign finance reports.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Planning and Zoning Commissioner Tom Ware has outraised his two opponents in the race for District 4, which covers west Arlington, surrounding Pantego and Dalworthington Gardens.\u00a0<\/p>\n Ware is facing activist Rojo Meixueiro and Tarrant County GOP precinct chair Lisa Ventura.<\/p>\n The seat is currently held by Andrew Piel, who is also in his third and final term.<\/p>\n In District 5, which covers central Arlington, including the downtown area, incumbent Rebecca Boxall has outspent her opponent and maintained the second-largest campaign fund of any candidate.<\/p>\n Challenger Brittney Garcia-Dumas, marketing business owner, outraised Boxall by more than $2,000. Boxall, though, outspent Garcia-Dumas by about $1,600.\u00a0<\/p>\n School Board<\/p>\n Two Arlington ISD seats will appear on ballots: Place 6 and Place 7. Incumbents Leanne Haynes and Brooklyn Richardson are running for reelection.<\/p>\n Jan Tyler, a former Arlington ISD teacher, leads all candidates in fundraising.<\/p>\n Tyler received $10,000 from Tarrant County Patriots Political Action Committee, which has also recently supported Republicans such as County Judge Tim O\u2019Hare and former state Rep. Nate Schatzline, according to TransparencyUSA<\/a>.<\/p>\n Tyler is facing Richardson for Place 6.<\/p>\n Between the beginning of the year and March 23, Richardson raised $16,500 and spent about $7,600.<\/p>\n Haynes, who was elected in 2023 and will face Linton Davis, an Arlington Republican Club vice president.<\/p>\n Haynes raised over $6,500 and spent roughly $1,800 since the beginning of the year.<\/p>\n When Davis filed his campaign treasurer to the school district, he agreed to use modified reporting so he will not have to report his campaign finances unless he raises more than $1,110.<\/p>\n Chris Moss is a reporter for the Arlington Report. Contact him at chris.moss@arlingtonreport.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n Editor’s note: This story was updated at 9 p.m. on April 13, 2026, to correct spelling and a race.<\/p>\n