<\/p>\n
Election cabinets are stored Tarrant County Elections Warehouse on Monday, Aug. 31, 2026.<\/p>\n
Amanda McCoy<\/p>\n
FORT WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM<\/p>\n
In Tarrant County, the county clerk race is between Republican incumbent Mary Louise Nicholson and Democrat challenger Lydia Bean. Nicholson has held the post for 15 years.<\/p>\n
The county clerk is responsible for keeping many of the most important records residents may have like birth and death certificates, marriage licenses and more. They also clerk certain courts like Commissioners Court, probate courts and county criminal courts.<\/p>\n
Election Day is Nov. 3 and early voting runs from Oct. 19-30.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s how both candidates responded to the Star-Telegram\u2019s questionnaire ahead of the election.<\/p>\n
Mary Louise Nicholson<\/p>\n
City of residence: Mansfield<\/p>\n
Campaign website: ml@marylouise.info<\/a><\/p>\n Best way for voters to reach you: Email: ml@marylouise.info<\/a> Website: www.marylouise.info Fac<\/a>ebook: Re-Elect Mary Louise Nicholson X: @cle<\/a>rkMaryLouise Instagram:<\/a> @ClerkMaryLouiseNicholson Phone: 817-<\/a>881-1805<\/p>\n Occupation: Tarrant County Clerk<\/p>\n Education: Bachelor of Arts in Criminology and Criminal Justice. Magna cum laude, University of Texas at Arlington<\/p>\n Have you run for elected office before? Tarrant County Clerk Office – 15 years as Tarrant County Clerk<\/p>\n Please list the highlights of your civic involvement\/activism in Tarrant County.<\/p>\n Fort Worth Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Board Member, Board Member and Chairman of All Church Home Child & Family Services, Rotary Club of Fort Worth Member and Board Member, Tarrant County Bar Association Member, Hispanic Women\u2019s Network of Texas, Fort Worth Chapter Member<\/p>\n Have you ever been arrested, charged with a crime or otherwise been part of a criminal proceeding? If yes, please explain. No<\/p>\n Have you been involved in a civil lawsuit or bankruptcy proceeding? If yes, please explain. No<\/p>\n Who are your top three campaign contributors?<\/p>\n Jim Greve<\/p>\n Patti Leggett<\/p>\n Felix Lozano, III<\/p>\n Why are you seeking this office?<\/p>\n As the incumbent for the last 15 years, I have a proven track record of successfully leading diverse teams with different operational duties. Through my leadership, we have been recognized for our best practices by national and state county government associations. My team consistently delivers excellent customer service. I have overseen the total digitization of paper records and deployed modern cloud-based records management systems to enhance online access to documents protected by state-of-the-art cyber security.<\/p>\n If elected, what would your top 3 policy priorities be?<\/p>\n Balance enhanced delivery of service against budgetary restraint<\/p>\n Recruit, train, and retain high performing employees<\/p>\n Provide excellent customer service<\/p>\n How will you measure your success as county clerk?<\/p>\n My office uses detailed, real-time data to continuously monitor our overall productivity and staffing requirements. Internal and external audits validate the accuracy of our records and compliance with state law and Tarrant County policies. The public utilizes QR codes and Comment cards at our public facing counters to ensure we serve our customers satisfactorily. Over 3000 customers did just that last year; with feedback of over 95% positive.<\/p>\n Why should voters choose you over your opponent?<\/p>\n I am a seasoned executive with proven expertise in successfully leading diverse teams with wide ranging duties and responsibilities. With more than 15 years of Senior Executive level experience working at the highest level of local government, I foster best practices, enhance cost-effective services and manage combined budgets of more than $33 million and revenue of more than $26 million.<\/p>\n What can be improved in the county clerk\u2019s office and how do you plan on doing so?<\/p>\n Improving the delivery of in-person and on-line services while controlling costs as the county continues to grow. Technology, carefully deliberated and deployed, can bring significant returns on investment. Additionally, the public feedback we get by way of the QR codes and Comment cards allows us to improve how we serve the public.<\/p>\n Lydia Bean<\/p>\n City of residence: Arlington, TX<\/p>\n Campaign website: www.lydiafortexas.com<\/a><\/p>\n Best way for voters to reach you: lydia@lydiafortexas.com<\/a><\/p>\n Occupation: Small Business Owner<\/p>\n Education: Ph.D. in Sociology, Harvard University. B.A. in Spanish and Music, Austin College<\/p>\n Have you run for elected office before? Texas House District 93, November 2020<\/p>\n U.S. House of Representatives in Special Election in TX-6, May 2021<\/p>\n Please list the highlights of your civic involvement\/activism in Tarrant County.<\/p>\n I am a small business owner, mother, and champion for transparency in local government. I am founder and President of Equipa, a firm that advises nonprofits and foundations on evaluation, strategy, and leadership development. I co-founded the Tarrant County Faith and Justice Coalition, which helps citizens advocate for their priorities within local government. In 2023, I advised the Commissioner\u2019s Court that they were misusing federal funds by clawing back dollars budgeted for healthcare, housing and childcare. In 2024, I helped convince the County to cancel a multi-million dollar contract with a private prison that failed state inspection. I previously founded and led a nonprofit organization that brought diverse people together to work for change.<\/p>\n Have you ever been arrested, charged with a crime or otherwise been part of a criminal proceeding? If yes, please explain. no<\/p>\n Have you been involved in a civil lawsuit or bankruptcy proceeding? If yes, please explain. no<\/p>\n Who are your top three campaign contributors?<\/p>\n Anne T. and Robert M. Bass<\/p>\n Helen LaKelly Hunt<\/p>\n Donald Henley<\/p>\n Why are you seeking this office?<\/p>\n As a longtime community leader, I have seen how badly we need fresh leadership in the County Clerk\u2019s office. I am running to modernize the office and save Tarrant County residents time and money. As County Clerk, I will fight for participation and transparency in our county budget, so that citizens have a voice in how decisions are made and can see how each dollar is spent. As the Vice Chair of the County Election Commission, I will ensure that our Elections Department can do their jobs free of political pressure to close polling locations. As a business owner with a Ph.D., I bring the leadership experience and data management background required to run the County Clerk\u2019s office efficiently and effectively.<\/p>\n If elected, what would your top 3 policy priorities be?<\/p>\n As the next Tarrant County Clerk, I will:<\/p>\n 1. Protect free and fair elections as the Vice Chair of the Tarrant County Elections Commission, which appoints the elections administrator. As the deciding vote, I will make sure that our Elections Department can do their jobs free of political pressure to close polling locations. I will advocate for a Citizens Advisory Committee to increase public input to make voting accessible for all citizens.<\/p>\n 2. Champion transparency and public participation in the county budgeting process.<\/p>\n The County Judge has pushed through deep cuts to services by keeping his budget agenda secret and shutting down public input. As County Clerk, I will make sure that citizens have a voice in how our money is spent.<\/p>\n 3. Fight deed fraud in Tarrant County and throughout Texas. I will advocate for strong, enforceable legislation in the Texas legislature, train clerks to identify this crime and help prosecute criminals, and engage the community to protect themselves.<\/p>\n How will you measure your success as county clerk?<\/p>\n Doing business with Tarrant County should be fast, friendly, and frustration-free\u2013that\u2019s my goal as the next County Clerk. Throughout my career, I have helped many organizations utilize community engagement and user experience research to improve their processes, and I\u2019ll bring that same data-driven approach to improving Tarrant County government. I want people to feel respected and empowered every time they interact with our office, whether in person, by phone, or online. Creating this experience will be my top priority.<\/p>\n Why should voters choose you over your opponent?<\/p>\n I bring the leadership experience and data management background needed to run the County Clerk\u2019s office efficiently and effectively. The incumbent oversaw the botched rollout of new software that still didn\u2019t work after twelve years and $26 million spent. We need a County Clerk who can build alignment with multiple stakeholders and hold vendors accountable. As a community leader, I have already made a difference as a watchdog for fiscal responsibility in Tarrant County. As the next County Clerk, I will be able to shine a light into how our county dollars are being spent.<\/p>\n As the next County Clerk, I will stand up for free and fair elections as the Vice-chair of the Tarrant County Elections Commission, which selects a nonpartisan Elections Administrator. The incumbent refused to stand up to O\u2019Hare when he ran off an effective elections administrator and closed almost a third of our polling locations. I will lead this office with integrity, humility, and independence.<\/p>\n What can be improved in the county clerk\u2019s office and how do you plan on doing so?<\/p>\n In my first 90 days, I will start with a performance audit of the Tarrant County Clerk\u2019s office, with an emphasis on adherence to local government codes, court reporting mandates, record retention guidelines, and state and federal reporting requirements. I\u2019ll also look closely at our use of technology, as attorneys continue to suffer ongoing service outages and glitches that are likely creating problems for reporting and compliance.<\/p>\n I will supplement this performance audit with user experience research to identify ways to improve our in-person and online services, including surveys, focus groups, and mystery shopper methods.<\/p>\n I will then create a change management plan to create alignment in the clerk\u2019s office around necessary changes. For example, one part of this plan may be to bring the Tarrant County Clerk\u2019s office into 100% compliance with our obligations to report fully and promptly to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS).<\/p>\n
![\"Profile](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1792342955_206_RACHEL_ROYSTER.jpeg\")