Tarrant County election results01:00 AM CDT on Sunday, May 16, 2004
ARLINGTON
Winner: Sheri Capehart
Two years ago, City Council member Sheri Capehart routed Bill McFadin on her way to re-election. On Saturday, she repeated the victory.
Ms. Capehart overwhelmingly defeated Mr. McFadin for the Place 2 seat she had vacated in 2003 in order to run for mayor.
When Ms. Capehart stepped down from the council seat, Mr. McFadin won it. School board member Michael Patterson dropped out of the race, but he withdrew too late to have his name taken off the ballot. He threw his support behind Mr. McFadin.
Arlington voters also approved a proposition to allow commercial development on seven acres of the Harold Patterson Sports Center. City officials hope to attract food, beverage and sports-related businesses.
CARROLL ISD
Winners: John Nussrallah and Sherri Evon Williams
Voters ousted longtime school board member and president Robin Snyder in favor of political newcomer John Nussrallah.
Mr. Nussrallah, a transportation consultant, defeated Mrs. Snyder by a large margin for the Place 6 seat. He said he enjoyed a wide base of support from business leaders, teachers and parents.
"This was a vote from people saying they're not satisfied with the current administration," he said.
In Place 7, Sherri Evon Williams, a community volunteer and retired banker, defeated retired AT&T executive Brad Walker for an open seat.
COLLEYVILLE
Winners: Jon Ayers, Rich Hendler and Tom Hart
Voters returned incumbents Rich Hendler and Jon Ayers to their seats on the City Council and elected newcomer Tom Hart.
The three were among six candidates competing in a race many residents had hoped would break a seven-month standoff between council members and Mayor Joe Hocutt.
Since October, Mr. Hocutt has repeatedly vetoed the council's appointments to the Planning and Zoning Commission. Mr. Hendler and Mr. Ayers are two of three council members at odds with the mayor's actions.
Mr. Hendler, an account manager, narrowly defeated Shirley Schollmeyer, a past president of the Colleyville Woman's Club, in the Place 3 race.
In Place 4, Mr. Ayers slipped by former council member Dana Feldman.
In Place 5, Mr. Hart, a fraud investigator and one of the three people repeatedly appointed by council members to the commission, defeated retired businessman Mark Jones.
Grapevine-Colleyville ISD
Winners: Nancy Coplen and Lisa Hall
In one of the most hotly contested races in northeast Tarrant County, Lisa Hall easily defeated incumbent trustee Fiona Sigalla for a position on the school board.
Ms. Sigalla, an economist with the Federal Reserve Bank in Dallas, has repeatedly questioned the district's administrators about Grapevine-Colleyville's financial decisions, including the district's collection and use of student fees and its maintenance of a $17 million fund balance.
Ms. Hall, a volunteer, said her opponent was too harsh on the district's administrators.
"We did have a big turnout," Ms. Hall said. "That's a lot of prayers. Lots of parents, teachers, administrators – lots of people out there – wanted a change."
In Place 3, incumbent Nancy Coplen, a homemaker and civic volunteer, defeatedBob Crane, a director of global and international logistics with Verizon, by a more than 2-1 vote.
Fort Worth City Council
Runoff: Frank Moss and Donavan Wheatfall
Incumbent Frank Moss and challenger Donavan Wheatfall will be in a runoff for Council District 5.
The special election for the seat held by Mr. Moss became necessary when Mr. Moss resigned his seat to run for the Democratic nomination for a Tarrant County Commissioner's Court seat. After he lost a runoff last month against Roy C. Brooks for the county seat, he had less than 24 hours to decide whether to file to keep his old seat.
Doubt about whether he would run again however attracted a crowd to the race. Besides Mr. Donavan, Rickie Clark, Lyddia Sheppard-Antwine and Sharon Armstrong also ran for the seat.
FORT WORTH school board
Winners: Bill Koehler, Camille Rodriguez, Norman Robbins and Juan Rangel
Bill Koehler, a former Texas Christian University provost and vice chancellor, defeated Henry Richard Gwozdz and W.D. "Bill" Tatsch to replace Lynne Manny as president of the school board. The board president is an at-large seat elected by voters.
Five of the board's nine seats were contested. One of two incumbents was re-elected.
In District 1, Camille Rodriguez, a podiatrist, unseated incumbent Rose Herrera by a healthy margin.
Jeff Menges, a sales manager, and accountant Chris Hatch, were headed for a runoff for the District 6 spot. Two other candidates failed to garner enough votes to advance: C.A. Mitts III, a business broker, and Sarah Howard Villarreal, a coordinator of youth programs.
In District 7, Norman Robbins, a community relations manager, handily defeated David J. Jensen, a water quality inspector, and Sara Koulen, a homemaker.
District 8 incumbent Juan Rangel won re-election, beating Vicki Bargas.
The trustees' first order of business after the election will be to choose a new superintendent to lead the district after the reassignment of Superintendent Thomas Tocco in the wake of an embarrassing construction scandal.
Haltom CITY COUNCIL
Winners: Dale Clark, Christopher J. Holcomb, Richard Hutchison, Bill Lanford and Kim Reese
Haltom City Council can meet for the first time in months.
Thirteen candidates vied for seats vacated after voters recalled five council members in February. The recall left the council without a quorum and effectively sent it into hiatus pending the election. The unexpired Place 2 seat carries a one-year term, while the four other places are two-year terms.
Voters recalled council members David Averitt, Tracy Henderson, Bob Hurley, Trae Fowler and John Williams after months of division stemming from their October decision to fire City Manager Richard Torres.
Christopher J. Holcomb, a sales representative and project manager for PFC Contracting, won the Place 2 seat. He defeated Vicki Williams, a retired Tarrant County employee and wife of recalled council member Mr. Williams, and write-in candidate Susan Witt, a sales support representative for Houghton Mifflin.
Bill Lanford, a senior manager of freight for Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway, took the Place 3 seat. He beat Jimmie E. Gill, a veterinarian, and Jeanette L. Gallier, an administrative assistant for North Hills Family Practice.
Dale Clark, a public safety officer at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, won the Place 4 spot. He defeated former council member John C. Patino, a retired golf course superintendent.
Richard Hutchison, a manpower and material estimator for Bell Helicopter, won Place 5. He beat Jane Fowler, a teacher and mother of Mr. Fowler, and write-in candidate Blakely Cabano, an accountant for ConAgra Foods.
Kim Reese, a customer service representative for Lisa Motor Lines, defeated Mary Beth Shipka, an administrative assistant for Mark North Erosion Systems, for Place 6.
HURST
Winners: Richard Ward and Nancy Welton
In the mayor's race, Place 7 council member Richard Ward defeated longtime Mayor Bill Souder by five votes in unofficial tallies. Mr. Souder had been mayor since 1980 and is retired.
Retiree Nancy Welton won the open Place 7 race against Alan Neace, a support specialist.
SOUTHLAKE
Winners: Gregory Jones and Virginia Muzyka
Lawyer Gregory Jones, a political newcomer, bested his opponent, small-business owner Van Williams, for the Place 4 City Council race.
In Place 5, community volunteer Virginia Muzyka handily defeated incumbent Tom Stephen, an accountant.
Online at: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/politics/local/stories/051604dnmettarcowrap.910bf.html
