Arlington Mayoral Race: Trust, Taxes, Cowboys

0:00Arlington's mayoral race is heating up ahead of the May 2nd election, with incumbent Jim Ross pushing for a third term. He's highlighting the city's strong economic growth and job boom since he took office back in June of 2021. Challenger Steve Cavendor, who backed him five years ago, now calls out Ross on transparency and recent property tax hikes. The big flashpoint is taxes, raised twice under Ross, including a 3 cent jump to nearly 63 cents per $100 evaluation. That means an extra $147 a year for the average homeowner. Ross points to a $25 million shortfall from delayed home appraisals, saying they cut 15 million from the budget but had to cover. The rest to protect police, fire, and basic services. Cavendor argues residents shouldn't foot the bill and pushes for deeper cuts or balance budget without hikes. He says Ross promised more openness and collaboration but failed short. Two other hopefuls, Sean Mallory and Hunter Crow are also in the mix, focusing on city services

1:04and accountability. Both frontrunners back extending the Dallas Cowboys lease at AT&T Stadium for 15 more years through 2055. They tapped $273 million in arena sales taxes for upgrades like maintenance and security. But they split on voters deciding, Ross says the public already approved it, while Cavendor wants a direct say. Early voting kicked off Monday but skips Tuesday for Santa Sinto day, picking back up Wednesday through April 28th. With the council voting on that Cowboys deal Tuesday, this raised boils down to trust, taxes, and who's steering Arlington's future ride. From your city, powered by AI, this is Dallas News Today. I'm Corey with the story.