Far north Fort Worth residents head back to the ballot box sooner than expected to elect a new City Council member.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Voters will choose a successor to Alan Blaylock, who is stepping down after four years on the council to run for a seat in the Texas House.<\/p>\n
So far, one candidate has announced a campaign for Blaylock\u2019s District 10 council seat that represents the far north portion of the city, including the fast-growing Alliance area<\/a>. Alicia Ortiz<\/a>, who for seven years worked in former City Council member Carey Moon\u2019s district office, is seeking the position.\u00a0<\/p>\n The filing period for a place on the ballot opens Feb. 2 and closes March 2. Candidates will appear on the May 2 ballot that\u2019s expected to also include an $840 million bond package<\/a> and possible amendments to the city charter<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Early voting for the election starts April 20 and ends April 27. If no candidate secures more than 50% of votes, the top two vote-getters will head to a runoff election June 13.\u00a0<\/p>\n Whoever wins the election will serve out the remainder of Blaylock\u2019s term, which ends in May 2027.\u00a0<\/p>\n Blaylock plans to speak in detail about his tenure on the council at his final meeting in May, he said via text message.\u00a0<\/p>\n After a career in oil and gas, he took office in 2022 to represent north Fort Worth\u2019s District 4 on the council. After redistricting later that year<\/a> shifted the geographic makeup of several council districts, Blaylock\u2019s shifted farther north to his current District 10. Less than a year ago, Blaylock ran unopposed to win his third term<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n In October, Blaylock announced his campaign<\/a> for Texas House District 93 that includes parts of Fort Worth, Haslet, Saginaw, Keller, Lake Worth and Watauga. Rep. Nate Schatzline, a Republican and pastor at Fort Worth\u2019s Mercy Culture Church, is not seeking reelection to District 93 as he joins President Donald Trump\u2019s faith advisory committee.\u00a0<\/p>\n Blaylock is running unopposed for the GOP nomination<\/a> for District 93 in the March 3 primary election. Northwest ISD trustee Steve Sprowls, who was previously seeking the nomination, dropped out<\/a> of the race.\u00a0<\/p>\n After the primary, Blaylock will face Ericka Lomick<\/a>, who is running unopposed for the Democratic nomination, in the November general election.\u00a0<\/p>\n Cecilia Lenzen is a government accountability reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at cecilia.lenzen@<\/a>fortworthreport<\/a>.org<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n