Incumbent Elizabeth Beck will represent District 9 for the next two years, after a well-funded challenge from a conservative opponent.
Beck faced off against Chris Reed, Jason Peña and Pamela Boggess in the race. She and Boggess vastly outpaced Reed and Peña in campaign fundraising, and those dollars showed in the results — with 167 of 169 precincts reporting, Beck secured 53.65% of the vote to Boggess’ 35.64%. Peña came in a distant third with 7.78% of the vote, followed by Reed with 2.93% of the vote.
“Voters are looking for good, solid government. And that’s what they got tonight,” Beck said. “And they’ll continue to get it from me.”
In a year where multiple City Council members ran unopposed, the District 9 race was among the most contested races in the city.
Beck secured the endorsement of the Fort Worth Firefighters Association, while Boggess gained the endorsement of the Fort Worth Police Officers Association. Boggess, fueled by support from both the police union and the Fort Worth Excellence PAC, launched a campaign against Beck’s record as a council member using a series of attack ads and mailers.
Beck said her victory makes it clear that those attacks aren’t what voters want from a council member.
“What they clearly said was that District 9 was not for sale, that they were not interested in outside people trying to control their election, that they were focused on good government policy and solid representation,” she said.
Beck ran on a platform of economic development, improving infrastructure and quality of life and increasing public safety. Boggess emphasized similar priorities, but also highlighted differences between them by pointing to Beck’s votes that Boggess believes were anti-police.
At her Election Night watch party, Beck said she’s going to continue working to address homelessness and infrastructure issues in the district. She emphasized the need for improved stormwater infrastructure, in particular, on a night that saw heavy rains throughout the city.
“I’m going to continue to make sure that our city delivers services to you in a manner that is befitting a world class city,” she said.
Boggess did not respond to a request for comment on the results of the race.
Emily Wolf is a government accountability reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at emily.wolf@fortworthreport.org or via Twitter. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
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