Rick Barnes, the Tarrant County Republican chair, announced June 28 that he will run to unseat fellow Republican Wendy Burgess as tax assessor-collector in 2024.
His announcement comes after initial buzz that he would run for county commissioner in Precinct 3. Barnes said that, after much consideration, he decided to move over to the tax assessor-collector race. The tax assessor-collector is responsible for calculating property tax rates, collecting property taxes and issuing car registrations and licenses.
“When I started my campaign for county commissioner, it was to ensure conservative leadership in Tarrant County. My campaign for tax assessor will continue that mission,” Barnes wrote in his campaign announcement.
The current tax assessor-collector, Wendy Burgess, has let the Tarrant Appraisal District go unchecked, he said. Barnes did not specify what actions Burgess had taken that concerned him. In the last year, the appraisal district has come under fire for multiple issues, including skyrocketing appraisals, open-meetings violations and potential targeting of specific residents.
Burgess did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“The rising cost of living, inflation and property values have affected our community, and residents deserve tax relief,” Barnes said. “If our current tax assessor won’t fix the Tarrant Appraisal District, then I will.”
Barnes previously threw his hat in the ring for the tax assessor-collector position in 2018. There, he failed to make it out of the Republican primary. He was the third-highest vote getter behind Burgess and Mike Snyder.
As Barnes announced he would not run for Precinct 3 county commissioner, several familiar faces in Tarrant County Republican politics stepped forward.
Matt Krause, a former state representative, said in a Twitter post that many people have reached out to him asking him to run for the position. Krause said he and his wife are “praying about and considering such a run.”
Keller Mayor Armin Mizani posted a statement on Twitter the same day, where he said that he and his family are also praying over whether to run in Precinct 3.
“At the very least, I will do everything I can to ensure we are represented by someone who will be an unapologetic fighter for our local communities,” he said in the post.
Jimmy Pollozani, a Fort Worth police officer, has already announced his candidacy for Precinct 3.
Primaries for the 2024 election season will begin in spring of 2024, and Election Day is Nov. 5, 2024.
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