The Tarrant Appraisal District board of directors could look very different by the end of the year, with appraisal district elections and a proposed constitutional amendment on the ballot in November.
The TAD board of directors is currently made up of five members appointed by the taxing units, which include cities, counties and school districts, and the county assessor-collector, a nonvoting board member.
Board members are elected every two years. Taxing units can nominate one candidate per available seat.
The board’s primary duties are to select the chief appraiser, adopt the annual budget, and ensure the district follows policies and procedures set by law. The board does not appraise property or make decisions that affect the appraisal records for particular properties. Board members are not paid.
The deadline for taxing entities to nominate a candidate was Oct. 15. The nominees include the following.
New candidates
Blaylock currently serves as the Fort Worth District 10 council member and previously represented District 4. Before serving on council, he was vice president of the Heritage Homeowners Association. He is president of the Heritage Hurricanes Swim Team and co-founder and treasurer of Swim North Texas.
- Gary Losada
Losada is a former member of the Tarrant Appraisal District board of directors. He also served on the Tarrant Appraisal Review Board. He currently works in real estate.
- Gloria Pena
Pena is a former Arlington ISD board member and president.
- Jerald Miller
Miller currently works as a consultant, working with organizations to update their technologies.
- Jacob Wurman
Wurman is a Realtor who describes himself as a community advocate. He currently serves as a board member for the North Fort Worth Alliance.
Seeking reelection
- Rich DeOtte
DeOtte is the chair of the Tarrant Appraisal District board of directors. He runs his own civil engineering firm. He was the former vice-chair of the Tarrant County Republican Party.
- Vince Puente, Sr.
Puente is a member of the Tarrant Appraisal District board of directors. He is the co-owner and president of marketing and sales for Southwest Office Systems Inc., which offers IT services. He was appointed to the Finance Commission of Texas in 2016 by Gov. Greg Abbott and reappointed in 2018. Puente also served as County Judge Tim O’Hare’s campaign treasurer in 2022.
Jungus Jordan, current TAD board member and former Fort Worth council member, is retiring from the board.
The TAD board of directors has five voting members, but that number could increase to eight if voters approve a constitutional amendment adding three members through a countywide election. With the non-voting tax assessor member, the total number of TAD board members would be up to nine.
The appraisal district is currently searching for its next chief appraiser after former chief Jeff Law resigned in early September. William Durham, director of commercial appraisals, is currently serving as interim chief appraiser. The search for a new permanent appraiser will not have an impact on the board election.
The next TAD board meeting is 9 a.m. Oct. 18.
Sandra Sadek is a Report for America corps member, covering growth for the Fort Worth Report. You can contact her at sandra.sadek@fortworthreport.org. 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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