Arlington Mayor Jim Ross’ IRS debt quickly became a flashpoint between the incumbent and challenger Steve Cavender during a candidates forum Thursday evening.
About 30 people scattered throughout a room at Tarrant County College Southeast Campus listened to the pair as well as candidate Hunter Crow during a forum hosted by the Arlington Report, KERA News and the League of Women Voters. Mayoral candidate Shawn Mallory did not attend.
Cavender gazed toward the crowd. Ross made small remarks about finishing before the time counter gestured him to stop speaking, drawing an occasional laugh from the crowd.
Ross, who is seeking a third term, said he would be honest about the $174,000 back tax debt, which he said has been paid. Ross called out Cavender, a longtime real estate developer and president of the River Legacy Foundation, for using the mayor’s personal debt to question his ability to lead Arlington despite his challenger having financial issues of his own.
“(Cavender) also had an IRS lien sitting on his home, but I don't make an issue of that because I don't believe it makes any difference on his ability to run this city,” Ross said. “I focused on the job that I was elected to do, and we've done a really good job with this city in the last five years.”
Cavender acknowledged his own financial issues, but noted he was not in an elected position.
“You were mayor when you came into office with a federal IRS tax lien,” Cavender said. “I don't think someone who owes the federal government money should assume a position as mayor.”
Noting another criticism of him by the Cavender campaign, Ross referenced a video that captured him yelling at an unknown person in New Orleans before he was elected mayor.
“I own my blemishes. I wasn't mayor for that, but (Cavender’s) campaign loves to bring that stuff up,” Ross said. “You want to talk about it? I stood up to a bully. That's what I'm doing again right now, is standing up to bullies.”
Crow, a student at Tarrant County College Trinity River Campus, remained silent throughout the interaction.
Candidates priorities for Arlington
Cavender said the biggest issue facing Arlington residents is a lack of code enforcement. He believes a better way to enforce code is by educating residents on why policies are in place rather than fining them.
Crow shared similar concerns about city upkeep and a lack of public transportation, but he did not go into detail on how he would address those issues.
Arlington lacks available housing that can meet the needs of low- to high-income residents, Ross said. However, because the city is already built out by 98%, creating that variety of housing is difficult, he added.
A solution the mayor pointed to was the introduction of a planning policy called form-based code downtown that focuses less on what developments are allowed in specific areas and instead creates a list of acceptable options for a specific space.
“It makes development smoother, easier, less expensive and better for housing of all types in the downtown area,” Ross said. “It helps move the needle when it comes to creating those types of housing.”
Ross emphasized prioritizing business for the city, while Crow said Arlington needs to strike a balance between affordability and maintaining good developer relationships.
Cavender brought up that south Arlington residents have not experienced the same benefits as those in the north have seen from the expansion of the Entertainment District.
“I talked to (south Arlington) homeowners and they say, ‘What's going on up north is great, but we never see the results of it,’” Cavender said. “Take some of that money and start using it down south and help them in ways that they're not able to do themselves.”
Cavender was asked how affordable housing would fit into the city’s future. He criticized Ross’s expansion of apartment developments and accused the mayor of favoritism toward specific developers.
“Especially (developments) that are up against residential subdivisions that the mayor's girlfriend tried to get zoned here recently in south Arlington,” Cavender said. “We don't need that type of product in our neighborhoods, in housing, and it needs to stop.”
Ross raised concerns about Cavender's relationship with former Mayor Jeff Williams and apartment developments the two men had worked on with real estate company Moritz Development.
The key to affordable housing is thinking creatively with the city’s tool kit of policies, such as form-based code, that can pave the way for different types of housing, Ross said.
“There's a time and place for all of that,” Ross said. “We don't need it in every part of the city.”
Election Day is May 2. Early voting is April 20-28.
Bianca Rodriguez-Mora is a reporting fellow for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at bianca@fortworthreport.org.
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This article first appeared on Arlington Report and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
