Denton’s election filing period ended Monday with only one new candidate added in the last month of filing in the crowded race for Paul Meltzer’s District 3 City Council seat.
The race for District 2 is a battle of progressives, while the incumbents in District 1 and 4 are unopposed in their bids for reelection.
Four people are now vying to replace Meltzer, who announced in October that he would not be seeking reelection.
“There are many outstanding, capable people in District 3, some of whom have spent years volunteering in public service roles and who w
Meltzer has held the District 3 seat for one term. He previously represented the city at-large in Place 6 from 2018 to 2022.
The election is May 3, and the last day to register to vote is April 3.
Here’s a look at the candidates who will be on the ballot in May.
District 1
City Council member Vicki Byrd is seeking reelection for her third term in District 1, which covers southeastern Denton. She does not have a challenger.
In an email to the Denton Record-Chronicle last month, Byrd mentioned that since taking office, she has learned that sensible debating “should be normalized as a way not to lose focus on our Denton way of life.”
“If we can do that without vengeance, it might actually decrease the stress on us to get things done; less about us and more about the people is what’s important to me,” she said.
District 2
In the race for District 2, incumbent Brian Beck, who is seeking a third term, faces a challenge from his former campaign adviser, Nick Stevens.
The district includes northern and eastern Denton and a portion of downtown.
Stevens was also Beck’s nominee to the Health and Building Standards Commission. He has lived in District 2 for nearly six years and was the driving force behind Decriminalize Denton’s efforts to pass a decriminalization marijuana ordinance that currently has the City Council involved in a lawsuit filed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
In a Facebook post Wednesday, Stevens stressed that his campaign is powered by his family, friends and supporters and promised “not to take a single penny from developers, lobbyists or anyone tied to oil, gas or cryptomining.”
“Ever since I announced my candidacy for City Council, I’ve heard from so many in the community who are frustrated with the division and inaction that have stalled progress in our city. People feel like their voices aren’t being heard, and their concerns are being ignored,” Stevens said in an email to the Record-Chronicle.
“I’m running because Denton needs a different kind of leadership. My approach is about listening to and empowering the residents of District 2, making sure their needs drive decision-making at City Hall. District 2 deserves strong, effective leadership that fights for real solutions and delivers real results.”
But Beck said he has been a strong, effective leader who fights for real solutions that deliver real results. He called himself a “pragmatic, data-driven, progressive voice of the people” as a council member, someone who focuses on solutions that make a real difference for all residents. Beck has a background as a research computational biologist and educator and has lived in District 2 for nearly 18 years.
In an email Wednesday, Beck highlighted some of the initiatives he has worked on such as in the Hartlee Field and Clear Creek area, implementing sustainable Greensense rebate programs, protecting libraries from censorship and managing smart growth through neighborhood training and engagement.
“I’m proud to have stood up for women’s bodily autonomy, voting rights, public amenities (such as water fountains), fair chance hiring, public transit, non-discrimination protections, & affordable housing,” Beck wrote.
Beck said he plans to expand his focus on sustainability, equity and resiliency. He has been exploring the incorporation of more equitable utility billing, with a focus on use-adjusted rate tiers. He wants to push for solutions that lower rates for low-consumption households while asking higher consumers to contribute more.
Beck said he’s “never accepted a single penny from developers,” and if he did, he would donate it toward an animal advocacy group.
District 3
The District 3 race is shaping up to be the one to watch with four candidates vying to represent an area that includes western Denton and the University of North Texas campus.
Kelly Smith, a Lyft driver and North Central Texas College student, is the latest to join a race that includes retired English professor Karen Jill DeVinney, real estate agent Margie Ellis, and librarian and cycling advocate Suzi Rumohr.
Ellis served on Denton’s Planning and Zoning Commission for more than eight years. She stressed on her campaign page that she would bring experience, understanding and proven leadership to the City Council. She also wants to ensure there are “no personal or political agendas in play on the dais.”
Ellis has lived in District 3 for 20 years. On her site, she said development and growth require a balance and careful consideration of the development types “needed to grow our city in the right way,” such as housing types, corporate campuses and retail.
In a Wednesday email, Ellis said she’s excited about Denton’s future and that her priorities are strategic growth, promoting a productive and efficient council, and protecting our green spaces for generations to come.
“With my 8+ years of service on the Planning and Zoning Commission, I have gained valuable insights into sustainable and strategic development practices and have listened to the wants and needs of our residents,” Ellis wrote. “District 3 is a unique part of Denton, and I am grateful to have lived here for 20 years. I am excited to serve this community, strengthen its voice, and celebrate its distinct character.”
Rumohr, a librarian at Texas Woman’s University, indicated on her campaign page that Denton faces many challenges, such as dangerous roads, rising costs for housing and transportation, and difficulties for locals who want to start a business or engage in creative projects, which “make Denton unique.”
Rumohr, who has lived in the district for six years, has served in leadership roles on TWU’s Sustainability Committee, Health and Wellbeing Initiative and Faculty Senate. She is also a primary organizer of Bike Denton, a local transportation advocacy group, and serves on the Board of Directors of BikeTexas.
“I am ready to lead on issues including traffic safety, giving Denton residents more choice and flexibility for housing and transportation options and improving the efficiency of Denton’s policies, procedures, spending and growth patterns to keep our tax burden lower,” Rumohr wrote on her campaign site.
DeVinney, a former English professor and managing editor at UNT Press, is no stranger to protecting neighborhoods. DeVinney was part of a neighborhood group in the West Oak Street area that fought in the early 2000s to protect their historic homes from apartment development. Their efforts led to the creation of the West Oak Historic District in 2008.
DeVinney has lived in District 3 for 32 years and has Meltzer’s support. She has also served on city boards, commissions and committees since 2007, including the Historic Landmark Commission, the Public Utilities Board and citizen bond committees in 2014 and 2019.
“I’m running to protect neighborhoods from inappropriate development and green spaces from bulldozers,” DeVinney wrote in a message Wednesday. “Affordable housing does not have to mean huge cheaply made complexes that reduce the quality of life. We need a balance.”
Smith decided to seek local office after the November presidential election. Smith, who has been living in the district for three years, said he came to the conclusion that he needed to do something, not just for his friends and family but everyone around him.
Like the other candidates, Smith is concerned about affordable housing and housing diversity. He has formed the Bluebonnet Party, a progressive local group.
“On the local level, I feel it is important to remember what you do and don’t have,” Smith said. “This would mostly be housing. The cost of living has been going up for quite a while, and homeownership is not available for most people now, especially younger people. There is a supply problem caused by zoning on the local levels.”
District 4
Like his colleague Byrd, District 4 incumbent Joe Holland doesn’t have a challenger this election season.
District 4 covers south and southwestern Denton.
Holland, who has lived in District 4 for nearly 31 years, spent his first term focused on fixing Denton roads such as South Elm and South Locust streets, Eagle Drive and Industrial Street, which he said is now “a nice drive.”
“With new utilities under these streets I’m hopeful that they will stay smooth for years,” Holland said in an email last month. “I learned that there are more streets in need of rebuilding than I realized. Currently, some streets around the UNT campus are being rebuilt. There are lots of streets all over town needing repair.”
Holland said he is still passionate about street repair and called homelessness a challenge. He also hopes to maintain top-level police and fire/rescue departments.
“Everyone wants clean and plentiful water and reliable electricity,” Holland wrote. “Housing is complicated and continues to be a challenge. The acquisition and development of park land is a thorny problem. We still need stronger economic development. I feel strongly about people not only living here but working here as well. We must always be looking at the use and re-use of existing buildings.”