With two board members leaving the Tarrant Regional Water District, one incumbent and two new candidates have been elected to fill three open seats.
Current board president Leah King, building inspector Johnathan Killebrew and real estate investor Skylar O’Neal earned the most votes to head up oversight of the agency, according to unofficial voting results released Saturday.
King, who led the candidates with the most campaign donations raised, earned 30.9% of the 67,373 votes cast. O’Neal came in just behind King, earning 28% of the vote while Killebrew gained 21.85%. Tarrant County College biology professor and Fort Worth ISD educator Andrew Brinker came in fourth with 19.19% of the vote.
Voters could choose up to three candidates on the ballot Saturday. The top three vote-getters earn the seats. The board has a total of five members, with each serving four-year terms.
At an April 17 forum hosted by the Fort Worth Report, the candidates spoke about how they would address issues regarding water supply and the future of the $1.16 billion federal Central City flood control project, which will create hundreds of waterfront properties on the future Panther Island.
Brinker believes his background in environmental science and conducting research alongside students and water district staff on the Trinity River will assist him in his goal to push the agency’s conservation initiatives further. He promises to expand the water district’s conservation team to encourage sustainable water supply.
Brinker and Killebrew have both said that some of the water district’s successes lie in other ongoing projects, such as the Integrated Pipeline Project expanding the amount of water that can be pumped from East Texas and the Marty Leonard wetlands.
It’s those initiatives, especially Panther Island, that encouraged King to seek reelection to a third term.
When completed, the flood control portion of the project would create a 1.5 mile, man-made bypass channel rerouting the Trinity River, creating the appearance of an island between downtown Fort Worth and the Northside neighborhood. With more than $400 million of federal funds in hand, the water district is tasked with handling local elements of the flood control project and working with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, while city leaders are spearheading the economic development efforts along the riverfront property.
O’Neal looks forward to bringing her experience in real estate to push the flood control portion of the project, which faced years of delays in construction and funding before a Biden infrastructure law supplied federal funds in 2022.
With the exception of King, the incoming candidates will turn over a new leaf for the water district as board members James Hill and Mary Kelleher did not seek reelection this year. Kelleher is pursuing a seat on Fort Worth City Council to represent District 5.
Two of the three seats open for election have been occupied by King and Hill since 2017, with both earning reelection in 2021. The board has a total of five seats and members serve four-year terms.
Board members are responsible for overseeing a myriad of issues at the water district, including receiving reports from the district’s general manager and adopting an annual budget. The board is also responsible for adopting and regularly reviewing an overall strategic plan that reflects the district’s objectives such as water supply, flood control and recreation opportunities across the district’s land and along the Trinity River.
Campaign reports show King led the candidates in donations, raising a total of $57,714 from Jan. 15, when election filings opened, through April 25, when the most recent campaign finance reports were due.
Her biggest donors include the Our Water Our Future and the Accountable Government Fund political action committees, contributing a little over $9,000 collectively. Our Water Our Future is backed by Wes Turner, a longtime civic leader and former Star-Telegram publisher, while the Accountable Government Fund is supported by the prominent billionaire Bass family. King also raised $4,000 in donations from the Kelly Hart & Hallman and Good Government political action committees.
Following King is O’Neal, who raised just under $54,000 in campaign donations. She received a $10,000 donation from political action committee Coalition for the Fort, $6,000 from herself and her husband, and a $1,000 donation from Congressman Craig Goldman, R-Fort Worth, among other contributions.
Killebrew collected a little over $39,000 in campaign funds, including $20,000 he contributed to the campaign. Killebrew also received $2,500 from the Texas Realtors political action committee.
Brinker told the Report he would not accept campaign donations because he wanted to maintain transparency throughout the election process.
A goal all four candidates have in common: transparency. This election cycle comes after the water district was scrutinized by the public in response to a leadership scandal in 2021, spurring criticism over payouts and nepotism.
King, who was with the board at the time, told the Report the board has come a long way in maintaining good governance and transparency.
“We’ve accomplished quite a bit and I’ve been proud to lead the board for the past four years,” King said. “We embark upon pretty ambitious areas.”
The Fort Worth Report’s Tarrant County Voter Guide, featuring surveys from candidates for City Councils, school boards and other races, is available here.
This story was updated with early voting results at 7:57 p.m. Saturday.
Nicole Lopez is the environment reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at nicole.lopez@fortworthreport.org.
Disclosure: Wes Turner is the director and co-chair of the Fort Worth Report board of directors. Fort Worth Report board member Marianne M. Auld is the managing partner of Kelly Hart & Hallman.
