During a special meeting called Dec. 30, the board voted 5-0 to appoint the former Mansfield ISD trustee to replace Alan Blaylock and serve until Dec. 30, 2027.
Blaylock announced his resignation from the board and Fort Worth City Council in November to seek a state office, according to previous reporting. Blaylock was the Distict 10 representative, which serves northeast Fort Worth.
What happened
The special board meeting was announced during the Dec. 1 meeting. Three board members were absent during the Dec. 30 meeting: Gloria Peña, Wendy Burgess and Fred Campos.
TAD board chairman Rick Barnes noted that only Peña had advised him that she wouldn’t be there due to a family vacation. Barnes said he knew others rearranged family plans to attend the 9 a.m. meeting in Fort Worth.
Before the decision, Blaylock recused himself from voting, meaning four of the nine sitting board members did not vote.
The details
Barnes announced the following candidates were up for Blaylock’s spot:
- Mike Alfred
- Becky Renfro Borbolla
- George Dodson
- Farrar
- Sayeda Syed
- Clayton Walters
Zooming in
Farrar spoke at the meeting, saying she’s a lifelong Mansfield resident and just completed four years of service for Mansfield ISD. She said she was the vice president and then president of the board of trustees.
She won the election in 2021, according to the county website, but lost a re-election bid in May to Ana-Alicia Horn.
“That experience gave me a strong understanding of public governance, fiduciary responsibility and accountability, as well as firsthand insight into how critical decisions impact all of the communities that we serve,” she said. “If appointed, I can assure you that I will serve with honesty, integrity and respect for not only my fellow board members, but most importantly, for the taxpayers that we all serve.”
The background
This is the second election in December for TAD. The taxing entities, made up of towns, cities, school districts and the county, had until Dec. 15 to vote for two board member positions.
Alfred and Burgess ran for re-election, challenged by Syed and Eric Crile. According to an email from TAD Communications, Crile and Burgess were voted to serve on the board.
Alfred was then nominated as a candidate to take Blaylock's position, but Barnes said Alfred reached out to him on Dec. 29 to remove himself as an option.
In their own words
This was the final meeting for Blaylock and Alfred.
Alfred talked about why he chose not to be a candidate again after serving a one-year term.
"For me, I've got a very demanding practice," said Alfred, who is part of Veris Law in Colleyville. "I'm at the peak of my career, and we are so blessed at my firm that we've got more work than bodies able to do it."
