Texas’ 6th Congressional District is getting a new representative in 2018, and Tarrant County is getting a new tax assessor.
As U.S. Rep. Joe Barton announced last Thursday that he would not seek re-election, Ron Wright stepped down as Tarrant County’s tax assessor-collector to run for the congressional seat that Barton is vacating. The district includes part of southeast Tarrant County including Arlington, and all of Ellis and Navarro counties.
Wright filed Friday for a place on the 2018 Republican primary ballot.
During his six years as the county’s tax assessor, Wright championed property tax reforms that empower voters and increase accountability for elected officials.
Prior to his appointment to that position in 2011, Wright was Barton’s chief of staff in Washington, DC for two years and his district director in Arlington for nine years. Wright served on Arlington City Council from 2000 to 2008.
Texas Veterans Commission member Jake Ellzey and Arlington conservative activist Deborah Gagliardi have also filed to run for the CD 6 seat in the Republican primary. Several Democrats have filed as well in the safely Republican district.
Former Mansfield City Council member Wendy Burgess filed Friday to run for Wright’s unexpired tax assessor-collector term, which runs through 2020. The filing deadline for primary candidates is December 11.
The primary election date is March 6, 2018.
