Courtesy of candidates election pages
Hunter Crow, Veronica Chavez Law and Cary Cheshire are all candidates for the District 7 board of trustee election.
Three candidates are voicing their concerns and goals should they be elected to the District 7 seat in the upcoming board of trustees election.
Former Fort Worth mayor Kenneth Barr, who has overseen District 7 in the southwest Fort Worth and Benbrook area since 2019, decided against an additional term.
In a public forum hosted by the Fort Worth Report, KERA, SteerFW and the League of Women Voters, all three candidates were asked about their stance on diversity, equity and inclusion.
It’s a topic the forum’s commentator said headlined TCC’s effort to comply with Senate Bill 17, specifically after the NAACP moved an event set for South Campus due to the college “unexpectedly” pulling its sponsorship from the event.
Candidate and Tarrant County business owner Cary Chesire said he fully supports SB-17 and said the results of last November’s election revealed the people of Texas agree.
“The [Texas people] do not want diversity, equity and inclusion. They do not want critical race theory, and they believe there has been a shift within academia, particularly within higher education, where their tax dollars are being marshaled against them,” he said. “If you want to do something DEI-related, you should probably go do that at home.”
Candidate Veronica Chavez Law, a commercial real estate and banking lawyer, said that while building her campaign, she took into account SB-17 and its impact on TCC. “TCC needs to follow the law,” she said.
“It’s time we stop focusing so much on the color of students’ skin to differentiate them, and instead, focus more on getting as many people in our community educated. I would rather focus on that than trying to focus on whether DEI is in the classroom or not.”
Hunter Crow, a candidate and former student at TCC in 2022, said he’s a firm supporter of DEI but understands how the board responds to recent restrictions is limited.
“Because the state of Texas criminalized the practice of DEI … the board has no choice but to comply,” he said. “What I’m proposing is increasing student access to academic resources such as counseling for students that previously had DEI benefits and also have resources where they could get financial help if they needed it.”
All three candidates included a focus on the school’s use of funding during their campaign, promising a push toward a transparent and effective use of the budget. Law said her goal is to prioritize the taxpayer by ensuring an efficient and transparent use of the college’s budget.
“I want people to appreciate the Tarrant County College system and what it brings to the community,” Law said. “If we can show the taxpayers a return on their investment, then TCC will be appreciated more, and people will feel better about the taxes they’re paying into TCC.”
Cheshire said that most students today are attending college to seek a qualification that leads to a higher salary, instead of personal interest. He said that where the school focuses its resources should reflect that.
“We need to be focusing on cutting costs and providing value so that students can attend college in a very affordable manner and then go into the workforce and have a lucrative career,” he said. “I think that government intrusion into that atmosphere has created the student loan crisis that we have.”
Cheshire said if elected, he hopes to build stronger relationships with the business community. “When you have businesses that are clearly articulating the skills and qualifications that they’re looking for, that helps tailor our programs,” he said. “We can deliver more value at a lower cost to our students and taxpayers.”
While studying on South Campus, Crow said he heard numerous complaints about rising taxes after major college renovations. However, Crow said he believes these financial growing pains are sometimes necessary.
“There are a lot of facilities at TCC that need renovations, and in order to have these upgrades, the costs are significantly higher. I want to find common ground on property taxes and ensure there’s accountability,” he said.
District 6 covers east and southeast Fort Worth and is also on the upcoming ballot. Gwendolyn Morrison, who’s held District 6 since 1976, is running again, unopposed.
Election Day is May 3. Voting is available on South Campus.