Incumbent Mayor Jim Ross has been reelected to a third and final term with 50.04% of the vote, narrowly avoiding a runoff election, according to unofficial results.
Steve Cavender trailed with 39.4% of the vote, roughly 2,800 fewer votes than Ross.
Cavender and his campaign team did not respond to multiple requests for a comment Saturday night.
As soon as election data from Tarrant County showed 100% of votes counted, Ross took the stage to cheers and applause that shook the dishes on tables at J. Gilligan鈥檚 Bar and Grill, where he was hosting a watch party to which he invited every other candidate running for any office in Arlington.
His message after inviting other winners to the stage was of grace in victory.
鈥淕oing forward, as much as some of us really want to get in somebody鈥檚 face and say, 鈥榃e told you we won鈥檛 put up with this [expletive],鈥� we鈥檙e not gonna do it,鈥� Ross told his supporters. 鈥淲e鈥檙e gonna move forward, we鈥檙e gonna be better than the other side was.鈥�
Shaun Mallory and Hunter Crow, who are also running for the office, saw 4.9% and 5.5% ballots cast in their favor, respectively.
The contest for Arlington mayor has been contentious, with many voters describing it as divisive and messy.
Ross focused his campaigning, and especially on social media, on sharing his achievements, the reasons he鈥檚 proud of his city and the endorsements he鈥檚 received.
Cavender鈥檚 strategy relied heavily on criticizing Ross, with special attention on his personal taxes, travel expenses and on housing policy. He鈥檚 also placed the blame for increased property taxes, approved by council in a 7-2 vote last year, squarely on Ross鈥� shoulders.
Ross, a retired Marine, former police officer and practicing trial attorney, launched his campaign for a final term with a message that Arlington is going in a good direction and he wants to keep it that way.
Much of his messaging included references to maintaining momentum and continuing the progress, development and planning taking place in the city.
Cavender, on the other hand, claimed Ross is mismanaging the city鈥檚 finances and not looking out for the city鈥檚 residents and businesses.
Outside of his campaign鈥檚 attacks on Ross, Cavender emphasized fiscal responsibility, fewer multifamily apartments near neighborhoods and public safety as his core principles.
He also continuously touted his endorsements from former mayors Jeff Williams and Richard Greene, as well as former council members.
A contentious race
Amanda Jordan, a communication professor at UT Arlington with expertise in social media and political misinformation, said that misleading messaging has become more prominent in local elections over recent years, and should be approached with caution.
Jordan said voters should be wary of social media campaign messaging that focuses on attacks against an opponent.
Many of those ads and posts lack vital context or have intentional omissions when addressing things like an opponent鈥檚 voting record, personal background or qualifications, she said.
鈥淲e鈥檙e also seeing a whole lot of not talking about actual issues, but just actual attacking instead of anything that might be substantially helpful to voters,鈥� Jordan said.
She said voters need to be especially careful when informing themselves only from those types of messaging.
Posts on Cavender鈥檚 campaign Facebook page have included references to a video in which they claimed Ross insulted Cavender鈥檚 wife, without sharing any video or links. When asked, Cavender campaign manager Brian Mayes said they would not be sharing the video out of respect for Ann Cavender, Steve Cavender鈥檚 wife.
Cavender鈥檚 campaign did post a 10-second clip of a video of Ross at a panel discussion on housing policy in which the incumbent mayor is asked to describe the situation in 鈥渂ooming Arlington.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 bats**t crazy,鈥� Ross deadpans, garnering laughs from the crowd.
In the full 41-minute video of the discussion at the 2025 J. Ronald Terwilliger Center Summit on Housing Supply Solutions, Ross went on to explain the city鈥檚 history and current housing situation, contextualizing his opening jest.
The video posted by Cavender鈥檚 campaign frames the statement as Ross鈥� opinion on the city, saying that 鈥淪teve Cavender loves Arlington while Jim Ross mocks it.鈥�
Throughout most of the campaign, Ross appeared to ignore the attempts to impeach his character and attack his actions.
That changed around 11 p.m. Election Day.
After inviting other candidates who won their races to join him on stage, he addressed the campaign.
鈥淭his has been a very, very, very nasty, difficult, divisive race,鈥� Ross told around 125 people who gathered in the bar to watch the results roll in. 鈥淵鈥檃ll spoke really loud by saying, 鈥榃e don鈥檛 put up with this crap in Arlington,鈥� and I can鈥檛 tell you how much I appreciate y鈥檃ll and love y鈥檃ll for doing that.鈥�
In an interview following his victory speech, he said the way Arlington voters responded to the rhetoric from Cavender鈥檚 campaign may have been the deciding factor.
鈥淭hey were their own worst enemies by coming out with such divisive rhetoric,鈥� Ross said. 鈥淧eople want to know, what are you going to do? What do you bring to the table? What is special about you? People don鈥檛 want to just hear, the other guy鈥檚 really, really, really bad. And that鈥檚 what they heard.鈥�
He said the city has 鈥渟een rhetoric that doesn鈥檛 reflect who we are as a community,鈥� noting that he鈥檚 confident voters didn鈥檛 respond positively to that rhetoric.
Moving forward, he said the goal is to reunite as a community.
鈥淚 think we could take a big lesson from Martin Luther King Jr. 鈥� Dr. King would tell us that the only thing strong enough to overcome hate is love,鈥� Ross said.
Posts about Cavender are few and far between in Ross鈥� social media, with most posts focused on his own achievements in office, the city鈥檚 qualities of which he鈥檚 fond and the endorsements he鈥檚 received.
When it came to policy plans, Cavender didn鈥檛 provide many specifics in his campaign messaging, including related to the budget. The mayoral hopeful said on multiple occasions that he would have ordered city staff to make cuts to the city鈥檚 2026 budget to ensure it was balanced.
When asked what specific cuts he would make, Cavender on two different occasions said he hadn鈥檛 looked over the budget closely enough to speak to specifics.
Ross defended the budget. The city had to make around $25 million in cuts, in large part due to property valuation changes at the Tarrant Appraisal District, and Ross said the city made every cut it could without substantially impacting essential city services.
He also said the city plans to adjust its budget again and is looking at lowering taxes once more.
Over $200,000 spent in race to mayor
The two campaigns raised funds and spent very differently.
According to campaign finance reports, Cavender dramatically outspent Ross, with some of his largest expenses being to hire Mayes鈥� firm, Mayes Media Group.
Cavender鈥檚 campaign finance reports show he paid more than $164,500 to Mayes Media Group during his bid for office. Mayes is listed in the campaign finance reports as contributing $50 to Cavender鈥檚 campaign funds.
In total, Cavender鈥檚 campaign spent just shy of $200,000, meaning more than half of his expenses were paid to Mayes Media Group.
Ross ran a much leaner campaign, with his finance reports showing around $21,000 spent on political expenses.
The campaign finance reports cover all contributions and expenses from Jan. 1 to April 22, so more spending may have occurred since that date.
While Cavender outspent Ross, the incumbent mayor raised more funds than his challenger, according to the reports.
Ross鈥� campaign listed contributions of $138,155 compared to Cavender鈥檚 $98,341.
Both campaigns took out loans 鈥� since January, Cavender borrowed $135,000 to Ross鈥� $100,000.
Ross鈥� final term
Ross, who will not be eligible to run for reelection in Arlington under the city鈥檚 term limits, said he is ready for three more years at the city鈥檚 helm but will not seek any other office after he鈥檚 done.
Looking ahead to the next three years, he said he hopes his legacy isn鈥檛 in buildings or park names but as a memory of a mayor who loved his city and moved it in a positive direction.
鈥淚 never felt more loved than I did during this campaign,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 felt the community love me. I felt a community protect me. I want the community to feel the same way I felt during this campaign with me and them, because I love them. And I want to protect them and I want to take care of them.鈥�
He reiterated messages from his campaign about keeping momentum in the city.
鈥淢omentum for me means a number of things,鈥� Ross said. 鈥淚t means economic development. It means bringing quality jobs here, increasing the average wage like we have done, bringing new headquarters to Arlington. But momentum also means doing something unique with our community.鈥�
He wants to continue the yearslong trend of decreasing crime rates in the city and attracting new businesses and headquarters to the city.
Arlington鈥檚 diversity also plays a role in his plans for his final term, Ross said.
鈥淚t enhances who we are,鈥� Ross said. 鈥淚t gives us such tremendous perspectives on where we wanna go, and where we want to go as a community is holding each other up, respecting one another, loving one another and treating each other with decency.鈥�
Overall, Ross said, not much about his style of leadership or his priorities will change in his final term.
鈥淓verything I do, I measure it by what is best for the city, what鈥檚 best for our community,鈥� Ross said. 鈥淪o my last term, I don鈥檛 really see it being any different. Is there a little relief knowing I never have to run again? Hell yeah, there鈥檚 a little relief, knowing I never have to run again.鈥�
City Council
In District 5, which covers parts of central and east Arlington,, founder and CEO of BGD Marketing, has unseated, according to unofficial results.
Garcia-Dumas netted 55.1% of the vote, while Boxall received 44.8%.
In District 3, which covers southeast Arlington,got 73.7% of the vote against business owner Kelly Burke, who got 26.2% of the vote.
In District 4, which covers parts of west and central Arlington, Planning and Zoning Commissioner Tom Ware won a three-candidate race with 51.1% of the vote, according to unofficial results.
Tarrant County Republican precinct chair Lisa Ventura trails him with 23.5% of the vote, while local activist Rojo Meixueiro carried 25.2% of the votes.
District 8, which represents the entire city, will head to a runoff election, as no candidate reached 50% of the vote.
Arlington ISD trustee Melody Fowler and Jason Shelton, sociology professor and director of the Center for African American Studies at UT Arlington, will face off on June 13. They netted 46.9% and 38.2% of the vote, respectively.
Realtor Corey Harris, who also ran for District 8, got 14.8% of the vote.
Street maintenance tax
The renewal of a quarter-cent sales tax rate, which is dedicated to maintaining Arlington鈥檚 roads, was approved with 78.1% of the vote, according to unofficial results.
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Chris Moss is a reporter for the Arlington Report. Contact him at chris.moss@arlingtonreport.org.
