Arlington City Council member to seek spot on Tarrant County commissioners

Arlington City Council member Ruby Faye Woolridge has filed for the county commissioners race, a spokesperson from the Tarrant County Democrats confirmed Wednesday.

Woolridge was elected to serve Arlington’s District 6 in November 2020 and has been an active community leader in Precinct 2 for 36 years, according to an email statement from her campaign.

“I am so pleased to be able to continue serving and advocating for my community as we focus on providing healthcare, transportation and critical public safety services to a county in recovery from the financial and health ravages of Covid,” Woolridge said in the email statement. “I have stepped up to serve after multiple community leaders called on me to enter this race. I look forward to continue talking and meeting with members of the community during this campaign.”

When reached for comment Wednesday afternoon, Woolridge wouldn’t name the people she said asked her to run beyond elected officials in Tarrant County and leaders in the Tarrant Democrats, saying she wanted them to speak for themselves. Woolridge said she was excited for the opportunities in Precinct 2 and stressed a need to expand health care services.

If elected, Woolridge will take over the Precinct 2 seat held by commissioner Devan Allen, who announced her intention to not run again Nov. 23. Allen did not explicitly say what her next step would be beyond saying she was looking forward to making an impact on global women’s issues.

In her statement, Allen claimed she was bullied, disrespected and faced discrimination. Her team wouldn’t elaborate when reached for comment Nov. 24.

A spokesperson for Allen’s office said via email Wednesday that she wouldn’t be making comments on candidates at this time.