When Nydia Cárdenas knocks on doors and mentions the county's five-member board, many people don't know it controls county money, taxes and elections. Some ask, "Oh, is that the one where the guy kicks everybody out and he's rude?" She tells them, "Yes, that's the one." Now she's running to join it.
Cárdenas grew up in Fort Worth, went to Fort Worth public schools, and earned an engineering degree from Stanford and an MBA from the University of Michigan. She has worked in small-business advocacy, technology and leadership coaching. She's running against the incumbent, Manny Ramirez, who had about 20 times her campaign cash this summer. She has criticized the county for using the jail "as a hammer" against mental illness and addiction.
Cárdenas’s take on Texas values
Her campaign values page says the county court has made voting harder rather than easier and that democracy requires participation to be prioritized, not obstructed. [vote4nydia.com/values]