Crystal Wise
Mattie Parker, sworn in as mayor of Fort Worth on June 15, 2021
For the first time in 10 years, a new mayor was sworn in for the city of Fort Worth. Mayor Mattie Parker along with four new council members — Dr. Jared Williams (District 6), Leonard Firestone (District 7), Chris Nettles (District 8), and Elizabeth Beck (District 9) — took the oath of office Tuesday night at the Fort Worth Convention Center.
Council members whose elections did not require a runoff were sworn in May 11, when new council member Michael Crain (District 3) joined incumbents Carlos Flores (District 2), Cary Moon (District 4), and Gyna Bivens (District 5).
In addition to marking the end of Betsy Price’s long tenure as mayor, the night also introduced the youngest and most diverse city council Fort Worth has ever seen.
For the first time in Fort Worth’s history, its city council looks more like the city itself. Of the eight council members, three are Black, one is Latino, and four are white.
During Parker’s 15-minute address, she spoke at length about unity — declaring it her main objective — and laid out her agenda, which includes business growth, jobs, affordable housing, infrastructure, and improved public education.
Parker also lauded the diversity of the new city council and praised each member individually with a brief biography which displayed their varied backgrounds.
“Together, we represent parents, spouses, community leaders; we all have a fierce love and desire to leave Fort Worth better than we found it,” Parker said in her address. “A responsibility to take the torch we’ve been handed and lead Fort Worth into the future.”
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Crystal Wise
Mattie Parker (center) stands with former mayor Betsy Price (right) and city council members during the swearing-in ceremony on June 15, 2021.
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Crystal Wise
District 6 city council member Jared Williams at the podium
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Crystal Wise
Fort Worth's new mayor, Mattie Parker, listens while speakers make their remarks.
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Crystal Wise
Mattie Parker, at 37, becomes the youngest mayor of any major U.S. city.
Parker takes office after a historically close run-off election. Despite receiving endorsements from the likes of Price, the Bass brothers, and the Police Officers Association — which would normally be a prelude to a landslide — she eked out a win by only 6% over the progressive Deborah Peoples.
Before Parker was sworn in, each of the new council members also gave short addresses. Nettles, a pastor and community activist who ran for the District 8 seat twice before, gave the lengthiest speech. In it, he spoke about equity, bringing basic necessities to his community like a grocery store, improving literacy, and police reform, including a citizen’s review board and implementing the Race and Culture Task Force’s recommendations.
“We can fix our mistakes,” Nettles said in his address. “We can change the trajectory of Fort Worth. Let us not continue to grow in numbers but let us grow in integrity. Let’s grow in love. Let’s grow where everyone can thrive and everyone can prosper. It’s not a Black thing, it’s not a white thing, it’s not a Latino thing. It’s a people’s thing.”
Beck, a lawyer and military veteran, takes over District 9 from mayoral candidate Ann Zadeh, who served as a council member for seven years. Her short address was full of gratitude and assurances that the young city council will put politics aside to get things done.
“We’re not just young; we have young children, we have jobs,” Beck said of the new city council in her address. “What Fort Worth has tonight is a council made of workhorses, not show horses. There’s been a lot of talk about what our partisan politics are on council. But we’re all here because we want to work together because we want to fill in those gaps for Fort Worth."
But the night was not without dispute. Soon after Parker was introduced as the new mayor, United Fort Worth, a community organization that actively challenges discriminatory policy and systems of oppression, led a chant seeking justice for Atatiana Jefferson, a 28-year-old Black woman who was shot to death in her home by a Fort Worth police officer.
Following the brief interruption, the first words Parker uttered as mayor were an unironic thank-you to United Fort Worth for attending.
While Parker is a conservative Republican — the 37-year-old previously served as Price’s chief of staff — it’s clear she’s molding her politics after her predecessor’s nonpartisanship. And, with a city council that’s diverse in both color and ideology, she will likely need to continue such rhetoric to mend fences and tackle her agenda.
“Much has been made in the media about the partisanship of our city and, frankly, across this country,” Parker said in her address. “But the question facing this city isn’t whether we go right or left — it’s how we move forward. My goal is unity.”
