Provided
Arthur McCoy Jr.
Asked earlier in the season whether she planned to endorse all of her City Council colleagues for reelection, Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker offered a swift reply.
“That’s a hard one,” she said. “I think for District 8, I'm so disheartened just how it's all playing out. I want better from people on our dais.”
So, that’s a no on endorsing the incumbent.
District 8 incumbent Chris Nettles and challenger Payton Jackson have turned the race into a mockery of public service and servant leadership.
The two had to be separated at a forum earlier this month, and this week Jackson dove to the very bottom of the political barrel, scraping past dignity and straight into disgrace, using a homophobic slur to describe her rival.
When criticism came her way, rather than apologize, she doubled down on what she said, reiterating it.
“He is exactly what I called him,” she replied on a social media account. It was the most recent run-in with the two. The first involved a TikTok video in December.
Et tu, Character?
Arthur McCoy Jr., meanwhile, sits nearby, reminding voters that there is a third option in this race.
His name is Arthur McCoy Jr., and as early voting gets underway this week, he’s asking for your vote — and, he said, for a return to the integrity exemplified by Nettles’ immediate predecessors on the council — Kelly Allen Gray, Kathleen Hicks, and Ralph McCloud.
“I won't speak on the spectacle that's going on between Mr. Nettles and Ms. Jackson, but I will say, at the end of the day, everything that's in the dark comes to the light,” said McCoy, 48. “This has been a total embarrassment, not to just District 8, but to the entire black community of Fort Worth. It's just a spectacle.”
District 8 runs from the Historic Southside, just south of downtown and all the way to the farthest reaches south, east of Interstate 35W, adjacent to Crowley and Rendon. To the east, it runs to Miller Avenue at one point and farther south it borders Kennedale.
“I only talk about positive stuff, and I only want to talk about solutions,” McCoy continued. “We need solutions, not this mess. It's just been an embarrassment. I'm embarrassed. I think when people go to the polls, they need to really do some soul searching with the Nettles. This man has embarrassed the community. Why would I go vote for somebody who's embarrassed the community?”
McCoy, who said his family has lived in the Historic Southside for 73 years, owns a landscaping business, but his background is varied. He taught world history and coached baseball at a number of schools, most recently Duncanville High School. He also taught and/or coached at Eastern Hills, Carter-Riverside, Nolan Catholic, and Bishop Dunne in Dallas. He said he also worked for Department of Homeland Security, then the Federal Protective Service, reviewing and securing procurement contracts for the state of Oklahoma and Louisiana, as well as North Texas, south to Waco.
He is a graduate of Trimble Tech High School and Paul Quinn College. He said he bounced around a few junior colleges playing baseball before landing at Paul Quinn.
At about age 9, he said, the family moved to Meadowbrook from Stop Six. His father was employed at Polytechnic High School.
As of the most recent required reporting, McCoy reported slightly more than $4,100 in contributions, according to campaign finance reports. Nettles enjoyed a big fundraising advantage, reporting more than $70,000 on hand. Jackson reported hardly any contributions at all, less than $300.
Nettles’ contributors included Sasha Bass' Accountable Government fund, which gave him $5,000. SB Development Initiatives of Addison gave the same. So, too, did the Fort Worth Firefighters Committee for Responsible Government.
One notable endorsement missing for any of the candidates is that of the Fort Worth Police Officers Association, which is staying out of the race.
McCoy said he hadn’t spoken to the POA.
“First responders play an important role in society and I fully support all law enforcement, whether it's local, state, or federal," said McCoy, who also noted that he was happy to play a role in helping a former player he coached at Duncanville land a job with the Arlington Police Department.
McCoy said he is running on improved infrastructure to bring more economic development to the district, which he calls a “gold mine.”
Nettles played a pivotal role in derailing the long-awaited Evans and Rosedale development by Hoque Global, though the city has found another developer.
McCoy remained confident that he would be a surprise player in the outcome of District 8. He is a one-man team right now, McCoy said, comparing himself to a center fielder covering all of the outfield.
When we last spoke, he was working polling places, reminding voters that there was another, better, more credible candidate to consider in the field.