Olaf Growald, Fort Worth Magazine, Fort Worth Inc.
It's been 10 years since Fort Worth has had a new mayor — and what a time for Mattie Parker to be entering office. Between COVID-19 and race relations, an ambitious education goal and ongoing issues in public transportation, housing, homelessness, and economic development, here are the top six challenges on the incoming mayor's plate.
Life After COVID
With more people getting vaccinated, cases down since last year, and mask and distancing protocols lifted either by the state or Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), one of the main tasks facing the incoming mayor is how to handle COVID-19 moving forward. Mayor Betsy Price, who's leaving office June 15, is a pro-vaxxer, and the City of Fort Worth back in April launched a month-long digital campaign to raise awareness and educate Fort Worthians on getting the shot. The new mayor will be tasked with furthering efforts to encourage vaccinations, along with revamping the local economy as more businesses reopen.
Race Relations and Police
The killings of George Floyd and Fort Worth’s own Atatiana Jefferson have only amplified the city’s ongoing discussions about race, culture, and equity. It’s been on the mayor’s plate since 2017, when the Race and Culture Task Force was created and subsequently produced 22 initiatives aimed at improving equity in areas ranging from education to criminal justice. Criminal justice, in particular, is a major part of the issue as conversations swirl around defunding and restructuring under new police chief Neil Noakes.
Education
Price took a particularly personal interest in improving education during her tenure as mayor. Among the initiatives she supported was Read Fort Worth, which took on the ambitious goal of getting 100% of third graders reading at their level by 2025. Progress, however, has been slow going, only exacerbated by COVID-19 breaking the traditional structure of a normal school year. The incoming mayor now has the challenge of taking another look at the program and figuring out more effective ways to reach its goal.
Public Transportation
Fort Worth has shown increasing interest in a better bus system, the TEXRail, and rideshare services like the ZIPZONE. But proponents have continually clamored for more financial investment from city leaders, with many saying that Fort Worth falls behind on funding for public transportation compared to other major urban areas.
Housing and Homelessness
Fort Worth continues to grapple with affordable housing as it works to accommodate residents making less than an area’s median income. Developments like Union Gospel Mission’s The Crossroads are among the latest to pop up in an effort to confront the crisis.
Another ongoing issue is homelessness, for which many say the construction of more permanent supportive housing could be a solution.
Economic Development
As the city and Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce continue their push for more jobs and talent, the chamber is retooling its Fortify economic development strategy that has initially struggled to obtain funding from the business community. A big focus will be drawing in expansions and relocations of new businesses, along with forming councils to help boost existing industries in Fort Worth, particularly technology.
A key element in the city’s economic development narrative is the progress of Panther Island, the 800-acre district meant to not just provide flood control for the Trinity River but attract business. However, due to lack of federal funding among various issues, the project has been slow moving. Price told Fort Worth Magazine in May that “it’s probably time for all of us — the city, [Tarrant Regional Water District], and everybody concerned — to relook at what can be done down there. We need to bring some developers to the table and ask, ‘What can we put there that’ll be attractive? I mean, is it a corporate campus? Is it a combination?’”