Fort Worth Sister Cities
Mayor Mattie Parker addresses the more than 400 in attendance.
U.S. Rep. Kay Granger’s announcement that she would not seek another term in Congress resulted in immediate speculation that Fort Worth’s 40-year-old mayor might take a dip into the vat of acid better known as national political office.
But Mattie Parker released a statement by way of the social media platform formerly known as Twitter telling whom it may concern: “Press release: I am not running for Congress. The End.”
That seeming “thanks, but no thanks, I’m not interested in running at this time” was in reality a “not only no, but hell no.”
“Do I really have to explain why?” the mayor playfully gibed when was asked if, one, someone had hacked into her Twitter, and, two, if not, then why her decision to skip on this one.
“I feel like it is very similar to a dumpster fire right now and I don't have any interest in the partisanship infighting that's happening,” Parker said. “And most importantly, I love the job I'm in. I love the city. I love my colleagues in the council, and this is working for my family, which is most important right now.
The company is undoubtedly better here. The imagination runs wild over thoughts of Marjorie Taylor Greene or AOC serving with Andrew Jackson in the House. Tolerance was never high on his list of virtues.
“I think [Washington] is very dysfunctional and it really doesn't move the needle here in Fort Worth," Parker continued. "I hope that you feel the same way. Most people aren’t partisan in that way. The majority of people want you to build consistency and work together.”
Parker, meanwhile, said that she will support state Rep. Craig Goldman of Fort Worth in the Republican primary in March. Goldman and John O’Shea are the only two Republican candidates to announce. Goldman did so in the days after Granger’s announcement. O’Shea, an owner of a construction company, had already announced his intention to challenge Granger before she decided to forego another reelection bid.
O’Shea enjoys the support of Ken Paxton, the state attorney general who vowed revenge on all who had a part in his impeachment. Goldman voted to impeach the attorney general.
“I think he'll be an excellent member of Congress. He's a close friend of mine,” Parker said of Goldman. “He's incredibly pragmatic. He's very strategic, and we need additional leadership and longevity. Someone like we've had with Kay who knows Fort Worth and who wants to serve this community, not just be a member of Congress.”
That infighting is probably the reason the groundbreaking Granger has decided to leave Congress after 14 terms. Granger, the chair of the powerful House Appropriations Committee, said she will serve out her term, which expires in January 2025.
One political insider said he believed Granger lost all desire to continue after the Republican rumpus that overthrew Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-California) and the disorder and mayhem that followed in the vacuum and process to replace him.
Granger, the first Republican woman elected to the U.S. House from Texas, has been a very effective member of Congress for her district and Texas. District 12 has been reliably Republican since Granger’s first election in 1996. She has successfully fended off primary challengers from her right in recent years and was overwhelmingly reelected to a 14th term in 2022.
“We need someone who knows how important her leadership has been and is willing to kind of climb back up to that place and represent the city and our community and District 12,” Parker said.
Goldman, 55, first won election to the Texas House in 2012, serving District 97, which covers southwest Tarrant County, the same district represented for years by longtime incumbent Anna Mowery. In the 2023 Legislative Session, Goldman was elected chair of the Republican caucus, serving as top deputy to House Speaker Dade Phelan.
The Republican field is expected to grow by the end of the filing period in December, though in addition to Parker, two others have also declined. Tarrant County Commissioner Manny Ramirez considered a run but ultimately passed. So, too, did Nate Schatzline, who represents parts of north Fort Worth, into Saginaw, Blue Mound, and Haslet in District 93. Schatzline, along with Tony Tinderholt of Arlington, were the only two members of Tarrant County’s state House delegation to vote against Paxton’s impeachment.