Fort Worth Report / Rodger Mallison
Downtown Fort Worth as viewed from Oakhurst Scenic Drive, April 19, 2021.
Fort Worthians exert influence from the Texas House to the U.S. Congress, but there is one chamber where they don’t — the state Senate.
Fort Worth is the only major Texas city not to have a resident among the 31 members of the Legislature’s upper chamber. That is unlikely to change if the Republican-led House agrees to the way the Senate has drawn the districts. Senators voted 20-11 on Monday to approve their new map.
Most of Fort Worth is in Senate District 10, currently represented by Burleson Democrat Beverly Powell. Under the Senate-approved map, most of the city would shift into North Richland Hills Republican Kelly Hancock’s Senate District 9, while District 10 would expand to include several more rural counties. Some local officials and residents have said the shift is an attempt to dilute the influence of voters of color.