Betsy Price plans to run for Fort Worth mayor again: ‘There’s a lot yet to be done’
Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price says she has more to do in Cowtown.
Price, in her fourth term, said she will run again in May 2019. Official campaign filing begins Jan. 16 for the May 4 local elections, though several people have filed paperwork appointing campaign treasurers.
“I think there’s a lot yet to be done, and I think the citizens of Fort Worth will hopefully approve that,” she told Star-Telegram media partner WFAA/Channel 8 Sunday on “Inside Texas Politics,” voicing confidence she can win a fifth term. “I’d like to continue on a couple more years.”
Her comments came Friday in a taping for broadcast Sunday.
A spokeswoman for Price said a formal announcement would come in January with more details. If re-elected, Price would be the longest-serving Fort Worth mayor, according to the city’s list of past mayors.
In the past, Price, a fiscal conservative, has touted economic development, education and transportation as her focus.
In October, she dipped into controversy surrounding the $1.16 billion Panther Island flood control and economic development project by calling for an independent review of the project’s finances and management. The Trinity River Vision Authority’s board last week approved a proposal for the review.
Recently Price and the City Council have faced criticism from United Fort Worth, a grassroots, cross-cultural alliance group. Members say elected officials haven’t done enough to speak out against racism and the city’s Race and Culture Task Force recommendations, adopted last week, don’t go far enough to address race and income disparities.
A cyclist, Price has championed fitness and community health initiatives like FitWorth, which focuses on active lifestyles for children and adults. Earlier this year, Fort Worth became the largest city in America to earn a Blue Zone designation, a measure of a community’s focus on health and well-being.
Price, elected first in 2011, faced a re-election challenger for the first time in 2017 in newcomer Chris Nettles, a minister and justice of the peace clerk. She sailed to an easy victory with about 70 percent of the vote. Nettles has appointed a treasurer for a campaign in City Council District 8, currently represented by Kelly Allen Gray.
Others who have appointed treasurers for the Fort Worth election:
This story was originally published December 16, 2018 at 9:05 AM with the headline "Betsy Price plans to run for Fort Worth mayor again: ‘There’s a lot yet to be done’."
