Fort Worth city manager says friendship with the Basses doesn’t influence his decisions
Fort Worth city manager David Cooke told city staff in an email he was taking some personal time around the Labor Day holiday.
He didn’t say who with.
Cooke and his wife traveled to Aspen, Colorado, on the private jet of their friends Ed and Sasha Bass, co-owners of the 37-square-block downtown business and entertainment district Sundance Square.
Cooke didn’t consider the trip a gift or any kind of financial benefit, but it’s raised questions about conflict of interest given the city’s involvement in a recent dispute between between Sundance Square and downtown business advocacy nonprofit Downtown Fort Worth Inc. over the management of a special downtown taxing district.
Under the city’s rules, Cooke could have been the dispute’s final arbiter, however, city economic development director Robert Sturns forced both sides to settle the matter independently.
Cooke acknowledged any further appeals would come to his office, but said he would recuse himself and appoint another city employee to avoid a conflict of interest.
“The way I conduct the business of the city is in the middle of the street in the middle of the day,” Cooke said.
Andy Taft, president of Downtown Fort Worth Inc. echoed Cooke’s sentiments.
“I haven’t seen David play favorites in downtown one way or the other. He has been following city policy right down the middle of the road,” Taft wrote in a text.
The city’s ethics code bars city employees and their partners from accepting “any benefit, including a promise of future employment, of sufficient economic value,” from anyone who has a financial interest impacted by the decisions of that city employee.
Cooke said he didn’t consider the trip a gift, and that he’s taken similar ones with other friends. He said they have had no impact on his decisions as city manager.
“I’m not going to let the public pick who we get to be friends with, and I’m not going to let friendship get in the way of making the best decision for the city either,” he said.
The fact that Cooke has a relationship with the Basses isn’t a problem in itself, said Matthew Wilson, an associate political science professor at SMU.
“If he was making a decision that directly touched on the financial interests of the Bass family, and it were alleged that these kinds of benefits and associations influenced that decision, then that would be a serious conversation,” Wilson said.
Council members Michael Crain, Alan Blaylock, and Chris Nettles declined to comment on Cooke’s travel.
Council members Leonard Firestone and Jared Williams did not respond to a text message and a phone call seeking comment.
Council member Elizabeth Beck, whose district includes downtown Fort Worth, said she was waiting to have a discussion with the city’s legal department before commenting on the matter.
Council member Carlos Flores, who represents the north side, Stockyards, and parts of far north Fort Worth, said the trip on the surface didn’t strike him as a conflict of interest.
“He was taking personal vacation, which is appropriate, and not a cent of public dollars were spent,” Flores said.
Any discussion about whether Cooke violated the city’s ethics code needs to happen first behind closed doors in executive session, said Mayor Pro Tem Gyna Bivens, who represents east Fort Worth.
Bivens wasn’t sure whether Cooke had violated any city policies with the trip, but said that would have to be discussed in executive session.
The council’s next executive session is schedule for Oct. 4. The agenda for that session will be posted on the city’s website Thursday afternoon.
This story was originally published September 29, 2022 at 7:00 AM.
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