Fort Worth councilwoman Ann Zadeh announces mayoral bid, wants to relieve taxpayers
Ann Zadeh has entered the race for mayor and is betting on her experience as a city planner to give her an edge over her opponents.
Zadeh, 54, will also look toward her six years of experience on the City Council District 9 seat to make a case as to why she’s the best candidate. She previously worked as a city planning consultant and advised cities throughout the Metroplex.
“My background in city planning gives me some expertise in the area of how cities are run,” she said.
Zadeh is the latest candidate to join the mayoral race after Mayor Betsy Price, 71, announced her decision to not seek a sixth term on Jan. 5. The list of candidates includes Councilman Brian Byrd and two political newcomers, Mike Haynes and Chris Rector.
If elected, Zadeh will tackle issues that have plagued Fort Worth for the better part of 2020, such as inequity issues and a struggling economy because of the pandemic.
Zadeh said the city has been slow to adopt recommendations from the Race and Culture Task Force, such as a civilian police oversight board. She hopes that is adopted sooner rather than later.
She believes there needs to be more resources so police aren’t called for situations they don’t need to be involved with, such as dealing with someone who has a mental health concern.
With the upcoming redistricting, two new council districts will be added, and Zadeh said a task force recommended an independent committee draw the maps, but the council did not agree. She hopes she can revive interest in having an independent redistricting committee that will take into account the needs of neighborhoods that have limited resources.
Another way to combat inequities is for the city to be more involved with constituents in under-resourced communities. There needs to be an effort to reach communities that aren’t involved in city decisions as well, she said.
“It has to start by distributing these resources in an equitable way and then engaging communities,” she said.
This includes working for affordable housing and improving public transportation, she said.
If elected, Zadeh will have to deal with an economy that has been disrupted by the pandemic. She said the city needs to support local businesses and work on improving infrastructure instead of bringing in new costly development. There will also be a focus on creating good-paying jobs.
She said the tax burden has shifted toward the taxpayer and not enough toward businesses that want to be in Fort Worth.
“If new shiny things are going to be built, then we rely on the private sector to do that and not be giving massive tax breaks to new businesses that are coming to the city,” she said.
