‘I’ll be back’: Betsy Price alludes to future after leaving Fort Worth mayor’s office
Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price, the city’s longest serving mayor, said she might eye public service again after leaving the mayor’s office later this year.
Price is not seeking a sixth term, opening the door to an unprecedented 10 mayoral candidates in the May 1 election. During a wide-ranging conversation Thursday on Washington Post Live with reporter Jacqueline Alemany, Price touched on her criticism of removing the statewide mask mandate, the state of the Republican Party, the February winter storm and Texas’ power failure.
When asked if Price would consider running for office again, she said she wanted to focus on her family but would return to at some point, alluding to a possible future campaign. In January, when she announced she wouldn’t seek another term, she was also vague about future ambitions.
“I’ll be back,” Price told Alemany. “I’ll come back and do service somewhere. Whether it’s on the public side or the private side, I haven’t determined that yet.”
That likely won’t in the form of a bid for governor.
Price gave a flat “no” when asked if she was considering entering the 2022 race for Texas’ top seat. Price said she had been approached about running but wasn’t ready to at this time.
“At this point I’ve got no desire to do that,” she said, adding that she wanted to continue focusing on Fort Worth.
Price wouldn’t say if she’ll support Gov. Greg Abbott, noting that there are a number of people considering running for governor. Even Matthew McConaughey has recently flirted with tossing his name in the hat. Price said she’d have to see “what his politics are” before supporting the actor.
The mayor has been critical of Abbott’s decision to repeal the mask order and to fully reopen Texas businesses. Price repeated her concerns Thursday, saying she would have waited through May to rollback COVID-19 precautions. She sent a letter to the governor’s office expressing her concern and advocating for more vaccines, she said, but has not received a response.
Throughout the interview Price attempted to play the middle and avoided direct criticism.
Asked if leadership was to blame for the failure of the Texas power grid last month, Price said she wanted to look for solutions instead of pointing fingers. The power failure plunged millions into a blackout, caused water mains to burst across Fort Worth and Texas and resulted in dozens of deaths during the winter storm. This week the last member of last Public Utility Commission member resigned at Abbott’s request.
Texas Republicans opposed the $1.9 trillion COVID relief bill signed earlier this month, including all of Fort Worth’s GOP delegation. Price said she was concerned about the long-term debt the federal government was taking on, but said she supported relief for small businesses.
Price said she was confident Texas politics would not shift to the left. She said she believed most Texans wanted a middle-of-the-road approach to government. She cited apathy among voters for the rise of extreme political views, but blamed both parties.
“The average citizen wasn’t paying attention and wasn’t looking closely, and they let it get pushed to the far right and the far left,” she said. “At some point we got to work our way back in where we can make decisions on a bipartisan basis, or at least make decisions that are good for our residents.”
This story was originally published March 18, 2021 at 5:01 PM.
