Can this Fort Worth political outsider ride Christian support to the mayor’s office?
While some Fort Worth mayoral candidates have racked up endorsements, political newcomer Steve Penate has harnessed his evangelical church for what he calls a grassroots campaign.
It appears to be gathering steam.
Penate preaches a message of Christian values for City Hall, calling himself “the most conservative candidate on the ballot.” A prayer and worship event last weekend drew at least a couple thousand people to a deserted Toys ‘R’ Us parking lot off South Cherry Lane in west Fort Worth. Though Penate said the rally wasn’t purely a campaign event, calling it a “night of prayer and worship,” his campaign hosted and promoted the event. And it was obvious to everyone who was there or who viewed his Facebook video that he’s running for mayor: Penate wore a bright red campaign shirt as he took the stage for a sermon about protecting the city.
“I’m going to use my influence,” Penate told the Star-Telegram. “As much as I can, raising my voice, roaring like a lion, fighting for our conservative values.”
Penate, a pastor at Mercy Culture in Fort Worth’s Oakhurst neighborhood, is direct about who he believes will elect him: Christian conservatives who supported former President Donald Trump. He said he has been reaching out to churches, including some Spanish language congregations, to find supporters who want Fort Worth to remain conservative. At forums Penate consistently describes himself as a “Christian, conservative, businessman.”
When asked about his policies, he alluded to a biblical parable about building a house to describe how he would maintain the city budget, and said his Christian worldview would shape all facets of his governing.
Two recent issues highlight Penate’s conservative views: LGBTQ protections and COVID-19 mandates.
In a video posted March 12 to his social media, Penate said there is “no room” for the Equality Act in public schools. The federal bill, which passed the House of Representatives last week, is an amendment to the 1964 Civil Rights Act aimed at protecting people from being discriminated against based on sexual orientation and gender identity in employment, housing and other services as well as access to public accommodations.
“Our young men will not be entering our daughter’s restrooms,” he said in the video, which has been shared about 80 times. “I will fight to keep liberal ideologies out of our schools.”
Penate acknowledged that the mayor has no control over public schools, but told the Star-Telegram that wouldn’t stop him from pushing education policies.
“The most significant seat the mayor holds is the seat of influence,” he said.
With regard to COVID-19, Penate has made it clear he’s uninterested in government mandates. At his campaign announcement in February, dozens gathered outside City Hall without masks. No masks could be seen among the crowd at his mega prayer rally, though Texas stopped requiring them earlier this month.
The rally on March 21 featured Sean Feucht, a California-based evangelist and activist. Though he had quite a following already, Feucht made a name for himself during the pandemic when he traveled the country to hold “worship protests” where followers gathered en masse to challenge local mask requirements and other COVID-19 precautions.
Penate, real estate agent, said he was “really bugged” to see official city social media platforms promoting businesses that still require masks, arguing they should promote all businesses regardless of COVID policies. Visit Fort Worth has published a list of local companies, noting their level of COVID precaution. The city continues to encourage mask wearing on Facebook and Twitter and requires them inside municipal buildings. Health officials, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, recommend people continue wearing masks even if they’ve been vaccinated.
“I’m all about safety, but I’m also about freedom, personal responsibility,” he said.
Fort Worth, like the rest of Texas, is becoming more racially and politically diverse. Once consistently red Tarrant County voted for President Joe Biden with help of Fort Worth voters.
Though Penate’s policies are aggressively partisan for a nonpartisan seat, he doesn’t carry the name recognition of other mayoral candidates.
The 10 running for the top office include council members Brian Byrd and Ann Zadeh, both of whom have won office more than once. Tarrant County Democratic Party Chairwoman Deborah Peoples, who ran in 2019, is well known among progressives. Mattie Parker, a former chief of staff for the mayor and City Council, has endorsements from some of Fort Worth’s most prominent residents, including Mayor Betsy Price.
Parker, in an email, said she didn’t think partisan politics had a place in Fort Worth elections.
“Issues like great schools, safe neighborhoods and quality jobs aren’t solved by divisive rhetoric but by proven leaders who have solved problems in this city for years,” she said in the statement. “Fort Worth is a diverse family with many different interests and ideas.”
Spokespeople for the Byrd and Peoples campaigns declined to comment for this story. Zadeh’s campaign did not return a request for comment.
Despite being unknown until recently, a candidate like Penate can sneak in a win, said TCU political science professor James Riddlesperger.
When it comes to a local race in a city like Fort Worth, where turnout hovers around 10% for the May election, a few hundred votes could put a candidate into the June runoff. It’s common for candidates to rely on their personal networks to build support, whether it’s their church or their children’s soccer team, Riddlesperger said. The question for Penate is whether Fort Worth evangelicals will show up on May 1.
“In local politics it’s networking that matters,” he said. “You don’t’ have to have a high profile role to have a list of telephone numbers and emails.”
Evangelicals have long been instrumental in backing Republican candidates on the national level. In Texas white evangelicals comprised 24% of the state’s voters in 2018, according to an AP VoteCast survey. These voters overwhelmingly backed Republican candidates in congressional races, 87% to 12%.
An informal poll on the Tarrant County Republican’s Facebook showed Penate leading though less than 100 had voted as of Friday morning.
Penate wouldn’t say how many people have joined his campaign, consistently calling it in an interview “a really grassroots” effort. But he alluded to some potential national interest, saying he was working on “some very big PAC endorsements.”
Though Fort Worth has not seen a major evangelical push, Penate wouldn’t be the first candidate to ride support from a congregation.
Byrd ousted eight-year incumbent Councilman W.B. “Zim” Zimmerman in 2017 in part through evangelical support. During the campaign Byrd, who has also criticized transgender friendly school policies, frequently mentioned his background as an elder and former executive pastor at Christ Fellowship Church. A prayer card was circulated at the time calling Byrd a “committed Christ-follower” to “bring, as appropriate, God’s word to City Council,” according to Star-Telegram archives.
Several council candidates this year come from similar backgrounds as Penate, including Erik Richerson, a District 9 candidate. Richerson attends Penate’s Mercy Culture church and was on stage with Penate at the prayer rally and attended Wednesday’s Fort Worth Republican Women’s forum. Penate said he was excited to see Richerson on the ballot.
Zeb Pent, a candidate in District 7, has been involved with Stand for Fort Worth, which bills itself as nonpartisan while pushing “values of faith, family and accountability.” The group put out a questionnaire to local candidates earlier this month asking for stances on conservative issues, including spending taxpayer money on abortions and sex change operations, making Fort Worth a “sanctuary city for unborn kids” and whether Visit Fort Worth should be defunded for supporting LGBTQ friendly policies.
“We are seeing a movement that is shocking everyone,” Penate said.
This story was originally published March 26, 2021 at 5:30 AM.
