Fort Worth council member critical of mayor’s decision not to sign voting rights letter
Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker’s decision not to sign onto a U.S. Conference of Mayors letter supporting the passage of two voting rights bills does not represent the views of a majority of the city’s residents, District 6 council member Jared Williams wrote in an open letter to members of Fort Worth’s congressional delegation.
Williams called on the federal representatives to abandon partisanship and support the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and the Freedom to Vote Act.
He said the overwhelming majority of Fort Worth residents believe every eligible voter deserves unrestricted access to the electoral process.
The two voting rights bills would achieve this goal, Williams said, by setting federal standards for no-excuse mail-in-voting and preventing what he called “partisan intimidation and harassment” during the voting process.
Texas limits mail-in voting to residents 65 or older or those with a disability that prevents them from showing up in person to cast a vote. Voters are also allowed to vote early if they will be out of the county on election day and the early voting period, be expected to give birth three weeks before or after election day, or are in prison but otherwise eligible to vote.
Texas Senate Bill 1, which Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law in September, made it a misdemeanor for elections officials to knowingly or intentionally refuse to accept partisan poll watchers for service.
More than 150 mayors from 37 states signed an open letter last week to Sens. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) urging passage of the two voting rights bills. Eight Texas mayors signed the letter, including the mayors of Arlington and Dallas.
In a separate letter released Monday, District 8 council member Chris Nettles praised Arlington Mayor Jim Ross for signing onto the letter.
He said the Supreme Court’s 2013 Shelby County v. Holder decision gutted the 1965 Voting Rights Act, and urged the Senate to pass new legislation to protect the right to vote.
In a Jan. 4 email to the Star-Telegram, Mayor Parker wrote her decision not to sign onto the U.S. Conference of Mayors letter was simply because she doesn’t sign onto every letter from organizations of which she is a member.
She went on to voice her support for voting rights, calling it a nonpartisan issue that state and federal lawmakers should come together to protect.
Mayor Pro Tem Gyna Bivens said she would be signing onto a separate letter from the National League of Cities backing passage of the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and the Freedom to Vote Act.
“I’m hoping my signature as Mayor Pro Tem on such a letter will add weight,” she said.
Bivens said she respects Parker’s decision, and embraces Williams’ response. While she is passionate about protecting voting rights, Bivens said she has no criticism for people with different opinions.
This story was originally published January 10, 2022 at 1:50 PM.
.jpg)