Fort Worth has a new city council with two new districts. Here’s what that means for you
It passed by 185 votes.
That’s what made the difference in a 2016 Fort Worth charter election that saw voters choose to add two seats to the City Council.
Proponents of the 2016 change heralded it as a way to increase representation in a rapidly growing and diversifying city, while detractors worried it would lead to more partisan factions on the council.
A larger council could lead to more diversity of opinion, said Emily Farris, an associate professor in political science at TCU. The typical 9-0 consensus seen during votes has shut out a lot of people who don’t feel represented by the status quo, she said.
Having more districts could fix that by giving more opportunities for people with diverse backgrounds and perspectives to be on the council, she said.
Voters will be split into 10 districts instead of the current eight. The districts are numbered 2 through 11 with the mayor, elected citywide, serving in the No. 1 spot.
Here are the biggest changes to the new council map and what these districts could mean for Fort Worth politics. Voters will fill the new seats in the May 6 election. Early voting starts Monday.
10 new districts
The Fort Worth City Council approved the new council district map in March 2022.
It was the culmination of a months-long process that saw council members go back and forth between maps submitted by residents and ones drawn up by elected officials.
The 2018 Race and Culture task force had recommended using an independent redistricting commission to prevent council members from picking their own districts, however, some pushed back arguing an independent board couldn’t be held accountable by voters.
The new map is intended to give more representation to Hispanic residents and those who live north of Loop 820.
Roughly a third of Fort Worth residents are Hispanic, but only one council member, Carlos Flores, is of Hispanic heritage.
District 11 is Fort Worth’s attempt to increase Hispanic representation. It includes the predominantly Hispanic neighborhoods of Rosemont and Hemphill Heights.
White Lake Hills, Woodhaven and Stop 6 are carved out of district 11’s eastern boundary to be included in District 5, which is represented by Mayor Pro Tem Gyna Bivens.
This configuration gives District 11 a 58.8% Hispanic voting age population, second only to District 2 with 62.1%.
Districts 4, 7, and 10 all include areas north of Loop 820 in an attempt to give the residents in those fast growing areas more representation.
Roughly 250,000 residents live north of Loop 820, with the area growing the fastest out any other part of Fort Worth, according to data from the 2020 census.
Districts 4 and 10 are entirely north of the loop, however, District 7 combines neighborhoods surrounding Lake Worth and the Cultural District.
Residents in District 7 have expressed frustration at what they say is a lack of attention from city hall. Their advocacy led to more than $130 million in the 2022 Bond to fix roads in far north Fort Worth.
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