Elections

Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker three-peats with resounding reelection victory

Mattie Parker has secured a third term as Fort Worth’s mayor, according to unofficial results from Tarrant County.

Parker received 66.54% of the vote compared to 33.46% for her seven challengers,

Speaking to supporters in the Stockyards on Saturday, Parker was excited for another two years in office.

Parker spoke about Fort Worth’s growth, noting the city’s population has nearly doubled in the last 30 years. She mentioned surpassing Austin’s population, and city’s place as part of the Metroplex, which is fourth largest metro in the country.

Parker’s campaign focused on building on the successes from her previous four years in office. She pointed to specifically to improving public safety, lowering the city’s property tax rate, and increasing economic development.

Her campaign also focused on improving educational outcomes, both through working closely with school districts to improve literacy and promoting career and technical education.

She wrote a letter to the Fort Worth school board in August 2024, calling on the district to do more to improve student literacy. This led to the resignation of former Superintendent Angelica Ramsey and the hiring of her successor Karen Molinar who has promised to move aggressively to improve the district.

“Fort Worth is definitely a city on the move for all the right reasons,” she said to a crowd of about 300 supporters gathered in the theater at Tannahill’s Tavern in the Stockyards.

Parker mentioned the city’s investments in public safety and noted the increased numbers of police officers hired during her time in office.

“Public safety is the bedrock of any successful city, and it’s worth noting that Fort Worth will likely be one of the only large cities in the entire country to be fully staffed by 2026,” she said as her supporters applauded.

The annual number of homicides were down roughly 37% between 2021 and 2024, according to Fort Worth police department data.

In addition to electoral dominance, Parker blew out her opponents when it came to fundraising. She accrued just over $1 million in campaign cash compared to roughly $4,000 for her closest opponent, ministries coordinator Josh Lucas.

Parker used some of her campaign cash to support fellow incumbents including, $8,000 to District 7 council member Macy Hill and $7,200 to District 4 council member Charlie Lauersdorf.

Hill, who’s running unopposed, raised $233,700, and Lauersdorf, who’s running against business owner Teresa Ramirez, raised $60,000.

Parker wrapped up her speech with a commentary on how partisanship has impacted the local and national political climate.

“There’s never been a stranger time to be in elected office,” Parker said mentioning how social media has led to politicians’ actions being documented in real time.

“As elected officials, you’re really only rewarded for the things where you show up on TikTok, or Twitter or Facebook, but in Fort Worth we’re setting a different trajectory.

“It’s not about being a Republican, not about being a Democrat. It’s about doing what’s right for your community,” Parker said, adding doing the right thing has and will be the central focus of her time as Mayor

Newly elected city councilmembers Alan Blaylock, Michael Crain, Mayor Mattie Parker, Carlos Flores, and Charlie Lauersdorf are photographed during Mayor Mattie Parker’s election party at Tannahill’s Tavern & Music Hall in the Fort Worth Stockyards on Saturday, May 3, 2025.
Newly elected city councilmembers Alan Blaylock, Michael Crain, Mayor Mattie Parker, Carlos Flores, and Charlie Lauersdorf are photographed during Mayor Mattie Parker’s election party at Tannahill’s Tavern & Music Hall in the Fort Worth Stockyards on Saturday, May 3, 2025. Chris Torres ctorres@star-telegram.com

This story was originally published May 3, 2025 at 7:10 PM.

Harrison Mantas
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Harrison Mantas has covered Fort Worth city government, agencies and people since September 2021. He likes to live tweet city hall meetings, and help his fellow Fort Worthians figure out what’s going on.
Get unlimited digital access
#ReadLocal

Try 1 month for $1

CLAIM OFFER