Congrats to Mattie Parker, Fort Worth’s next mayor. Now, here’s a lengthy to-do list

City government, mercifully, doesn’t wait long to turn over after an election. After her convincing win in Saturday’s runoff, Mattie Parker will become Fort Worth’s mayor in little more than a week.

That’s good, because there’s a lot to do.

At 37, Parker will be the youngest leader of a large American city, having won office in her first try. Those are indications of considerable political skill. Like predecessor Betsy Price, Parker will draw attention as a rare Republican leader of a major city, though she mostly campaigned on maintaining the nonpartisan tradition at City Hall.

It may seem obvious, but her first important task is to build or enhance relationships with council members and city staff, especially City Manager David Cooke and Police Chief Neil Noakes. The mayor’s direct power is limited, and forming coalitions is the only way to be effective.

Parker’s tenure as chief of staff to Price and the council give her a head start.

And while she won with heavy establishment backing, including generous support from the Fort Worth Police Association, the council will have five new members, necessitating new alliances.

TEXAS ELECTION BILL

The new mayor must strongly represent Fort Worth’s interests as the Legislature returns, presumably to reconsider a flawed elections bill. Early versions threatened to dictate where counties would have to place voting machines, and the effect would have been fewer polling options, and thus longer lines, in heavily Black and Hispanic neighborhoods. Fort Worth can’t stand for that.

Also on the agenda will be legislative and congressional redistricting, and Fort Worth deserves more clout in both Austin and Washington to accompany its booming growth. Parker’s experience as a legislative aide will come in handy, and the Republicans who dominate state government like to point to Fort Worth as a GOP-led city. Parker’s relationship with Gov. Greg Abbott will be vital.

At home, the most urgent issue is crime. Fort Worth, like most major cities, is seeing a surge, particularly in gang violence. Parker has been largely deferential to Noakes, who is trying to balance better relations with minority communities with crime reduction. We hope the mayor will insist on steady progress, even if it’s best done quietly.

The campaign featured frequent talk of whether Peoples would seek to “defund the police,” which she insisted she would not. In Fort Worth, it’s a settled issue for the next decade, after voters last year overwhelmingly chose to keep a special police-funding tax. But city leaders can encourage continued focus on better tactics, such as de-escalation and mental-health diversion.

Fort Worth could soon be in the world spotlight over the murder trial of former officer Aaron Dean, who fatally shot Black resident Atatiana Jefferson in her home in 2019. The trial, in the heat of the summer, could come with contentious protests. Parker and other civic leaders must call for peaceful demonstrations and push the Police Department to give protesters a wide berth, as long as nonviolence continues.

MANAGING RAPID GROWTH

The U.S. Census Bureau recently estimated that Fort Worth moved up the population list again, now the 12th-largest city in America. The news of our explosive growth is not new, but the challenges from it will continue. Infrastructure must keep up, and affordable housing is a major issue.

Despite that growth, Fort Worth’s business mix needs a shakeup to build for the future. We need more companies based here so more people can live and work in the city — and so our upside down property-tax base can be flipped to give homeowners needed relief.

If all that weren’t enough, there will be City Council redistricting, too, with the addition of two new seats. It’s always contentious when politicians’ own futures are at stake. But the new map must shift more power to Fort Worth’s booming Hispanic population, as well as the fast-growing northern part of the city.

The results Saturday indicate a certain satisfaction with City Hall. But there are challenges bubbling. Parker’s success will turn on her ability to build coalitions to tackle long-set problems without sacrificing what people love about Fort Worth.

This story was originally published June 5, 2021 at 9:59 PM.