We recommend: District that includes downtown Fort Worth needs engaged council member | Opinion

Voters in central Fort Worth’s City Council District 9 have a wide range of candidates to choose from. We recommend they return incumbent Elizabeth Beck to the seat, based on her experience and navigation of tricky issues in the district.

District 9 is home to downtown, West 7th and several of the city’s more politically engaged south and southwest side neighborhoods. Beck, a 40-year-old lawyer who lives in South Hills, shows mastery of detail on key issues in the area. And when she faces pushback from constituents, she handles it deftly and steers toward compromise, such as disputes over the reconstruction of the Forest Park Pool.

She is tuned into the needs of downtown, both as a vital economic engine with varied private interests and as a neighborhood. And while Beck has taken criticism for her stance on the city’s need for a police oversight board, she’s generally in step with a center-left district.

Challenger Pamela Boggess is well-qualified for the council, after years of service as a Tarrant County prosecutor and now a defense attorney. In our interview with the candidates, however, we would have liked to have heard more specifics on issues other than her strong pro-law enforcement stand. Boggess, 38, lives in Berkeley Place.

A third candidate, Jason Lee Peña, seems genuinely concerned about neighborhood needs and crime. But the 43-year-old property and casualty business owner, who lives in southwest Fort Worth, is overly focused on opposing a city plan to house homeless families in old dormitory units purchased from the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

Candidate Chris Reed, a 36-year-old software developer living in Fairmount, is well-meaning but lacks knowledge of several of the major issues facing the city.

Council terms last two-years and pay $25,000 annually. Early voting is open April 24 through May 2. Election Day is May 6. If no candidate wins an outright majority, the top two advance to a runoff.

This story was originally published April 20, 2023 at 1:03 PM.