An open seat is an opportunity in Fort Worth’s District 6. Who’s best for the role? | Opinion
On Jan. 21, three months before early voting, Fort Worth City Council member Jared Williams announced that he would not seek reelection to his District 6 seat. Four council hopefuls are seizing on the unexpected opportunity for the district and the city.
The southwest Fort Worth district has two strong candidates: Mia Hall and Daryl R. Davis II. Both impressed us, in our interview with the candidates, with their thoughtful approaches to selecting the next police chief. Both stressed the need for policing in the city to include the community, be sensitive to its needs and submit itself to accountability of the people officers are called to protect. They presented collaborative postures to development to make sure they grow the community without gentrifying the community by cultivating economic opportunity in the district.
We give Hall, 47, a slight edge over Davis, who earned the outgoing councilman’s endorsement, based on the specificity of the longtime public school executive’s policy prescriptions. Davis, a 43-year-old nonprofit executive, represented himself well, and either candidate would be an asset to the city and their district.
In an unusual twist, Hall and Davis currently serve together on the Crowley school board, valuable experience given that the city is taking an increasing interest in the performance of schools throughout the area.
Marshall Hobbs, a pastor and entrepreneur, offered a near-singular refrain about using the seat to block apartment construction in District 6. We felt his approach was unrealistic and inflexible when the city is about to crack the 1 million mark in population and needs commercial development, too.
After our interview, Hobbs went on an unrelated tirade from his Facebook page accusing the Fort Worth Police Officers Association of supporting Hall, who he said would support a “demonic political party” that will make “our boys and girls homosexuals” and is “dumming [sic] down our children who can’t read but smoke weed.”
Also running is Adrian Smith, a frequent city candidate who did not respond to our interview request.
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District 6 represents southwest Fort Worth, including the Como neighborhood. Early voting starts April 22 and Election Day is May 3. If no candidate gets more than half the vote, the top two finishers will advance to a runoff.
BEHIND THE STORY
MOREHey, who is behind these endorsements?
Members of the Editorial Board, which serves as the Fort Worth Star-Telegram’s institutional voice, decide candidates and positions to recommend to voters. The members of the board are: Cynthia M. Allen, columnist; Steve Coffman, editor and president; Bradford William Davis, columnist and editorial writer; Bud Kennedy, columnist; and Ryan J. Rusak, opinion editor.
Read more by clicking the arrow in the upper right.
How does the process work?
The Editorial Board interviews candidates, asking about positions on issues, experience and qualifications, and how they would approach holding the office for which they are running. Board members do additional research on candidates’ backgrounds and the issues at hand. After that, members discuss the candidates and generally aim to arrive at a consensus, though not necessarily unanimity. All members contribute observations and ideas, so the resulting editorials represent the board’s view, not a particular writer.
How do partisanship and ideology factor in?
We’re not tied to one party or the other, and our positions on issues range across the ideological spectrum. We tend to prefer candidates who align with our previously stated positions, but qualifications, temperament and experience are important, too.
This story was originally published April 22, 2025 at 5:28 AM.