Here are the candidates for Fort Worth City Council District 6 in May 6 election
Tonya Carter
Did not respond.
Italia De La Cruz
Did not respond.
Jared Williams, Ph.D.
Age: 33
Campaign website: https://www.drjaredwilliams.com/
Best way for voters to reach you: info@drjaredwilliams.com
Occupation: Nonprofit Executive and Small Business Owner
Education: I am a graduate of North Crowley High School and hold a bachelor’s degree in Biotechnology from Fort Valley State University - a historically black college and university, a master’s degree in Environmental Science from Texas Christian University, and a doctorate in Environmental Science and Science Education from the University of North Texas.
Have you run for elected office before? (Please list previous offices sought, with years): I ran for City Council District 6 in the 2021 City of Fort Worth municipal elections and was elected to serve the district June 2021.
Please list the highlights of your civic involvement/activism in the city of Fort Worth: I have actively supported various local nonprofits and community initiatives with organizations such as the South Fort Worth Baptist Fellowship, Tarrant Area Food Bank, Tarrant County Food Policy Council, DRC Housing Solutions, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., Fort Worth ISD, Crowley ISD, Friends of I.M. Terrell Foundation and others.
Have you ever been arrested, charged with a crime or otherwise been part of a criminal proceeding? If yes, please explain: No.
Have you been involved in a civil lawsuit or bankruptcy proceeding? If yes, please explain: No.
Who are your top three campaign contributors?: Ramon Romero, Fort Worth Firefighters Committee for Responsible Government, Janice Hawkins
Why are you seeking this office?: Over the past two years, I have spent my first time in office delivering on the promises I made to voters in the district. I am truly proud of the work that we’ve done to strengthen our neighborhood economies, improve neighborhood safety, and prioritize the voices of our residents on decisions large and small. I am running for re-election to continue building on the progress we’ve made so far with our District 6 residents and businesses.
What are the biggest challenges facing the city of Fort Worth?:
Growing strong economies in every neighborhood
Improving the safety of our neighborhoods
Increasing government transparency
Ensuring greater neighborhood engagement and resident participation in the City’s decision making process
If elected, what would your top 3 policy priorities be?:
Growing strong economies in every neighborhood
Improving the safety of our neighborhoods
Increasing government transparency and neighborhood engagement
How will you measure your success as council member?: Economic growth, safer neighborhoods, and greater neighborhood participation
Why should voters choose you over your opponents?: I am proud of our record over the past two years and humbled that my neighbors voted to give me this opportunity to serve them. I’d be honored to earn their vote for re-election.
How will you reduce the city’s reliance on residential property taxes?: We must continue to build economic growth centers and neighborhood economies across the city, so that Fort Worth can deliver excellent services that our neighbors depend on while correcting the imbalance that currently exists between residential and commercial tax bases.
What’s your plan to lower property taxes and not just the tax rate?: Over the past two years, we have implemented several policies and investments in economic development to increase the City’s commercial tax base, create good paying jobs for our residents, and help entrepreneurs and small businesses thrive. I recognize that meaningful property tax reform can only happen by working together with county and state elected officials to create long-term solution that work for Fort Worth.
How should Fort Worth manage its explosive growth?: Since taking office, we have worked to ensure that Fort Worth engages the public in a robust comprehensive planning process with deep community participation, ensured smart and responsible growth through the zoning process, and facilitated appropriate public-private partnerships in building essential infrastructure to support the City’s growth.
How can the city help build up neighborhoods like Como and Altamesa/McCart without displacing current residents?: As chair of the City’s Neighborhood Quality and Revitalization committee, I am deeply aware and committed to strengthening neighborhoods. I also understand the importance of engaging our residents and business communities in this process. That is why in my first term, I held over 30 community meetings to hear directly from residents and business owners about the most pressing issues that impact our neighborhoods. Discussions like these are what have allowed us to create innovative solutions together to improve neighborhood quality. I strongly believe that revitalization efforts should not displace our residents and small businesses.
What (if anything) should the city do to make it easier for locally-owned small businesses to flourish in Fort Worth?: Over the past two years, we have prioritized creating strategies to support and grow locally-owned small businesses including supporting our local chambers of commerce in assisting small businesses, expanding access to capital for local-owned small businesses, and investing in initiatives that promote entrepreneurship.
Alliance Texas has seen huge economic growth in its 30+ year existence. How can Fort Worth replicate that success in other parts of the city?: It is critical that Fort Worth creates economic growth centers across the city that are unique to the diverse strengths of neighborhoods across our city. In District 6, the Tarleton State Fort Worth Campus, Chisholm Trail Parkway, the Southwest Medical area, and Hulen/Overton area are strong anchors that will drive economic development and growth and certainly demonstrate parallels to the Alliance Texas model.
What’s the appropriate balance between Fort Worth’s rapid growth and its culture as the “largest small town in America?”: Fort Worth is bound to be a top 10 populated city in the United States. As a councilmember, I am laser-focused on ensuring that Fort Worth competes on the national and international stage as a vibrant, innovative, unique, and world-class city. As an emerging major city, it is important that we lean into the promise of our future, while continuing to honor and preserve the rich culture, history, and legacy of neighborhoods across our city.
What should Fort Worth do to prevent a repeat of the infrastructure problems north of Loop 820 as the city continues to add residents in areas west and southwest of the loop?: I am proud of working with this council and the development community to adopt a plan that leverages public-private partnerships to adequately plan transportation infrastructure in areas like southwest Fort Worth. Additionally, our office facilitated more than $19 million in public-private investments to expand roads and infrastructure, supporting the growth along streets such as Brewer Road, Hulen Street, McPherson Road, Risinger Road, & Summer Creek Drive. We will continue to work with the City, the development community, and our residents to ensure that infrastructure adequately supports the needs and activity in our District.
What needs to be done in the wake of the Aaron Dean trial to improve community-police relations?: Foundational to improving community-police relations is the need for continued trust-building between our police department and the neighborhoods across our city. It takes all of us to build this trust. As a city, we must continue to improve police recruitment, training, transparency, accountability, community partnerships, and community input on policing in Fort Worth.
How would you assess the performance of city manager David Cooke?: The success of our city is one that we all own: City Council, City Management, City Employees, and Fort Worth residents. While the City Manager role is important, the reality is that the success of a city the size of Fort Worth requires the collective actions of the City, residents, organizations, and businesses. As we continue to emerge as a global city, it is important that we center on the things we all can contribute to ensuring Fort Worth is a city of prosperity and a beacon of hope for all.
