Voters overwhelmingly elect Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker to second term

Voters overwhelmingly elected Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker to a second term.

Parker, who ran on a platform of safe neighborhoods and growing the city’s tax base through investments in education and economic development, declared victory shortly after early voting results were released.

Parker had 69.4% of the vote to defeat challengers Jennifer Castillo, Adrian Devine Smith, Ken Bowens, Jr. and Alyson Kennedy.

Parker, speaking at a campaign event, thanked her family, members of the City Council and her predecessor, former Mayor Betsy Price, who she credited with laying the groundwork for the city’s success.

As Fort Worth grows toward 1 million residents, the city needs to make sure it remains a great place to do business and raise a family, she said.

Parker touted her record on public safety, pointing to a 13% drop in violent crime. The city has credited Neil Noakes’ #FortWorthSafe initiative for the decline.

Parker received support from Fort Worth’s police and fire unions and held a large fundraising advantage over her opponents going into the final week of the campaign. Parker had over $400,000 in reserves compared to just $100 combined for her opponents.

Only 42,245 people voted in Fort Worth’s mayoral election, according to unofficial results from Tarrant, Denton and Parker Counties.

More people show up to a sold out TCU football game than vote in city of Fort Worth elections, said Emily Farris, an associate professor in political science at TCU.

She attributed the low number the election being in May, the lack of a competitive mayoral race, and the lack of partisan party identification.

“Partisan identity is a shortcut that voters use to know which candidate to support,” she said. “In low information elections, like city council, the lack of a partisan cue really raises the required effort of a voter to understand the candidates.”

There were also fewer candidates on the ballot in 2023 than the 2021 general election, said former Fort Worth city council member Cary Moon. There were 59 candidates running for eight council seats plus the mayor compared to 33 candidates running in the current election.

Fewer candidate means less money is being spent on the campaign, so you’re going to get lower turnout, he said.

Former mayor Betsy Price, who helped found the civic engagement nonprofit Steer Fort Worth to boost participation among younger voters, said the city needs to do more to get residents more active.

“If people don’t vote, they’re going to get what they don’t vote for,” she said.