Mattie Parker
45th Mayor of Fort Worth
Assumed office
June 15, 2021
Preceded byBetsy Price
Personal details
Born (1983-11-09) November 9, 1983
Political partyRepublican
EducationUniversity of Texas, Austin (BA)
Texas Wesleyan University (JD)

Mattie Parker (born November 9, 1983)[1][2] is an American attorney, business owner and politician serving as the 45th Mayor of Fort Worth, Texas. She was elected in 2021 after serving as Chief of Staff for the Mayor and the Fort Worth City Council for five years.[3] After coming in second place in the first round of voting in May, Parker faced off against Deborah Peoples, the Tarrant County Democratic Party chair, in the run-off election on June 5, 2021. Parker received 53.5% of the vote in the nominally non-partisan election.[4][5]

In Fort Worth, mayors are elected to two-year terms. Parker succeeded Betsy Price, who was elected to five consecutive terms as mayor, including the 2019 election, in which Price also defeated Peoples. Price opted to not run for a sixth term in 2021 and endorsed Parker, her former chief of staff.[6] Before serving as the chief of staff for her predecessor Betsy Price, she was on the Fort Worth city council from 2015 until 2020.

Early life and education

Parker was born Mattie Jean Pearcy[7] in Hico, Texas, about 80 miles southwest of Fort Worth. [8] She graduated from Hico High School in 2002 before heading to the University of Texas at Austin, where she graduated in 2006 with a Bachelor's of Arts in government.[8] In 2012, Parker graduated from the Texas Wesleyan University School of Law with a Juris Doctor and, in 2013, was admitted to the State Bar of Texas.[7][9] Parker was in Texas Wesleyan's final graduating class before the law school was sold and became the Texas A&M University School of Law in 2013.[8][10] As a law student, she was awarded the MacLean & Boulware Endowed Law Scholarship.[11][12]

Family

Mattie Parker is a wife and mother. She is married to David Parker who she had three children with, two sons and one daughter. Her husband David Parker[13] works as a registered lobbyist and director at North Texas Governmental Affairs Operations.

Career

During her junior year at the University of Texas, Parker became a press assistant in then-Texas House of Representatives Speaker Tom Craddick's office.[8] She later became Craddick's deputy press secretary and served as his executive assistant after graduating from college.[14] Between 2007 and 2010, Parker worked as legislative director and chief of staff to Texas Rep. Phil King, a Republican from Weatherford.[8] While attending law school, Parker served as campaign manager for U.S. Rep Kay Granger, the first Republican woman to represent Texas in the U.S. House and Fort Worth's first female mayor.[14] In 2012, she became Granger's district director before leaving in 2014 to work as an associate attorney at Harris, Finley & Bogle, P.C.[14]

Parker was appointed Chief of Staff for Fort Worth's mayor and held a position on the city council in 2015,[15] where she remained until April 2020. Parker then became the founding chief executive officer[16] of Fort Worth Cradle to Career, a nonprofit organization, and the Tarrant To & Through (T3) Partnership, a coalition of organizations focused on increasing the number of Tarrant County students who obtain a postsecondary credential before entering the workforce.[17][18][19] She left the position in July 2021 following her victory in the mayor's race, but remains on the board of directors.[20][21]

Mayoral campaign

In January 2021, shortly after Price announced her decision not to run for another term, Parker went public with her campaign for mayor.[22] She received endorsements from the previous mayor of Fort Worth, Betsy Price and other prominent members of Fort Worth's business and philanthropic communities, including billionaire Sid Bass.[23][24]

During Parkers' mayoral campaign she chose to follow the footsteps of the former mayor and her prior boss, Betsy Price, to uphold a nonpartisan campaign even though she has a long history with the Republican Party.[25]

In the general election on May 1, Parker earned 30.82% of the vote and a combined total of 55% with a few of the other Republican candidates in the race.[23] This put her behind, finishing second to Deborah Peoples, the outgoing Tarrant County Democratic Party chair who had 34% of votes.[23][26] The two candidates competed in a June 5 runoff election, which attracted the highest early voter turnout in a Fort Worth mayor's race in at least a decade.[27] In addition to attracting many young voters, this mayoral race grabbed the attention of many major leaders and representatives across Texas as this was one of few large cities with Republican representation in the mayoral position.[23]

Prior to Election Day, Parker received an endorsement from Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.[28] Parker obtained many more endorsements from political leaders and managed to obtain support from a few Democratic representatives like U.S. Representative Pete Geren.[29] Parker won the runoff with 53.5%, becoming Fort Worth's first millennial mayor and the youngest mayor among the 25 largest cities in the U.S.[30][31][1] Parker raised and spent more than $1.98 million during the general election and runoff, a figure that surpassed any previous expenditures in Fort Worth mayoral races.[32][33] She was sworn in alongside four new city council members on June 14, 2021.[34]

Bitcoin mining

As Mayor of Fort Worth, Parker in association with the Texas Blockchain Council, became the first city in the U.S. to mine bitcoin.[35]

“The Texas Blockchain Council is thrilled to be part of this first-of-its-kind pilot program as the City of Fort Worth begins mining Bitcoin. By starting small to learn as they go, Fort Worth is positioning itself to be the bitcoin mining capital of Texas. The state as a whole has already established itself as the bitcoin mining capital of the world,” said President and Founder of Texas Blockchain Council Lee Bratcher. “We are grateful for the support of several of our member companies, specifically, Luxor Technologies and Rhodium Enterprises, as they provided strategic guidance for this project.”[36]

Education policy and development

Mattie Parker, a mother herself, made it clear education and school reform was a priority for her term as mayor of Fort Worth. She claims that not all students have an equitable chance at a quality education in Fort Worth. In the twelve school districts that service Fort Worth, Parker's "number one priority" is that every student has an equal chance at success.[37] She has contributed to education nonprofits[38] and aided in the hiring of a new Fort Worth IDS Schools Superintendent.[37]

During her time in office she has also secured the federal allocation of $400 million of the Central City Flood Control Project. A renovation lead by the federal government to help prevent flooding in downtown Fort Worth.[39]

She also aided in "Techstars' investment accelerator, expansion of the Texas A&M law school into downtown and the announcement of a new medical school campus in Fort Worth’s medical district."[37]

References

  1. 1 2 Woodard, Teresa (June 15, 2021). "'It's Go-Time in Fort Worth': Mattie Parker Sworn in as Youngest Mayor of Any Major US City". WFAA. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
  2. ↑ "Mattie Parker - Facebook". Facebook. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
  3. ↑ "About Mattie". Mattie Parker For Fort Worth Mayor. Retrieved November 30, 2022.
  4. ↑ Svitek, Patrick (June 6, 2021). "Mattie Parker declares victory in Fort Worth mayoral runoff". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
  5. ↑ "Tarrant County Election Results - June 5 Runoff" (PDF). Retrieved January 24, 2022.
  6. ↑ "Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price endorses Mattie Parker". Fort Worth Business Press. March 4, 2021. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
  7. 1 2 "State Bar of Texas |Find A Lawyer |Mattie Jean Pearcy Parker". www.texasbar.com. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 Ranker, Luke (June 18, 2021). "Meet Mattie Parker. How family, Texas politics and a tiny town shaped Fort Worth's mayor". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
  9. ↑ "Who's Next? Meet Four Candidates Running for Fort Worth Mayor". Fort Worth Magazine. February 2, 2021. Retrieved June 22, 2021.
  10. ↑ Hamilton, Reeve (August 13, 2013). "A&M's Law School Acquisition Differs From Original Plan". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
  11. ↑ "About Mattie". Mattie Parker For Fort Worth Mayor. Retrieved November 7, 2022.
  12. ↑ "Mattie Parker". www.fortworthtexas.gov. Retrieved November 7, 2022.
  13. ↑ Kruczynski, Lisa. "David D. Parker". Longbow Partners. Retrieved December 3, 2022.
  14. 1 2 3 Sanchez, Jacob (April 12, 2021). "Mattie Parker bets on Fort Worth wanting new generation of leadership as she runs for mayor". Fort Worth Report. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
  15. ↑ Dillard, Betty (May 8, 2015). "Fort Worth lawyer named chief of staff to mayor, council". Fort Worth Business Press. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
  16. ↑ "Mattie Parker". www.fortworthtexas.gov. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
  17. ↑ Ranker, Luke (June 7, 2021). "Who is Mattie Parker, Fort Worth's next mayor?". Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
  18. ↑ "Parker joins race for Fort Worth mayor". Fort Worth Business Press. January 19, 2021. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
  19. ↑ "Voter guide: Questionnaire for Mattie Parker, candidate for Fort Worth Mayor". voterguide.dallasnews.com. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
  20. ↑ "Tarrant education organization names new executive director". Fort Worth Business Press. November 4, 2021. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
  21. ↑ "Board of Directors - T3 Partnership". t3partnership.org. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
  22. ↑ Clarridge, Emerson (January 17, 2021). "Attorney, education nonprofit executive will enter a packed race for Fort Worth mayor". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
  23. 1 2 3 4 "User account".
  24. ↑ Ranker, Luke (January 22, 2021). "A Fort Worth mayoral candidate has endorsements from the Bass family, other big names". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
  25. ↑ Priest, Jacob Sanchez, Jessica (May 1, 2021). "Mattie Parker, Deborah Peoples runoff to determine Fort Worth's political future". Fort Worth Report. Retrieved December 5, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  26. ↑ Ranker, Luke (May 1, 2021). "Mattie Parker, Deborah Peoples head to June 5 runoff in race for Fort Worth mayor". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
  27. ↑ Lopez, Brian (June 4, 2021). "Nearly 50,000 cast early votes in Fort Worth, most in last decade for a mayor's race". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
  28. ↑ Dearman, Eleanor (June 2, 2021). "Gov. Greg Abbott weighs in with his endorsement in the race for Fort Worth mayor". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
  29. ↑ "User account".
  30. ↑ "Mattie Parker & Fort Worth Make History: She'll Be Youngest Mayor Of A Top-25 U.S. City". KERA News. June 6, 2021. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
  31. ↑ Epstein, Reid J. (June 7, 2021). "Republicans win two Texas mayoral races, including one in McAllen, which is 85 percent Hispanic". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
  32. ↑ Gordon, Scott (July 16, 2021). "Mattie Parker Spent Nearly $2 Million to Campaign for Fort Worth Mayor, a $29,000 Per Year Job". NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
  33. ↑ Sanchez, Jacob (April 19, 2021). "Big money flows into once-in-a-decade mayor's race". Fort Worth Report. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
  34. ↑ Fine, Julie; Gordon, Scott (June 14, 2021). "'It Is Go Time': Mattie Parker Sworn in as Fort Worth Mayor". NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
  35. ↑ "Fort Worth is the first city in the U.S. To mine bitcoin, and will run mining rigs out of city hall". CNBC. April 26, 2022.
  36. ↑ "Fort Worth becomes first U.S. City government to mine Bitcoin".
  37. 1 2 3 Behrndt, Rachel (September 29, 2022). "Mattie Parker charts priorities for 2023: Equity and education". Fort Worth Report. Retrieved December 7, 2022.
  38. ↑ "Nonprofit that means the most to the Fort Worth mayor hosts intimate fundraiser for those in need". CultureMap Fort Worth. May 25, 2022. Retrieved December 7, 2022.
  39. ↑ Samsel, Rachel Behrndt, Haley (January 19, 2022). "Panther Island finally receives hundreds of millions in federal funds. What happens next?". Fort Worth Report. Retrieved December 7, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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