Jesus “Jay” Chapa, a former city leader who has held high-profile positions, is the lone finalist set to become Fort Worth’s next city manager, pending City Council approval on Tuesday, Dec. 10, according to the city.
One council member says he believes Chapa’s selection wasn’t made fairly and that the city needs to be more transparent.
In an interview with NBC 5 on Thursday afternoon, Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker said the search to replace outgoing city manager David Cooke is over.
“Jay Chapa is absolutely the most qualified and he’s ready to start day one as our City Manager,” said Parker.
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The lone finalist for the job, Chapa worked with the city for 25 years before retiring as Deputy City Manager in 2022.
The city said some of his accomplishments included leading the 2022 bond program, the renewal of the city’s crime control and prevention district, and attracting corporate projects set to create a total of 8,000 jobs in a three-year period.
“And I have full confidence that the process was transparent, that your city council was elected to appoint a city manager, and that is our job and we’re doing it well,” said Parker.
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Some city council members didn’t agree.
“The message is simple: that the process that the city of Fort Worth took, I believe, was an unfair process,” said District 8 City Councilman Chris Nettles.
Nettles told NBC 5 that the five finalists for the city manager job were interviewed by the Fort Worth city council on Tuesday.
But before that, Nettles claims he received calls from city employees and community members saying that Chapa had stated that he was already promised the job by some members of the city council.
On Thursday, Nettles put out this public statement, saying in part, “It was clear to me that certain council members had already hand-picked and anointed a candidate, without allowing a fair process to take place.”
“It detailed and showed me that it was an already baked process, it was already done before it started,” said Nettles. “And for me, I can’t sit at a table and not tell my community that the city still struggles with transparency.”
Nettles said he also had concerns that the hiring process was conducted by the city’s HR department instead of by an outside search firm.
In response, the mayor said the in-house search process saved taxpayers up to $200,000 and attracted more than 150 candidates. She believed as city manager, Chapa would get results – not self-promote.
“I don’t engage in rumor mill, I’m not in junior high, I can’t keep up with all that,” said Parker. “I just know that Jay is a man of integrity and immense humility, and I don’t believe any of those words came out of his mouth.”
Nettles is calling for the top three finalists for the city manager job to meet with community and business leaders before a final vote is held. NBC 5 reached out to Chapa for a response to his selection and claims made by Nettles, we’re waiting to hear back.
The city has been looking to fill the position after longtime Fort Worth City Manager David Cooke said he's stepping down and will retire early in 2025.
If confirmed, Chapa will make history as Fort Worth’s first Hispanic city manager.
