Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker will seek third term

Mattie Parker says she's not yet finished as mayor of Fort Worth and plans to seek a third term in office.

Parker made the announcement Thursday following her annual State of the City address.

“Filing doesn’t start until January, but yeah, my intention is to run again. Right now, I just want to focus on governing," Parker said.

She spotlighted some high notes of that governing over the past year during her address: A flat tax rate, the conservation of 477 acres of land, and a fully staffed fire department.

Parker also said the city is working on a fully-funded project to overhaul East Lancaster Avenue from Interstate 820 to U.S. Highway 287, to turn it into “a vibrant, walkable, urban boulevard by 2027.”

She said the $200 million project is in partnership with the North Central Texas Council of Governments, the U.S. Department of Transportation, and the Texas Department of Transportation.

“We all know that it will be catalytic for not just the entire city but specifically for East Fort Worth," Parker said.

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Parker also said the city is in early discussions with NCTCOG and TxDOT to reconstruct I-30 going east and west in the next five years.

She said her top priority is education, which has been making headlines lately with the departure of the superintendent of the Fort Worth ISD.

“All of our children, regardless of ZIP code, deserve a world-class education," she said.

Parker said she's already met twice with Fort Worth ISD's new interim superintendent, Karen Molinar, and has another meeting scheduled soon.

“Importantly, what is she working on internally? I’m also visiting schools. I’m not going to say where because I’m visiting them by myself, just to pop in and kind of visit with teachers and principals," she told reporters after her speech.

Parker said she's encouraged by Molinar's plans to address the academic gaps in the system.

“My job is not to meddle; it’s to be supportive and lift things up. I also listen closely to where the community might need to come along or the resources that they may need," she said.

The mayor said it's also important for her to have a pulse on the system as the legislative session begins in January.

“Education is going to be back on the agenda, and I want to be a mayor who’s advocating for school funding, for teacher resources, and I need to know more about what they — what our district needs here in Fort Worth. And so, I’m going to take the time in the next few months to be ready to do that," she said.

Parker also addressed fallen police officers during her speech, announcing her Unsung Hero Award going to their widows.

“We talk about service and police officers and public safety pretty flippantly in this community. And I just wanted you to see the faces of remarkable women who live with that reality every single day," said Parker as she gestured toward the women in the audience.