Mattie Parker
<
2021 - Present
2025
3
Mattie Parker is the Mayor of Fort Worth in Texas. She assumed office on June 15, 2021. Her current term ends in 2025.
Parker is running for re-election for Mayor of Fort Worth in Texas. She is on the ballot in the general election on May 3, 2025.[source]
Parker was born in Hico, Texas, in 1983.[1] She earned a bachelor's degree in government from the University of Texas in 2006.[2] While in college, she worked as a press assistant in the office of Texas House House Speaker Tom Craddick (R).[3] After graduating, she served as a legislative assistant for state Rep. Phil King (R) and eventually became his chief of staff.[3] While working for King, Parker earned her juris doctorate from the Texas A&M University School of Law.[1]
After graduating from law school, Parker served as district director for U.S. Rep. Kay Granger (R) until 2014. Afterward, she worked as an attorney.[1] In 2015, Parker became the chief of staff to Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price, a position she held for five years.[4] After leaving the position, she founded the Tarrant To & Through Partnership, which aimed to increase the number of students who received higher education after leaving school.[5]
Parker ran for Mayor of Fort Worth in 2021. While mayoral elections in Fort Worth are nonpartisan, media outlets reported that Parker was affiliated with the Republican Party.[6][7] During the campaign, Parker said "We need to be serious about our efforts to promote economic development and prosperity across Fort Worth, in all communities with a diversity of focus that includes large corporate relocation and support for our small businesses and entrepreneurs."[5] In the primary, Parker came in second to Deborah Peoples. In the runoff, Parker defeated Peoples 54% to 46%. Parker was re-elected in 2023 with 69% of the vote.
Fort Worth has a council-manager government, meaning the city council is the primary legislative body. The mayor represents the city in official ceremonies and is able to vote on legislation but cannot veto legislation.[8]
In 2022, Fort Worth became the first city in the United States to mine Bitcoin.[9] Parker said, "For Fort Worth, a lot of people don’t know who we are. We want to change that...and we believe that tech innovation including cryptocurrency is the way we’re going to do that."[10] In 2023, Parker supported expanding the number of green spaces in the city, saying "Just as a city, having a better focus on green space preservation will be incredibly beneficial when it comes to the private sector."[11] Parker and the city council voted to expand the budget for city parks and green spaces in the 2024 city budget.[12] In 2024, Parker established a committee to look at ways to fix the city's railway infrastructure, and to connect the railway to the city's entertainment districts.[13]
Biography
Mattie Parker earned a B.A. in government from the University of Texas at Austin and a law degree from Texas A&M University.[14] Parker's career experience includes working as the founding CEO of Fort Worth Cradle to Career and the Tarrant To & Through (T3) Partnership, the chief of staff for the Fort Worth mayor and city council, and an attorney.[14][15]
Elections
2025
See also: Mayoral election in Fort Worth, Texas (2025)
General election
The general election will occur on May 3, 2025.
General election for Mayor of Fort Worth
The following candidates are running in the general election for Mayor of Fort Worth on May 3, 2025.
Candidate | ||
| Mattie Parker (Nonpartisan) | ||
| Donnell Ballard (Nonpartisan) | ||
| Alyson Kennedy (Nonpartisan) | ||
| Jeremy Labelle (Nonpartisan) | ||
| Josh Lucas (Nonpartisan) | ||
| Lawrence Walker II (Nonpartisan) | ||
| Chris Wood (Nonpartisan) | ||
| Millennium Woods Jr. (Nonpartisan) | ||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Endorsements
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2023
See also: Mayoral election in Fort Worth, Texas (2023)
General election
General election for Mayor of Fort Worth
Incumbent Mattie Parker defeated Jennifer Castillo, Ken Bowens Jr., Alyson Kennedy, and Adrian Smith in the general election for Mayor of Fort Worth on May 6, 2023.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Mattie Parker (Nonpartisan) | 69.4 | 29,319 | |
| Jennifer Castillo (Nonpartisan) | 12.1 | 5,121 | ||
| Ken Bowens Jr. (Nonpartisan) | 8.7 | 3,684 | ||
| Alyson Kennedy (Nonpartisan) | 5.2 | 2,206 | ||
| Adrian Smith (Nonpartisan) | 4.5 | 1,915 | ||
| Total votes: 42,245 | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Chris Rector (Nonpartisan)
2021
See also: Mayoral election in Fort Worth, Texas (2021)
General runoff election
General runoff election for Mayor of Fort Worth
Mattie Parker defeated Deborah Peoples in the general runoff election for Mayor of Fort Worth on June 5, 2021.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Mattie Parker (Nonpartisan) | 53.5 | 47,325 | |
| Deborah Peoples (Nonpartisan) | 46.5 | 41,055 | ||
| Total votes: 88,380 | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
General election
General election for Mayor of Fort Worth
The following candidates ran in the general election for Mayor of Fort Worth on May 1, 2021.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Deborah Peoples (Nonpartisan) | 33.6 | 22,395 | |
| ✔ | Mattie Parker (Nonpartisan) | 30.8 | 20,551 | |
| Brian Byrd (Nonpartisan) | 14.8 | 9,835 | ||
| Steve Penate (Nonpartisan) | 9.4 | 6,248 | ||
| Ann Zadeh (Nonpartisan) | 8.6 | 5,760 | ||
| Mike Haynes (Nonpartisan) | 1.3 | 892 | ||
| Cedric Kanyinda (Nonpartisan) | 0.5 | 329 | ||
| Daniel Caldwell (Nonpartisan) | 0.5 | 306 | ||
| Chris Rector (Nonpartisan) | 0.4 | 293 | ||
| Mylene George (Nonpartisan) | 0.1 | 49 | ||
| Total votes: 66,658 | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Leroy Scott (Nonpartisan)
Campaign themes
2025
Ballotpedia survey responses
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2023
Mattie Parker did not complete Ballotpedia's 2023 Candidate Connection survey.
2021
Mattie Parker did not complete Ballotpedia's 2021 Candidate Connection survey.
Campaign website
Parker’s campaign website stated the following:
| “ |
Mattie Parker knows it takes principled leaders, not politicians, to provide a safer and stronger Fort Worth. She will make sure the Mayor’s policies remain nonpartisan because the last thing our city needs is Washington-style division that pits neighbor against neighbor. The best way to lead our great city is with honesty and a commitment to bringing people together from all walks of life to develop solutions for our most pressing issues.
As Fort Worth Mayor, Mattie will focus on helping every community in every part of our city thrive. She believes all families regardless of zip code should have the same opportunity for prosperity and safety. This requires focusing on aging neighborhoods that could use a boost with more jobs, better roads to reduce traffic, career training for our next generation and classrooms of excellence for all students.
During her tenure as Chief of Staff to Mayor Betsy Price, Mattie served as the go-to leader to improve efficiency at City Hall and develop innovative cost-saving measures to save tax dollars. As our next Mayor, she will continue these efforts to protect taxpayers and look for additional ways to provide property tax relief for homeowners. This requires focusing our city budget on the basic services that have the biggest impact on our lives.
Mattie will support strong police and fire services and push back against any efforts to defund our police force. Only with well-funded law enforcement can we best protect our neighborhoods and schools from violent crime. She also will work with non-profits and education leaders to ensure more students have the job training they need to succeed in today’s workforce – giving young adults real world skills and hope for a brighter future. Protecting our neighborhoods
Inclusive leadership
Innovative problem solver
Responsive to all citizens of Fort Worth
Growing our economy through innovation
|
” |
| —Mattie Parker’s campaign website (2021)[17] | ||
See also
2025 Elections
External links
|
Candidate Mayor of Fort Worth |
Officeholder Mayor of Fort Worth |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 LegiStorm, "Mattie Parker," accessed February 17, 2025
- ↑ LinkedIn, "Mattie Parker," accessed February 17, 2025
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Fort Worth Star-Telegram, "Meet Mattie Parker. How family, Texas politics and a tiny town shaped Fort Worth’s mayor," June 18, 2021
- ↑ Fort Worth Star-Telegram, "Attorney, education nonprofit executive will enter a packed race for Fort Worth mayor," January 17, 2021
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 The Dallas Morning News, "Mattie Parker," accessed February 17, 2025
- ↑ Fort Worth Star-Telegram, "First millennial mayor or first Black mayor? Fort Worth voters have a historic choice," May 2, 2021
- ↑ The Texan, "Republican Mattie Parker Declared Winner in Fort Worth Mayoral Race," June 5, 2021
- ↑ American Legal Publishing, "CHAPTER III: THE CITY COUNCIL," accessed February 18, 2025
- ↑ Axios, "Fort Worth becomes the first U.S. city to mine bitcoin," April 26, 2022
- ↑ CNBC, "Fort Worth is the first city in the U.S. to mine bitcoin, and will run mining rigs out of city hall," April 26, 2022
- ↑ KERA, "Parks, partnerships, private dollars: Fort Worth mayor makes push for green space," December 6, 2023
- ↑ City Government of Fort Worth, "FY2024 Adopted Budget," accessed February 18, 2025
- ↑ Fort Worth Report, "Fort Worth mayor makes urban rail system a priority," May 2, 2024
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Mattie Parker for Fort Worth Mayor, "About Mattie," accessed July 7, 2021
- ↑ Twitter, "MattieforMayor," accessed July 7, 2021
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Mattie Parker’s campaign website, “Issues,” accessed March 25, 2021
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