Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker delivered her first State of the City address on Thursday at Dickies Arena.
The 38-year-old woman is the youngest mayor of any major city in America.
She discussed her first year in office, having been elected in June 2021, and her vision regarding education, public safety, and the economy, among other things.
“This is the state of Fort Worth: strong, prosperous, and growing,” she said. “If you are a city that is not growing, then you’re dying. We cannot take growth for granted, and we must manage that growth and vision for the future.”
“We are home to an increasingly diverse population of nearly 1 million residents,” she continued. “We range in age, race, gender, profession, economic background, and political affiliation. We attack problems, not people. And so, my biggest question for us all today: ‘What does it take to be a world-class city?'”
Parker answered her own question by first discussing education.
“The foundation of all healthy developed countries, of international cities of significance, all starts with education,” she said. “The Fort Worth of tomorrow is being shaped in the classrooms of today. We must come to the realization that in Fort Worth, we, the collective we, have not ensured that success is actually possible for all students, and that is directly connected to our success as a community.”
Parker emphasized the importance of increasing the number of students graduating with a degree or credential, which is currently only 23%.
“My vision is that every single student has access to a credential or a degree before they graduate high school in Fort Worth,” she said.
Parker established the Mayor’s Council on Education & Workforce Development in May to “influence and enhance educational programs and career pathways in Fort Worth public schools to help prepare students for their future careers, including careers that help meet the current and future needs of business and industry in Fort Worth and North Texas.”
“We are making significant inroads,” she said, “but there is still work to be done.”
The mayor also discussed her approach to the homelessness and vagrancy problem, saying, “In Fort Worth, we are not investing in City-sanctioned homeless camps. Instead, we are investing in housing and services.”
The City, working with Tarrant County, has committed to building nearly 500 housing units for the homeless and vagrant population, including up to 100 units for families.
Along with vagrancy, violent crime is a growing problem in Fort Worth. Parker noted there have been 82 homicides in Fort Worth this year, 19 of which were caused by domestic violence.
She said the Fort Worth Police Department’s violent crime detail has made 792 arrests from felony warrants since April and seized 377 guns.
On September 27, the Fort Worth City Council passed a budget of $2.3 billion for 2023. Parker said this budget includes tools the City will use to combat violent crime, including 53 more sworn officers, 14 additional civilian positions, trainees to support 911 communications, and dedicated support for the Neighborhood Patrol Program, HOPE Team, and Crisis Intervention Team.
“We are making investments in public safety that work for the community and also ensure that police have what they need to do their most difficult jobs,” Parker said. “We ask police to be all things to all people all the time. These are solutions that are pro-community and pro-police.”
Among many more issues, Mayor Parker commented on the City’s economic state, saying, “We are forward-looking and focused on being a city that embraces a global economy.”
“Even with Fort Worth’s long and rich history, we are still a city that’s just getting started,” she said. “Our pioneering spirit is a continued legacy from one generation to the next.”
The mayor’s complete State of the City address can be seen here, on the City of Fort Worth’s YouTube channel.