A. Lee Graham lgraham@bizpress.net
Horatio Porter is taking his financial know-how to the North Texas Tollway Authority as its chief financial officer. Only months after accepting the same position with the city of Fort Worth, Porter this month tendered his resignation and looks forward to new challenges ahead. “I thought I may have an opportunity to shape one of the most critical issues facing our state right now,” said Porter, referring to transportation. Though Porter will work from the tollway authority’s Plano headquarters, the agency’s involvement with Chisholm Trail Parkway construction will keep him focused on Fort Worth as work continues on the project, which promises swift passage between Interstate 30 near downtown and U.S. 67 in Cleburne when the 27.6-mile, $1.6-billion project opens in mid-2014. Accepting the new job was difficult, said Porter, whose Fort Worth roots are deep. He graduated from Polytechnic High School and set a National Collegiate Athletic Association record while running track at Texas Christian University. While he and his family will continue living in Grand Prairie, Porter will have a longer commute to Collin County than to his current Fort Worth City Hall office. “We’ve done some great things here in the city,” said Porter, who said he will miss his colleagues. Many of those individuals have praised Porter for helping the city meet budgetary challenges. Porter, a certified public accountant with more than 15 years’ experience in the private sector, was hired as the city’s budget officer in 2009 before being promoted to CFO in January 2013 when the city’s budget and finance offices merged. Having gained considerable experience on the municipal level, Porter said he looks forward to joining an agency with a regional impact. Porter succeeds Janice Davis, who served as interim CFO, with Davis remaining the tollway authority’s assistant executive director of strategic and innovative solutions. A new Fort Worth CFO had not been announced as of Thursday May 2.