Parker joins race for Fort Worth mayor

Mattie Parker, former chief of staff for Fort Worth’s mayor and city council, and current CEO of Tarrant To & Through Partnership (T3), officially announced her campaign for mayor on Tuesday, Jan. 19.

Parker served for five years as chief of staff for Mayor Betsy Price and the council. Parker graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor of Arts in government and has a law degree from Texas Wesleyan School of Law (now Texas A&M University School of Law).

Mattie Parker

In making her announcement and filing for a place on the ballot, Parker received support from District 7 Fort Worth City Councilman Dennis Shingleton. Shingleton, who has served on the council for 10 years, is not running for re-election.

Others running for mayor include council members Ann Zadeh, who represents District 9, and District 3 representative Brian Byrd.

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Byrd announced Tuesday he has received the endorsement of U.S. Rep. Kay Granger, who served as mayor from 1991 until she resigned to run for Congress in 1995.

Three other candidates have filed for Fort Worth mayor in addition to Parker, Zadeh and Byrd:

  • Deborah Peoples, 68, who ran against Price in the 2019 election and garnered just under 42% of the vote. Peoples is chair of the Tarrant County Democratic Party.
  • Mike Haynes, 32, who finished fourth in 2019 with 35 write-in votes. Haynes lists his occupation as CEO.
  • Chris Rector, 58, who lists his occupation as author/disabled veteran.

The official filing period for the May 1 municipal elections began Jan. 13 and ends on Feb. 12.