Dear Mayor Mattie,
I respectfully concede.
You get to continue to be Mayor of Fort Worth despite the ever-growing groundswell of support for my candidacy. As you may know, someone on Instagram has designed, I must admit, a rather flattering T-shirt with my likeness and the words “Rich Connor for Mayor.”
While T-shirt sales are encouragingly strong, I am withdrawing my candidacy. I told the Instagram supporters, “If nominated I will not run. If elected I will not serve.” I believe that one has been used before, but it works in this case.
For starters, I do not believe Kinky Friedman was correct when he announced he was running for office years ago with this cavalier rationale: “How hard could it be?” Granted, he was running to be governor of Texas but your job is different.
Greg Abbott, unfortunately, is proving that any fool could do the governor’s job – at least better than he’s doing it – but that’s a topic for another day.
Your job, Mayor Parker, is a tough one. The city is growing at an alarming rate and the issues that accompany rapid expansion are many. Traffic jams alone speak to an infrastructure that is fragile. The $2.3 billion budget just passed reflects the problems and increased cost of growth.
And there’s this: When you are mayor, sometimes (oftentimes?) you are a target of unfair criticism.
Take, for instance, last week. when I quoted you as saying the mayor has the power “to convene” and chided that you needed to commence to convening the folks from the city and the owners of Sundance Square and stop the childish shoot-out threatening to destroy the progressive image of downtown and all of Fort Worth.
You are a person of your word, and I should not have assumed you had not been convening and trying to bring peace and order to this toxic situation.
My guess is that you have been convening and trying.
I also presume you have not been treated much better than the Sundance tenants and former tenants who claim they get no respect from the property’s owners. Some even say they have been harassed.
The problem, as I pointed out last week, is that 35 blocks that comprise Sundance are privately owned by Ed and Sasha Bass. They have tremendous latitude to do with those 35 blocks whatever they damn well please.
And because of Sundance, Fort Worth is daily being reduced to a joke on social media with sites such as FW Confidential and Lady Whistleworth on Instagram.
Our data indicates that one result of ongoing issues with Sundance is fewer folks want to visit downtown any longer. Tenants have left. Storefronts are vacant. We are beginning to look like a ghost town from an old, black and white Western movie. Morale among tenants, for the most part, is low.
But Sundance and the people running privately owned Sundance do not have to listen to Mayor Mattie or anyone except themselves (and their own conscience). Some ask: How do they do that?
The mayor has power, but cannot dictate or legislate common decency, kindness, intelligence, or good manners.
So, Mattie, I bet you have tried to bring peace to the valley. You are what Fort Worth needs: young, articulate, smart, intuitive. Your star will do nothing but rise if … if you can handle the biggest problem staring you in the face, which is intertwined with Sundance, you can at least make a dent in the problems.
The city manager, David Cooke, has gone rogue on you. He is thumbing his nose in your face. I guess freedom comes with a job paying over $350,000 a year.
“Freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose,” sang Janis Joplin.
Just last weekend, after some blistering criticism for flying on the Ed and Sasha Bass private jet and saying he would have to work extra hard to avoid the appearance and perception of conflict of interest Cooke continued his flagrant and public disrespect for you, your office, and the city and fellow workers.
I guess Cooke lives by the Robert Earle Keen motto, “The road goes on forever and the party never ends.”
There is a simple truth about those in public office and public life, even those who not elected. These folks are held to a higher standard of conduct that, quite frankly, does not require a handbook or a lawyer telling them what they can do. They should know what they should and should not do. And often that means they cannot have the friends they want or do things in public that others are able to do.
Mayor, your authority is being challenged. The integrity of this great city is being questioned. Fort Worth’s integrity is yours to uphold.
As of Sept. 27, you have your new budget, which was presented by your city manager. He’s done that part of the job. Do not let him turn this city into the Tarrant Regional Water District of not so long ago.
Perception and appearances matter.
Sundance has asked for favors from the city and will again. The owners have money, which means power. Those who criticize them say they are fearful of retribution. So they fret and plead for someone to tell their story and deplore their plight. But they dare not take a stand publicly. This is frightening in a democracy. Do not be bullied, mayor. The citizens put their faith in you at the ballot box.
Most likely, if Cooke needs a job, he will find one at Sundance. That’s what happened with former Police Chief Ed Kraus. He now works in security for Sundance.
Cooke can become Sundance Square (city) Manager.
Then, as happened with the arts festival, you can have dueling entities: The city of Fort Worth vs. Sundance Square, the “government in exile.”
While we are at it, mayor, you might appoint a citizens committee to review this problem of conflict of interest. You could start by asking former city manager Bob Herchert to serve as chair. He guided this city with class and dignity and brains and fairness.
All four are missing at Sundance and in some city offices.
Be all that you can be, Mayor.
Richard Connor is president and publisher of the Fort Worth Business Press. Contact him at rconnor@bizpress.net