FORT WORTH, TX - City Council District 6 candidate Dr. Jared Williams released the following statement in response to Governor Abbott’s press conference on local governments and police funding.
To my fellow neighbors of Fort Worth.
Just a little over a week ago, I watched a local news story that gave me hope. I remember sitting and watching the news with my family as the reporter told the story of a 9-year old boy, who led a group of his friends and adult neighbors in calling for our City’s leadership to
invest in real solutions that create a just and prosperous Fort Worth. Seeing this young boy lead the call for our leaders to invest in plans that would expand opportunity for everyday people, gave me so much hope.
And yet, in that very same moment, I was struck by overwhelming grief at the fact that just 8 months ago this very same young boy experienced first-hand the trauma of watching his Aunt, Atatiana Jefferson, murdered in cold-blood in her own home at the hands of a Fort Worth Police Officer. This is not ok and unfortunately situations like this are a symptom of the number one threat to our city’s future, a lack of concrete plans that lead to an equitable and vibrant Fort Worth for everyone.
When we look at our city’s data outcomes across many measures, we see racial disparities throughout our criminal justice system here in Fort Worth. According to several studies authorized by the City Council, our Black and Latinx neighbors are disproportionately more likely to be stopped and searched when pulled over, more likely to get arrested, more likely to be charged, and disproportionately more likely to be assessed fines and fees for violations similar to their white neighbors.
These disparities are not exclusive to our criminal justice system here in Fort Worth. In education, we see that our school systems are disproportionately underfunded which leads to racial disparities in student achievement. This makes it difficult to create the workforce that employers are seeking. When we look at housing, Fort Worth has the largest amount of residents facing homelessness in Tarrant County and we know that people of color are more likely to be homeless than the national average. Our current economic crisis has shown us that unemployment rates are highest for our neighbors of color and our minority owned businesses are struggling everyday just to stay afloat during this crisis. There’s also the tragic and very real consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic that creates one of the greatest healthcare challenges in our lifetime and has affected thousands of lives particularly in our communities of color.
In this very moment of so much uncertainty, there are so many of our neighbors - black, brown, and white - who have been knocked down by idle leadership in this city and are waiting for the city to do the responsible thing and give a helping-hand to jumpstart their lives and our economy again. In this moment and in the years ahead, we need leadership that will bring us together, from every background and walk of life, to create solutions that work for all of us.
Unfortunately however, today our local leaders were focused on mounting up yet another barrier that infringes on the right of our city government and communities to work together to create solutions that work for all of us. Today, we saw the City’s leaders putting politics over people by supporting the beginnings of a proposed state policy slated for the 2021 legislature that would in effect take away the right of our local city council and community to reasonably levy and collect on property taxes and to reasonably restructure our budgets so that they reflect the values, needs, and vision of a promising Fort Worth for all of our communities.
This is yet another attempt at status-quo politics and an effort to maintain outdated practices instead of doing the real work of bringing a rapidly growing and diversifying city together to create real solutions like:
In a time when we need our city leaders the most, it is sad that they are too busy playing politics that preserve their self-interests instead of governing with care for all of us. For too long we have stumbled over this debate about whether or not we all want and deserve communities that are safe and healthy. I think we all want our communities to be safe and healthy spaces and I believe that the fastest route to this is adopting plans that are equitable and rooted in creating opportunity for everyone to thrive.
As a Fort Worth native, I do not believe that we are the best Fort Worth that we can be right now. The Fort Worth I know and love stands tall in the face of uncertainty, takes care of one another, and never cowtails to interests contrary to our core values of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
FORT WORTH, TX – City Council District 6 candidate Dr. Jared Williams released the following statement in response to Governor Abbott’s press conference on local governments and police funding.
To my fellow neighbors of Fort Worth.
Just a little over a week ago, I watched a local news story that gave me hope. I remember sitting and watching the news with my family as the reporter told the story of a 9-year old boy, who led a group of his friends and adult neighbors in calling for our City’s leadership to invest in real solutions that create a just and prosperous Fort Worth. Seeing this young boy lead the call for our leaders to invest in plans that would expand opportunity for everyday people, gave me so much hope. And yet, in that very same moment, I was struck by overwhelming grief at the fact that just 8 months ago this very same young boy experienced first-hand the trauma of watching his Aunt, Atatiana Jefferson, murdered in cold-blood in her own home at the hands of a Fort Worth Police Officer. This is not ok and unfortunately situations like this are a symptom of the number one threat to our city’s future, a lack of concrete plans that lead to an equitable and vibrant Fort Worth for everyone.
When we look at our city’s data outcomes across many measures, we see racial disparities throughout our criminal justice system here in Fort Worth. According to several studies authorized by the City Council, our Black and Latinx neighbors are disproportionately more likely to be stopped and searched when pulled over, more likely to get arrested, more likely to be charged, and disproportionately more likely to be assessed fines and fees for violations similar to their white neighbors.
These disparities are not exclusive to our criminal justice system here in Fort Worth. In education, we see that our school systems are disproportionately underfunded which leads to racial disparities in student achievement. This makes it difficult to create the workforce that employers are seeking. When we look at housing, Fort Worth has the largest amount of residents facing homelessness in Tarrant County and we know that people of color are more likely to be homeless than the national average. Our current economic crisis has shown us that unemployment rates are highest for our neighbors of color and our minority owned businesses are struggling everyday just to stay afloat during this crisis. There’s also the tragic and very real consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic that creates one of the greatest healthcare challenges in our lifetime and has affected thousands of lives particularly in our communities of color.
In this very moment of so much uncertainty, there are so many of our neighbors - black, brown, and white - who have been knocked down by idle leadership in this city and are waiting for the city to do the responsible thing and give a helping-hand to jumpstart their lives and our economy again. In this moment and in the years ahead, we need leadership that will bring us together, from every background and walk of life, to create solutions that work for all of us.
Unfortunately however, today our local leaders were focused on mounting up yet another barrier that infringes on the right of our city government and communities to work together to create solutions that work for all of us. Today, we saw the City’s leaders putting politics over people by supporting the beginnings of a proposed state policy slated for the 2021 legislature that would in effect take away the right of our local city council and community to reasonably levy and collect on property taxes and to reasonably restructure our budgets so that they reflect the values, needs, and vision of a promising Fort Worth for all of our communities.
This is yet another attempt at status-quo politics and an effort to maintain outdated practices instead of doing the real work of bringing a rapidly growing and diversifying city together to create real solutions like:
In a time when we need our city leaders the most, it is sad that they are too busy playing politics that preserve their self-interests instead of governing with care for all of us. For too long we have stumbled over this debate about whether or not we all want and deserve communities that are safe and healthy. I think we all want our communities to be safe and healthy spaces and I believe that the fastest route to this is adopting plans that are equitable and rooted in creating opportunity for everyone to thrive.
As a Fort Worth native, I do not believe that we are the best Fort Worth that we can be right now. The Fort Worth I know and love stands tall in the face of uncertainty, takes care of one another, and never cowtails to interests contrary to our core values of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.