GOP Mayor of Major US City Makes TIME 100 List as Rising Star

GOP Mayor of Major US City Makes TIME 100 List as Rising Star


There is almost nothing more rare in politics than a Republican mayor running a major U.S. city, so when one of them is recognized by the mainstream media, that seems like a very big deal.

To that end, Mattie Parker, the GOP mayor of Fort Worth, Texas, has made the TIME100 list of rising American stars this year, according to Fox Business. The list recognized Parker, one of the youngest mayors in the country, as a rising political star.

My husband and I are in that stage of life with three kids, our youngest is six, our bubble bursts every night when I get home, I don’t get to stay in the political universe,” Parker said in an appearance on “Varney & Co.” Friday. “It’s real life, and it’s what families need across this country. And I think as a mayor of a large city, it’s an awesome platform to get to further that opportunity for families.”

Rep. Kay Granger, R-Texas, wrote in the legacy news and culture magazine that in the half-dozen years that Parker worked on her congressional staff, she managed to graduate from law school, give birth to her first son, and adopted her daughter – making it crystal clear Parker was a “force” people would need to reckon with.

“Besides serving next as chief of staff to the former mayor, she started a nonprofit to help students thrive,” Granger’s description of Parker reads in TIME. “Now mayor at 38, she builds consensus for a safer and stronger Fort Worth, nurtures thriving families (including her own), and fosters quality of life in every ZIP code.”

She added: “I wrote a book called What’s Right About America, on our founding leaders. Today, what’s right about America are next-­generation leaders like Mattie, who learn from diversity, do the hard work of good governance, and carry the torch.”

Fox Business noted further:

Parker said she’s currently focused on opportunities that improve quality of life, including economic development, a pro-business mentality, thriving parks, and other initiatives which make Fort Worth “a place where people want to live, work and play.”

“Most importantly is what it looks like to lead thriving U.S. cities into the future, making sure people like myself are at the table thinking about what the future holds,” Parker told Stuart Varney.

In addition, Fort Worth also became the first city, under Parker’s leadership, to mine bitcoin. And while the process is small-scale at the moment, she told Varney that, at this point, it involves three machines that are stationed outside City Hall. She said she doesn’t expect to make money initially from the endeavor and that, for now, the process is more about learning how the future of currency may take shape for the sake of the city and for technology in general.

“For Fort Worth, we’re really trying to create an environment for thriving business and do things a little bit differently, out of the box,” Parker said. “We’re also really thinking about, what does the future technology look like, what does future innovation look like?”

With every policy, Parker says she keeps in mind that “it’s all about the people” of the city.

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