By Faith Chatham - January 17, 2019
Deborah Whitlock Peoples held "listening sessions" before declaring her candidacy this week for Mayor of Fort Worth. After an illustrious career in the telecommunications industry where she rose to the ranks of Vice President of U-verse Sales at AT&T. When she retired from AT&T after 34 years in 2012, revenue was $127.43 billion. She settled in Fort Worth and ran for Democratic County Chair. During her tenure as County Chair, the Democratic Party voter turn-out has increased significantly. When she assumed office, Tarrant County was seen as a safe red county with a few exceptions where districts were gerrymandered to cram as many Democratic voters together to remove them from other districts to make them safe for Republicans. During the last three election cycles, regions in Tarrant County which previously had been safe for Republicans have gone purple and blue.
Deborah Peoples is not timid about tackling tough challenges. When she sees a necessity, she looks for solutions. When she sees talent, she recruits and develops it. When she sees problems, she faces them head-on. During her listening tour, she heard citizens express frustration and dismay. She recognized gaps in service which must be addressed. She comprehended the pitfalls which exist when citizens lose confident or distrust elected officials.
Historically, when there is a high turnout in the predominately African American precincts, Democrats win city wide elections. When Blacks stay home, Republicans win.
We will watch the Fort Worth Mayor's race with interest this year to see if the missteps Mayor Betsy Price has made are great enough to draw enough opponents to the polls to unseat her. She definitely is facing a capable opponent.
Also see: https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/politics/Deborah-Peoples-Officially-Announces-Shell-Run-Against-Mayor-Betsy-Price-504407211.html
