Good evening and welcome to the city council public comment meeting. Before Mayor Parker calls the meeting to order, we ask that you please take your seats and that you silence all electronic devices. For those of you who have requested to speak when your name is called, please come forward to the center podium. The countdown clock is displayed on the chamber monitor and will indicate how much time is remaining. A bell will sound when you have 30 seconds left. When your time is ended, the bell will sound again. Before you begin your comments, please state your name. Thank you. >> Thank you, Janette, and welcome to your Fort Worth City Council meeting. Meeting is now called to order. Tonight's invocation will be by Pastor Don Hudson from Trinity Christian Church. Pastor Hudson is here. If you would come forward, mayor. Council member Nettles or >> Council Member Flores, why don't we nominate you prayer, Tim? Is that okay with you? Thank you, sir. Appreciate it. >> Please rise for the invocation and remain standing for the pledges of allegiance. Thank you, Mayor and Council, and the audience. Let us bow our heads and consider for a moment the special occasion we have today to have civil discourse. And by that I mean this. We have the patience to listen to one another and to consider what's being said and respectfully disagree. It is a blessing and we do have this opportunity under a form of government. And for that we should be thankful and again be patient with one another. Amen. Algiance flag >> of the United States of America >> to the republic for which it stands one nationisible and justice for all. >> Honor the Texas flag. I pledge allegiance to thee Texas. One state under God. One indivisible. and council. Our first action item will be approval of the minutes for the September 9th work session and public comment meetings. >> Got a motion and a second. Council, any other discussion? Not, please vote. Thank you. Motion carries. Mayor, that concludes the action item. We are ready for speakers. >> Thank you. Our first speaker is Bob Willoughby, followed by Mindy Tacket. Play the video. >> There's supposed to be sound on their work at home. >> Motion carries. >> Mayor, that concludes the action item. Nevertheless, uh that there is part of the uh the old schedule. It's coming up in October, a new schedule. >> They're putting it on the agenda again. And I'm asking people to vote no to the new schedule because it's a communist type schedule. It takes away free speech at city council meetings. No other city in the metropolitan area has no public presentation except for the city of Fort Worth because of Mayor Mattie Parker took it away four years ago. She didn't want to hear people speak so she just took it away and it's up to us to put it back. But I'm glad she did because now >> council school board meetings this is the first time. >> Hello Conrad Mayor Maddie Parker. >> There's the start of it there. >> You the school board and commissioner. >> There you go. >> You don't answer questions. That's the one thing and that's wrong and that's the number one problem across the board. You don't answer questions. Not not legitimate questions. Cosmetic, yes, but real questions. No. None of you. I've been doing this for years. And that is one of the main things is a lack of communication. Communication is the answer to the problem. But we don't have no communication. It's a one-sided one way like a communist way. And that's why uh you don't want to put free speech back. And that's why you took it away. What I want you to know this letter is like a breakthrough. There is between no one responds city council school board meetings. This is the first time we got an answer here. So all that work and all that money and this is I'm going to frame this one. It's going up on the wall in my office. I'm going to frame it and this is something you people should have done and all you across the board should be doing this. Any legitimate question should be answered and that's when we have the right people in office when they do this. Right here is a starting. This is what we need from number one, communication. We got to tear down that wall of not being able y'all not answering. But anyway, this is a little crack to the wall, you know, is what this is one. And um it's a start to work with. And but this letter goes to say, "Thank you for attending the commissioner's court meetings. Dear Bob, I'm so thankful you took time from your day to attend Tarant County's Commissioner's Court meeting on August 8 19 2025. Well, that's great because she noticed that we take time, you know, unlike you, Maddie Paron, you're you're you're disrespectful. Anyway, um, I want you to know I see you, I hear you, and I appreciate you. I can see you saying that, Maddie, about me. Participating in democratic process and is important to me. It is. That's That's >> You shouldn't stop it. You didn't play right. You should play it all the way. You screwed me out of enough times down here. You should give this to me. >> Our next is Mindy Tacket, followed by Patrice Jones. Mayor Parker, the last time we spoke, you told Chris and me that speaking up about issues amounted to chest beating. You also said the bulk of your job was focusing on things like potholes. We sat in your office and urged you to use your voice to fight extremism. Democracy is rapidly eroding. And yet you've chosen to align with a movement that advances Christian nationalism, wants to force women into restrictive gender roles, calls transgender people mentally ill, labels immigrants as bad people, and insists guns, already the leading cause of child deaths, become even more prolific. In your recent letter, you tried to smear the character of a fellow council member, a veteran, an attorney, someone who stands up for her community, and who, like you, swore an oath to protect the Constitution, including free speech. At the August 5th DEI vote, you said, "I believe it would be legal malpractice for me to vote differently to justify supporting Trump's racist executive order." But isn't it malpractice to act as though the First Amendment doesn't apply to all of us? Even council members repeating someone else's words. You seem to pick and choose when the Constitution applies. So don't lecture us about division or better angels when the president, the leader of your party said, "I hate my opponent." Don't lecture us when the local Republican party chair slandered transgender people, saying they're terrorists who should be eliminated. Don't lecture us when the sheriff proclaims America is a Christian nation and people in your party march through Fort Worth yelling they're at war with the rest of us. Maybe your desire for proximity to billionaire wealth. Your desire to be liked or to appease the Republican party has made you incapable of being a guard rail or meeting this moment. Because once again, you choose to beat your chest to protect and enable right-wing extremism. That's truly unfortunate. Perhaps you should stick to potholes. Our next speaker is Patrice Jones, followed by Ken Shimato. Is Miss Jones here? Our next speaker is Ken Shimato, followed by Jeremy Pope. Evening, Mayor Parker, commissioners, or council members. I'm Ken Shimamoto from District 7. Um, I responded to Mayor Parker's letter on social media, um, where she condemned Councilwoman Beck for her social media post in the wake of Charlie Kirk's killing. And I found it puzzling that you, Madame Mayor, saw fit to make such a strong statement when you had previously not done so in response to more inflammatory remarks from your own county party chair. For example, when Mr. French said that demonstrations could be taken care of easily by few wellplaced snipers or when he said that leftists should be aware that they are on the crystal list. For those of y'all who don't read history, Crystal N was an anti-semitic pogram conducted by the Nazis in 1938. I grew up next door to vianese Jews. She walked into a concentration camp with an American visa and got him out, but he still had numbers on his arm. And he told me what that meant when I was 7 years old. I was also rather surprised at Mr. Crane's comments on the same post where he spoke of the darkness and evil in Councilwoman Beck and her demonic behavior for for leaders for people in positions of responsibility. As the city attorney reminded us, free speech is hate speech or vice versa. you know, in the matter of True Texas Project holding an event on city property. But as my dear old gay-haired mom used to say, just cuz you can doesn't mean you should. Dehumanizing the other is the first step to genocide. In 1995, I was in Italy watching Bosnia with my reserve unit when we got the first news of the Subnitsa massacre. And in Bosnia, folks who had lived side by side in peace for generations, egged on by nationalistic leaders took up arms and slaughtered their neighbors. In Serban, over 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys were murdered by Serb forces, their bodies buried in mass graves. Be mindful of this, leaders. Words have meanings. Actions have consequences. It is important that all of you own yours. >> Thank you. >> Our next speaker is Jeremy Pope followed by Sarah Maxwell. [Applause] My name is Jeremy Pope, Reverend Jeremy Pope, and I am a resident of District 5. Mayor, in June, you spoke passionately about how important the LGBT community is to you and to this city. Yet, you voted to cancel DEI in city government. Then you addressed us not as the people that you serve, but as if we were your disobedient children. Meanwhile, you sit silent while your Republican party chair, Bo French, spews vile, racially motivated rhetoric without so much as a token rebuke. Before the last No Rally, Bo French, suggested that a few well-placed snipers could put an end to violent protests. No king's rally was a peaceful protest, but you said nothing. But when a city council member, a peer of yours, not a subordinate, posts something harmless on her personal Instagram, you leap onto a moral highor with an overblown, self-righteous letter. And with county judge O'Hare stripping away our rights and our votes, we've heard nothing from your office. Silence in the face of extremism is not neutrality, it's complicity. Then adding insult to injury, you ordered our city's flags lowered for a man who declared women shouldn't have the right to vote, the LGBT community should be killed, and that black women lack the brain power to reason. And I have a feeling that a couple of women on this dis at least would have something a lot probably to say about that. In a majority minority city, lowering our flags for someone who held those views is not just poor judgment, it's shameful. Mayor Parker, I'm asking you to take a clear stand against extremism in Fort Worth. If you cannot or will not, then spare us the hollow speeches. Save a few cents on city letterhead and step aside. >> Our next speaker is Sarah Maxwell, followed by Chris Wood. Hello, I'm Sarah Maxwell. I live in Wedgewood East, which is District 9. And following the theme tonight, um I actually wanted to publicly address my councilwoman, uh Councilwoman Beck. Um and to ask for actually sort of the same thing that everybody has been asking for tonight, which is civility in our communication. Um, unfortunately I've I've seen your name too frequently in the news uh because of language that has come across as disrespectful um toward city employees, but also um obviously the the Charlie Kirk post was hurtful to many people. Um Mayor Parker, I want to thank you for addressing that. I actually when I signed up to come here tonight, I actually um my topic was actually to ask that the city council um censure Councilwoman Beck because of the cavalier nature of uh your approach to that murder. Um, I was not actually surprised that that came from you because I've seen your post actually in a Facebook group that we're in. Um, it's sometimes not respectful the way that you address your constituents and um, and also city employees. So that's what I came to ask for actually if you would present a unified statement that for Fort Worth uh which is such a great city for Fort Worth that we will raise the bar of civility in our language um in our in our public meetings but also in our um in our social media. Um but I I do appreciate all that you're doing. I know that you take a lot of flack for a lot of things and people don't always see what you're doing really well, but I want to tell you thank you for really for the all day meetings and all of all that you're doing to serve us. Um, Mayor Parker, I think you're doing a good job and I appreciate you. I appreciate all of you really. Our next speaker is Chris Wood followed by Whitney Wood Wares. I'm Chris Wood from District 6. After some negative experiences, I came to pride myself on staying safe. I never let my guard down. I do not trust anyone 100%. I keep aware of my surroundings. However, I recently watched a video that changed my self-perception. This video was a compilation of women that had narrow escapes from becoming victims. What surprised me was how many scenarios would have caught me off guard and vulnerable to attack. For instance, one woman was at a train station late at night. It was only her and a man waiting. The train arrived. It is common practice for a man to let the woman go first. So she went first. He came up behind her, grabbed her, and started dragging her away. There had been many times it has been me and one other person getting on a train, and I have gone first. It never occurred to me that someone could grab me from behind. I realized all the scenarios I'm not prepared for. Criminals are constantly finding new ways to trick their victims and catch them off guard. How can I protect myself from this moving target of surprise criminal attacks? It is not realistic to place the burden of keeping safe solely on women's shoulders. There is no way a woman can be prepared for every scenario that criminals use to weaken potential victims. Instead, cities should be structured to prevent crime by design rather than requiring women to manage risk individually. City planning can prioritize the safety and well-being of all individuals through improved infrastructure. First, please continue adding street lights until the entire city is adequately lit. Second, please eliminate gaps where there are no sidewalks. Third, improve public restrooms with enhanced lighting, visible entrances from public areas, secure stalls with emergency call buttons, outside security cameras, and push button entry doors that are hard to force open. Please continue with current plans for safety and take further steps for a safer infrastructure for Fort Worth. Thank you. Whitney Wood Wararez followed by Chris Tacket. Is Miss Wararez here? Okay. Chris Tacket will be followed by Charles Whitmire. The leadership in this city is enabling extremism. It's plain as day. Our mayor silent when far-right groups attempt to intimidate the people in Fort Worth. Our mayor silent when our neighbors are targeted. That silence isn't neutral. It's a choice. And it fuels extremism. It fuels white Christian nationalism. But she wasn't silent when chastising another council member. That too gives extremism power. And let's be clear what's being promoted. It pushes white supremacist conspiracy theories. It calls immigrants invaders. It believes doctors who provide gender affirming care should be put in prison. And it pretends that black people were better off under segregation. And it's not just fringe groups. It's lawyers, clergy, politicians governors podcast hosts. They smile, shake hands, and sell hate, all under a cloak of religion and a sheen of civility. Today, they wear suits. Not that long ago, they would have worn hoods. We're done with leaders who normalize extremism and then lecture us to tone it down. It takes two steps to the extreme and then demand that we all meet them in the middle. And if we do, we slide further right. People get thrown under the bus and left behind. Rights are trampled. If Mayor Parker wants better angels, she should start by listening to her own city. The voices being ignored. And those voices, they're getting louder, one by one, becoming a chorus. A chorus that cannot and will not be ignored. It's time to wake up Fort Worth. Our next speaker is Charles Woodmire, followed by Thomas Hamilton. Madame Mayor and city councilman, I'm Charles Weedmire, live at 6620 Long Cove Court in Fort Worth. I'm here because after council members Beck and Nettle Nettles dishonored Charlie Kirk in the aftermath of his murder, I wanted their scalps figuratively speaking. people in our western civilization do not dishonor the dead. But that's those council members responsibility and they'll be marked by their words and actions. But for me, after viewing the testimonies given at Charlie's memorial service last weekend, I no longer want to scout them. It's not my problem. I I saw Erica Kirk describe her beautiful marriage with Charlie. It It's a It was a uh biblically based, loving relationship that that just I I had never heard it described in such a beautiful manner before. It still brings tears to my eyes every time I see it. Not only did she describe that loving mar tender marriage, but she also forgave the man who killed her husband. So, it's not her problem anymore. Anyone will be challenged to watch that video and not be moved to tears. It's on YouTube video, by the way. Marco Rubio also came in and described the plan of salvation that Jesus brought to the earth and died for it. But don't worry. He ro He rose again and he's still alive. Dr. Carlson pointed out that salvation requires repentance. It requires action on the part of the person. Several others like Tulsi Gabbert eulogized Charlie for the beautiful fruit of his life and his ministry. Now Fort Worth has a budget of about $460 million for police. How much would it be changed if our citizens embraced biblical principles? Young men would have loving relationships with young women instead of going to porn sites or a hookup or having hookups. Young women would have loving and proactive pH parents before having a child. Young families would focus on their children and preparing them for a fruitful life. There's no more important job. All this and more is available to us, but we must first repent and accept God's plan. Thomas Hamilton. >> Thomas Hamilton will be followed by Eddie Delgado. >> Mr. Hamilton here. No. Eddie Delgado will be followed by Alexander Stein. Good evening. Congratulations on everybody not being raptured today. Um, so I thought memorials and remembrances were supposed to be peaceful and give people time to reflect on individual or individuals, but all we heard was things about total war. Where did I hear about that? Uh, February 18th, 1943, Joseph Gables, uh, propagandist for Mustache Man, talked about total war. So, this is called the progress pride flag. It's identical to the one that the bigots tore up this weekend. It represents progress, unity, and includes representation of people of color. So, it's not a symbol of what's in someone's pants. Speakers at the hate speech event this weekend held the flag, called it rot, societal decay, corrosion, murder, hate, ripped the flag, and promptly kicked it down the Tarant County courthouse steps. You didn't say anything, Maddie. So, because everyone seems to think that these people are rep representing Fort Worth, I think we could do better. So, I would like to propose that at your next meeting on October 14th, we proclaim the week of 1014 through 10:21, a week that Fort Worth stands up against violence. We call it something like unity in the community week. And being that it's so close to a very important anniversary date of October 12th for those of you who don't know what date that is, I think that week should begin on October 14th. With recognition of October 14th being a Tatiana Jefferson day, I suggest we work together to dedicate each day as a day of remembrance for specific individuals or groups or individuals that are representative of our community. Another example, October 21st, the last day of that weeklong recognition, can be reserved to recognize the 21 killed in school shooting in Evaldi. I think you need to make this happen for the people of Fort Worth and make sure that everybody understands that we stand for unity and not this that happened this past weekend because that's ridiculous. So, I'll see everybody here on October 18th at Burke Bernet Park for No Kings 2. It was peaceful last time. Don't listen to Bo French. He's an idiot. Uh, Trump. Funk Ice. Free Palestine. >> Sorry you can't. Thank you very much. Alexander Stein, >> Alexander Stein will be followed by Jamie Von Trap. >> Uh, thank you for having me. My name's Alex Stein. And I didn't realize Fort Worth was so gay. I mean, gosh almighty, this is a very gay place, Maddie. You've made the city very good. And, uh, speaking of being gay, Chris, everybody knows that you're, you know, a download brother, that you're in the closet. I mean, that's why you're on audio recording saying that's why you're on audio recording talking about your wife cheating on you and that's why >> if we just focus just focus on remarks that are focused on things not directed at council members. Sorry. Keep going. You're okay. >> Talk about I'm allowed to talk about the council members. So, what I'm saying is like when you got a bad built butch body redhead like you >> Alex. Yeah. Alex, >> you can't Yeah. >> Okay. Order. Alex. Alex. Alex. Time's expired. Time's expired. Time's expired. Thank you, Alex. Thank you. >> I Wait, too far. >> Okay. >> Alex Stein Jamie von Trap is our next speaker. We'll be followed by J. Sabrina Ball. Jamie von Trap followed by Sabrina Ball. Jamie floor is yours. >> Following that. Wow. Um, okay. So, my name is uh Jimmy and uh in 2016 I met a young woman named Erica France. We became friends because we had similar passions in international mission work. um as she worked directly with orphanages in Romania and I did mission work in Hunter Honduras. And that woman would go on to become Erica Kirk as she married Charlie Kirk and had two beautiful children. And I say this because I'm a husband and a father. And um and uh I can't imagine the pain my friend Erica has felt over the past two weeks. She had her spouse's execution broadcast on the internet and now her kids have to grow up without their dad. And uh and I just can't stop thinking about Erica's first public statement where she described a three-year-old asking where her dad is. And it just it just wrecked me. And obviously everyone knows Councilwoman Beck saw that and and made a a post mocking Charlie. And I just I just don't get it. This is not a random Twitter troll. This is an elected leader whose salaries paid with our tax dollars. And and I'm not angry. I'm just I'm just genuinely sad. I'm sad for this country. And I'm I'm sad for you, Councilwoman Beck. If someone's reaction to Charlie Kirk's assassination is to dunk on social media, like you have anger in your heart that I can't comprehend. And that's just really sad. So if my friend Erica can forgive Charlie's murderer, then I can certainly forgive Councilwoman Beck. But the reaction by so many people in this country shows there is there's a sickness in this nation and we need healing. And I know some people will disagree with this, but I'm a Christian and I think this healing can only come through Christ. But whether you agree with that or not, I think everyone can agree something's deeply wrong with our country. And um and I know Councilwoman Beck took down the social media post. I haven't heard any statements since. I don't know where she stands. Um and I genuinely mean this. You're welcome at my church anytime because I'm a sinner in need of a savior just like everyone here. And I pray for the hearts of all our leaders because it's a really it's a really dark time in our nation. And um and I'm here for my friend Erica and I pray for her family. And that's all I have to say. Thank you. Our >> next speaker is Sabrina Ball, followed by D Jackson. On the night of April 4th, 1968, Bobby Kennedy announced to a crowd the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. He urged the crowd to recognize their pain and resist the urge for revenge. When Governor Cox spoke of better angels, I thought of Kennedy. He said, "Let us dedicate ourselves to what the Greeks wrote so many years ago, to tame the savagess of man and to make gentle the life of this world." What we have seen since the death of Charlie Kirk is a circus of propaganda. When you had the opportunity to tame the savagess of man, the Republicans on this council chose to fuel the fire. The words of our president, his men, and of holy warriors Bo, Carlos, Nate, and Bill are not that of peace, but of spiritual warfare. They are calling for war, words that take that some take literally, while you chastise others for criticism of Charlie Kirk, a divisive man. Governor Cox also said to young people, "Your generation has an opportunity to build a culture that is very different than what we are suffering through right now. Not by pretending differences don't matter, but by embracing our differences and having those hard conversations. This might be hard to accept, but that's exactly what colleges were doing. It's called DEI." And Charlie Kirk's campus tour was aimed at ending DEI under the guise of open debate. He succeeded in his goal. You've dismantled the very system we had in place to tame the sav savagess of man. Tonight, I'm asking for courage. Courage to push back against Christian nationalism and the dehumanization of our community. Be brave. Rebuild the tables of DEI where difference can sit without fear. If you truly believe in better angels, make a choice tonight that gentles this city. Reject authoritarianism, reject religious extremism, and stand up for every person who calls Fort Worth home. Since I didn't plan to have 30 seconds left, I'd ask I'd like to ask Councilman Crane to just take that word demonic when you're talking about a woman and stick it in your pocket. It's been used from the dawn of time since the word was invented against us and I beg you not to use it again. Thank you. >> Our next speaker is D. Jackson, followed by Paige Wallace. Da Jackson. No, Paige Wallace. Paige Wallace will be followed by followed by Brian Sprag. Hi, my name is Paige. Honestly, it feels like there's no point in trying to reason with people who are so soulless and so far gone that they openly mock the tragic assassination of someone that they don't agree with. But the two city council members who did just that need to be publicly shamed and know that this type of behavior will not be accepted in this country. But you know, one of the best parts of social media is that it shows you who people really are. And hatefilled leftists can't help but to post every thought they have online, exposing how they truly feel about people who don't agree with them. Councilwoman Beck quickly took to Instagram after it was announced Charlie Kirk had been shot and posted unfortunate with an outofcontext quote from Charlie Kirk about the Second Amendment on her story, making it clear that if you support the Second Amendment and are tragically killed by a mentally ill man with a transgender boyfriend that you deserved what happened to you. Does that sound like an elected official you'd be comfortable with having power to make laws? Beck also allegedly went after the volleyball coach and athletic coordinator at her daughter's high school because her daughter did not make the volleyball team due to missing tryyous. She also allegedly called the volleyball coach a white skinny dumb bit. Are you starting to see how these people operate? They will call you names such as racist, bigot, white supremacist even if you don't give them their way. Now, I'm going to read some quotes from the emails Mr. Nettles wrote because he was mad that the flags were ordered at half staff. But let me just say honestly, you need to pick up a dictionary. You're an elected official and can't even use proper grammar. But anyway, Mr. Nettles first tried to say Charlie was racist and sexist. Then also wrote, quote, "Times have dramatically changed as well as counsel. Sorry, it sent a bad message when we're not informed about the flags." It was like having a stroke trying to read what was said in those emails. But you know what, Councilman Nettles, you're right. Times have changed. the types of people like you who actually spread hate and division and bully those who don't agree with you will no longer be calling the shots. And interestingly enough, Councilman Nettles is a pastor and owns a daycare center. Once again, does this sound like a person you should trust, especially with your children or teaching in a church? Both of you should be ashamed of your actions and should not hold an elected position. Thank you. >> Our next speaker is Brian Sprag, followed by Adrienne Smith. Tina, please. No interaction. It's It's fine. I'm just I'm just asking for no interaction. >> Thank you. >> Yeah. >> Tina, please. Last warning. Just try to be quiet during >> I did. She's leaving. Do you want to leave or you want to stay? I'm asking nicely. Your choice. There's been plenty of commentary for the evening. >> Great. So, that's last warning. Next speaker is Brian Sprag, followed by Adrienne Smith. Is Brian here? No. Adrian here. Not seen him. Uh, Bishop Kirkland. Bishop Kirkland will be followed by an Zeta. >> I've long abandoned the slave masters, sons and daughters, westernized teaching and doctrine of Christianity. More evil has been done in the name of Christianity than any other religion. In fact, the KKK is the largest Christian organization. My village doesn't, with the exception of a very few, mourn the death of Charlie Kirk. I'm not angry with Charlie Kirk. I believe that he had the right to say what he said. But don't expect me to pretend because the man is dead that he was not fascist and racist. Black captains and black co-pilots are licensed by the FAA, not by Delta or American Airline. DEI did not help my village as much as you like to think that it did. But there were me because there are many more Caucasians on public assistance than there are negroes. There's a way to seem right to a man, but the end thereof is death. But so many will come in my name, saying that I am Christ and deceive many. Councilwoman Beck, I appreciate your courage and your resolve. Madame Mayor, your statement was reckless and thoughtless with so many good old boy rednecks with their Charlie Kirkloving selves wanted to hurt this woman and her children. how quickly we forget when people were placing caskets on your front lawn. And I spoke out against that because it was wrong. Charlie Kirk was not rooted. He was not um rooted in the philosophy of my village. Nor were we to blame for his demise. It was Utah on Utah, red on red and white on white crime. Had nothing to do with us. I don't mourn for Charlotte. I mourn for the least of these. I mourn for Malcolm, Martin, and Megan's family. I mourn for the children in our county viewing the Ten Commandments in every classroom, but their stomachs are empty from no free lunch. I heard a gentleman say that there is fruit. And I agree, there is fruit in this city. And the fruit, unfortunately, is called strange nectar. My village knows all for well what fring nect what strange nectar is in some I want to say to councilwoman back what you said people inferred and people came to conclusions about your statements that didn't have the right to and you're well spoken enough to say what exactly what it is you're trying to say. Councilman Netos I stand with you. I applaud your courage to sit still while that idiot tore you down. >> Our next speaker is an Zeta. Miss will be followed by Aisha Massud. >> Good evening. I'm an Zeta and I am a constituent of Elizabeth Beck. Someone I respect very much said something recently that resonated with me. She said, "It is important to explain your why. Let me be clear. My why is to make the community that I live in better for all individuals, but especially the most marginalized and vulnerable. When I when you sit in these seats and make public statements and make decisions and policies about budget that impact our lives, it's especially important. And believe me, I know how heavy that burden can be. You have to think about your decisions and your words that you say about every everyday mundane things and also about terrible tragedies that occur and it's incredibly challenging. But without explanation of your why, we are left wondering. In my opinion, I thought that the mayor's public statement and the social media comments by some of you about that public statement against council member Beck left me wondering who you were listening to and who you were representing. Being transparent about you, who you're hearing from, and most importantly, who you're listening to is very important. After leaving one of those seats up there, I found myself often in the position of encouraging others to give the benefit of the doubt, decisions, or lack of explanation that community didn't understand and would interpret as ill or negative. The further I get away in proximity to those seats, the harder it gets to explain some of the public statements or lack of statements and impossible to explain silence that is interpreted as agreement or support for positions that I find unconscionable. As some of you have reminded me, you've been up here. You've been on this side of the dis. You know what it's like. And I do. And I worked very hard every day to listen to everyone, to explain my why, and to make decisions that didn't harm the most vulnerable. And I know some of you are doing that and all of you should be. Our next speaker is Aisha Massud. Aisha here. Uh Nidia Nadia Cardinius followed by Jim Dong, Mayor Parker and council members. Um, I come before you today to offer a path forward that acknowledges the full humanity and complex feelings of all our residents. Your recent statement, Mayor Parker, called for us to find our better angels in response to the tragic shooting of Charlie Kirk. I support your denouncement of political violence, but I believe true leadership requires us to hold multiple truths simultaneously. Let me suggest what an alternative statement might have sounded like. To those residents mourning Charlie Kirk's death as a representative of your personal faith and as someone you saw as a skilled debater, I am mourning this political violence alongside you. To those residents from communities harmed by Kirk's rhetoric, I see you, too. We can simultaneously condemn this tragic assassination while acknowledging that what was what some celebrated as debate often felt like disguised hate to our neighbors. Truly skilled debaters can argue multiple sides of an issue. They don't simply attack the dignity of entire communities. Our city should be a place where rigorous discourse flourishes, but where that discourse is rooted in mutual respect, in compassion and curiosity for the lived experiences of others, not in rhetoric that denies the equal worth of our residents. Mayor Parker, if instead of being born in Haiko, Texas, you'd been born in Islamabad, Pakistan, statistics tell us there's a 96 to 97% likelihood you would practice Islam rather than Christianity. This simple truth reminds us that our deepest beliefs are often shaped by the circumstances of our birth, not by some inherent moral superiority. When we recognize this, we understand that white Christian nationalist rhetoric, which treats one faith tradition as more American and superior than others, has no place in Fort Worth. Our city thrives because of our diversity, not in spite of it. Real kindness doesn't mean pretending these harms didn't happen. Real kindness means acknowledging that people can simultaneously oppose political violence and not not feel obligated to mourn someone whose platform caused them harm. This is what holding multiple truths looks like. We can condemn the violence. We can affirm that no one deserves to die for their political views. We can call for civility and democratic discourse. And we can recognize that demanding our most marginalized residents perform grief they don't feel is neither kind nor unifying. True leadership means creating spaces for our community's full humanity, including the pain of those who are dehumanized by certain political rhetoric. It means recognizing that some of our residents are grieving political violence while others are grieving the continued presence of ideas that deny their equal worth. I urge you to consider how your words land on all members of our community. When we truly want to find our better angels, we start by seeing the full humanity in everyone, not just those whose views align with our own. Our next speaker is Jim Dong, followed by Barney Holland. Good evening. I'm Jim Dong. You know, there's a saying that says, "United we stand, divided we fall." I'm on my ninth year of coming to these city council meetings and I hear division after division after division after division after division. And we've heard that here tonight. I remember a couple months ago I held up a red ball. I said, "What color is this?" And I said, 'I could teach my sons that the color is green and they could pass a lie detector test. Just because you are firmly convinced that the reality that you perceive is truth doesn't necessarily make it truth. And I speak to all of you tonight. You all have taken a position, one of the highest positions of leadership in our city. What does that mean? that you have a responsibility more than most other people in our city to stand for some things and that's to stand as a leader and put aside sometimes your personal opinions. Yes, there's free speech, but none of you have really because of your position the right to speak how maybe you really feel because you're representing me. You're representing every person in Fort Worth that takes a breath. That's who you are. You are a representative and we expect you to represent us. And sometimes that means putting down your own thoughts and your own feelings because you can speak for yourself and you have freedom of speech. But when you speak as a council member and as a mayor, remember there's more weight to your words. And your words are supposed to represent us. And there's been words said in this last week that don't represent us. They represent you and your beliefs. And you are free to have those beliefs. But you took an oath and you stand in an office to represent us. Not your village, not your people, not your friends, but to represent the totality of the people in this city. And it's important for you to do that because you set a standard for us. There are young people that look to you and hear you and make decisions about life because of what you say and we look to you to set a high bar, a high standard and come together in unity. Thank you. >> Arie Holland, David Rodriguez will be followed by David Martinez. Is Mr. Rodriguez here? Okay. I would like to start by saying I'm a constituent for Miss Deborah Peoples. And on a positive note, I would like to say that I am immensely proud and grateful for Miss Deborah Peoples to be my council woman, considering that I voted for her in the uh election. as far as um what I'm here for is whenever they on September 20th and this past Saturday over a thousand people were told that it it's total war that warfare is coming that this is a war and yet of course the group that was vilified there's only one flag that was ripped apart torn kic kicked down the Tarant County steps and that was obviously if you don't know the LGBTQ pride flag. I am not a member of the LGBTQ community, nor do I really have people who are friends or anything like that. But in the same spirit of fighting for those who may feel marginalized, especially by these extremist views to the point to where, and I quote, they were saying the LGBTQ community is uh suicidal, murderous, hateful, rotten, a societal disease. when we choose and everyone who was on that dis or on those county steps had an R by their name or by association. So even if you choose to not say anything, even if you may not disavow it, your silence speaks volumes. So if this is the quote unquote turning point for the city, I would hope that after this the turning point can now be towards something of positivity where we reject ideologies that describe a very small group of people as murderous or hateful or suicidal that they will try and perpetuate violence against your children when that's not the case because anyone who decides to perpetuate violence is just in general a violent person. So appreciate Thank you for your time. >> Our next speaker is David Martinez. David Martinez, is he here? James Smith. Mr. Smith, Carolyn Rodriguez, Mr. Rodriguez will be followed by K. Deuffy. Okay. Yeah. Roll your eyes. Okay. I've been listening to you all talking about the speech stuff. I'm just going to say real quick that freedom of speech was basically so that the constituents or the people could talk out against the government without um fear of retribution or fear of being arrested. So that's what freedom of speech is supposed to be about. And I'll tell you what, I don't like anything that the KKK does, but I I'll stand to the very end to protect their right to free speech. That's all I got to say about free speech. But anyways, I was here last week and I was asked for a hearing as to why Matthew Krueger got his job back and I never received a response. And now I understand why. It's because of the meet and confer agreement. And this council can do nothing about keeping bad officers off the street. Officer Krueger was fired from the Irving Police Department for excessive force, but Fort Worth hired him. And then Krueger was fired here because of excessive force because he almost killed me. And that should have been the end of his law enforcement career. But thanks to the meet and confer agreement, he was given his job back. And he's back on the streets. And when he kills the next person he comes into contact with, it won't be the union that has to pay. It'll be us, the taxpayers. You gave the union, this council did, the power to make these decisions. You got stuck with the bill. That's kind of stupid. Y'all didn't check that out first. They get to make all the decisions. Y'all have the liability. But anyways, let me explain to the audience. The meet and confer agreement is a legally binding contract between the city and the police union. City has no say into how the union disciplines officers. So, whenever the people at the union, whatever the people at the union decide, the police department has to comply and the city council gets no say in the decision. The meet and confer agreement and Texas local government code 143 give the union legal authority to do that. So the union is really protecting police misconduct. The meet and confer agreement is the reason Krueger's back and the city of Fort Worth will be held liable. Let's talk about this meet and confer agreement, how it came to be. It explains why Mayor Manny Parker broke all kinds of protocol to get Jay Chapa, where's Jay Chapa? Into the city manager position. It was a very rush process with no community input, no transparency, and Meadows described the process as baked and unfair. D Chapo was instrumental to the police union in guiding the city to agree with the meet and confer agreement. So Jay Chapo was not hired because of merit. It was all about protecting a system that focuses the union over the public. Meanwhile, good officers like Paula Conway was retaliated against, harassed, demoted, and because she held her peers accountable and they pushed her out. She demanded integrity and the system punish her for it. And that's what this agreement has done. It's created a culture where accountability is punishment and misconduct is producted is protected. And this isn't uh just a policy issue. It's a public safety crisis. It's a moral failure and it's a breach of trust with the people of Fort Worth. But see, they all accepted money from the police union. All of them for their campaigns. So who are they going to side with? They all they all took money from them for their campaigns. Now, now Jay Chapa got pushed in because they're all in favor of the police union and uh they didn't they didn't really look at what was going to happen. They just did what they did because they accepted money from them. >> Our next speaker is Kay Duffy followed by Alexander Montalvo. >> So, I'm Kay Duffy. I live in uh District 9. I am a government geek both professionally and personally. I spend a lot of time watching y'all on online as well as many other government bodies. Um, I can tell you that I I genuinely like watching you guys as a body. I see your public servant hearts. I see you work hard to make decisions and it it gives me contentment to know that you're doing that. Um, Maddie Parker, I believe you have some phenomenal leadership skills. I have seen um you on the national level strategically and um effectively um speak for us as city as a city. I have seen you um be give some great extemporaneous speeches and I see you sit in these meetings and watch what goes on in the room and know when you need to step in and when you need to hold back and you have the right thing to say. A lot of the time you have wisdom beyond your years. And until 13 days ago, I had never personally heard the name Charlie Kirk. I don't know anything about him. Um I I just mentioned that um because I'm not alone. I I'll tell you I asked about 25 people right away like you ever heard of this guy? No. We had to Google him. Um he's not a household name. He's certainly become much more famous in his death than he was in his life. Um I because I am a curious person, I listen to some YouTubetubes um of his own speech and um it's repulsive to me and it's especially disheartening to hear him call himself a Christian and speak in those kind of terms. Um but as a good Democrat that I am, I will always defend his right to speak free speech. And with every vote I have ever cast in my life, I say a little prayer that we get guns out of America and we don't have gun violence anymore. Um, but the reason I'm here today is um to address you, Miss Parker, uh, Mayor Parker be and and just let you know, as I've said, I admire your leadership skills, but I am deeply deeply I'll just throw one more out there. Deeply disappointed in what's happened in the wake of Charlie Kirk. Um, everything we see here tonight, what's led up to this is a result of a letter you chose to put on city letterhead. Where is the person I see sitting in meetings knowing when to hold back and when when to acknowledge all of the people that live here in Fort Worth? Um, it's it's really been depressing. Um, you're human. You get to make mistakes, but you owe your council an apology. And I would suggest the council accepts that apology and gets on with things because we can't afford in this America today to have a city council that's divided. Our next speaker is Alexander Montavo. [Applause] For many of us, as we grow up and we learn about the kind of people we can become and we start filling roles in our lives as parents, as partners, as employees or business owners or whatever it is, for many of us, and I still believe Most of us, we're trying to do everything we can to fulfill those roles to the best of our ability to do good in this world, to make contributions that are going to help the ones that we love and the world we live in. As we grow up, we also learn about key moments in history, and it forces us to reflect. What would we do if those moments were in my lifetime? What would we do to stand up for those that are oppressed? What will we do to stand up those that pursue harm? And I want to take this moment to say that we are in one of those moments in the history books right now. We find ourselves every day in a moment that is going to be written about, studied, analyzed for years, decades, and centuries. And I stand here with so many others to say we will not accept that hate and extremism will rule the day in our city and in our lives. And regardless of what power they have today, we will continue to work to eliminate the oppression they pursue. the dehumanization that they pursue, the genocides that they pursue, the killings that they pursue, and we will win because that's what history shows us. In this moment, Maddie, in these last two weeks, you took the unfortunate steps to make more public your willingness to normalize these folks who are pursuing this extremism. And we know how you work behind the scenes. You love the Fort Worth. You love leaning on people. You love leaning on relationships. You love seeing if people will back down if funding for projects are threatened or at risk. But you went public this time and it's a shame that you are in this seat as mayor for our city in this moment. >> Council, that's the conclusion of our speakers. Meeting is adjourned.