Election Day is May 6 and the Fort Worth Report is committed to keeping you informed through our Election Central.
To help voters make informed decisions at the ballot box, we asked every candidate to respond to a candidate questionnaire intended to touch on the most pressing issues candidates may face while serving in elected office.
The candidate’s responses may be edited for grammar.
District 11 includes parts of east and south central Fort Worth. To find out what district you live in, input your address here.
Municipal elections are coming up. Here are some key dates:
April 24: Early voting begins
May 2: Early voting ends
May 6: Election Day
Candidate survey
Name: Jeanette Martinez
Age: 39
Occupation: Executive Administrator
What are your qualifications to serve on Fort Worth’s City Council?
Born and raised in Fort Worth, I love serving my community and am a dedicated public servant, and advocate for families. District 11 is a brand-new council district, and I’m ready to hit the ground running to deliver representation fighting hard for safe neighborhoods, revitalizing communities, tax relief, and bringing in Smart Development to enhance the quality of life in East Side, Southside, Riverside, Eastern Hills, Meadowbrook and Poly neighborhoods. I will make sure our too often forgotten neighborhoods are getting their fair share to fix potholes, improve local parks, and improve city services.
What are your top two priorities if elected to City Council? Describe briefly how you would approach these priorities.
Safe Neighborhoods: Everyone wants to live in a neighborhood that is safe and where the kids are free to play. In too many District 11 communities, improvement can take many forms, such as cleaning up blighted property, fixing broken street lights and sidewalks, and making sure our parks are maintained. We also need to work on enhancing better police and community relations to build trust and positive collaboration.
Revitalize Communities: Much of District 11 has historically been underserved. I’ll make sure our community gets its fair share of resources to address roads, street lights, park enhancements and ensure safe, reliable water. Also, when it comes to development, our neighborhoods need a strong voice at city hall to help bring in Smart, Compatible Development that adds value while protecting the integrity of our neighborhoods.
How would you characterize the performance of city management over the past five years?
Mr. Cooke has done an overall good job. Any city manager needs to give council unbiased advice and demonstrate to the public they operate without any conflicts of interest.
What is the single biggest issue your particular district faces?
Safe, clean neighborhoods. No community can succeed unless it is a safe place to raise a family. Both violent and property crime must be addressed with resources, and community policing that builds trust between neighborhood associations, law enforcement, and community stakeholders.
How will you balance the concerns of your district vs. the city as a whole?
I will work alongside fellow council members to ensure that there is an equitable distribution of services and resources. Being a new district, I believe that there will be a greater challenge to address the concerns of the very diverse neighborhoods of District 11. Working together with an open-door policy, we can make sure all voices are heard at City Hall.
How can city leadership work to ensure all Fort Worth residents have equal access to city services regardless of race, ethnicity, gender and income?
Through my work as the Executive Administrator for Tarrant County, and my civic volunteer efforts, I have continually worked to ensure everyone has a voice and access to programs. As a bilingual Hispanic woman, who has worked for Commissioner Roy Charles Books and the community for years in constituent service, I am the best candidate positioned to ensure all groups are represented at City Hall.
Fort Worth’s annual general budget is currently around $915 million; do you feel this budget is appropriate, too large, or too small? If too large or too small, briefly describe how you would propose amending the budget.
When setting a budget, every council must weigh needs and wants. Just like we approach our home budget. Once elected, we must look at the updated valuations from TAD, demands on city services and set a tax rate recognizes most working families are feeling the burden of inflation and high taxes. This might mean we don’t fund as many of “the wants” while we work to expand the commercial tax base to lower the tax burden on homeowners.
In 2023 the city will levy a tax rate of $0.7125 per $100 of assessed evaluation. If you would advocate for decreasing/increasing the tax rate what would you cut/add?
I think the city could have lowered the tax rate in last year’s budget a bit more. But if we really want to lessen the tax burden on homeowners, we must expand the commercial tax base and sales tax revenue. Without this enhancing of our commercial and business tax burden, homeowners will continually feel the burden of meeting the needs of basic services as Fort Worth continues to grow.
I do know homeowners are feeling the financial burden of tax increases each year so we must work to minimize this burden by being fiscally responsible while delivering on core city services.
As Fort Worth grows, how can the city ensure it keeps up with the pace of development?
Fort Worth is fortunate to have a growing economy and population. While that brings many challenges, it also provides opportunities. As we plan for the next 5, 10, 20 years of population migration we must seriously consider all modes of transportation that will result in the best quality of life for our families.
In the last year, the city council has limited opportunities for public comment and changed meeting schedules. How would you approach community engagement as a council member?
City council meetings need to be accessible. We also need to recognize that we have many younger council members with families, which I think is a positive for our future. We need to find a balance between being accessible and keeping the position of council attainable for all walks of life, not just the wealthy and retired. One means of being more accessible is going to the people directly through timely newsletters, using technology to broaden our accessibility, and by and hosting local town halls on issues of importance.
What role does the City Council have in policing? Please describe how city council members should work to ensure the safety of their constituents.
The role of City Council in policing is to use our FWPD as a resource to engage with our communities. We need to establish better relationships between our neighborhoods and neighborhood police officers (NPOs) to build trust and communication about issues that may arise. Our NPOs need to be accessible and seen. I applaud efforts of the City to expand our citizen crisis response teams to ensure that those experiencing nonviolent mental health crisis are met with trained professionals to address problems no suited for our uniformed police.
It is our City Council’s responsibility to oversee the work of our City Manager in order to ensure that we have the best Police force possible with training and resources to keep neighborhoods safe.
Have you ever filed for bankruptcy? If so, when.
No.
Have you ever been convicted of a crime, in Texas or another state? If so, what crime and when.
No.
You can find other candidates’ responses by reading our voter guide here. The candidate’s responses may be edited for grammar.
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