Ethics experts: Fort Worth mayor should abstain from data center votes, urge transparency
Ethics experts are advising Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker to abstain from city votes related to data centers due to her husband's firm, Longbow Partners, lobbying for the Data Center Coalition, despite no legal requirement. This recommendation seeks to maintain public trust and transparency as the City Council considers new zoning regulations for data centers and residents request a moratorium on new construction. The absence of an independent ethics review commission in Fort Worth further underscores the need for officials to avoid perceived conflicts of interest.
Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker is facing calls from ethics experts to recuse herself from city decisions involving data centers, stemming from her husband, David Parker's, role as a partner at Longbow Partners, a firm lobbying for the Data Center Coalition. Despite denials from both the mayor's spokesperson and David Parker regarding any direct financial benefit or lobbying efforts in Texas, experts emphasize that abstention would help maintain public trust and avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest, especially given Fort Worth's lack of an independent ethics review commission.
Local activists and residents have amplified these concerns, urging Mayor Parker to step back from future votes. This ethical debate coincides with significant policy discussions: the Fort Worth City Council is scheduled to vote on August 11 on new zoning regulations for data centers, which include setback requirements and landscaping standards. Concurrently, residents have petitioned the council to implement a moratorium on data center construction to allow for the development of more comprehensive regulatory guidelines.
The article also references past controversies, such as campaign contributions from the CEO of Black Mountain, an energy consortium developing a data center in Fort Worth, to several council members. These instances underscore a heightened political sensitivity surrounding data center development in the city, prompting experts to suggest that establishing an ethics commission could provide much-needed clarity and guidance for complex situations involving public officials.