The Fort Worth Way

An interesting letter to the editor, this morning, in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, reinforced, for me, what's been my observation after seeing Fort Worth in operation during my years of exile here.

Fort Worth is basically an oligarchy. That's where political power rests with a small elite of society, distinguished by wealth, family or military powers, or a combo of all three. In Fort Worth wealth and family can put you in the oligarchy, a Greek word which means "rule by few."

Below is the letter to the editor that sort of discusses the Fort Worth oligarchy and how it operated during the recent Tarrant County College, Radio Shack Headquarters Debacle Boondoggle.

Recognize the Fort Worth way

In retrospect, the grand plan for the downtown Tarrant County College campus failed because outsiders had no understanding of how Fort Worth operates. Neither architect Bing Thom nor Chancellor Leonardo de la Garza are native. They chose to operate unilaterally rather than get consensus and approval of the local power structure. Result: fiasco.

Arrogantly they forged ahead without going through historical power channels. For the first half of the 20th century that meant Amon Carter. Nothing important got done without Carter’s blessing.

After Carter’s demise, the power shifted to a group of businessmen loosely referred to as the Seventh Street Gang, mostly bankers and utility executives. When federal deregulation sapped their power, the young Bass brothers took over and reshaped the city.

Always working quietly behind the scenes, they have been the force to be consulted with regarding city development for a couple of decades. TCC disregarded this, and has flopped spectacularly regardless of the merit of its plan. Bass opposition to the Thom plan should have been a signal to proceed with caution.

Solution: Rather than proceed with a “split campus” as proposed, turn the bluff property east of the courthouse over to the innovative Bass family to develop. They would come up with a suitable project that Fort Worth can be proud of, and which will enhance the proposed Trinity Uptown development.

— Jack White, Fort Worth