Here’s what these 5 North Texas mayors want from legislators in Austin

Mayors from many of Texas’ big cities — including five from North Texas — laid out their legislative agenda on Friday, focusing on a need for local control, education and gun safety measures.

Texas’ Big City Mayors is a bipartisan coalition of 18 mayors that includes Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker. They outlined their priorities during a virtual news conference on Friday.

Texas’ legislative session began on Tuesday. Lawmakers have a $32.7 billion surplus and a long list of items that could be addressed, though they are subject to spending limits.

Here’s what these North Texas mayors would like to see out of the Texas Legislature.

Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker

Parker emphasized a need for broadband access. The city is working with Cisco to provide free Wi-Fi to five historically undeserved neighborhoods.

She also highlighted the importance of quality early childhood education. Parker said parents in Texas are facing a crisis.

“And for a variety of reasons, the Texas Legislature can really assist us in thinking about what it looks like to support early childhood education,” Parker said.

The legislature could specifically look at a “mixed delivery model,” that she described as a focus on partnering with local school districts and community based child care programs to “make sure mom and dad have a place to send those children that’s high quality but also embraces these high quality community-based programs that are on a very thin margin to make it all work.”

Parker said her daughter’s first semester at Texas Tech cost less than having a 4-year-old in child care.

“That’s what’s the reality facing Texas families right now.”

A third priority is economic development, Parker said. She wants to see incentive partnerships between the city and the state continue. The state could thrive in film and television, Parker said.

Her comments at the Friday news conference reiterated several of her priorities discussed in a Thursday interview with the Star-Telegram. She also noted the importance of affordable housing and meeting water demands.

Fort Worth is advocating that the Bassmaster Classic, the Professional Bull Riders World Finals and the FEI World Cup qualify for the state’s Major Events Reimbursement Program, Parker said.

“I’m optimistic about this session,” said Parker, who previously worked in the offices of then Texas Rep. Phil King and former House Speaker Tom Craddick. “I think there’s a lot of big potential. I know it’s a big responsibility to know what to do with such a large budget surplus, but aren’t we fortunate that that’s the situation and we’re not facing a budget deficit.”

Arlington Mayor Jim Ross

Arlington Mayor Jim Ross said it’s important that cities are able to maintain local control, as legislative issues are considered. He would oppose any legislation that tries to remove local control, Ross said.

“All of us know what’s going on in our communities,” he said. “I can’t begin to sit and talk about what’s happening in Houston or Amarillo or San Antonio or Grand Prairie, the way those respective mayors can address their community issues, and to be able to maintain local control is critically important.”

Education is another critical area, he said. In Arlington there’s a coalition of bringing together public school, private school and other educational interests to “collaborate where we used to compete,” he said.

“Those type of things are critical, and it needs to happen statewide,” he said. “The cradle to career workforce development is essential.”

Ross also noted Arlington’s significant tourism industry and the concerns he has about potential mass shootings.

“I sit in fear every single day waiting for the next shoe to drop on when we’re going to experience a Las Vegas-type of critical incident where there’s a mass shooting,” he said. “Enough is enough is enough. We need to have legitimate gun control enacted in this state. We need to provide funding for mental health in this state. We need to not be partisan on this and start protecting our citizens.”

Plano Mayor John Muns

Plano Mayor Muns detailed the importance of education funding.

“We talk about education a lot, and it is important that the state ... adequately fund education, from early childhood development, all the way to higher education,” Muns said.

An educated workforce will be needed if the state continues to prosper, he said.

Muns stressed the importance of economic development and the role and education workforce will play in attracting companies.

“Those incentives always include companies that want an educated workforce,” Muns said. “If we don’t have those, I guarantee that those companies will move somewhere else.”

Grand Prairie Mayor Ron Jensen

Grand Prairie Mayor Ron Jensen expressed support for the coalition’s legislative agenda, echoing the need for broadband and early childhood education.

“Getting 18 mayors to agree on anything isn’t an easy task,” he said.

The legislative session can get really political, Jensen said.

“These items though should be non-partisan,” he said, later adding that he hopes lawmakers can come together on the mayors’ legislative agenda topics.

McKinney Mayor George Fuller

McKinney Mayor George Fuller, the last city leader to outline priories, ended with a broader message about local control. He praised Texas’ economy and the state’s ability to weather economic downturns — which he attributed to Capitol leadership “at every level.”

“However, the last legislative sessions, we’ve seen a degradation in partnership and working relationship between the state and cities,” he said. “We’ve seen nothing short of an assault on local control and continued, it certainly doesn’t advance us. Rather, it diminishes our collective efforts.”

Local leaders are partners of the state, Fuller said.

“We are boots on the ground and in day-to-day communications with our shared constituents,” he said.

Each city has unique circumstances, Fuller said.

“We need that flexibility at a local level to make decisions,” he said. “We’ve got to find better communication and respect for one another to continue to advance the Texas miracle at a local level.”