Jay Chapa sworn in as Fort Worth’s first new city manager in more than a decade
January 28,2025
See full Fort Worth Report article by Cecilia Lenzen here.
For the first time in more than a decade, Fort Worth officially has a new city manager. The city welcomed incoming City Manager Jesus “Jay” Chapa to his new role with a swearing-in ceremony followed immediately by a City Council meeting at old City Hall on Tuesday.
“As I step into this role, I'm committed to listening, learning and working with all to continue building a city where everyone can thrive,” Chapa said, addressing a full council chamber after reciting the oath of office. “Our shared vision for Fort Worth's future must be built on transparency, pride and quality of service delivery by your city, and a deep reverence for mutual respect and collaboration.”
Chapa’s wife, Evalis, swore him in, as daughter Emilia held the Bible he took the oath on. Tuesday’s event was ceremonial, as Chapa took his formal oath of office Jan. 27, his first day on the job.
Chapa is Fort Worth’s first Hispanic city manager. He grew up in a small town in the Rio Grande Valley with five older siblings and has lived in Fort Worth for more than 30 years. He previously served as Fort Worth’s deputy city manager and oversaw multiple city departments, including police, economic development, public events and human resources.
He takes over the city’s top position from City Manager David Cooke, who led the city for more than 10 years. Last summer, Cooke announced his intention to retire, with his final date of employment set for Feb. 28. The city will host a public event to celebrate Cooke’s contributions to Fort Worth at 4 p.m. Feb. 20 at old City Hall at 200 Texas St.
During a press conference ahead of the ceremony, Chapa outlined some of his priorities, noting that the city is in the midst of several impactful initiatives and adding that his goal is to “figure out where those are and how I can add value.”
“In the first 100 days, I'll be trying to understand better what everybody's doing, how they're doing it, and if there needs be, maybe move some chess pieces around to make sure that people are in the best place, so that we're successful,” Chapa said.
He named the city’s transition from MedStar to a fire-based EMS system this summer as one of those initiatives, adding that he wants to oversee the switch “without any hitches.” Other top priorities include planning for the 2026 city budget and evaluating city staff to ensure the highest caliber of employees.
One of Chapa’s biggest and most influential tasks this year will be to hire a new police chief, after Fort Worth Police Chief Neil Noakes announced last year that he intends to retire by May. Chapa said the city will hire an outside search firm to conduct a national search for Noakes’ successor, adding that he and the human resources department will begin the work to identify a firm as early as next week.
On his first day on the job, Chapa said he attended a city manager staff meeting to prepare for Tuesday’s council meeting and get “up to speed” on city projects and presentations. He met privately with Mayor Mattie Parker and her chief of staff, as well as assistant city managers and Cooke.
Chapa said Cooke felt ready to hand his former deputy the reins to Fort Worth, adding that Cooke had his office cleaned out and ready for him to move in. Chapa worked under Cooke for at least eight years, as the city’s economic development director from 2015-2022 and as deputy city manager from 2020-2022.
Aside from Cooke, Chapa worked under multiple city managers during his previous tenure with the city, including Tom Higgins, Dale Fisseler, Charles Boswell, Gary Jackson and Robert Terrell. He also worked under multiple mayors, including Parker, Betsy Price, Mike Moncrief and Kenneth Barr. Chapa also served as a consultant to the Texas A&M-Fort Worth project and as chair of Parker’s committee exploring urban rail possibilities in the city.
Addressing reporters, Chapa said his long tenure with the city will help inform his approach to the top position he now holds. He said many city employees have expressed excitement to him about his return, with about 200 reaching out to him before he even submitted a job application.
“I know people in this organization that I sat next to … almost 30 years (ago) that are still in the organization and that will stop and talk to me,” Chapa said. “I don't think (Cooke) is any less approachable, but they know I'm approachable because we came up together. We had lunch together 30 years ago, 25 years ago.”
Standing beside Chapa during the press conference, Parker reiterated her excitement to welcome him back to the city. She feels Chapa is well equipped to handle the city’s rapid growth, as she noted that Fort Worth has surpassed Austin in population size and now ranks as Texas’ fourth-largest city.
“As mayor, I could not be more excited to have a new CEO at the helm,” Parker said. “As I remind people all the time, I'm the chair of the board for this city, and I have my council colleagues alongside me, but the work does not happen without an incredibly strong management team, and I'm fully confident in Jay's ability to lead us into the future.”
At the Tuesday meeting, which Chapa led sitting next to Cooke, each council member congratulated Chapa and wished him luck leading the city.
Council member Gyna Bivens, the council’s longest-tenured member and the only sitting member involved in hiring both Cooke and Chapa, said her vote in support of hiring Chapa was one of the most important votes she’s taken.
“It's important that you know that I know you were made for this,” Bivens, who will step down from the seat this spring, said. “You were built for this. And this is the time to execute.”
The city received 154 applications for the position of city manager, and Bivens said Chapa “sailed to the cream of the crop” out of the applicant pool. Chapa was one of five finalists council members interviewed for the position during a Dec. 3 closed-door meeting. Council members voted 9-1 to hire Chapa on Dec. 10, with council member Chris Nettles voting against and council member Jared Williams choosing to abstain from the vote for ethical reasons.
Nettles and Williams were outspoken critics of the process used to hire Chapa, describing it as “baked and unfair” and claiming their colleagues had handpicked Chapa for the role from the start. A day before council members voted on the hire, Williams and Nettles hosted a press conference to urge their colleagues to restart the hiring process and allow opportunities for the public to engage with finalists for the job — opportunities that were absent from the process used to hire Chapa.
On Tuesday, Williams said he feels grateful for Chapa’s previous leadership within Fort Worth and excited to witness Chapa lead the city into its next chapter. Williams recently announced that he will not seek reelection in May after representing District 6 for two terms.
“Although I won't be here the next go around, my prayers will be with the city, and if there's anything that I can do over the next several years to be supportive of you, Jay, and to you, mayor and council, know that I'm all in and my heart will always be for the city of Fort Worth,” Williams said.
Nettles expressed a similar sentiment, saying he looks forward to collaborating with Chapa. During the Dec. 10 meeting to hire Chapa, Nettles clarified that his concerns were with the hiring process, not Chapa as a candidate.
“Although we may not always agree on issues, we are committed to supporting each other, and I'm committed to supporting you as the next city manager, looking to make sure we can govern this city, support our police department, our fire department and all of our city initiatives that (Cooke) has set forth and those that this council will bring forth,” Nettles said Tuesday. “With the issues that are happening throughout our United States of America and in Austin, it's important that we take care of our citizens here in Fort Worth to make sure we improve in quality, equity and life here.”
Cecilia Lenzen is a government accountability reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at cecilia.lenzen@fortworthreport.org or @bycecilialenzen.
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