Chris Nettles remembers when the process for reviewing city proclamations was 鈥渃onsistently smooth.鈥� The Fort Worth City Council member, who was elected in 2021, said it was only recently that the process has fallen apart, stirring division among his fellow council members.
The public got its first glimpse of that division when City Council an annual proclamation recognizing June as Pride month, which highlights and celebrates the LGBTQ community. Four members refused to sign off on the proclamation, which required full council support in order to get presented June 11.
Nettles said the divide has continued since June and illustrates a larger issue of some council members wanting to 鈥渃ontrol the narrative鈥� on what the city of Fort Worth publicly supports and how it鈥檚 perceived. City leadership has long sought to put forth an image of unity, he said, but that image is becoming harder to maintain.
鈥淭he sentiment is 鈥榃e don鈥檛 want to show that the city is divided.鈥� Well, council members are divided on these issues,鈥� Nettles said. 鈥淭here has been a cover up for such a long time, and this brought that out. You鈥檙e going to see the division.鈥�
Emails obtained by the Report show council members are split on how proclamations get vetted for approval and added to council meeting agendas for presentation.
What is a proclamation?
Proclamations are the highest form of recognition issued by the mayor and City Council. They are intended to 鈥渉onor and celebrate special events or increase awareness of programs and people that make Fort Worth special,鈥� according to a page on the city鈥檚 website reviewed by the Fort Worth Report in July. The portion of the page that allowed residents to request a proclamation was removed later that month.
Recognitions are ceremonial in nature and typically presented at council meetings. To get added to an agenda for presentation, proclamations must be signed by all council members. Members may decline to consider requests for proclamation or edit the proposed proclamation language to 鈥渞eflect the city鈥檚 vision, mission and values,鈥� according to the website.
Laken Rapier, chief spokesperson for the mayor鈥檚 office, said Mayor Mattie Parker and the rest of council are currently reviewing the process for passing proclamations. She declined to provide details on the review.
鈥淲e are looking to streamline and modernize the administrative procedures to be reflective of the 12th largest city (in the nation),鈥� Rapier said in a statement to the Report. 鈥淔urther updates will be provided as we continue this over the month of August.鈥�
Unspoken process called into question
Council member Charles Lauersdorf, the proclamation recognizing Pride month in June, told the Report he believes the process for approving proclamations has been lax. Elected in 2023 to represent the , he said approving all proclamation requests 鈥渄ilutes the value鈥� of the recognition and sets council members up to compromise their beliefs.
鈥淏efore, it was assumed that everyone would be good with (every proclamation), so everyone鈥檚 signature would be on them,鈥� Lauersdorf said. 鈥淎t first, I didn鈥檛 have an issue with that. Proclamations are ceremonious in nature, but I realized 鈥� putting my signature on something and asking others to put theirs is essentially implicitly endorsing them.鈥�
The city does not currently have a written policy for reviewing proclamation requests. The city鈥檚 states that all recognition requests must be made by a Fort Worth resident or an organization based in Fort Worth, and they must be submitted at least 30 days in advance of when the requestor wants to receive the recognition.
Lauersdorf and Nettles said staff review proclamation requests and determine if they meet the criteria for a full proclamation, as opposed to a less prestigious form of recognition like a certificate or letter of recognition, which are issued by the mayor or a single council member.
After being vetted and approved by staff, proclamations are emailed out to the council for final approval. Typically, council members see the proclamations on meeting agendas by the Friday before their Tuesday meeting, they said.
鈥淢ost of us believe that proclamations are ceremonial,鈥� Nettles said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not highlighting your political views on the city, but it鈥檚 basically saying we appreciate the work that people are doing in our community.鈥�
Dissent among council members
Emails obtained by the Report show that council members received the final draft of the Pride proclamation on June 4 to review before their June 11 council meeting. The proclamation recognized several nonprofit organizations that work to serve the LBGTQ community in Fort Worth and Tarrant County.
During the week before the meeting, Lauersdorf and council members Macy Hill, Alan Blaylock and Michael Crain declined to sign off on the Pride proclamation. As a result, it could not be presented as a proclamation.
Instead, council member Elizabeth Beck worked with Felipe Gutierrez, a longtime resident of Fort Worth and member of the LGBTQ community who submitted the proclamation request, to craft individual certificates of recognition for each organization named in the request. Unlike proclamations, certificates of recognition do not require full council consensus; members can choose whether they want their signatures added to the certificates.
Nettles wrote in an email at 10:49 p.m. June 10 that he wanted his name included on each certificate and expressed disappointment that the proclamation would not be presented.
鈥淭his is WOW, I truly mean WOW that we have elected officials fighting against a Pride proclamation that we have presented yearly,鈥� Nettles wrote. 鈥淚 will have you know that there are several proclamations that (have) my signature on (them) that (were) never sent to me for approval, but here we go again.鈥�
On the morning of June 11, Lauersdorf wrote in response to Nettles: 鈥淲ith all due respect brother, you got it wrong Chris.鈥�
鈥淚 can鈥檛 speak for everyone鈥檚 reasoning, but I chose not to sign proclamations with specific groups that I know very little or nothing about, which would be implicitly endorsing them. 鈥� I鈥檓 sure there are organizations that you wouldn鈥檛 want to implicitly endorse,鈥� Lauersdorf wrote. 鈥淥n that point, you鈥檙e right: y鈥檃ll means all 鈥� as in people. Not 鈥榓ll鈥� as in support every organization out there.鈥�
Hill signaled her support for Lauersdorf, writing back in email, 鈥淲ell said. Thank you, Charlie.鈥�
At the June 11 meeting, Beck alongside Parker and council members Nettles, Gyna Bivens, Carlos Flores, Jeanette Martinez and Jared Williams, who all chose to have their names included on the certificates.
Later in June, conflict struck the council again when Lauersdorf refused to sign off on a proclamation celebrating a bishop from West Africa visiting Fort Worth. Lauersdorf wrote in a June 22 email obtained by the Report that he didn鈥檛 know enough about the bishop, his impact on Fort Worth, or the church he represents.
鈥淢y stance is clear: I will not sign proclamations for individuals or organizations that I know nothing about without having ample time to research them or have the opportunity to meet with them, unless it鈥檚 quite clear and obvious,鈥� Lauersdorf wrote. 鈥淚鈥檓 sure this will mean during my tenure here on council we have far less proclamations and more certificates of recognition, but I鈥檓 okay with that because I feel too many proclamations just devalues their impact.鈥�
Beck, who did not return multiple requests for comment, emailed Lauersdorf back, saying, 鈥淕oogle.com seems like it would be a useful tool to enable you to do your job as a council member. Try it.鈥�
Laursdorf replied, 鈥淎mazing resource, thank you!鈥�
Proclamations more than just ceremony
Although he expressed disappointment that refusing to sign off on the proclamations 鈥渃aused so many issues,鈥� Lauersdorf said he stands by his decision. He wasn鈥檛 willing to sign off on anything that could contradict his personal beliefs.
Of the organizations listed in the Pride proclamation draft, Lauersdorf said he was only vaguely familiar with , a youth center in Fort Worth. As he wasn鈥檛 familiar with the other organizations, Lauersdorf said he couldn鈥檛 鈥渆ndorse鈥� them without learning more about them and their stance on topics such as transgender children.
鈥淚 do not personally support surgically transitioning of minors,鈥� Lauersdorf said. 鈥淚f there are organizations that do support that or do push for that, that鈥檚 not an organization that I can implicitly endorse.鈥�
One organization listed, Finn鈥檚 Place, specifically works to support transgender people. The community center provides 鈥渁 safe space for the trans community to gather and access resources, educate the community about trans and LGBTQ+ people and their experiences, and create opportunities for trans joy,鈥� according to its .
鈥淔inn鈥檚 place is a community center that serves trans individuals and their families. We do not provide health care, but we do provide resources and connections to providers that provide gender-affirming care to people as is allowed in the state of Texas,鈥� Jonah Murray, a board member for the center who also serves on the city鈥檚 Human Relations Commission, told the Report.
Murray added that they鈥檙e 鈥渕ore than willing鈥� to meet with Lauersdorf to share information on the organization and what it does, as well as the transgender community in general.
Nettles said proclamations aren鈥檛 meant to represent council members鈥� personal beliefs or political stances, and he questioned whether Lauersdorf was unable or unwilling to get additional information to inform his decision making.
鈥淗e may not know enough information about the organization, but he doesn鈥檛 care enough to find out information that he needs to know,鈥� Nettles said.
Gutierrez, who has drafted the city鈥檚 Pride proclamations since 2014, said he was not asked prior to the June 11 council meeting to provide additional information on any of the organizations named in the proclamation.
He said he was disappointed Fort Worth didn鈥檛 pass the proclamation this year. The annual form of recognition is one way the city usually shows its public support of the LGBTQ community and their accomplishments, he said.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 one thing to say you鈥檙e inclusive and one thing to actually be it,鈥� Gutierrez said. 鈥淭hese proclamations provide an opportunity to show that you actually are inclusive and welcoming to all.鈥�
An unclear future on proclamations
The city has not released information on when the proclamation process review will be completed. Rapier, the mayor鈥檚 spokesperson, said the city is not currently accepting requests for proclamations.
Council members are divided on how to approach the process in the future.
Nettles said future proclamations should be presented with or without each council member鈥檚 signature 鈥� that way, if a member doesn鈥檛 want to sign off on a proclamation, they can choose to sit out instead of keeping it from happening. And that way, residents will know which members don鈥檛 support them, he added.
鈥淚f that鈥檚 your political stance, feel comfortable in the shoes that you鈥檙e walking in,鈥� he said.
In a June 6 email to Lauersdorf and members of the city鈥檚 communications team, Beck wrote, 鈥淢oving forward please forward all proclamation requests that recognize any organization to my office. Any that I do not recognize I will be opposing.鈥�
Lauersdorf said he wants council members to get additional time to review proclamations and request more information on them before choosing whether to sign them. He suggested that in addition to the already existing requirement that proclamation requests be made 30 days in advance, council members should also get 30 days to review the requests. He said he trusts staff to do their job and vet the requests, but he still wants ample time to do his own research.
鈥淥ur staff is absolutely incredible, but they were not the ones elected to represent District 4, in my case,鈥� Lauersdorf said. 鈥淚f there鈥檚 an organization or individual that may be mired in controversy and may not align with District 4, that should be my call to make 鈥� not staff鈥檚.鈥�
Gutierrez said he respects Lauersdorf鈥檚 request for additional time and believes elected officials should be given enough time to make informed decisions. However, he said it鈥檚 worrisome that the concern over time constraints only arose after his request for a proclamation to recognize the LGBTQ community.
The existing proclamation process has worked for so long without conflict, he said. It鈥檚 unfortunate that the process fell apart during Pride month, he added, but he wants the LGBTQ organizations named in the proclamation to know that their work is seen and valued.
鈥淭here are small groups in our community that have a very loud voice, and they don鈥檛 speak for all of us,鈥� Gutierrez said. 鈥淚 think that鈥檚 what also limits elected officials in their thought process to allow proclamations such as this one to go through.鈥�
Cecilia Lenzen is a government accountability reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at cecilia.lenzen@fortworthreport.org or .
At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy .
This first appeared on and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.