The Fort Worth City Council voted Tuesday to name Jay Chapa the next city manager. David Cooke has served as city manager since 2014 but announced his retirement this summer with plans to leave the post at the end of February.
Chapa, a former deputy city manager, was the lone finalist. He worked for the city for 25 years, spending different stretches running housing and urban development, economic and community development, and spending several months as interim chief financial officer in 2013.
Chapa left the city in 2022 to work as a consultant for Texas A&M as the school develops its campus in Downtown Fort Worth.
The city says Chapa led the development of the bond passed by voters in 2022, helped develop a five-year strategic plan for the police department, and led efforts on corporate projects that generated 8,000 jobs over three years.
Chapa will be the city's first Hispanic city manager.
Fort Worth says 150 people applied during a nationwide search. The city narrowed down the list to 14 semifinalists, and council members interviewed five finalists last month.
Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker has maintained the integrity of the hiring process and said Chapa is the best person for the job.
"Jay is a man of brilliant creative thinking, has led most of the public-private partnership efforts in the city over the past 10 years, and has an unmatched ability to hit the ground running," she said.
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