Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price announced Tuesday that she won't seek reelection.
She said she plans to spend more time with her family, including six grandchildren, and is unsure of what she'll do next.
"Serving as mayor has been one of the greatest joys of my life next to having my children and my grandchildren," Price said. "It's been amazing."
Watch Mayor Price’s press conference live here: https://t.co/AbFASXZVVM
— Betsy Price (@MayorBetsyPrice) January 5, 2021
Price is Fort Worth's longest-serving mayor. She became the 44th mayor of the city in 2011, after serving for a decade as a Tarrant County tax assessor.
Price said her decision to not run again was difficult but the right thing to do at this time.
"There's no perfect answer as to the time when you should step aside, but you should step aside when you have the feeling that you're ready," she said.
Price said she wouldn't speculate or weigh in right now on who the best person would be to serve as mayor next.
In November, Price tested positive for the coronavirus just as Tarrant County reported a pandemic high of over 2,100 new cases and 800 hospitalizations. Price's husband had also tested positive hours earlier. Both Price and her husband have fully recovered since contracting the virus. She said the pandemic didn't factor into her decision.
Price ran against Tarrant County Democratic Party Chair Deborah Peoples in 2019, her fourth re-election bid since assuming office. Price won that election by 14 percentage points.
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