FORT WORTH, Texas — David Cooke, Fort Worth's longest-serving city manager in its history, is retiring, Fort Worth councilmembers confirmed to WFAA on Monday.
Cooke, who took office in June 2014, will officially leave the role at the end of February 2025, according to a press release from the city.
In an interview with WFAA on Monday, Cooke talked about his decision to retire.
"There's no perfect time to retire, but now seemed like a great time," Cooke said. "I feel really good about the decision. You never know what's the right time to retire there's always gonna be unfinished work."
“Serving as City Manager has been an incredible and fulfilling journey," Cooke said in a statement announcing his retirement. "Together, we have built and sustained an organization that is now the 12th largest city in the country, renowned for our exceptional customer service, neighborhood improvements, public-private partnerships, transparency, and commitment to inclusive prosperity.”
The news, first reported by the Fort Worth Report, comes just a month after Cooke's 10th anniversary with the city. In his decade-plus tenure in the role, Cooke has overseen a contentious city pension debate, rapid population growth, and more recently faced a controversy surrounding his relationship with the powerful billionaire Bass family.
Cooke counts lowering the city’s property tax rate, stabilizing the pension fund and passing the city’s largest budget as major accomplishments, according to a profile published by the Report last month.
Cooke told WFAA one of his proudest accomplishments was the city's response during the Covid pandemic.
"Sometimes, we do our best work when there are crises, and when you think about the Covid pandemic and what the city had to do to respond to services and needs at that point in time and you shut down an economy... the city did great during Covid and in Covid recovery," Cooke said.
“David Cooke’s leadership over the past ten years has left an indelible mark on the City of Fort Worth," Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker said in a statement. "His accomplishments are too many to list, but above all, he ensured our city is in the best possible fiscal health of any large city in the country."
Councilmembers confirmed to WFAA that they were notified of his retirement this morning. The city will announce transition plans soon "to ensure a smooth and orderly leadership change," the statement reads.
Councilmember Gyna Bivens, the longest-serving member of the city council, was among the council members who voted to hire Cooke in 2014. Bivens is looking forward to the search for Cooke's replacement but filling his shoes will be "challenging," she said.
"Having worked in City Government, I can tell you not many City Managers have the tenure David has achieved," Bivens said in a statement. "My friend, David Cooke will be a hard act to follow."
Cooke is one of the most powerful figures in Fort Worth who has consistently emphasized a conservative approach to municipal budgeting, advocating for lower tax rates as the city's budget grew alongside its ballooning population.
Fort Worth is among the region's fastest-growing cities, recently surpassing San Jose, California, to become the 12th largest city in the U.S. It also holds the title of the largest U.S. city with a Republican mayor. Cooke leaves amid a busy time in Fort Worth development. As Texas A&M constructs a new multi-million campus in the heart of downtown, civic leaders complimented Cooke's time as city manager.
"From the expansions of the Convention Center and Texas A&M to pension reform, support of the Heritage Park project and much more, David Cooke has been a valuable leader in continuing the positive evolution and momentum of Fort Worth’s downtown," Andy Taft, president of Downtown Fort Worth Inc. said in a statement.
Cooke served as County Manager in Wake County North Carolina for 13 years before being hired in Fort Worth. Fort Worth has an annual budget of over $2 billion and employs 8,100 people.
The mayor and city council will select a new city manager by next Spring, Cooke said.
Cooke told WFAA he plans to stay in the Fort Worth area after retiring, and he doesn't have any future career plans in the works.