As Tarrant County GOP Chair Bo French continues to expose leftist infiltration in Fort Worth, documents that recently surfaced show the Fort Worth City Council has hired a diversity consultant.
French uncovered documents showing the Fort Worth City Council expanded funding for its Diversity and Inclusion Department by $150,000 to fund a “business equity” study.
According to the documents, the study will be performed by Colette Holt—the owner of Colette Holt and Associates. Holt’s company is a consultant for “issues relating to inclusion, diversity, and affirmative action.” She is also known and dubbed “a nationally recognized expert in designing, implementing, and defending affirmative action programs.”
Holt’s client list includes the cities of Arlington, Fort Worth, Harris County, and Austin ISD, the U.S. Department of Justice, and the U.S. Department of Transportation. She also did consulting work for the Seattle Children’s Hospital, which is notorious for its ‘Children’s Gender Clinic.’ The clinic allegedly assists minors with gender mutilative procedures. The hospital also sued Attorney General Ken Paxton for requesting records relating to minors transported out of state for gender mutilative surgeries.
Additionally, earlier this year it was revealed that the taxpayer-funded JPS Health—the Tarrant County Hospital district—scored contract applicants based on diversity metrics, rather than competency. French reveals that these metrics seemingly extend to every contract the City of Fort Worth takes on.
“Fort Worth DEI Czar Christina Brooks – who is paid more than Governor Abbott – ensures DEI permeates everything the city does. A search of the City of Fort Worth contracts shows that contract applicants for things as mundane as paint, such as this Sherwin-Williams application, require applicants to prove their commitment to DEI,” reads French’s post.
French told Texas Scorecard that it is clear the Fort Worth City Council has rejected the values of the community.
“The more we dig into the radical leftism that has infested the City of Fort Worth, the more we find. Between taxpayer money being wasted on a radical DEI department, embracing anti-family and anti-morality pride celebrations, to now wasting money on an illegal affirmative action consultant,” explained French. “Our city council has apparently rejected the values of our community and they are going to pay a heavy price come May 2025.”
A City of Fort Worth spokesperson told Texas Scorecard, “On May 14, the City Council authorized a $150,000 contract with Colette Holt, the Principal of Colette Holt and Associates, to run an updated analysis on existing availability data for both business equity firms and veteran and service-disabled veteran firms in the City’s marketplace. This research will help the City assess trends in firm availability. This study aims to optimize taxpayer funds by supporting local small businesses, particularly underutilized firms, through participation and capacity-building in City contracts.”
“The 1989 U.S. Supreme Court decision in City of Richmond v. J.A. Croson Co. cites the need for availability and disparity studies by saying, ‘Where there is a significant statistical disparity between the number of qualified minority contractors willing and able to perform a particular service and the number of such contractors actually engaged by the locality or the locality’s prime contractors, an inference of discriminatory exclusion could arise.’ Reliable, up-to-date studies are therefore important to protect the City and its taxpayers against claims of discrimination,” concluded the city’s statement.
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