Deborah Peoples, who is facing off against Mattie Parker in the June 5 runoff for Fort Worth mayor, has said she wants to “unite us into one Fort Worth.” However, photos of divisive social media posts allegedly from Peoples seem to show her labeling Trump supporters as racists and calling for a boycott of white-owned restaurants.
Over the past few weeks, screenshots of posts allegedly from Peoples have been shared across social media. Texas Scorecard sent multiple press inquiries to the Peoples campaign, asking if they would confirm or deny the posts’ authenticity. No response was received before publication time.
One screenshot shows a post labeling supporters of former President Donald Trump as racist.
“You seem to consistently attack and insult Trump supporters,” citizen Laura Laird observed.
Tarrant County Young Republicans shared a post of Peoples comparing black supporters of Trump with Samuel L. Jackson’s character in the Quentin Tarantino film “Django Unchained.” In the film, Jackson played a black man who helped enslave other blacks.
In a post from February 2020, Peoples said Republican Sen. Tim Scott (South Carolina) “looked like a fool.” At the time, Scott had delivered a response to President Trump’s State of the Union address, praising Trump’s administration.
TCYR shared a post from June 2019 that showed Peoples calling for a boycott of white-owned restaurants in the city.
“Shop only at black and brown owned restaurants every Sunday,” the post read.
Another post from 2020 showed Peoples calling for Fort Worth citizens to “limit” the police budget by voting against renewing the Crime Control Prevention District sales tax.
Another image shows Peoples framing election integrity legislation as “restrictive.”
TCYR also shared a photo of Peoples with Linda Sarsour, the co-chair of the 2017 Women’s March, who TCYR has criticized as a “famed anti-Semite.”
The Parker campaign declined to comment on any of these posts.
“I’d like to know how Deborah Peoples plans to ‘unite Fort Worth’ when she clearly has a deep disdain for half of Fort Worth’s residents,” TCYR President Derrick Wilson told Texas Scorecard. “The choice for any reasonable voter is crystal clear when one candidate is so divisive; a vote for Deborah Peoples is a vote for a divided, not united, Fort Worth.”
Voters will decide between Parker and Peoples in the June 5 runoff. A debate between Parker and Peoples will livestream at noon on Tuesday, May 18.
