Profiles Fort Worth’s Populist Plumber

A quiet, even a humble man, Wood-ie Woods is the first to be drowned out when the nine-member Fort Worth City Council breaks into a frenzy of rhetoric, each trying to outtalk or outshout the other.

But as other council members have learned, sometimes the hard way, the tremor in his voice when he takes the mike is a deceptive cover for sterner stuff. Woodie Woods, the plumber from the south side of town, will never back off in a fight.

Probably the only man on the council with an “honest” tan, Woods has built his plumbing and hardware business into a multi-faceted operation. In less than two short years on the council he has built a name and a reputation as the hero of the little people in Cowtown.

Woods has taken on some of the sacred cows of the Fort Worth establishment with unflinching stubbornness. Perhaps the most awesome of these was the Southwestern Exposition and Fat Stock Show, whose board of directors includes Seventh Street charter members Amon G. Carter, Jr. and H.B. (Babe) Fuqua. Woods contended that the Stock Show did not pay sufficient rent for its annual use of the Will Rogers Memorial Coliseum facilities, and that the taxpayer was suffering as a result.

When the city put a bond package before the voters in 1975, Woods openly stated that he would not support bonds to expand the Will Rogers complex. And when Mayor Pro Tem Margaret Rim-mer offered a resolution putting the council on record as urging voters to approve the Capital Improvement Program (usually an automatic vote on most councils), Woods cast a resounding “no.”

“How did Woodie Woods get to be where he is, anyway, and what are we going to do with him now that he is there?” is the question asked by the conservative business community.

Back in 1973 Woods was trying to encourage his son, Gary, to become more interested and involved in the community. He suggested that his son run for the council. The talk around the dinner table must have gone something like this. “If you really believe that I should run, then why don’t you?” So they did. Father and son both filed for the council. In 1973 Woods was not considered a serious contender in his race and lost, along with five others, to Councilman Henry Meadows.

Two years later, Woods filed for real. Again no one took him seriously, but fate, or some equally inexplicable force, must have been on his side. The overconfident incumbent, Leonard Briscoe,was involved in a multi-thousand dollar fraud suit that shocked the electorate’s sensibilities. The result was evident at the polls. Briscoe – 3,068; Woods – 15,229.

Those election results were only the beginning of the people’s faith in Wood-ie Woods. An outspoken advocate of the senior citizen and the taxpayer on fixed income, Woods has voted against every utility rate increase to come before the council. His response to a lengthy and detailed presentation for a Texas Electric Service Company rate request was to suggest that the council take the figure and cut it in half. The increase passed with Woods casting the single dissenting vote. His credibility increased with the people, but diminished to a remarkable degree with the utility company.

During the height of the utility fight Woods even requested a ruling from Texas’ Attorney General John Hill to allow the council to consider Lone Star Gas Company’s statewide profit picture when setting gas rates for Fort Worth. Hill so ruled, and Lone Star opened its books.

A touch of home-grown shyness was apparent when Woods stepped up to receive the ’75 Newsmaker of the Year Award from the Press Club of Fort Worth. Earning him that honor was his record for “speaking out against the exploitation of the public trust.” Specifically, for not backing down to the giants- TESCO, Lone Star and even thepowerful Ma Bell. It may not be theway to win friends on Seventh Street,but it seems to be the way to influencethe grass roots voter. Rumor has it thatbig business in Cowtown plans to putup a strong candidate to oppose Woodsin the spring. But most political observers believe that he will be tough, if notimpossible to beat. Woods frankly saysthat the thing he has enjoyed mostabout being on the council is “not beingobligated to anyone, not owing any political debts.”

Freely admitting that he has “blundered his way through his first term on the council,” Woods has already filed for a second term and says he “sure hopes to win.” According to him there is a lot to do. Namely, finding a way to cope with the cost of living and all its complexities. “We just keep relegating people to the poverty level,” says Woods. “Something has to be done.”