New Leadership in Garland

Sometime following the May 4, 2019 Municipal Election in Garland, Scott LeMay will be sworn in as the City’s next Mayor. He will not be campaigning, as he is running unopposed. LeMay has served as City Council Representative for District 7 for the past six years. His replacement, Dylan Hedrick is also unopposed, as are the council members representing Districts 6 & 8, who are also up for reelection. Why are so few citizens of Garland stepping forward to serve the city in these positions?

According to the 2017 census Garland has a population of 238,000. Surely there must be highly qualified individuals who would be honored to serve as mayor and members of the City Council. Surely we should be able to attract candidates who are at the top of their games, with a skillset to move the city forward. Where are they, and why aren’t they motivated to assume leadership roles in our city?

We asked Mayor Lori Barnett Dodson why she had chosen not to run for another term. Before becoming a candidate for mayor, Lori consulted with her employer, to be sure she would be given the flexibility she would need to fulfill her duties in that position. Having served six years on the city council, she was aware of the time requirements. At that time she was a Senior Vice President and Controller in a real estate development firm. That flexibility was agreed upon, so she campaigned and was elected Mayor of Garland. A few months into the term she and her employer both realized her responsibilities as mayor were more time consuming than originally thought. She had to give up her job in order to continue to serve the citizens of Garland as their mayor. Hers was a one year term, as her predecessor Douglas Athas, had resigned after serving only one year of a two year term.

It was a surprise to learn that the name of Lori Barnett Dodson would not appear on the May 4, 2019 ballot. When Jerra Barnett, affectionately dubbed “Mayor Mama”, told us her daughter could not run again because, “she can’t afford it, she has bills to pay”, were shocked. We questioned Mayor Dodson, who confirmed her mother’s statement. She cannot subsist on the $72 per meeting stipend she receives as mayor of Garland. That amount only covers four meetings in a month. Any additional meetings, such as meetings on the upcoming bond proposal, the annual budget decision making, or any other “extra” meeting is gratis. The mayor does not receive a car, expense account, or any other perks. She and the council members do receive a dinner compliments of the city twice a month before their Monday evening work sessions.

City Council members are compensated even less for their efforts which, like those of the mayor, include not only meetings, but the study of materials generated by city staff, email and other communications, etc.. With this information the lack of interest in becoming a candidate for any of these positions becomes bit clearer. Now we understand why we have so many retirees stepping forward. The mayor and City Council make decisions that greatly impact the lives of the citizens of Garland, a city with a population of nearly quarter of a million and an annual budget close to $1 Billion. It appears that the current system for recruiting new leaders has become archaic and in need of change. Citizens must get involved in order to create change. Voter apathy feeds the inertia that has set in.

Nancy Ghirla

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