Current District 7 City Council Member Scott LeMay will soon have the opportunity to use his 12+ years’ experience to lead the city of Garland as mayor. He is running for the position unopposed.
LeMay said that a loss in the 2007 race for the District 7 City Council seat was probably the best thing that ever happened to him.
“At that time, I thought I had all the answers,” he said. “I can vividly remember thinking that I was the best candidate ever. Fortunately, I lost the race and was appointed to the city’s Plan Commission where I had a chance to learn more about the city by going out to locations to look at zoning cases, working with city staff and working on a voting board where there is give and take. That was great training ground for me.”
After three terms on the Plan Commission, LeMay won his district’s council seat and spent another six years serving in that capacity.
“I know now that I don’t have all the answers, but I know the process. If I had an opponent, I would say you need a mayor who knows the city, who understands how the city works and that the core of the city is the people,” he said. “You need somebody who can communicate on lots of different levels depending on who they are talking to. Communication is critical.”
He added that he has seen mayors and councils do things really well and really poorly and he will use those observations as a guide.
“You want the council to be productive but they will disagree. The mayor’s job is to sort out everyone’s comments and opinions,” LeMay said. “It’s the mayor’s job to find consensus, not direct it. You have to listen to eight people. You have to sort through their perspectives and say what you think you are hearing.”
LeMay said that he doesn’t agree with every decision on a personal level, but what matters most is the city as a whole.
“My personal opinions do not really factor in and no one can think only about their district. You have to think about the whole city,” he said.
As mayor, one of LeMay’s priorities will be getting voter-approved bond projects going.
“If all eight or only one proposition is approved, that becomes our to-do list,” he said. “We need to treat this bond election like it is the last one we are ever going to have. Every item that the voters approve needs to be done. If the voters say go, we go.”
He commended the bond committee on a job well done and added that it was humbling to see that Garland has more than a billion dollars in needs.
“As we approach those, we have to prioritize them, plan them out, produce them. We’ve been good over the years in planning things; what we’ve not done a good job of is producing,” LeMay said. “We just don’t have a good history of that and it’s no secret. So, my intention is to prioritize, plan, produce.
He would also like to see the city become more employee-centered because they do the majority of the work. Senior managers have left the city and taken a lot of experience with them. Younger people who have come in to replace them might lack confidence.
“They have great ideas but they lack the experience and confidence to promote their ideas. We have to let them know that it’s OK for them to stand up for what they believe in and we have to treat them with respect,” LeMay said. “We have employees who are rising stars that get better offers and leave the city.
If we can create an atmosphere where employees know we care about them and know that they are crtical to the process, they will feel appreciated and hopefully not want to leave. We need to build up the long-term tenure again.”
LeMay said that there are great things going on in Garland with new residential, commercial and industrial development. Like the data centers, they are not all high-profile projects but they do benefit the city. Entertainment, service and retail businesses are coming in and infrastructure improvements are being made all over the city.
He is excited about the progress and looks forward to serving as mayor.
“The city of Garland owes Mayor Lori Dodson a huge debt of thanks. She stepped in at a time when the council was at a low point. There was a lot of inner turmoil and external turmoil. From the beginning her goal was to get the council back together. The results were almost immediate. She got us past all that stuff and got us to where we are today…Lori’s one year as mayor, while there may not be a lot of tangible things to show for it, far outweighs some years of other mayors’ accomplishments. We are thankful to her. Unity is her legacy and that’s a great legacy to have.” – Scott LeMay