Interim City Manager Kim Tolbert has received several public endorsements in recent days. A final decision from council is expected in January
DALLAS — The Dallas City Council conducted virtual interviews Monday with three finalists for the city manager position, marking a significant step in a 10-month search process that will continue into 2025.
The candidates under consideration are Fort Worth Assistant City Manager William Johnson, Sacramento Assistant City Manager Mario Lara and Dallas Interim City Manager Kim Tolbert.
The next city manager will oversee Dallas’ $5 billion budget, hire permanent police and fire chiefs, and manage departments responsible for road repairs and park maintenance. The position became vacant after former City Manager T.C. Broadnax left to become Austin’s city manager earlier this year.
“I think we have a great three candidates and I’ll look forward to introducing them to our community,” said City Councilmember Jesse Moreno.
The selection process has faced criticism for its length, but Mayor Pro Tem Tennell Atkins defended the timeline.
“I feel like the process was transparent, very open,” Atkins said. “We always said that we were going to have the selection of the city manager the latter part of December, first part of January so we’re still on that timeline.”
An initial timeline projected finishing the process by the end of 2024, but a revised timeline calls for the new city manager to take the reins in February.
Among the candidates, Tolbert has emerged as a frontrunner, securing endorsements from multiple organizations including the Dallas Fire Fighters Association, the Black Fire Fighters Association of Dallas, the Dallas Hispanic Firefighters Association and the Dallas NAACP.
“Not only is she qualified, she’s had on the job training,” said Sharon Middlebrooks of the Dallas branch of the NAACP. “Why would we want to bring someone in new when we already have a person on the job that has trained?”
The finalist pool narrowed from four to three after Mark Washington, an assistant city manager in Grand Rapids, Michigan, withdrew from consideration. Zachary Williams, a county manager in Georgia, was also previously in contention but is no longer among the candidates.
The search has been complicated by recent developments in Dallas governance. Art Davis, a director with Baker Tilly, the firm conducting the search, reported that some candidates expressed concerns about recently passed city charter amendments. These include requirements to hire 900 more police officers and allocate half of the city’s new revenue to improving police and fire pensions. Following these amendments, Moody’s downgraded Dallas’ economic outlook from stable to negative.
The council plans to allow public input before making a final decision.
“The community, those we represent, have an opportunity to give us their feedback on our final selection,” Moreno said.
Councilmember Cara Mendelsohn expressed optimism about the remaining candidates: “I am very excited about our three qualified candidates and I can’t wait for the community to meet them.”
The successful candidate will also need to hire a new police chief to replace Eddie Garcia, who recently left to take an administration role in Austin.