Blake Margolis, 25, who was elected mayor in 2022 after serving five years on council, will take over as Rowlett’s emergency management coordinator.
ROWLETT, Texas — Rowlett Mayor Blake Margolis, who was first elected to city council as a teenager, is stepping down from office to take a new role with the city, he announced on Thursday.
Margolis, 25, who was elected mayor in 2022 after serving five years on council, will take over as Rowlett’s emergency management coordinator, Margolis said in a video posted to social media Thursday night. Mayor Pro Tem Jeff Winget will become acting mayor on Jan. 7, until a new mayor is elected in the spring 2025 election, Margolis said.
Margolis explained the move as needing to “make some decisions for myself and what I’m going to do next.” The mayor position in Rowlett pays a stipend of $467 per month, he noted.
“So I need to think about how I can sustainably support myself going forward,” Margolis said in the video.
Margolis said the emergency management role is following a “passion” of his going back to his teenage years. He said he also has a degree in national security, which includes classes on emergency management. And as mayor and a council member, he was involved in several emergency response efforts, including COVID-19 and the 2021 winter freeze.
“I am thoroughly excited about this new role,” Margolis said. “Rowlett, I really do, from the bottom of my heart, appreciate everything, and appreciate the support, and appreciate the opportunity to serve you for the past eight years.”
Margolis first ran for elected office in 2017, when he was 18. He won a seat on the Rowlett city council.
“I was talking about a future city park that was right next to my neighborhood,” he told WFAA in 2017. “I left that meeting knowing that I wanted to be on the other side of the table.”