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(The Texas Tribune) – Dallas City Manager T.C. Broadnax said Wednesday he will step down from his post, making Dallas the latest major Texas city with a vacancy at the top of city government.
Dallas City Council members pushed Broadnax to resign, they said Wednesday, citing unresolved tension between the city’s top executive and its chief political leader, Mayor Eric Johnson.
“I am proud of what I have accomplished and am grateful for the support I received during my tenure,” Broadnax, who took the job in 2017, said in a statement. “My sincere gratitude to the people of this great city for allowing me to serve and to make significant contributions to this community.”
Dallas now is the largest Texas city without a chief executive. Austin and El Paso have each gone without a permanent city manager since their city councils voted last year to fire them, though they have named acting city managers to serve in the interim. In a memo to Johnson and City Council members, Broadnax said he “will be collaborating with my team to plan for a smooth transition of projects, initiatives and responsibilities in advance of my departure” on June 3.
All three cities operate under a council-manager system in which the mayor and city council appoint a city manager to oversee the city’s day-to-day operations. In Dallas, Broadnax manages a $4.6 billion budget and more than 13,000 employees.
Broadnax’s tenure has been marked by high tensions with Johnson and some members of the city council. Johnson pushed for Broadnax’s resignation in 2022 amid vacancies in the city’s 911 call center and considerable delays in the city’s building permitting office – and after the city unintentionally deleted millions of Dallas Police Department data files that included evidence and investigations. Johnson later backed off those calls.
Animosity between the two leaders has remained – enough so that a majority of City Council members suggested to Broadnax that he resign.
“After careful consideration, it has become apparent that the relationship between the mayor and the city manager has not been conducive to effective governance and the advancement of Dallas’ interests,” a Wednesday news release from six council members said. “The dynamic between these key citywide figures has unfortunately hindered the realization of our city’s full potential, and it is imperative that we address this issue head-on in order to move forward.”
Broadnax nodded at that strain Wednesday.
“It is my hope that my departure provides the City Council an opportunity to reset, refocus, and transition to a new city manager that continues to move the city forward and will allow for a more effective working relationship with the Mayor and the City Council moving forward,” he said in a statement.
Johnson acknowledged the tension, too.
“T.C. was tough – he often knew what he wanted for Dallas and would fight hard for it. And I would do the same,” Johnson said in a statement. “We did not always see eye to eye, but we still worked together to help move this city forward. After his seven years of working for our city, I want to wish him well on whatever comes next.”
This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at https://www.texastribune.org/2024/02/21/dallas-city-manager-tc-broadnax-resigns/.
The Texas Tribune is a member-supported, nonpartisan newsroom informing and engaging Texans on state politics and policy. Learn more at texastribune.org.
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