At the beginning of my first term, about half of the boards, commissions, and committees did not have anyone from District 1, particularly some of the more active panels. One of my goals has been to increase the number of District 1 residents serving the city. I felt, first, there were many, many individuals with incredible experience in professional careers that could help the city and, second, it was important to always be building the leadership that the district and city will need as we move forward.
 
Every permanent board, commission, and committee has at least one person from District 1 and many have more. In fact, more people are now serving from District 1 than any other.
 
Most District 1 positions expire in August during the even-numbered years. For my first term, I wanted to preserve experience in some positions and bring new ideas to others. Almost all of my appointments this time were re-appointments because we had representatives that had served with distinction and I wanted to continue that level of excellence.
 
This is the current list of District 1 residents serving. While many of the appointments are mine, Mayor Ron Jones and other Council members have also tapped District 1 residents to serve, for which I am very thankful.
 

 
For the South Area Tax Increment Finance District Board, District 1 is represented by Bill Swisher. (Mr Dean, listed above, was appointed by Mayor Jones and represents the city as a whole.) Although Mr Swisher does not live in District 1, I wanted to appoint someone with extensive financial experience that was intimately familiar with the area. After all, the better the South Area does, the more it helps north Garland.
 
Other District 1 residents are serving the city on external boards or other governmental bodies, including:

• Tracey Whitaker, Dallas Area Rapid Transit Board
• Jamie Ratliff, Texas Municipal Power Agency Board
• Ed Jackson, Garland Housing Finance Corporation
• Hamp Holcomb, Garland Health Facilities Development Corporation
• Christine Shane, Garland Health Facilities Development Corporation
• Keith Montgomery, GISD Board of Trustees
• Scott Luna, GISD Board of Trustees
• Robert Harris, GISD Board of Trustees

While not a governmental board, it is an amalgamation of government officials and industry leaders: Rick Lambert is the president of the Greater Dallas Planning Council.
 
While this is an impressive list, I'm sure I've forgotten to mention others that I will be embarrassed to have missed. If so, let me know so I can make corrections. My apologies now.