City Hall Roundup: What Dallas City Council Members Had to Say About T.C. Broadnax on His Last Day at The Horseshoe

Dallas elected officials gave high praise to City Manager T.C. Broadnax during an April 24 City Council meeting, as the top administrator prepares to leave for a similar job in Austin. 

The irony was lost on no one, as some of the council members who praised him organized earlier this year to orchestrate Broadnax’s ouster. Ultimately, the city manager resigned in February, taking with him a controversial severance package worth almost half a million dollars. 

Kimberly Bizor Tolbert will serve as interim city manager, effective May 2, while a nationwide search is conducted. 

Mayor Eric Johnson led the discussion and allowed each council member to speak. View the entire presentation here, beginning at 2:32. 

Mayor Eric Johnson’s Remarks on Broadnax

Johnson said people who take their jobs seriously and care about the community aren’t always going to agree. 

“This man and I have not always agreed; that’s not a secret,” he said. “In a town this big and a city this large and dynamic, the media is going to feast on those times when we’ve not agreed. They’ll never tell you that 90 percent [of the time] we do [agree]. That’s not a news story. Nobody cares about that.” 

The mayor went on to say there have been a lot of wins over the past five years that he and Broadnax have served together. 

“This city is undoubtedly better off today than it was five years ago,” he said. “That could not be the case if we spent all of our time disagreeing and we weren’t getting anything done. I get what people have to write to get people to click on stories in a dying industry … I deal in the reality of public policymaking. I put what we have done in this city up against what any city in the United States of America has done over the past five years.” 

Johnson highlighted public safety, Fortune 500 corporate relocations, parks and greenspaces, addressing historical inequities, and environmental accomplishments.

“This man is a professional,” Johnson said. “He’s one of the smartest people I’ve ever worked with. I know he’s smart because there have been times I’ve had to stay up late at night trying to figure out how to outfox him … I haven’t always been able to succeed. He’s a smart man and he’s a tenacious man.” 

Broadnax’s Parting Words

Broadnax said it warms his heart to hear that some people believe the city is better today than when he arrived seven years ago. 

“We haven’t always, as a team, gotten it right, but to the mayor’s point, we did rack up quite a few wins,” he said. 

He acknowledged the Dallas staff, the mayor and council who hired him, and his family. 

“Dallas is going to continue to be a great city,” he said. “I’m looking forward to my future but I do not deny my past as it relates to this being a pivotal part in making me who I am … Continue to support the staff. Believe in them. Criticize behind the scenes and praise in public … I’m going to miss this place, but it has been a great ride and a privilege to be the city manager of the City of Dallas.”

Council Member Comments

Below are a portion of the comments made by each council member who offered words of encouragement to the outgoing city manager. Council members who are not quoted — Jesse Moreno, Jaime Resendez, Kathy Stewart, Cara Mendelsohn, and Paul Ridley — were either not present or did not offer comments during Wednesday’s presentation. 

Mayor Pro Tem Tennell Atkins

Atkins said he has seen the city grow its tax base by $14 billion under Broadnax’s leadership. Broadnax has brought equality and equity among the northern and southern sectors of the city, Atkins said. 

“The neighborhoods are rebranded,” he said.

The Freedman’s Town of Five Mile now has streets and sidewalks Atkins added. 

“The page is turned, the book is closed,” he said. “It’s the next chapter, but there is a foundation. The deeper the foundation, the higher you can grow. I want to thank you for building a foundation for the city to grow.” 

Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Carolyn King Arnold

Arnold read into the record special recognition for Broadnax, recognizing the city manager’s visionary leadership and strategic thinking. 

“We are being watched, and this is a very important moment for us in terms of being a council,” she said. “People come into a situation for a reason and a season. I think we have seen that here with this city manager. I want to say thank you to Mr. Broadnax and his family for allowing us to have him in this space during this season.” 

District 1 Councilman Chad West

West highlighted the challenging times Dallas has faced under Broadnax’s leadership. 

“We all got through COVID-19 together and had to navigate that,” he said. “You led us through that process. The protests after the death of George Floyd and all of that situation and the transitioning of our police chief, tornadoes … we have had a lot of things happen to this city that were not caused by us but we’ve had to deal with it as a community and as a council. You led the charge in a very calm, professional way in addition to just doing city business.” 

West noted the city manager’s “cool, calm, collected demeanor … with a few exceptions.”

“I remember one time you told me something was as likely to happen as a unicorn coming out of the ceiling,” West said. “That was probably during budget talks.” 

District 3 Councilman Zarin Gracey

Gracey, a former city employee, thanked Broadnax for how he has served and represented the Black community. 

“Thank you for the example that you’ve set for people like me … in how to lead, how to conduct yourself, how to persevere in the midst of the gunfire,” Gracey said. “I’ll never forget the time you stood up and spoke up at a council meeting on behalf of staff. I think you were still fairly new. I said, ‘Either that’s going to work well for you or I’ll respect you on your way out the door.’ But you did that, and I really appreciated that because that was something that we, as employees, hadn’t experienced in a long time.”

District 6 Councilman Omar Narvaez

Narvaez made a joke about how he originally preferred working with Tolbert over Broadnax and said he developed a friendship of “high respect” with Broadnax. 

 “T.C. is so smart and would really guide me through some of the tough issues,” he said. “It was like we’d coach each other. It was just this bond we created over those years … What you exude, what you believe in, what you actually are about, I see it reflected in every single staff member as I work with them.” 

District 7 Councilman Adam Bazaldua

Bazaldua said this is the end of a chapter that “should definitely be bookmarked for our city.” 

“As a teacher who was a nerd and loved to watch council meetings in my spare time, I was inspired by your leadership and hopeful for a trajectory of what your vision was going to give our city,” he said. “You as an administrator were a large reason why I did choose to [run for office]. I believed in what our local government could do. I believed in the plan to right wrongs from the past. Your commitment to equity has taught me. Your professionalism has helped me grow.” 

District 9 Councilwoman Paula Blackmon 

Blackmon said Broadnax is a student of city government. 

“I respect that,” she said. “You’ve taught me things. I appreciate the work that you do and that you bring your staff to the table to do. I wish you the best, and good luck.” 

District 11 Councilwoman Jaynie Schultz

Schultz said it’s a privilege to work with her elected colleagues and the professional city staff. She thanked Broadnax for his efforts in workforce, education, and equity. 

“T.C., you brought that philosophy, that worldview to Dallas, and we’re going to take it from here,” she said. “There’s so many things that you seeded that you’ll see grow here.” 

District 13 Councilwoman Gay Donnell Willis

Willis said that sometimes in her discussions with Broadnax, he could be ornery and stubborn. 

“I also feel like I was being ornery and stubborn, so maybe we could relate to each other on some level that way,” she said. “Things can be tough in this city, in this building, and around this horseshoe. Sometimes tough, which is part of our job, can turn to unfair.  One of the things I always appreciated about you, that I’m sure you’ll take to Austin, is how you stick up for your people, how you stick up for your team.”