Midland City Council meets for the first time 01/10/2023 with new councilmembers and new mayor, from left, Amy Stretcher Burkes with District 4, Dan Corrrales, At-Large, Robin Poole, At-Large, Mayor Lori Blong, Scott Dufford, District 1, Jack Ladd, District 3 and John Norman, District 2. City of Midland
Tim Fischer/City of Midland
Midland Reporter-Telegram
Stewart Doreen, MRT.com/Midland Reporter-Telegram
Will the Tommy Gonzalez be the answer to what ails this Midland City Council?
That is a question worth exploring as city leaders decide on whether to give the mayor the ability to negotiate with Gonzalez to become the next city manager in Midland.
The council meeting is set for 10 a.m. Tuesday at Midland City Hall, 300 N. Loraine St.
The Midland City Council had a rocky start to the first six months of 2023. Personality clashes forced the Midland City Council to go through training with a facilitator in February. The council at that workshop and during the council retreat worked on communication and personality issues with each other and city staff. There had been concerns with city staff that some council members weren’t going through the City Manager’s Office to take care of issues inside City Hall.
When asked about a city manager’s role in working with a fractured council and one whose members had been known to bypass the City Manager’s Office, Gonzalez – a former city manager in Lubbock, Harlingen, Irving and El Paso -- offered the following.
“I believe that as a city manager, I have -- and our staff we collectively have -- a huge responsibility in executing the vision of the city council in this community,” Gonzalez said. “And I believe once we get to a level where we're very efficient and very forward thinking about that, it will help the council align better with one another and help them see what can be if we all work really well with one another.
“And we, as a staff, are executing that vision that they have -- because if the council has concerns about that and we're not performing -- we need to step up to another level. And they then step up to another level as well. So, I think that if a council has to be involved in the day to day, then that's not necessarily the council's fault.
He added, “I want them to focus more on their priorities and not necessarily their concerns, because we should be taking care of their concerns so they can focus on the bigger picture, and they can focus on their priorities.”