Takeaways From Austin’s City Manager Candidate Town Hall
HOT TOPICS
Last night, Austinites met the two candidates for Austin City Manager in a public town hall.
Sara Hensley, the current city manager of Denton, Texas, and T.C. Broadnax, the current but soon departing city manager of Dallas, answered eight questions for about 30 minutes each in a moderated interview format.
Public safety, homelessness and equality and inclusion were among the issues that Hensley and Broadnax were queried on.
Other questions selected focused on the candidates’ approaches to transparency and public accessibility, and how they’d manage their staff.
The Austin Monitor has a comprehensive rundown of the questions and answers on the night.
What wasn’t discussEd
Some topics that loom large in Austin politics but weren’t discussed included changes to the city’s Land Development Code and related affordability problems, how to deal with expected budget challenges this summer and beyond, or anything related to mobility and transportation needs.
Those topics, which can become complex and heavy (though so can public safety and homelessness), and might have been avoided to keep the capacity audience engaged without the candidates having to untangle or explain highly technical matters in front of a crowd in limited time.
But it’s a fair bet that Hensley and Broadnax have given plenty of thought to those matters, and will be prepared to discuss them at length this morning during their interviews with City Council.
HENSLEY TOUTS AUSTIN ROOTS
Both candidates came across as qualified, capable and suitable leaders for the city, with each showing a distinct personality.
Hensley is already a familiar face to some in Austin from her prior service as Director of the Austin Parks and Recreation Department, and as an assistant city manager. The familiarity blended well with her warm and occasionally folksy demeanor.
Already being up to speed on the nuances of Austin’s community groups and distinct characteristics is an obvious plus, and Hensley referenced her time at city hall and the fact that in many ways Austin is still her home (and she does maintain a home here already).
Some will see that knowledge as especially desirable because of the widely held view that prior city manager Spencer Cronk never fully became a part of Austin, with his performance suffering in part because of that lack of connection.
If selected, some see Hensley stepping in quickly putting her institutional knowledge to work to make the transition and assembling of a leadership team very streamlined.
BIG CITY EXPERIENCE DISTINGUISHES BROADNAX
Broadnax’s deep experience from many years as a public administrator came across loud and clear during his portion of the meeting, with several of his answers drawing on policies and programs he’s helped execute in Dallas and as City Manager of Tacoma, Washington. This was especially the case when discussing his approach to addressing homelessness, with results that likely sounded especially attractive to local observers searching for new solutions to Austin’s homelessness problem.
There was a stark difference between the two in how they’d potentially fit or operate in Austin’s top job.
In coming from a bigger metropolitan area, Broadnax would likely come in with many of the processes and solutions he’s employed in leading a city with more than 10,000 employees and list of pressing issues that match Austin’s in many ways. While he has body of public service knowledge to rely on, keys to his abillity to operate will be assembling an ideal executive team (potentially from his current Dallas team) and identify the ways he can shape the city’s operations in concert with the wishes of City Council.
Hensley, meanwhile, would in many ways have to grow into a position that she’d helped serve previously. Denton is far smaller than Austin and may lack the complexity that comes from being the 10th-largest metro in the U.S. But the prior knowledge Hensley has of the workings of Austin’s city hall balances out some of those growing pains or concerns about the job being too big for her background. She is extremely well-liked by those who’ve worked with her in the past, and that’s a big plus in an environment where people skills and personality are highly valued.
The good news is Austin appears to have a pair of qualified and distinct candidates ready to step in to the city’s top job. Both seemed to understand the need to work in concert and not at odds with the City Council.
What’s next?
The Austin Council will convene at 8:30 AM today and go into Executive Session. They will interview the two candidates, with media availability with each candidate will occur directly after their closed-session interviews.
Depending on the interviews, Council may invite one or both prospects back for activity/interviews on April 1st and/or 2nd, there will then be posted Council action for the April 4th meeting. This will direct the city’s search firm to negotiate a contract with the specific person.
Helpful Links:
//A.J. Bingham, Founder & CEO, Bingham Group
🟪 Contact A.J. at: aj@binghamgp.com