Ken Molestina represents Jack Fink this week as Texas unveils another strategy for southern border security. Collin County Elections Director Bruce Sherbet recently announced he is retiring and reflects on his time in that role in a conversation with Jack. Jack also spoke with Frisco Mayor Jeff Cheney about the city’s growth and new developments. (Original airdate: December 22, 2024.)

Security at the Texas-Mexico border

On Thursday, Gov. Greg Abbott unveiled a billboard campaign to discourage migrants from traveling to the southern border. The billboards will be installed in Central America and Mexico and are intended to warn about the legal consequences and dangers of illegal entry into the USA. The governor also addressed the role Texas will likely play in the immigration debate if Donald Trump becomes president next month.

The Texas Tribune published one six-month examination into the state’s border wall. They report that the border wall cost about $3. billion and that the wall is about 50 miles long. However, it was built in two dozen pieces in six counties along the southern border. The Tribune found that the border wall program appears to be hampered by landowners who are hesitant or simply don’t want the wall built on their property. CBS News Texas spoke with Texas Tribune reporter Zach Despart about their findings.

Ken Molestina was at the border I spoke with people who live and work there last week about their expectations when President-elect Trump takes office. He will be working on these stories before Inauguration Day.

A city council was divided

The search for the next one Dallas City Manager continues and the selection remains stalled by dissatisfaction and debate among city council members.

At a meeting of the City Council’s Ad Hoc Committee on Administrative Affairs on Thursday morning, the candidates were identified as follows:

• Dallas City Interim Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert
• William Johnson, Fort Worth assistant city manager
• Grand Rapids, Michigan City Manager Mark Washington
• DeKalb County, Ga. Chief Operating Officer Zachary Williams

However, there may be changes to the semi-finalists as early as next week. Some City Council members have expressed disappointment with how recruiting firm Baker Tilly narrowed the pool from 50 candidates to four.

Additionally, Michigan City Manager Mark Washington withdrew his candidacy on Thursday. He announced his decision in an email to Grand Rapids city leaders:

A few weeks ago, news broke about my candidacy for city manager in another municipality. While my desire has always been to continue the important work we do here in Grand Rapids, I have looked for other ways to ensure a clear future for my family despite the delay in contract renewal. While I carefully considered other options, the Grand Rapids City Commission unanimously approved my contract, and many members of this community and workforce reached out to me and reiterated their desire for me to remain a Grand Rapidian.

For this reason, I have withdrawn my candidacy from all city manager job postings. We still have so much to do and I look forward to serving this community, leading the staff and helping our elected officials improve the quality of life for all residents.

The Dallas City Council will meet again on Monday, December 23rd at 1 p.m. to continue the discussion.

Dallas County is considering ballot issues

Dallas County commissioners appear poised to make changes after the November general election. As discussed last month, the Dallas City Council learned that in the first two days of early voting, nearly 4,000 people received a ballot that was not intended for their district.

During the Dallas County Commissioners Court meeting last Tuesday, commissioners learned it was a vendor software issue. With a new round of voting coming up in May, Dallas County’s elections administrator expressed disappointment with the vendor’s response to fix the problem.

“What I expected today was that we answered the phone a month ago,” Heider Garcia said. “We spoke to the secretary. We spoke to the team. And we have a certification test in January or February, we think we can do it by May. And what I’m hearing is that it hasn’t been done yet.”

The commissioners are now threatening to find a new provider. The issue is expected to come up at meetings in January.

One-on-one meeting with Collin County Election Administrator

Collin County Elections Director Bruce Sherbet recently announced his resignation. Eye on Politics Jack Fink sat down with Sherbet to discuss this topic and election-related issues in the state.

As an experienced election official, Sherbet mentions that despite the challenges, voting in its current form is “more secure, more accurate and more protective of voters from their own mistakes than any system we have ever used.”

Sherbet noted that the 2022 election was particularly difficult, but the most recent election went more smoothly in terms of logistics and processes. However, voter concerns about election integrity remained.

“And I tell you, historically there has been no problem with election integrity,” Sherbet said. “It may be that administrators make mistakes, or there may be software or equipment problems, but all of the things that are in place now really guarantee voters that the election processes are running very smoothly and correctly.”

Watch Jack’s full interview with Bruce Sherbet here:

Frisco’s business boom

One city that is experiencing phenomenal growth is Frisco. Jack sat down for a conversation with Frisco Mayor Jeff Cheney to discuss the city’s business boom.

“This is one of the busiest times we have ever experienced as a community,” Cheney told Jack. “This region is largely considered the hottest commercial market in the country.”

Cheney also discussed economic development plans for the new year, including a venture that is expected to create over 1,000 new jobs in the area.

“We’re really pushing to create a lot of jobs here in our community,” Cheney said. “In fact, at our meeting this week we were actually told that announcements were coming and that it would take up an entire building alone. So, you know, this will probably come to a head within the next 60 days.”

Watch Jack’s full interview with Mayor Cheney here: