Texas Outlines Strategies to Address Southern Border Security

Ken Molestina is filling in for Jack Fink this week as Texas outlines a different strategy to address security on the southern border. Collin County Elections Administrator Bruce Sherbet recently announced his retirement and is reflecting on his time in the role in a conversation with Jack. Jack also spoke with Frisco Mayor Jeff Cheney about the city’s growth and new developments. (Original air date: December 22, 2024.)

Security at the Texas-Mexico border

On Thursday, Governor Greg Abbott unveiled a billboard campaign to try to discourage migrants from making the journey to the southern border. The boards will be displayed in Central America and Mexico, intended to warn of the legal consequences and dangers of trying to enter the United States illegally. The governor also talked about the role Texas is likely to play in the immigration debate when Donald Trump becomes president next month.

The Texas Tribune has published a six month study into the state border wall. They report that the border wall has cost about $3. billion and that the wall is about 50 miles long. However, it is built in two dozen pieces across six counties along the southern border. The Tribune found that the border wall program appears to be hampered by landowners who are reluctant 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 limit last week spoke with people who live and work there about their expectations when President-elect Trump is sworn in. He will work on those stories prior to Inauguration Day.

A city council divided

The hunt for the next city ​​manager of Dallas continues, and the selection remains mired in dissatisfaction and debate between councillors.

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

• Interim Dallas City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert
• Fort Worth Assistant City Manager William Johnson
• Grand Rapids, Michigan City Manager Mark Washington
• DeKalb County, Georgia Chief Operating Officer Zachary Williams

However, there may be changes in the semi-finalists as early as next week. Some members of the city council have expressed disappointment with how search firm Baker Tilly narrowed the pool of 50 candidates to four.

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

A few weeks ago, news was published about my candidacy for the position of municipal manager in another local community. While my desire has always been to continue the important work we do here in Grand Rapids, I explored other options to ensure a clear future for my family amid a contract renewal delay. While I carefully explored other options, the Grand Rapids City Commission unanimously approved my contract, and many members of this community and workforce reached out to me and reaffirmed their desire for me to remain a Grand Rapidian.

Therefore, I have withdrawn my candidacy from all municipal manager recruitments. We have so much more ahead of us 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 23 at 13.00 to continue the discussion.

Dallas County reflects on ballot question

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

During the meeting in Dallas County Commissioners Court last Tuesday, the commissioners learned that it was a software problem from the provider. With another round of elections coming up in May, Dallas County’s election administrator expressed his disappointment with the provider’s response to address the issue.

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

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

One-on-one with the Collin County election administrator

Collin County Elections Administrator Bruce Sherbet recently announced his retirement. Eye on Politics Jack Fink sat down with Sherbet to talk about this and election-related issues in the state.

As an experienced election administrator, Sherbet mentions that despite the challenges, voting as it stands now is “more secure, more accurate and better at protecting voters from their own mistakes than any system we’ve ever used.”

Sherbet noted that the 2022 election was particularly tough, but the recent election was smoother in terms of logistics and processes. Concerns about electoral integrity from voters continued, however.

“And I’m telling you there is not an election integrity problem since the beginning of time,” Sherbet said. “There may be administrators making mistakes or there may be some software issues or equipment issues, but all the things that are in place right now really reassure voters that you have very smooth and accurate election processes.”

Watch Jack’s full interview with Bruce Sherbet here:

Frisco’s business boom

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

“This is one of the busiest times we’ve ever had as a society,” Cheney told Jack. “This region is widely regarded as the hottest commercial market in the entire country.”

Cheney also discussed the economic development plans going into the new year, including a business that is expected to bring over 1,000 new jobs to the area.

“We’re really pushing to bring a lot of jobs here to our community,” Cheney said. “In fact, we were told in our meeting this week that announcements are coming and it’s going to take a whole building by itself. So it’s coming down the pike, you know, probably here within the next 60 days. “

Watch Jack’s full interview with Mayor Cheney here: