Mayor News

Newly elected Dallas mayor Eric Johnson takes new job with law firm

Mayor Eric Johnson.

Courtesy photo

A mere two months after he was elected, Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson has been hired by a Dallas law firm. According to a release, Johnson has joined Locke Lord at its Dallas office as a partner in its Public Finance Practice Group.

Johnson most recently worked at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP, and prior to that at Andrews Kurth Kenyon LLP. Before becoming mayor, he served nine years in the Texas House of Representatives and had just been re-elected in November 2018, before his last-minute mayoral run.

In a statement, Locke Lord chair David Taylor says that the company is honored to have Johnson aboard.

"Mayor Johnson is very well regarded within the business community in North Texas and throughout the state, is a Dallas native, and has been practicing law in Dallas for over 15 years, bringing to the Firm a depth of experience in the public finance industry," Taylor says.

Whit Roberts, deputy managing partner of the Dallas office, says that Johnson's experience in public finance will be invaluable, and that they started recruiting him after he was elected mayor.

Johnson says the mayoral job will be his priority.

"To Dallas' residents, I want to say that my duties as Mayor will always come first," Johnson says. "As a practicing lawyer in my early 40s, however, it is also important that I maintain my law license and continue to practice law as time allows. And I will always do so in accordance with all applicable laws, as well as the ethical standards of the legal profession, with respect to conflicts of interest."

He'll be paid a set salary and will not share in Locke Lord profits.

His annual salary as mayor is $80,000; city council members make $60,000. Those rates were established in 2014 when the council approved a raise from their previous rate of $37,500 — a rate so low that it required most council members to hold a job in addition to serving on the council. Some still do hold jobs.

Locke Lord's Public Finance Practice Group is entrenched in governmental activity, including the realm of public borrowing and the federal tax and securities aspects of public debt obligations.

They've served as counsel on numerous bond issues in Dallas over the years and are also general counsel to the North Texas Tollway Authority.

Bonds they've been involved in include:

City of Dallas, Texas Waterworks and Sewer System Revenue Refunding Bonds, Series 2015A & Taxable Series 2015B: $604,260,000
City of Dallas, Love Field Airport Modernization Corp. General Airport Revenue Bonds, Series 2015: $109,235,000
City of Dallas, Dallas Convention Center Hotel Development Corp. Hotel Revenue Bonds, Series 2009C: $479,821,197
City of Dallas, Downtown Dallas Development Authority Tax Increment Contract Revenue Bonds, Taxable Series 2006: $50,605,343
Dallas County Hospital District Limited Tax Bonds, Tax Exempt Series 2009A, Taxable Series 2009 B&C: $705,000,000

politics

population explosion

7 booming Dallas neighbors see biggest population growth in U.S.

City of Denton, TX - City Hall/Facebook

Denton had the biggest population growth rate in Dallas-Fort Worth from 2022 to 2023.

Denton, Mansfield, McKinney, and more North Texas cities are among the fastest-growing places in the country, according to a new population growth study by SmartAsset.

The report, "These Cities Saw the Largest Growth in Population – 2024 Study," examined U.S. Census population estimates for 2023, 2022, and 2018 to determine one-year and five-year population changes for 610 U.S. cities with populations of at least 65,000 residents in 2023 (where the most recent data was available).

Silver Spring, Maryland had the No. 1 biggest population boom nationwide from 2022 to 2023, SmartAsset found. The Washington, D.C. suburb grew 12.86 percent year-over-year, bringing the city's total population from 75,313 to 84,996 residents in 2023.

Denton took the lead over all other Dallas-Fort Worth cities with the 16th-largest one-year population growth rate in the U.S., at 5.32 percent. Denton gained over 8,000 residents from 2022 to 2023, bringing the city's total population to 158,361 in 2023.

This should come as no surprise to those who already live in Denton, who may know their hometown was ranked one of the safest suburbs in America.

Mansfield trailed close behind with a 4.16 percent increase in population during that same period, which landed it the No. 26 spot in the one-year population change analysis. The city gained 3,189 new residents in that time, adding up to a total population of 79,775 residents in 2023.

McKinney appeared farther down the list as No. 49 with just a 2.89 percent one-year growth rate from 2022 to 2023, and a total population of 213,504 residents.

Only four other Dallas-Fort Worth cities appeared in the top 100 fastest growing cities in the U.S. from 2022 to 2023:

No. 61 – Frisco (2.48 percent increase)
No. 72 – Rowlett (2.48 percent)
No. 73 – Lewisville (2.17 percent)
No. 99 – Flower Mound (1.73 percent)

The report suggested major population shifts in communities like Denton or Mansfield can result in "a variety of interwoven economic and social impacts."

"The magnitude of the population change can affect demand for businesses and services, which in turn may impact costs – or even the availability of such amenities," the report's author wrote. "Similarly, the relative age of the population can determine the strength or weakness of the local job market, as well as have an impact on local culture, economic trajectory, tax base and more."

Fast-growing cities elsewhere in Texas
Texas cities dominated the top 10 list of cities where population grew the most from 2022 to 2023.

New Braunfels, a San Antonio suburb, ranked No. 2 nationally with an 12.49 percent one-year population boom, and a 29.68 percent growth rate from 2018 to 2023. The city gained 12,318 new residents in that time, adding up to a total population of 110,961 residents in 2023.

Just two spots behind New Braunfels is the North Austin suburb of Georgetown (No. 4), which grew 11.34 percent to 96,317 residents in 2023. According to the report's five-year population change analysis, Georgetown ranked seventh with a 29.85 percent growth rate.

The Houston suburbs of Atascocita and Conroe ranked No. 5 and No. 9, respectively. Atascocita's total population grew to 119,502 residents in 2023, which represented a 11.03 percent growth rate from 2022, and a whopping 38.56 percent population increase since 2018. Conroe's 6.73 percent one-year population increase paled in comparison, but the city grew 23.49 percent during the five-year period from 2018 to 2023.

The top 10 U.S. cities where population grew the most from 2022 to 2023 are:

No. 1 – Silver Spring, Maryland
No. 2 – New Braunfels, Texas
No. 3 – Glen Burnie, Maryland
No. 4 – Georgetown, Texas
No. 5 – Atascocita, Texas
No. 6 – Pine Hills, Florida
No. 7 – Elgin, Illinois
No. 8 – Lehi, Utah
No. 9 – Conroe, Texas
No. 10 – Dale City, Virginia

population growth reports smartasset dallas fort worth denton suburbs mansfield