City Hall News

Aftermath of the resignation of Dallas' city manager: a timeline

Crazy doings down at Dallas City Hall.

Courtesy photo

Dallas City Hall is enjoying waves of personnel upheaval, following the February resignation of Dallas City Manager T.C. Broadnax.

Broadnax resigned after seven years in the office, originally framed as concern from six members of the Dallas City Council - Zarin Gracey, Jaime Resendez, Omar Narvaez, Adam Bazaldua, Jaynie Schultz, and Gay Donnell Willis - that Broadnax was unable to be effective.

Broadnax first "secretly" approached Resendez, asking him to find the eight majority votes he needed that would allow him to resign, get severance, and take a job with another city.

Following his resignation, Broadnax fortuitously conveniently quickly received a job offer from the city of Austin, who hired him as their city manager.

Deputy City Manager Kimberly Tolbert was appointed as Interim City Manager, until a permanent hire is made. Since her May 2 start date, she has been on a carraaazy hiring spree, making promotions one might not expect someone in an interim position to do.

Here's some of the frenzied high points that have elapsed in the aftemath:

May 7: Tolbert promotions
According to a memo to the Dallas City Council, Tolbert promoted interim Dallas Water Utilities director Sarah Standifer to permanent director. Standifer was the city official in charge during debacles such as the Margaret McDermott Bridge failure and the drained wetland pond in the Trinity Forest.

In the same memo, Tolbert appointed two interim assistant city managers: Robin Bentley, former director for economic development, and Donzell Gipson, former assistant director for the Dallas Police Department.

May 16: Tolbert promotions
According to a release from the city, Interim City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert appointed former Sanger city manager Alina Ciocan to lead the "Livable" portfolio, which includes Dallas Animal Services, Sanitation Services, Code Compliance, 311, and the Office of Homeless Solutions. Ciocan replaces Robert Perez, who was hired as city manager for Topeka, Kansas. Ciocan begins on May 30.

May 20: Dallas City Hall departures
According to a memo to the Dallas City Council, two other City Hall employees are joining Broadnax in Austin: Deputy City Manager Jon Fortune will become a deputy city manager and Chief of Staff Genesis Gavino will be a special assistant to Broadnax.

May 21: Dallas City Hall departures
According to a Facebook post, Dallas assistant city manager Majed Al-Ghafry was hired by the DeSoto City Council to serve as DeSoto’s next City Manager.

May 22: Dallas City Hall departures
The Dallas City Council approved a $134,374 contract with Baker Tilly to conduct a search for a new city manager.

May 23: Dallas City Hall departures
According to a memo, Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson has asked the Dallas City Council ad hoc committee on administrative affairs to consider denying severance to former City Manager T.C. Broadnax. Broadnax’s contract allowed for him to receive a lump sum payment equal to his $423,247 salary upon the end of his employment with the city. When asked about it by KVUE in Austin, Broadnax referred to himself in third person and said he wouldn't comment.

May 23: Tolbert promotions
According to a release from the city, Tolbert created a new role in her interim administration: Chief of Strategy, Engagement, and Alignment (CSEA). "This first-of-its-kind position for the City strengthens ICM Tolbert’s commitment to streamlining the City’s organizational structure and delivering Service First with the urgency of Now! It will replace the City Manager’s Office Chief of Staff position. Tolbert has tapped Elizabeth Saab as the inaugural Interim CSEA. Her first day in the office will be Tuesday, May 28."

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let loose dallas

Dallas earns a slot on new list of America's most fun cities

Photo by Mark Patterson on Unsplash

Dallas is a fun place to be, the study says.

Dallas' fun entertainment and nightlife scenes have helped the city improve in WalletHub's just-released ranking of the most fun American cities in 2025. Dallas now stands tall as the 26th most fun U.S. city this year.

WalletHub's "Most Fun Cities in America (2025)" study compared 182 U.S. cities across 65 metrics — spanning from the number of sports venues, music venues, and shopping centers per capita to the average cost for a restaurant meal — to determine how "fun" each city is. The metrics were split among three main categories: entertainment and recreation, nightlife and parties, and cost.

Las Vegas, Nevada continued its multi-year streak as the No. 1 most fun American city.

Across the three key dimensions, Dallas scored the highest for its nightlife and parties rank (No. 23), but its entertainment and recreation ranks (No. 35) and costs (No. 99) still have room for improvement. But overall, Dallas' level of "fun" is far higher than most U.S. cities.

Dallas' current "fun" status is five places higher than its 2024 rank as the No. 31 most fun American city.

Elsewhere in North Texas, Fort Worth ranked as the 60th most fun American city, while Arlington (No. 71) and Plano (No. 78) lagged farther behind.

Texas' most fun cities
Houston overtook Austin as the 6th most fun city in America and the No. 1 most fun Texas city for 2025. Austin, which ranked No. 6 last year, dropped two spots and now ranks No. 8 on the list.

Three more Texas cities that appeared in the top 100 include: San Antonio (No. 23), El Paso (No. 62), and Corpus Christi (No. 94).

"The decision of where to live could save or cost you a lot of money and fun, so it’s fair to wonder what makes a fun city," the report's author wrote. "In a city with enough variety, you won’t have to compromise with your friends, family, or even yourself about the next fun activity to do alone or together."

Surprisingly, both Chicago and New York City dropped out of the top 10 most fun American cities. Chicago now ranks as No. 11, and New York City ranks 14th on the list.

WalletHub's top 10 most fun U.S. cities in 2025 are:

No. 1 – Las Vegas, Nevada
No. 2 – Orlando, Florida
No. 3 – Miami, Florida
No. 4 – Atlanta, Georgia
No. 5 – New Orleans, Louisiana
No. 6 – Houston, Texas
No. 7 – San Francisco, California
No. 8 – Austin, Texas
No. 9 – Portland, Oregon
No. 10 – Cincinnati, Ohio

rankings wallethub dallas