Dallas selects 3 finalists for city manager job
A committee interviewed three candidates for the Dallas city manager position. One of those three candidates, Kim Tolbert, has been acting as the city manager since the previous one left.
DALLAS – The City of Dallas is holding a series of meet-and-greet sessions for citizens to get to know the finalists for its open city manager position.
City Manager Candidates Meet-and Greets
Residents are invited to meet with the finalist for the city manager position to interact with the candidates and hear their perspectives on the future of Dallas.
- Saturday, Jan. 11 – 10 a.m. at Dallas City Hall (1500 Marilla Street)
- Saturday, Jan. 11 – 3 p.m. at Singing Hills Recreation Center (6805 Patrol Way)
- Sunday, Jan. 12 – 1 p.m. at Fretz Recreation Center (6950 Beltline Road)
Dallas City Manager Finalists
What We Know: The Dallas city manager search has been narrowed to three final candidates.
The candidates, announced last month, are Kimberly Tolbert, William Johnson and Mario Lara.
Kimberly Tolbert
Tolbert has served as Dallas’s interim city manager since May 2024.
Prior to that, she served as Deputy City Manager and Chief of Staff to the City Manager.
Tolbert also worked in finance and administration roles with the city.
She also worked in executive roles with the North Texas Tollway Authority for 15 years.
William Johnson
Johnson has been an assistant city manager for Fort Worth since 2019.
He also worked as the Deputy Chief Operating Officer and Public Works Commissioner for the City of Atlanta, and as Director of the Baltimore Department of Transportation.
Johnson also worked in the private sector, where he was a member of senior leadership specializing in Emergency Services.
Mario Lara
Lara is an assistant city manager in Sacramento, where he oversees the city’s police, fire, emergency management and community response departments. He has worked in the role since 2022.
Prior to that, he worked as the Director of Youth, Parks & Community Enrichment for nearly three years.
Lara also worked in the Riverside City Manager’s Office, Parks, Recreation and Community Services Department, and with San Bernardino County.
What’s Next: The lone finalist is expected to be announced and voted on in January.
Challenges Ahead
Why It Matters: The new city manager will enter the position at a time when there is a great deal of uncertainty about how the city government will be run.
The city manager will be tasked with hiring a new police chief and, pending any action from the courts, move forward with an aggressive police staffing requirement that could strain the city’s budget.
A newly-passed amendment to the city charter also allows the city to be sued for any charter requirements it is not upholding.
