The Dallas Morning News Endorses Mark Hill for Frisco Mayor
Mark Hill is honored to receive the Frisco Mayoral endorsement from the The Dallas Morning News.
This endorsement is a testament to our campaigns commitment to positive leadership, transparency, and a community first focus. Experience is not measured by tenure, but by proven results that benefit our city and the ability to build consensus among people that have different views.
“Very little can stop Frisco from remaining one of North Texas’ most prosperous and desirable suburbs. And with its role in the FIFA World Cup and the full realization of the PGA of America headquarters, the city will be ever more in the international and national eye.
But there are challenges that have appeared recently that Frisco must manage smartly. Those include an older population, spiraling home valuations, a shrinking school district and a worrisome nativism that has targeted the Indian and Muslim populations.
Of four candidates running for Frisco mayor, three are well-qualified, including Frisco ISD board member Mark Hill and former council members John Keating and Shona Sowell.
All three have similar ideas on promoting the commercial tax base, lowering homeowner taxes, fighting Senate Bill 840 and protecting neighborhoods. Their ideas align with a majority of Frisco voters.
Of the three, Hill, 50, stands out as the most qualified. Hill, an attorney, joined the Frisco ISD board during a time of potential turmoil in 2023. There was an effort, thankfully short lived, to use FISD as a culture war petri dish. Hill became school board president last year and gets credit for keeping the focus on student outcomes and administrative excellence.
He also gets credit for directing the city’s economic development corporation. Frisco racks up wins in attracting new businesses and corporations. Sure, the city sells itself, but Hill has been a smart steward of Frisco’s image.
Sowell, Frisco’s former mayor pro tem and a communications professional, is a solid candidate with a lot of knowledge about how Frisco needs to grow. She’s well aligned with neighborhood concerns and understood early why a proposal for an arts facility was the wrong plan at the wrong time. (Hill also opposed the arts facility, but as an FISD board member, did not take a public position.) Sowell, 55, understands Frisco well, but she doesn’t have the same level of experience Hill does governing FISD and leading the EDC. We see that as a key advantage for him.
Keating, 62, an entrepreneur and investor, has served capably as a longtime member of the Frisco City Council. His willingness to lead on ensuring the city is welcoming to all is laudable. And his close alliance with outgoing Mayor Jeff Cheney shouldn’t be viewed as a liability. Many Frisco voters are ready for a change, but Cheney’s leadership saw smart, steady growth.
That said, we agree with Hill that a sense of factionalism has set in on the Frisco council. A fresh start with new leadership that doesn’t have the baggage of prior councils feels right.
We were also confused by Keating’s statement to us that while he privately opposed the arts facility and voted against it as a citizen, he publicly spoke in favor of it and ensured it was on the ballot.
A fourth candidate, businessman Rod Vilhauer, has made public statements that exacerbate ethnic and religious division. That will only hurt Frisco.
In a good race among the other three candidates, voters have a tough choice. Hill earns our recommendation.”
– The Dallas Morning News Editorial Board
Read the full article: https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/we-recommend/article/for-frisco-mayor-the-dallas-morning-news-22204377.php
Frisco Stands Behind Mark Hill
