Austin City Council announces 3 finalists for city manager
Austin Mayor Kirk Watson released the names of three finalists for the city manager position on Tuesday afternoon.
Watson said the city will be moving forward with T.C. Broadnax, the city manager of Dallas; Sara Hensley, the city manager of Denton; and Brian Platt, the city manager of Kansas City, Mo.
The city has been on the hunt for a new top-executive since former City Manager Spencer Cronk was ousted in February 2023. Jesús Garza has been serving as the interim city manager since then.
Watson said candidates will participate in some city meetings on March 25 and will have a public town hall later that evening. The next day, the mayor and City Council will interview the candidates.
"We will ask one, two or all three candidates to return for additional discussion on April 1 and anticipate voting to direct our search firm to negotiate a contract with a specific person on April 2nd. We will post for a vote on that day," Watson wrote in his post to the message board. "Of course, we reserve the right to take more time in making this very important decision."
On Friday, Watson shared on the City Council message board that the firm conducting the search said they had 39 applications for the executive position. Watson said in the post he felt confident they would have a candidate selected by April.
The American-Statesman confirmed earlier Tuesday that the City Council was getting close to releasing names.
Here's what we know about the finalists:
T.C. Broadnax — Dallas
T.C. Broadnax last month announced he would step down from his position as city manager for Dallas on June 3 after seven years in the role. His resignation came amid pressure from representatives the city’s 14-member City Council, according to the Dallas Morning News.
A joint news release from six City Council members said Broadnax’s resignation came “at the suggestion of the majority of the Dallas City Council.”
Prior to working in Dallas, Broadnax served as city manager of Tacoma, Wash., from 2012 to 2016. Broadnax moved to Tacoma from San Antonio, where he was an assistant city manager.
Broadnax oversees a $4.6 billion budget, about 13,100 employees and more than 40 departments in his current role, according to The Dallas Morning News.
Sara Hensley — Denton
Sara Hensley is currently the city manager of Denton, a North Texas town with a population of about 150,000, according to 2022 U.S. Census Bureau estimates.
Hensley was appointed Denton's city manager in 2022, according to the city of Denton's website. She came to Denton in 2019 as the assistant city manager and was later promoted to deputy city manager and then interim city manager.
Hensley was previously the city of Austin's parks and recreation director and also served as an interim assistant city manager for two years, according to the city of Denton.
Brian Platt — Kansas City, Mo.
Brian Platt has been the city manager of Kansas City, Mo., since 2020, according to the Kansas City municipal website. Kansas City has a population of more than half a million, according to 2022 census estimates.
Platt was previously the city manager for Jersey City, N.J., according to the city's website. He was Jersey City's first chief innovation officer and before that had worked at the international consulting firm McKinsey & Co. and was a kindergarten teacher with Teach for America.