Bill Text: TX HR729 | 2021-2022 | 87th Legislature | Introduced
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Honoring Jeff Williams on the occasion of his retirement as mayor of Arlington.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2021-05-02 - Reported enrolled [HR729 Detail]
Download: Texas-2021-HR729-Introduced.html
Bill Title: Honoring Jeff Williams on the occasion of his retirement as mayor of Arlington.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2021-05-02 - Reported enrolled [HR729 Detail]
Download: Texas-2021-HR729-Introduced.html
87R20912 CJM-D | ||
By: Turner of Tarrant | H.R. No. 729 |
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WHEREAS, Jeff Williams is concluding his distinguished | ||
tenure as the mayor of Arlington in May 2021, and this occasion | ||
provides a fitting opportunity to honor him for his outstanding | ||
service to the city; and | ||
WHEREAS, First elected in 2015, Mayor Williams has | ||
spearheaded a number of exceptional programs during his three terms | ||
in office; he launched the Kindness Initiative and formed a | ||
Community Relations Commission to encourage the virtue, and public | ||
and private schools from the elementary to college level have | ||
embraced the emphasis on acts of kindness, as has the faith-based | ||
community; the positive effects have also extended to civic | ||
organizations and the business sphere; moreover, Mayor Williams has | ||
promoted community service through Unite Arlington Weekends; and | ||
WHEREAS, Mayor Williams was instrumental in establishing a | ||
Unity Council to study equity and equality in the city, and with the | ||
city council, he developed the most aggressive Minority/Women | ||
Business Enterprise policy in Arlington's history; officials | ||
coordinated with the Greater Arlington Chamber of Commerce, the | ||
Community Influence Leaders Roundtable, and the Fort Worth | ||
Metropolitan Black Chamber of Commerce, resulting in monumental | ||
participation of M/WBE firms on the Globe Life Field and Texas Live! | ||
projects, among others; and | ||
WHEREAS, Committed to vibrant tourism and job creation, Mayor | ||
Williams guided such downtown revitalization efforts as a new | ||
library, the expansion of Levitt Pavilion, and the advancement of | ||
the Urban Union mixed-use development, which has been a catalyst | ||
for redevelopment on the Division Street Corridor; an expansive new | ||
entertainment complex encompasses a venue with daily events, and it | ||
is served by an adjacent luxury hotel; the mayor's endeavors and | ||
advocacy were crucial to the agreement by the Texas Rangers to | ||
remain in Arlington, playing in a new ballpark, Globe Life Field; | ||
financed by a successful sales tax election, the complex will also | ||
host the world headquarters of Six Flags; he has helped to attract a | ||
wide array of new businesses to the area as well, among them the | ||
headquarters of Fortune 500 company D. R. Horton, Nanoscope | ||
Technologies, a UPS regional distribution hub, General Motors' | ||
Arlington Automotive Logistics Center, and GM Financial; and | ||
WHEREAS, The mayor has long championed education and | ||
galvanized effective partnerships with school districts, Tarrant | ||
County College, and The University of Texas at Arlington; | ||
previously, he was a member of the 2008 Arlington City Bond Election | ||
Committee and the 2014 Arlington ISD School Bond Election | ||
Committee; over the years, he has benefited his community in | ||
numerous other leadership roles, including chair of the Greater | ||
Arlington Chamber of Commerce and president of the River Legacy | ||
Foundation; at the national level, he has served as president of the | ||
prestigious U.S. Metro Economics Committee of the United States | ||
Conference of Mayors; and | ||
WHEREAS, A graduate of Texas Tech University, Mayor Williams | ||
was inducted into the university's Civil, Environmental, and | ||
Construction Engineering Academy; his many accolades include the | ||
Vandergriff Community Leadership Award, the PTA Lifetime | ||
Achievement Award, and the Comprehensive Planning Award from the | ||
Texas Section of the American Planning Association; he and his | ||
wife, Karen, shared in the 2018 Greater Arlington Chamber of | ||
Commerce Star Award; they are the proud parents of three AISD | ||
alumni; and | ||
WHEREAS, Mayor Williams has kindled a renewed civic pride | ||
during his tenure, best captured by his well-known catchphrase, | ||
"It's a great day in Arlington!"; and | ||
WHEREAS, Through his visionary leadership, Jeff Williams has | ||
helped to build an even more prosperous future for the citizens of | ||
Arlington, and the impact of his remarkable achievements will | ||
resonate for years to come; now, therefore, be it | ||
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 87th Texas | ||
Legislature hereby honor Jeff Williams on the occasion of his | ||
retirement as mayor of Arlington and extend to him sincere best | ||
wishes as he begins the next exciting chapter of his life; and, be | ||
it further | ||
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be | ||
prepared for Mr. Williams as an expression of high regard by the | ||
Texas House of Representatives. |