Six months after a blowup that led to Mayor Douglas Athas' resignation and the recall of a second City Council member, Garland finds itself at peace with why it's having a May 5 mayoral election

At a forum on Thursday, none of the three candidates for the job addressed the nasty background on the council that led to the special election. There was no mention of Central Park — and certainly not the demolition of the National Guard armory at the park, which was the source of contentious debate in October. Nor was there discussion of Athas' decision to resign after the vote to tear down the armory.

In his written resignation submitted in January, Athas said he wasn't stepping down over the armory. Rather, he said that the council process was broken and that residents weren't being heard.

With only one year remaining in Athas' term, the new mayor won't solve LBJ East, Garland's worst freeway and the region's most pressing transportation need. The city's effort to fix water rates, a legal tussle with the North Texas Municipal Water District, is also not easily fixed in 12 months. Nor is the recent loss of the lone hospital in this city of 235,000 people.

From left: Lori Barnett Dodson, Louis Moore and Leala H. Green are the candidates to replace Douglas Athas as Garland mayor in the May 5 election. (Garland Chamber of Commerce)

But candidates Lori Barnett Dodson, Leala H. Green and Louis Moore believe it's a year for Garland to at least refocus on its issues. They believe that focus has to be led by people like them, who are not part of the current council.

"Often a few select people draw necessary conclusions as to what it is needed," said Green, 72, a former Dallas teacher and Garland NAACP leader who drew about a third of the vote in a 2017 run for mayor. "Often, it's a group that does not meet the racial diversity or socio-economic status of our citizens."

Moore, who is Native American, agreed that Garland's diversity is not reflected in its decision-making process. He promises a bevy of task forces to help get residents involved. That's not a one-year solution either, and Moore, 71, acknowledges that his election would prompt him to campaign for re-election in 2019.

"It took us a long time to get in this hole," he said. "The campaign basically has the bigger, broader vision of inclusiveness and getting us back to a focus not on personalities, not on pettiness or anything like that, but on what's best for Garland."

As members of the city's Plan Commission, Dodson and Moore offer a decade of experience and connectivity with city government. For Dodson, several of those years were on the council, where she sometimes clashed with Athas. Dodson said that she disagreed with others still on the council, too, but that in those cases they "simply agreed to disagree."

"I only chose to run because I believe I am the best option and the only one who can step in and right this ship," said Dodson, 54, who reached her term limit in 2017.

The only hint of discord among the candidates as they spoke to the Garland Chamber of Commerce on Thursday was Moore's declaration to be a "full-time mayor." He and Green are retired. Dodson is an investment manager.

"My position is that it's not a full-time job," Dodson said. "Some issues have arisen the last couple years from micromanaging, being in City Hall and interrupting staff. City Manager Brian Bradford is leading the staff. We hired him, he's highly intelligent, and I would put him up against anybody."

Moore also said he likes both Dodson and Green, wants them to contribute to the city's future and has "every intention of keeping this a very friendly campaign."

Garland Mayor Douglas Athas says he is stepping down because the the City Council is broken and residents aren't being heard. (Rex C. Curry/Special Contributor)

Garland voters also will affirm four council candidates on May 5. Incumbents Rich Aubin, an attorney, and consultant David Gibbons are unopposed. So is Jim Bookhout, who is retired from law enforcement and will replace term-limited B.J. Williams.

Deborah Morris, who helped organize the recall against Anita Goebel, takes over to represent the district that includes Central Park and the armory. City Secretary Rene Dowl said Morris' announced opponent backed out of the race after deadline and will still be on the ballot.

Voters also will consider 36 proposed amendments to the city charter — an election important enough to deserve the citywide attention of a mayor's race, Athas said when he resigned.

Meanwhile, in his final State of the City address Thursday to a small crowd at the Plaza Theatre, Athas said the city still has challenges. However, he didn't list a broken council among them.

"As I look back over a lot of things — my career, the things I've done in my life, my family, obviously — but being mayor serving the city of Garland has been truly the highest honor that I've had, and to be frank, the highest honor I want to have," Athas said in his speech.

As for what he might do after finishing as mayor, Athas said "it won't be in politics."

One process that has been restarted may lead to Garland joining the list of North Texas cities with a dog park. The location could be Central Park, just as council was aiming for when it voted to tear down the armory. A new plan was presented to residents last week and will be presented to the city's park board on Wednesday.