Voters in Mesquite have a choice between two well-qualified candidates for mayor in incumbent Stan Pickett and City Council member Bruce Archer.

Both have extensive city government experience, and they both share a keen understanding of the need for Mesquite to balance economic development with maintaining services that contribute to residents’ quality of life.

Our recommendation comes down to the leadership style best suited for Mesquite now and in the future. We give the nod to Pickett, 62, whose collaborative approach has served the city of about 145,000 well in the four years as mayor and previous 10 on the City Council.

Pickett ran four years ago on the promise of mobilizing economic development to convince companies that Mesquite is a good place to do business. He also vowed to create more higher-priced housing options for residents and to push for more transparency at City Hall.

Our scorecard shows that the city made good progress on all those initiatives under Pickett’s leadership. For example, development is underway for a revamped Mesquite Rodeo area with retail and multi-family and single-family housing on the west side of the city. And the council has moved its meetings from afternoon to evening so that more residents can participate in what is happening at City Hall.

Pickett, who owns a furniture and appliance store, understands that the role of mayor is to set priorities and then work with the council and city staff to get things done.

There’s a lot to like about Archer, 48, who has served on the council since 2014. The real estate agent brings good energy and is aligned with Pickett on smart initiatives for Mesquite in recent years. We were impressed with his plan for community policing and streamlining the economic development process.

But his plan to be an aggressive hands-on mayor who meets weekly with city staff to review successes and look for areas of improvements belies the city manager form of government in which the city manager is the city administrator, not the mayor.

Mesquite is fortunate to have two strong representatives among its city leaders. But we believe Pickett has been steady at the helm and voters should return him as mayor.

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