Adam McGough is preparing to depart the Dallas City Council after serving for 8 years.
Councilman Adam McGough welcomed a crowd of well wishers Thursday for his final State of the District address. He ticked off a list of tangible accomplishments — projects which came to fruition during his eight-year tenure — but his focus was largely on the intangibles achieved during his term.
Before his election to the council in 2015, McGough served as a community prosecutor, working to fight abandoned and poorly managed properties where criminal activity and other issues lowered surrounding property values and threatened the health and safety of neighbors. He also did a stint as Mayor Mike Rawlings’ chief of staff, dealing with Dallas’ Ebola crisis and establishing the Mayor’s Rising Star Council for teens.
“The things that I’ve had an opportunity to engage with over the last, really eighteen years, have been more than I would have ever dreamed of,” McGough said. “I believe this time of service has not been about projects or policies, but it has been about people.”
In a video created for the occasion, neighbors who’d joined McGough’s “Collective Impact” team of volunteers praised him for his advocacy for Lake Highlands High School student resource officers (SROs), the Lake Highlands North Recreation Center Aquatic Center, the new Forest Green Library, the Willie B. Johnson Recreation Center in Hamilton Park, the North Lake Highlands Public Improvement District, the Lake Highlands Town Center and LBJ East, among a host of other projects.
McGough also pointed to his service as chairman of the public safety committee and news that District 10 had the highest reduction in crime in the city. He credited Neighborhood Police Officers (NPOs) in the Dallas Police Department, along with Project Safe Neighborhood, a partnership between the DPD, the FBI, the U.S. Attorney, the DEA and other law enforcement resources. Neighborhood quality of life sometimes comes down to what didn’t happen, and DPD Chief Eddie Garcia had praise for McGough’s successful efforts to keep Dallasites safe.
McGough said he’d worked hard to remain engaged throughout his four terms and said the city secretary could find no one in Dallas’ history who’d served on more committees or been appointed more often. He referred back to the start of his tenure and the mottos he has stuck by: All in D10 and Love Your Neighbor.
“As it relates to District 10, I would say we are resilient, renewed and ready,” McGough said.
Election Day for a new D10 rep on the council is May 6. Early voting begins April 24.
The State Champion LHHS Basketball Team was honored at City Hall Wednesday.
