It was standing room only at Frisco City Hall Tuesday night as residents and various elected officials representing Collin and Denton counties packed the council chambers to watch Frisco’s new mayor take the oath of office and be sworn in.
When outgoing Mayor Jeff Cheney introduced Mark Hill as the city’s new mayor, nearly everyone in the council chamber rose to give him a standing ovation. The attendees, some wearing cowboy hats and some wearing hijabs, cheered and hooted.
In a speech after taking the oath, Hill, an attorney and former Frisco ISD board trustee, pledged to the audience of more than 100 people that he would make Frisco a welcoming place for everyone.
His election follows months of turmoil at City Hall as activists protested alleged H-1B fraud and the affluent suburb’s growing Indian population in the public comment section of council meetings. Hill succeeds Cheney who was term-limited after nine years in office.
Hill, who ran under the campaign slogan “Unite Frisco,” spent much of the campaign arguing that Frisco’s diversity is a strength. He defeated Rod Vilhauer, a construction business owner in a June 13 runoff. Vilhauer drew praise and criticism for comparing South Asian immigrants in Frisco to rats and saying that Islam was not a religion but a “terrorist group.”
At Tuesday night’s ceremony, Hill said that one of the most rewarding parts of running for office was meeting residents and seeing how “big and diverse and dynamic” Frisco was. He said his goal as mayor was to make the city as attractive as possible.
“Part of my job … is to make sure the next strong family and the next strong business chooses Frisco, Texas,” Hill said.
Hill also campaigned on the idea that he would be a fresh voice separate from what he viewed as the City Council’s existing rivalries and factions. Hill served one term on the school board and on the board of the city’s economic development corporation but never on the City Council. Frisco’s last five mayors all previously served on the council before taking the helm.
Turning to face the dais and his new council colleagues, Hill asked them to push him to “dream big” and vowed to listen to them even when they disagree.
“What matters to each of you matters to me,” Hill said. “Give me some time to demonstrate that, and I think the city will be better for it.”
During his campaign, Hill said he would not “take his foot off the gas pedal” when it comes to Frisco’s growth. He said he would work to attract large companies to Frisco that would create local jobs and build the city’s tax base.
He has also promised to restore decorum to council meetings. Last month, the city suspended public comment on topics not on the council’s agenda in a bid to block outside speakers and make meetings more focused on city business. Hill has not said whether he plans to restore public comment.
On Tuesday night, Frisco also bid farewell to Cheney who has been an elected official in the city for nearly two decades as the suburb experienced explosive growth. He served on the City Council for nine years before he was elected mayor in 2017.
In that time, the city grew from 100,000 residents to 245,000 and attracted the Dallas Cowboys’ training facility, Universal Kids Resort and the headquarters of PGA America. During Cheney’s tenure, the city also built a $62 million public library that’s the sixth largest in Texas and broke ground on Grand Park, which will be larger than New York City’s Central Park when complete.