TEXAS CITY, Texas – When all votes were all counted late Tuesday night, residents in Texas City elected a new mayor.
Dedrick Johnson is now the mayor-elect and will officially take over the office next week.
“I was just very grateful to those who helped me get here because I didn’t get here by myself. There’s just so many people who worked with me. So I was just appreciative (of) all of them,” Johnson said.
In the process of his big win, Johnson also made history for Texas City by becoming the city’s first-ever African American mayor.
”Being the first is not as important as working hard enough to not be the last. But it is something that’s very important,” Johnson said.
He is no stranger to serving the Texas City community, he was a Commissioner of District 3 for 16 years. As the city’s next mayor, Johnson says, for now, his focus is on city workers.
“The personal and personnel relationships within our various departments are structurally sound so that we can continue to serve the people the best way possible," he said.
In fact, Johnson said he’s already hit the ground running and spent Wednesday afternoon meeting with different departments.
The mayor-elect said he’s optimistic about the future of Texas city.
”You’re definitely going to have somebody that’s excited because I grew up here. I was raised here. Nobody wants to see this city succeed as much as I do,” Johnson said.