Dallas, Kansas City, former Austin leaders finalists for Austin's city manager job

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- After 39 people applied to be Austin’s next city manager, Austin City Council has identified its top candidates after a work session behind closed doors Tuesday. 

Qualified candidates next move to interviews with city council and will participate in a community town hall. Mayor Kirk Watson said they expect to have a new city manager by roughly April. 

Interim City Manager Jesús Garza did not apply to continue in the position long-term, according to a full list of applicants KXAN received from sources close to the search. He was brought out of retirement by the council after it voted to fire former City Manager Spencer Cronk. 

Cronk faced increased scrutiny last year following prolonged power outages from an ice storm in early February and negotiation with the Austin Police Association on a four-year deal “in principle,” which ultimately fell through.

Here are the top candidates in the running to be Austin’s next city manager: 

T.C. Broadnax, Dallas city manager

Broadnax has served as the city manager of Dallas for the last seven years, according to the City of Dallas’ website. He announced he was stepping down from the role last month. His last day will be June 3, according to Dallas City Council documents. 

Of the applicants, Broadnax was rated the most qualified by the firm doing Austin’s search, according to documents KXAN received and sources close to the search. 

Several Dallas City Council members pushed for Broadnax’ resignation last month citing his tense relationship with Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson, according to reporting from the Texas Tribune.

The Tribune reported that in 2022, the mayor made an initial push for Broadnax to resign “amid vacancies in the city’s 911 call center and considerable delays in the city’s building permitting office – and after the city unintentionally deleted millions of Dallas Police Department data files that included evidence and investigations.” 

The City of Austin has faced – and is facing – some parallel challenges. 

Prior to landing in Dallas, he was the city manager of Tacoma, Washington. According to KXAN’s NBC affiliate in Dallas, which vetted Broadnax prior to his start there, he received high praise from the City of Tacoma despite his leaving. 

“I regret deeply that he’s leaving. I think Tacoma could use his leadership for another five or 10 years. However, I can’t fault him for the opportunity. It’s like playing minor league baseball and being asked to go to the big leagues,” then-Tacoma Mayor Marilyn Strickland told our affiliate. 

Brian Platt, Kansas City city manager

Brian Platt has been the city manager in Kansas City, Missouri for a little more than three years, starting in December of 2020 as the pandemic hit, according to his biography on the Kansas City website. 

According to that site, Platt was previously the city manager for Jersey City, New Jersey. He has also worked with McKinsey & Company, a consulting firm the City of Austin has used on numerous occasions.

On the city’s website, it says Kansas City created a new housing department under Platt which included the city’s first-ever homeless prevention coordinator. It also touts infrastructure improvements including a “new $1.5 billion single terminal airport.” 

Platt also launched Kansas City’s ZeroKC initiative, which aims to end homelessness, according to the city’s website. 

Some of those improvements mirror recent efforts by the City of Austin. For example, last year Austin broke off its Housing Department from the Planning Department and also created a new Homeless Strategy Office, which previously lived under Austin Public Health. In addition, the City of Austin is currently undergoing a massive airport expansion process.

According to the National Public Radio station in Kansas City, Platt started in 2020 under tense circumstances – after allegations of racism came out against him in his former role in Jersey City. A lawsuit was filed by multiple employees there – but a judge later dismissed it, KCUR reported. 

A majority of city council members in Jersey City told the outlet the accusations were “unfair and untrue” and all but one of the council members signed a letter to Kansas City supporting Platt, KCUR reported.

Another report from KXAN’s NBC affiliate in Kansas City, KSHB, in December of 2022 says a lawsuit was filed against Platt for reportedly asking staff why they didn’t just “lie to the media” and then allegedly demoting an employee who refused to do so. Subsequent reports show city attorneys asked a judge to dismiss the lawsuit.

Sara Hensley, Denton, Texas city manager

Sara Hensley was appointed as the first female city manager of Denton, Texas in March of 2022, according to the City of Denton’s website. She’s been with the city since 2019 in various leadership roles including deputy city manager and interim city manager, the website said. 

Hensley is no stranger to the City of Austin, though. She was first introduced to Austin as the director of the Parks and Recreation Department in 2008, according to a release from the Austin Parks Foundation, and later served as interim assistant city manager in Austin for roughly two years where she oversaw Austin Public Health, Austin Public Library, the parks department, animal services and the Office of Real Estate, the City of Denton said in a release.

“She led large-scale teams in multiple program and service areas and operations, served as the executive lead for several citywide cross-departmental efforts, and had frequent interaction with elected officials, community stakeholders, and residents,” her bio on the City of Denton’s website says. 

Hensley made news last year when she refused to direct the Denton chief of police to abide by Denton’s marijuana ordinance, which similar to Austin’s, was voted on by residents to decriminalize misdemeanor marijuana offenses, according to reports from the Denton Record-Chronicle. 

“I’ve said it a thousand times and I’ll say it again, I do not direct the police chief. He gets his oath from the state of Texas,” Hensley told council members, the Record-Chronicle reported. “I could tell him to break the law, but that is not what I will do as a professional.” 

Attorney General Ken Paxton announced earlier this year that he was suing cities for violating state law in their adoption of those ordinances. Both the City of Austin and the City of Denton were named in the lawsuits. 

Hensley’s bio says she has more than 20 years of experience in public service including working as the Director of Neighborhood Services, Animal Services and Parks and Recreation for the City of San Jose, California, and the Director of Parks and Recreation in both Virginia Beach, Virginia and Phoenix, Arizona prior to moving to Texas.