Princeton (Texas) Mayor Brianna Chacon and yours truly are of like minds on an important subject.
We both happen to agree that the city over which she presides lacks a personality, an identity, a characteristic that defines it.
She wants to change the direction the city has been traveling for the past decade or even longer. I happen to agree wholeheartedly with her intent.
To be clear, I am going to declare that I wrote about this very thing some weeks ago. Chacon a few days ago mentioned it publicly in a State of the City speech she delivered at the Princeton school district administration building. I will not presume for an instant that she got the idea from my blog. However, it is heartening to believe that we are of like minds.
Seek an identity, Princeton | High Plains Blogger
Chacon announced her intention to enact a residential building moratorium. She wants to build up the city’s infrastructure, to bring it up to speed to provide for the thousands of people who have moved here in the past two decades.
The population today is estimated at about 28,000 residents, which is roughly 11,000 more people listed on the 2020 Census. “We grew too quickly,” Chacon told the Princeton ISD admin building crowd. Princeton has become a classic “bedroom community” comprising thousands of new homes.
Residents say they love living here, Chacon said, adding that the city needs to “give them a reason” for why they have embraced this community.
Chacon said she is excited about the city’s decision to hire Mike Mashburn as its new city manager. She believes he brings a refreshing new outlook to municipal management. It’s too early to tell whether Mashburn is the right man for the task, but I, too, am optimistic.
Chacon said the city’s identity is hidden from view. “We have been piecemealed together,” she said of Princeton’s growth history. Her intent, as I heard her say it the other day, is to craft a municipal identity for Princeton, giving it a personality.
Brianna Chacon and I are singing off the same page. Welcome aboard, Mme. Mayor.