Mineral Wells Area News is proud to present Community Voices, a weekly guest column featuring local leaders who share insight, updates, and perspectives on what’s happening in Mineral Wells and across Palo Pinto County.

Each week, a different voice from our community will take the stage—keeping residents informed, engaged, and connected to the people shaping our future.

Our first contributor is Mayor Regan Wallace, sharing the debut installment of her new column From the Mayor’s Porch.

We hope you enjoy this new series.

From the Mayor’s Porch

By Mayor Regan Wallace

Howdy Mineral Wells! Welcome to the inaugural column From the Mayor’s Porch. I look forward to sharing snippets of what your city council is doing, hearing feedback, column topic suggestions, and—most importantly—hoping to inspire participation in your local government.

I named this column the Mayor’s Porch because my back porch is where I often sit in the evenings to read e-mails, return calls, catch up on city council homework, and write this column.

Understanding Local Government

Local government is a non-partisan elected role. Simply put, local government candidates do not run on a party ticket—no elephants, no donkeys, and no primaries.

Why is this? Local government functions more like an administrative arm of the city. The higher levels of government are where the partisan issues live.

Elections, unless all positions are uncontested, are held in May of each year.

Mineral Wells is a Home Rule city, meaning it has an adopted Home Rule charter—essentially the local constitution for how the city operates. This allows Mineral Wells to manage local affairs and enact ordinances, provided they do not conflict with state law.

During the 2024 local election, some charter amendments were passed to help bring our local charter in compliance with state law. Although the city was already following state law, it’s important to keep the wording of our local charter in line with practice.

We often refer to these changes as “housekeeping” because:

They need to be done It’s best to stay on top of them They’re not always exciting—but they matter

Did you know the city currently has a Charter Review Commission? This commission is comprised of citizens representing each ward of Mineral Wells. At the completion of the review process, the committee will present recommendations for charter amendments to the city council, which will then be placed on a ballot for voter approval.

Looking for some light reading? The city charter is available on the city website: mineralwellstx.gov.

Wards & Representation

Mineral Wells is geographically drawn into four wards for the purpose of local representation. Like state redistricting, the city also goes through a redistricting process as required by law.

The charter determines how the city council is made up, qualifications to serve, and defines the roles between council and staff.

In addition to one representative from each ward, the council has two at-large positions (open to any resident from any ward) as well as the Mayor, who is elected by all citizens.

Your vote actually counts for four of the seven council members. For example:

If you live in Ward 2, you can vote for both at-large positions, your Ward 2 representative, and the Mayor.

These positions are staggered every other year on two-year terms, so all four won’t be on the ballot at the same time.

How the Council Works

Your city council is responsible for setting the vision of what the City Manager and staff should be working toward, based on the input of the citizens they represent.

The staff is then responsible for day-to-day operations—implementing policy, ordinances, providing services, and managing the many other functions cities oversee.

In case you missed it, we welcomed Jason Weeks as our new City Manager at the beginning of this year. Keep an eye out for Coffee with the City Manager, held monthly at rotating locations.

This is a great opportunity to:

Hear real-time reports on city projects

Learn about upcoming plans

Express concerns

Meet department heads and ask questions

Get Involved

The city council appoints a number of boards and commissions. If you’ve read this far, consider applying to serve on one!

Boards include:

Library Board

Airport Board

Planning & Zoning

Economic Development Committee

Board of Adjustments

And more.

Right now, you can also participate in the Parks & Recreation survey for park improvements. Our Parks Director, Carrie Stevenson, calls them the “fun department,” so tell them what fun you want in our parks—more slides, more programs, or anything else.

The survey only takes a couple of minutes and is available online or by following this link.

Y’all stay crazy for Mineral Wells,

Mayor Regan Wallace

📧 mayor@mineralwellstx.gov

---

Next Week on Community Voices:

We’ll hear from David Miller, Director of the Mineral Wells Economic Development Corporation, on the role of EDCs and how they help drive economic growth in our community.