With Familiar Name as Chief of Staff, Mike Rawlings Talks About Top of His To-Do List

First off, to the Friend of Unfair Park who noted yesterday that Paula Blackmon would be named mayor-elect Mike Rawlings's chief of staff today, kudos. That's indeed correct, says City Hall: Former Mayor Tom Leppert's deputy chief of staff, who took a gig as University of North Texas at Dallas's...

By Robert Wilonsky

June 20, 2011

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First off, to the Friend of Unfair Park who noted yesterday that Paula Blackmon would be named mayor-elect Mike Rawlings's chief of staff today, kudos. That's indeed correct, says City Hall: Former Mayor Tom Leppert's deputy chief of staff, who took a gig as University of North Texas at Dallas's director of external relations, will indeed return to Marilla. Blackmon also worked on Rawlings's campaign -- and, before that, was Leppert's grassroots organizer.

Now then. Following Saturday's win Rawlings went on Inside Texas Politics Sunday morning to chat up Brad Watson and Gromer Jeffers about what's first on his to-do list, besides spent July getting up to speed before council returns from its summer vacation. Close to the tippy-top? You guessed it: the Dallas Independent School District.

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