Recent activities reminded me of a simple roadmap I laid out in these pages (Aug. 31, 2025, “Lessons from George W. Bush, his institution”) for effective leadership: providing safety, security, solvency and sanity.

In short, great leadership should provide physical safety for those being led and the security that they can trust the institutions to govern intelligently and with their best interests at heart, while ensuring both the financial solvency of the enterprise and the sanity to keep the place focused optimistically on the future.

Good leadership should do what it is strong at and be intellectually honest to own up to what it does not do well. Then, it should simply stop wasting time on those things outside its core competency. As my former boss was prone to pointing out — a government should do fewer things, but do them well!

As it relates to the current debate over the future of Dallas City Hall, applying these basic principles is instructive as the issue touches each of these priorities.

Our city government should exit the real estate business, since it is clearly not its core competency, especially given its record of mismanagement of City Hall over the years as well as other well-documented and costly recent real estate dalliances. It is time to own that track record and begin to be better stewards of taxpayer money. Plus, given the large vacancies in existing downtown buildings, relocating city functions as a renter will be much more economical.

The definition of insanity is to do the same thing and expect different results. Thinking that the city will be able to remediate City Hall’s issues in a permanent and economically feasible way is naïve. It is time for sanity to prevail — for the city to move on from an anachronistic building that is beyond repair, returning that land to the tax rolls while saving both tenancy costs and reducing downtown office vacancies at the same time.

I appreciate that the iconic architect’s name on the building is a city asset and demolition would toss that aside. But our neglect up to this point is evidence that it was already being tossed, just one unaddressed issue at a time. While punting is not ideal, neither is being in the predicament we are in. Leaders must constantly weigh costs and benefits as part of the job and make sound decisions going forward.

We now have an opportunity to demonstrate leadership and apply all of our energy and careful thought to execute on a dynamic plan to activate that part of downtown for the benefit of the next generation. Engaging Linda McMahon, who is CEO of the Dallas Economic Development Corporation, is heartening on this issue given her experience and leadership in real estate.

This is a commercial decision and ignoring economic realities is foolhardy. We have the chance to do something special that future citizens will look back upon and see that today’s leaders were visionary.

I’d like to see the city exercise its common sense and pursue the win-win strategy. By doing so, all Dallas citizens will be more secure knowing that its leadership is capable of making smart decisions, even if it means admitting past mistakes. The first rule when you’ve dug yourself into a hole: “Stop digging!”

It is time for our leaders to lead.

Ken Hersh is the co-founder and former CEO of NGP Energy Capital Management and former CEO of the George W. Bush Presidential Center.

DALLAS – History will be made this week when the University of North Texas at Dallas holds its commencement. Among the graduates is an 81-year-old woman with an incredible story.

Cheryl Hurdle Wyatt’s Story

The backstory:

Cheryl Hurdle Wyatt first made history back in 1955 when, as a 10-year-old girl, she and her sister were part of a historic Dallas NAACP lawsuit to desegregate Dallas public schools.

“When my parents moved us to South Dallas from Oak Cliff, and we were five doors from the school at the end of the corner that was all white, and we were not allowed to attend,” she said. “I do remember the principal saying you can’t come to this school.”

While Wyatt never got to attend Brown Elementary School, the lawsuit opened the doors for others. Her younger brother did go to the school.

“The year we went to high school is the year they opened up John Henry Brown for Blacks,” she said.

After graduating from high school, Wyatt went to Texas Southern University. But instead of graduating, she came home to help her older sister open a beauty school.

“Velma B’s Beauty Academy in Dallas. Everybody who was in Dallas during that time knew of Velma Brooks,” she said. 

Along life’s journey, Wyatt blazed her own professional path.

“At the Lancaster-Kiest shopping center, I was there for maybe 10 years then moved up to Camp Wisdom. Had a salon there and then I’ve had about maybe two or three other locations,” she said.

81-year-old College Graduate

What’s next:

On Tuesday, Wyatt will finally complete her 60-year journey to her college degree.

She credits her father as her inspiration. Although he had seven children at home, he went to night school to earn his high school diploma.

“So, that taught us that it’s never too late. You can always go back and make something that you wanted to happen, happen,” she said.

Her father’s perseverance during the desegregation lawsuit also taught her not to give up.

“Well, it taught me that we should always preserve, don’t give up. If it doesn’t happen this way, just keep on. It will happen. The only way you cannot win is if you stop,” she said.  

All of Wyatt’s children and grandchildren are expected to be in the crowd cheering for her as she walks across the stage.

Paige Bueckers, Dallas Wings point guard and WNBA Rookie of the Year, took the spotlight in women’s basketball this year. The 24-year-old arrived in Dallas after being the No. 1 selection in the WNBA draft in April, capping off an impressive collegiate run where she helped the University of Connecticut win a national championship title.

Bueckers represents the best of our star athletes. The energy and determination she brings to the game and her dedication to her teammates and community make her a finalist for 2025 Texan of the Year.

Born in Edina, Minn., Bueckers started playing basketball when she was around five years old. Her father coached her until middle school, and by the time she reached Hopkins High School, she was the No. 1 recruit in the country for the 2020 class. At the University of Connecticut, she became the face of a storied program, returning from injury to help deliver the Huskies their 12th NCAA title.

When she arrived in Dallas, the question wasn’t whether she’d make an impact — it was how quickly. The answer came fast. She was a starter in all 36 appearances for the Wings and averaged 19.2 points, 5.4 assists, 3.9 rebounds and 1.6 steals this season. Her 44 points against the Los Angeles Sparks set a WNBA record for the highest single-game scoring performance by a rookie.

She’s making Wings games must-watch basketball. At home games, the stands are filled with fans wearing Bueckers’ No. 5 jersey and young girls sporting face-framing braids and a ponytail to match her signature game-day hairstyle.

Ahead of their August showdown with the Indiana Fever, the Wings moved the game from their usual home court in Arlington to the American Airlines Center due to high demand for tickets to see the matchup between Bueckers and Caitlin Clark. The Wings didn’t make it to the playoffs this year, but Bueckers gave the city something to cheer for.

But more than her athletic ability and impressive jump shots, Bueckers has shown a humility we wish was more common among stars like her. In interviews, she’s quick to give credit to her teammates, coaches and God. In 2021, at the ESPN ESPYS, after being recognized as the best college athlete in women’s sports, she used her acceptance speech to celebrate and honor Black women and their contributions to the sport.

In Dallas, Bueckers has teamed up with Verizon and Dick’s Sporting Goods to coach a youth clinic and exhibition game, eager to give back to the community and make the city feel like home while she’s here. And when she’s not training, she’s probably at another Dallas game — popping up at Stars and Cowboys games, a Trinity FC match and the Mavericks.

From her stylish game day tunnel outfits to TikTok videos dancing with her teammates to her smooth, disciplined basketball, it’s a pleasure to watch her — and we can’t wait to see what she does next.

Beginning today, we are running our Texan of the Year finalists in a countdown to naming the 2025 honorees on Sunday, Dec. 28. You can follow all of the finalists as they are published at dallasnews.com/opinion/texanoftheyear.