Two of the original semifinalists for the Dallas city manager’s role are no longer in the running for the position.

City leaders also reached out this week to Carl Simpson, a former Dallas official and current city manager of Jackson, Calif., to interview, but Simpson told The Dallas Morning News he was tapped too late in the process.

“I didn’t hear anything until Monday. I submitted my application back in October,” Simpson said, adding that he would have had less than a week to prepare for the Dec. 23 interview. “For me, it just wasn’t a fair competition at this point.”

Meanwhile, semifinalist Zach Williams, executive assistant and chief operating officer for DeKalb County in Georgia, confirmed to The News he was not in the running when reached by phone Friday morning. WFAA first reported Mark Washington, city manager of Grand Rapids, Michigan, also withdrew his application.

The remaining candidates are interim city manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert and William Johnson, an assistant city manager in Fort Worth.

The changes follow a week of infighting between council members over the number of semifinalists and the time it’s taking to name a finalist. Several council members said they expected to see at least more than 10 names when the semifinalists were named in November.

Art Davis, a representative of Baker Tilly, told council members in a Dec. 12 meeting several contenders also dropped out due to the Nov. 5 election, when voters approved propositions that waive governmental immunity and direct 50% of any new revenue year-over-year to the police and fire pension system and other public safety initiatives. One of the propositions also mandates the city hire 900 more cops to maintain 4,000 public safety officials in the workforce.

Days after the election, top credit rating firm Moody’s signaled a potential impact on the city’s ability to borrow and sustain debt following the passage of the propositions. The credit rating firm downgraded the city’s debt outlook from “stable” to “negative” because of concerns over how diverting revenue can limit the city’s flexibility to pay for other expenses.

Council member Cara Mendelsohn, a member of the ad hoc committee, said she was surprised at the Dec. 12 meeting that the semifinalists did not include a Hispanic candidate, seeing as the community is one of the largest ethnic groups in the region.

The committee then announced a meeting for Dec. 16 at 1 p.m. to revise the list of semifinalists.

The next day, however, three council members — Paula Blackmon, Jaynie Schultz and Gay Donnell Willis — sent a memo to call for another meeting the same day at 9 a.m. The three council members said they wanted to speed up the search for the city manager.

There are several departments whose leaders are serving in interim roles, they said. The absence of a permanent city manager means City Hall employees are left wondering if they should carry out duties assigned by their interim boss’ instructions or wait until a permanent official is appointed.

Mayor pro tem Tennell Atkins, who chairs the ad hoc committee on administrative affairs and is leading the search for Dallas’ city manager, told The News the City Council will name a final candidate in January.

This week, Tolbert, who made dramatic changes in City Hall, from hiring a new leadership team to reorganizing departments, racked up endorsements from the Dallas Fire Fighters Association and the Dallas Hispanic Firefighters Association.

“Kim has proven her leadership through action,” DFFA President Jeff Patterson said in the letter of endorsement.

Tolbert, he said, built “collaborative relationships with Dallas Fire Rescue” and promoted former fire rescue chief Dominique Artis to an assistant city manager role and assistant fire chief Justin Ball to the interim chief role, demonstrating an “ability to put the right people in the right positions to lead us forward.”

“Dallas cannot afford to lose momentum,” Patterson said.

Stefani Salinas, president of the Dallas Hispanic Firefighters Association, stated stability and continuity are essential during these transitional times.

“Kimberly Tolbert, Chief Dominique Artis, and Chief Justin Ball have already demonstrated their ability to lead with purpose, integrity, and vision,” Salinas said. “We strongly urge the Dallas City Council to solidify their positions so that our city can continue to move forward under their proven leadership.”

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First Shift 🏒

As the Stars swerve down the road that is the 2024-25 season, they are learning to adjust.

Last season, the team rolled out three fantastic lines that stayed consistent for most of the year. Hintz played beside Jason Robertson and Joe Pavelski, Duchene centered Seguin and Mason Marchment, and Wyatt Johnston found chemistry with Benn and either Dadonov or Logan Stankoven. It was a formula that drove opponents crazy and led to the best regular-season record in the Western Conference.

But Pavelski retired and Seguin is out 4-6 months following hip surgery, and that creates some challenges. That’s a big hit for a team that could really use some offense.

“With Seguin out of the lineup here and Joe Pavelski retired, that’s 60 goals from last year that are out, so we have to fill that void with other guys,” Stars coach Pete DeBoer said. “Other guys have to find a way to score goals. That includes guys that have scored before getting up to the pace that they’ve been on most of their careers and some other guys that we’re counting on to stick some pucks in the net have to do that.”

Robertson has seen his points per game pace go from 0.97 to 0.68. He has previously tallied back-to-back seasons of 40-plus goals but is on pace for 19 this season. Johnston had 32 goals last season and is on pace for 16 this year. Hintz is down from .81 points per game to .63. Benn is on pace for 16 goals in 82 games, that would be the lowest goals per game total of his 16-year career.

So how do the Stars snap out of it?

Well, getting the power play would be a good start.

And getting some line chemistry going would be another.

Bottom line, they have to fight through this.

“We’ve got to find a way, it’s as simple as that,” said Duchene, who is leading the team in scoring. “Whether it’s making adjustments tactically or just getting some swagger in our game. One of the toughest things to do in hockey is to have confidence or swagger when you’re not getting results, and we’ve got to find a way to find that.”

Asked how the team could do that, Duchene said, “For me, you’ve got to enjoy playing the game. I think you’ve got to stick with it and not get frustrated.”

The Stars on Wednesday got goals from Sam Steel, Dadonov and Colin Blackwell, and that’s a great sign. If the depth scoring can chip in, it helps feed the top scorers.

“I think whenever you can put one in, you get a little more pep in your step,” said Steel. “We know there are certain things we are doing when we’re scoring, so we’ve got to try to get back to those habits.”

And that seems the way the team has to do it. It’s how they did it last year, too.

“We don’t have Connor McDavid, or that type of player,” DeBoer said earlier in the season. “Our strength is in our depth, and we have to use that.”