Dallas, TX

Top Dallas leaders Jon Fortune, Genesis Gavino to leave for Austin to work for former boss

Published

2 years ago

May 20, 2024

Top Dallas leaders Jon Fortune, Genesis Gavino to leave for Austin to work for former boss

An exodus of Dallas City leaders who served under former City Manager T.C. Broadnax continued this week with the announcement that a deputy city manager and a chief of staff would be leaving the city in the next several weeks.

Deputy City Manager Jon Fortune and Chief of Staff to the City Manager Genesis D. Gavino will both leave the city within three weeks, according to a memo interim City Manager Kim Bizor Tolbert sent out to council members Monday.

Both will join Broadnax in Austin, according to a memo sent to Austin City Council on Monday.

Fortune will leave June 7 and will join Austin as the deputy city manager. Gavino’s last day will be May 31 and she will become a special assistant to the city manager there.

Fortune was involved in negotiations that affect law enforcement pay structures for police and firefighters and the city’s shelter program in the wake of hurricane Harvey. Fortune also oversaw the city’s COVID-19 testing and vaccinations centers. Among the departments he oversees are the Dallas Police Department, Dallas Fire-Rescue, the Dallas Marshal’s Office, Dallas Municipal Courts, the Office of Emergency Management and the Office of Integrated Public Safety Solutions.

When former city manager T.C. Broadnax announced his departure earlier this year, Jeff Patterson, President of the Dallas Fire Fighters Association told The Dallas Morning News the association had asked Fortune if he would consider stepping into Broadnax’s shoes. But Fortune declined, Patterson said.

Gavino led the launch of the city’s first Digital Navigators Program that/ was designed to bring internet connectivityto underserved communities. Gavino also worked with local school districts to sift through matching grants to get COVID-19 federal dollars. In 2020, Gavino was also the Resilience Officer in the Office of Equity and Inclusion.

Both joined the city hall in 2017.

Fortune and Gavino’s departures come days after Assistant City Manager Robert Perez was picked as the city manager in Topeka, Kansas. Majed Al-Ghafry, another official in the city’s top brass, is set to become DeSoto’s city manager after the DeSoto City Council votes on an agenda item to approve his employment agreement Tuesday.

Interim City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert recently dissuaded potential employers from making a play for police Chief Eddie García after reports surfaced that García was being courted by Houston and Austin. Last week, Garcia said he would be staying in Dallas at least until May 2027. City officials amended Garcia’s contract to give him a retention bonus of $10,000 every six months.

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Dallas, TX

Klyde Warren Park reveals expansion plans, construction timeline

Published

1 hour ago

June 29, 2026

Press Room

Klyde Warren Park reveals expansion plans, construction timeline

Klyde Warren Park, a top attraction in Dallas for more than a decade, is growing. Park and city leaders revealed details about the project on Monday morning, which will expand the park to 7.1 acres.

The park, which opened in 2012, connects Uptown Dallas with the Arts District over a recessed portion of Woodall Rodgers Freeway. The construction will span west to cover the remaining portion of the freeway, totaling 1.7 acres of new park space, according to the plans released Monday.

It will feature the Jacobs Lawn, a 37,000-square-foot green space that can be used for all types of community gatherings, performances and markets. In the winter, the lawn will feature an ice rink. Next to the lawn, the Overlook will give visitors a view of the highway traffic below them.

Rendering of the Jacobs Lawn

HKS

The expansion will also include a two-story pavilion with 24,000 square feet of climate-controlled event space, plus a rooftop terrace.

“This expansion isn’t simply about adding acreage. It’s an investment in Dallas, an investment in the community and an investment in future generations,” Klyde Warren Park chairman Jody Grant said in a statement.

“The expansion of this Park is exactly the kind of transformative investment we must continue to make throughout Dallas’s urban core. It will add new green space for residents to enjoy while driving continued economic growth, connecting our communities, and enhancing the quality of life that makes Dallas a destination for families, businesses, and visitors from around the world,” Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson said in a statement.

Construction firm Archer Western won a competitive bid to work on the project, the same firm that built the first phase of the park.

Construction will begin by the end of the year, and is expected to take two years to complete.

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Dallas, TX

CJ Goodwin announces retirement after 8 seasons with Cowboys

Published

11 hours ago

June 29, 2026

Press Room

CJ Goodwin announces retirement after 8 seasons with Cowboys

FRISCO, Texas — After 12 seasons in the NFL and the last eight with the Dallas Cowboys, defensive back CJ Goodwin has announced his retirement.

Goodwin, 36, has played in 108 games for the Cowboys since he joined the team in 2018. He was the second longest-tenured Cowboy on the roster behind only Dak Prescott, who preceded Goodwin by two seasons.

Since 2019, Goodwin has been one of Dallas’ key players on special teams, recording 69 tackles with the Cowboys [ninth in Cowboys history] and 87 in his NFL career. In 2021, Goodwin became the first player in franchise history to lead the team in special teams tackles for three consecutive seasons.

After going undrafted in 2014, Goodwin received a tryout with the Pittsburgh Steelers after Steelers Hall of Fame cornerback Mel Blount, whose son attended high school with Goodwin and who Goodwin had worked for as a farm hand, urged the team to give him an opportunity. Pittsburgh would sign him as an undrafted free agent afterwards.

Following time with the Steelers, Falcons, Cardinals, Giants, 49ers and Bengals, the Cowboys signed Goodwin off of Cincinnati’s practice squad in October of 2018.

In his eight seasons with Dallas, Goodwin notched 2,211 snaps on special teams. He worked primarily as a gunner on punt coverage and was one of Dallas’ most impactful defenders on kickoff coverage during his career with the team.

Goodwin was named one of the Cowboys’ six captains in 2025, and the second captain on special teams alongside Brandon Aubrey. He finished the year with 18 special teams tackles.

In 2026, the Cowboys will now have to look to fill Goodwin’s shoes on special teams. Some of their offseason signings, like safety P.J. Locke, have a strong history as defenders on special teams and could end up being crucial for special teams coordinator Nick Sorensen in his second season in Dallas.

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Dallas, TX

Dallas community gathers donations for Venezuela

Published

21 hours ago

June 28, 2026

Press Room

Dallas community gathers donations for Venezuela

North Texans are working to provide any kind of help for those hurt and harmed by powerful and deadly earthquakes that have ravaged parts of Venezuela. Dozens of volunteers gathered at Salsa Roja to pack donation boxes, sending medical supplies, clothes, non-perishable food and water.

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