Manor’s first African-American mayor lays out game plan for the city

MANOR, Texas - Dr. Larry Wallace Jr. remembers election night like it was yesterday.

“We went out to eat, came home and was preparing for the kids to go to school the next day. I probably didn't pay attention until 9 or 10:00 that night,” said Wallace.

Early that next morning, he found out that he won. Not only did he win, but Wallace also is making history as the first African-American mayor for the city of Manor.

"It's very humbling. To me once again it just reinforces why I need to be going out and connecting, and bringing in resources," said Wallace.

He's only been in office about a month, but his plans are already in play. Time is of the essence. With a rapidly growing Austin suburb, Wallace has a lot of work to do. He emphasized roads, infrastructure and economic development.

If you drive around the city, you'll notice the city is littered with construction projects, a sign of development...and with that will come traffic.

“We are growing. We are supposed to double in population within the next decade. Our school district is supposed to double in schools within the next five years,” said Wallace.

There were some plans already in place to address traffic and development before Wallace came along.

“Highway 290, it's the biggest one, the biggest road everyone knows it. Rush hour traffic, it starts backing up,” said assistant development director Scott Dunlop.

The new mayor wants to not only oversee these plans but bring more to the table if need be.

“He's really active with CAMPO, TxDOT, and CAPCOG, trying to get with them to improve our roadway infrastructure,” said Dunlop.

When it comes to schools, thanks to the passage of a $280 million bond, the district is building and adding onto their campuses, and looking forward to doing more under Wallace's leadership.

“We are looking forward to having an opportunity to have the city council and the mayor coordinate with the superintendent and board members of Manor ISD to do a lot more collaboration regarding projects we are doing,” said Dr. Royce Avery, superintendent at Manor ISD.

Wallace hopes to take the shine of making history off of him, and pump in new energy and dedication to Manor.

“We have land, we have opportunities, come learn more about us,” he said.