‘It’s been an honor’: Longview celebrates longtime mayor Andy Mack
LONGVIEW, Texas (KETK) – The City of Longview held a celebration for longtime mayor, Andy Mack who’s been in leadership for nine years, on Thursday.
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“It’s been an honor,” Mack said.
Mack’s remaining weeks in office are wrapping up with a reflective tone as countless people in the community showed up to share their gratitude.
“You’ve been a stalwart leader for the council and cheerleader for the community,” city manager Rolin C. McPhee, said.
The Longview mayor played an instrumental role in projects to promote economic growth with lasting benefits for the community.
“The big one that I consider would be the passage of the 2018 bond election, $104 million, the biggest bond election at that time, and funded lots of great projects here in town,” former city manager Keith Bonds, said.
The 2018 bond included $52 million for police and fire facilities, $27 million for infrastructure projects and $24 million for park projects.
First responders and department leaders expressed their gratitude toward Mack and their ability to work together to keep citizens safe.
“This has been a labor of love for me. It’s not a chore, it’s not something I do for any other reason, other than I love Longview and I want to see it grow and develop and continue where we are, the path we’re on is good,” Mack said.
Mack considers his greatest accomplishment was the ability to bring the city of Longview together, especially through the pandemic.
“I think that’s the most important thing we’ve done is how important it is to be together help one another, that’s at #onelongview that I stood by for nine years because I think it’s important for our community,” Mack said.
In a few weeks, Mack will pass the torch to a new mayor, longtime colleague, Kristen Ishihara.
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“Andy kind of grew me up and I learned a lot of the way from watching him act and him respond to things, and then also just having the benefit of being able to call him and say, ‘hey, Andy, tell me what you would do in this situation,'” Ishihara said. “He’s been a very, very great mentor and role model for me and very gracious in all of his time and the way that he leads.”
Mack and Ishihara share the same vision for Longview, she said she’ll continue to take the city down the path forged by Mack over the past decade.
“It’s a very bright future, it’s very, very bright,” Mack said.
As he wraps up his time in office, Mack said he’s just a phone call away and is always rooting for Longview.
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