Keven Willey

Moroney III, Jim to all_corporate, All, DMV, All, CrowdSource, All, Everyone

Jul 20

Folks,
You should have just received an email from Mike Wilson announcing that Keven Willey will be retiring at the end of this year.
I read Mike's email before he sent it out and I can't improve on it. He has said all the right things and said them in his usual eloquent
way.
So I just want to add a few personal reflections.
It has been a rare privilege to work with Keven. Her grace and charm, coupled with her intelligence and good humor, were sure to
make her successful at anything she might choose to do. This company and the communities it serves are so very fortunate that she
made the decision to lead the Editorial Board of The Dallas Morning News right here in north Texas.
At a time when newspapers are cutting back on their commitment to editorials and in some cases cutting them out altogether, Keven
and her leadership of our Editorial Board stand as a testament to how an Editorial Board still makes a difference in shaping the agenda
of the city it serves and how it fosters informed discussion of important issues.
With her leadership, the Editorial Board has pushed for greater equity in resources and opportunities for the southern part of our city.
Her Board has championed more investment in public education from early childhood through college. Her Board has called for more
consistent and fair investment in our transportation infrastructure. Her Board continued to remind us that clean air is by its very nature
a regional issue and it takes the cooperation of contiguous communities to improve it. Keven's team put a spotlight on the need for
more and better mental health care. They continued to point out that if we don't start providing for more ways to supply water for the
North Texas population, water shortages are in our future. And the list goes on and on.
Among all these many accomplishments,even including the Pulitzer Prize, nothing stands out more for me than the leadership Keven
provided to get an amendment to the Texas Constitution passed. Recall it? Just a simple thing really: Require our elected officials in
Austin to record their votes. That's right. Until she led this charge, rounding up support all over Texas, our elected officials in state
government weren't required to record their votes. You and I did not necessarily have a way to be certain how the people we elected to
office voted. Talk about fundamental transparency in government. Talk about what would seem to be a fundamental part of
representative government. So thanks to Keven and all those she convinced to join in this cause, today, tomorrow and for decades
and decades to come, you and I, citizens of Texas, can know how each statewide elected official votes. Democracy in Texas will
forever be the better for it.
I am grateful for all that she has contributed to this institution and the mission it serves. She built her Board firmly on the rock of truth
and righteousness. There is no more I or anyone could have asked of her.
Keven:  I will miss you. And so will this city.

Than kks for the legacy of important work you did on behalf o fall of us.
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