Waxahachie council elects Billy Wallace mayor; Patrick Souter named mayor pro tem and oaths administered

The Waxahachie City Council reorganized its leadership at a meeting, electing Billy Wallace as mayor and naming Patrick Souter as mayor pro tem. The council also administered the oath of office to the councilmembers holding Places 4 and 5, according to the meeting record.

The reorganization began when a councilmember nominated Billy Wallace to serve as mayor; another councilmember seconded the nomination and members voted to approve the nomination. The council later moved to select a mayor pro tem. An initial roll call on the mayor pro tem nomination recorded a 3–2 tally; after some members sought clarification the council repeated the motion and confirmed Patrick Souter as mayor pro tem.

Item 5 on the agenda directed staff to administer the oath of office to the councilmembers for Places 4 and 5; the transcript records the item and a staff member responding to proceed, but does not identify the sworn individuals by name. The council opened the meeting for public comment but recorded no speakers during that period. The meeting included the invocation and the Pledge of Allegiance before moving to the organizational items.

Councilmembers used the final portion of the meeting for remarks. Several members thanked outgoing mayor pro tem Chris Wright for his service and congratulated Wallace and Souter on their new leadership roles. The meeting concluded with the mayor offering brief remarks of appreciation to fellow councilmembers.