On Friday, Jan. 28, Gayle Mabery ended her 21 years as Clarkdale Town Manager, retiring from the position that she had held for longer than close to anyone else in the Clarkdale town government.
On Monday, July 1, her replacement, Tracie Hlavinka, took over the job.
Hlavinka herself comes with a similar length of experience in local government as the manager she replaces. She had worked for the government of DeSoto, Texas, for 21 years, starting out working in accounts payable and community initiatives before becoming Deputy Manager of the nearly 50,000-person city in 2018.
Hlavinka had not originally expected to leave the Dallas suburb where she had built her career when she applied for the job of Clarkdale Town Manager. Her boss in DeSoto, the city manager, had encouraged his employees to apply for other jobs in local government and take the interviews, in the hopes of learning from how other municipalities functioned and compare their skills with the competition. But Hlavinka said that the recruiting process for Clarkdale made her want to seek the job sincerely.
“The moment I got out here, I was in love,” Hlavinka said. “It didn’t take any time at all.”
So Hlavinka moved here with her dog, an English Mastiff named Josie. She has two grown children, who she hopes will visit soon.
Hlavinka points to Clarkdale’s strong sense of community as one of the main reasons that the town was so alluring. She met with both Mabery and Mayor Doug Von Gausig shortly after arriving, and spoke of the way both highlighted the town’s history and culture as part of what makes Clarkdale unique. She also attended the town’s Fourth of July events just after she started, serving pancakes along with the firefighters, as well as a block party.
“Since I have gotten here, because there is such a community feel, and because [the town government] does an excellent job of making sure we have events and things like that, it has been a pretty easy transition for me,” Hlavinka said. “Gayle set this organization and this community up for some really great things and I want to make sure we continue to keep those things going and that her legacy continues. But I also think that because I’m coming from a larger city — and with Texas on the forefront of doing things and innovating — I think that we can do some things that are really going to make people more efficient and more effective, and it’s really going to provide some different opportunities for the town. I’m just excited for those things.”
Perhaps the biggest change for Hlavinka coming from DeSoto is moving to a much smaller town of less than 5,000, and the smaller government that goes with it. While a smaller town government means simpler management and organization, it could also be its own challenge in a town where every move is on display. Hlavinka sees the small town government organization as a chance to leave a direct mark on the town.
“You literally can touch everything,” Hlavinka said. “After being in an organization where you have 3,800 employees and they’re somewhat spread out, I really was excited about that opportunity. But it also poses a challenge because you’re way more involved in the day-to-day things that take place in the town, as opposed to being in a huge city where you can delegate. But that’s a good thing, because you have a direct impact in the things that are occurring.”
Hlavinka is not seeking to rock the boat by radically changing the town so soon after taking over. But she sees opportunities for improvement. She pointed to some of the vacant buildings downtown as a place to focus, hoping that the new hotel in the neighborhood will create “synergy.”
“I’m not one of those people that likes to sit back and wait for something,” Hlavinka said. “I am one of those people who, if I can line up the opportunities, then I will definitely want to do that. I want to see those businesses thrive. I want to maintain Clarkdale’s hometown feeling, while still being able to give them a destination point, and I think that downtown district is one of those.”
