Mayor Johnson’s statement on the hiring of the city’s first-ever Inspector General

DALLAS — Mayor Eric Johnson on Tuesday released the following statement on the hiring of Bart Bevers as the city’s first-ever Inspector General:

“For far too long, Dallas City Hall has operated under a cloud of suspicion, opacity, and, yes, clear-cut corruption. That begins to change today with the hiring of our city’s first-ever inspector general — the result of a historic ethics reform proposal that won the unanimous support from the Dallas City Council after I brought it forward late last year.

“I want to congratulate Bart Bevers on his appointment to this crucial new position and thank all the candidates who applied and interviewed for this job. Mr. Bevers, who has notable experience as an inspector general at the state level, has two mighty tasks ahead of him: setting up the office that will monitor, investigate, and prosecute potential ethics violations in Dallas city government and setting the tone for all the Dallas inspectors general who will follow him. I wish him well and pray for his success.

“I also want to thank our City Attorney, Chris Caso, and the members of the Ad Hoc Committee on General Investigating and Ethics for making this possible. The members of the committee — particularly Chairwoman Cara Mendelsohn and Paula Blackmon — championed my ethics task force recommendations and helped interview the finalists for this position. The committee’s work demonstrates what is possible when we work together for good government, accountability, and the betterment of our city.

“We still have challenges ahead of us, but Dallas is stronger today than it was yesterday.”