Midland Mayor Lori Blong expressed her connection to and appreciation for Midland in an interview with Basin PBS. Mayor Blong and City Manager Tommy Gonzalez also spoke to interview host Becky Ferguson about current events and issues in the city.
According to a video of the interview that was included in a Facebook post by Basin PBS, Blong was born and raised in Midland. She moved away for college and worked in other cities as a teacher for around a decade before moving back to Midland. She ran for City Council in 2019 and was sworn into office in January of 2020. When asked what brought about her goals and passions, she spoke about the journey she took to find her home and herself, saying, “I really began to realize how important my community is and plugging into this place where I live.”
Also in the interview, Blong was asked about her intentions with different aspects of the city. Answering the question in a broad sense, she said, “I want to live here and serve here and be committed to improving and moving Midland forward.” She also gave specific examples of what that could and has looked like for her in her role as Mayor, including restarting the TERS program with the specific goals of improving downtown lighting and pavement and supporting event spaces for things such as farmers markets.
Tommy Gonzalez, Midland City Manager, was also included in the interview. He gave some of this background including his childhood in Lubbock, Texas. His career has consisted of serving several other Texan cities as the city manager before returning to West Texas to take on the project of serving the Midland community.