The Mayor by Angela Bradley

Roger Van Horn, a dentist in Nacogdoches for over 30 years, is also serving his third term as mayor of Nacogdoches. Mayor Van Horn took some time to discuss what it is like to be the mayor in a town the size of Nacogdoches.
Mayor Van Horn began by discussing the two types of city government in Texas, a strong manager commission government and a strong mayor commission government. Nacogdoches is run by a strong manager commission government, which consists of four city commissioners and the mayor.
The mayor described his job as the chairman of the city council. “Our job is to set policies,” said Van Horn. There are five votes in the city commission and the mayor’s vote is the same as any other commissioner. In Nacogdoches the mayor’s term runs two years and the commission is set up so that every year half the members are up for election. Also, the Nacogdoches city commission members don’t receive any pay. The mayor says that this limits what he can do as mayor.
Mayor Van Horn still continues his dental practice along with being mayor. “It’s a good time in my life, my kids are raised, my bills are paid,” he said. “And so I can practice dentistry a little less.” The mayor says he spends about three to four hours a day and all day Friday playing mayor. “It’s the exact opposite of dentistry,” he said.
Van Horn talked about the slow process of government. “As a dentist I get closure 15 times a day. I see a problem, the patient agrees, I fix it, they pay,” said the mayor. “On the city council you never get anything done quick.” Van Horn believes the process to be frustrating. He also believes the slow process is an important part of government. “I am finding though, that the process may be slow, but it should be,” he said.
The city council meets every second Tuesday. Mayor Van Horn urged people to come to the meetings. He joked about how boring some of the meetings can be. “We’ve got a real yawner tonight and it will last about 20 minutes; we’re voting on some grants for sidewalks,” said Van Horn.
Mayor Van Horn seemed to be fun and laid back. He wore a black blazer with a dress shirt that was unbuttoned at the neck. He was very animated as he talked. He discussed how he came to Nacogdoches with much enthusiasm. Van Horn was born in Oklahoma. He said he knew he had wanted to move to a smaller town, just he wasn’t sure where at the time. While traveling, his family became stranded in Nacogdoches for a weekend. The locals of Nacogdoches were very friendly and open to his family. So much so, that when they left they decided that this was the home they had been looking for.