The Mayor by Paige Beasley

When Roger Van Horn was young he never imagined that he would one day be one of the most influential and recognizable figures in a small town in East Texas. Born and raised in Tulsa, OK, Van Horn began his professional career as a dentist. A road trip through Texas in the 1970s unexpectedly brought him to Nacogdoches, where he has spent the past 30 years.
After arriving in Nacogdoches, Van Horn quickly became involved in civic affairs, which eventually led to his election of mayor of the city in May 2007. As mayor, Van Horn said that he does not run everyday operations of the town, but he serves as chairman of the city commission. “The commission’s job is to set policy and approve things done by the city manager.” Van Horn said.
Van Horn explained that it is the mayor’s job to run the meetings and they are allowed put any item on the agenda that they please. “But in terms of power,” Van Horn said, “my vote is no different that the rest of the commissioners.” The Nacogdoches City Commission is made up of five commissioners; one elected from each of the four wards, and the mayor, who is elected citywide.
But serving as mayor is not how Van Horn makes his living. Since he first came to Nacogdoches, Van Horn has had his own full-time dentist practice. However he has not always wanted to be a dentist. “I was not passionate about teeth,” Van Horn joked about deciding to become a dentist. He said that he was a junior in college, and all he knew was that he had pretty good grades, liked science, and he wanted to work for himself. He knew he could not go to medical school, and so he decided to follow his roommate to interview to be a dentist. “Strangely enough, I got accepted in the interview,” Van Horn laughed, and although he has considered different options over the years, he has never really regretted the decision to become a dentist.
Since he has been elected as mayor, Van Horn has learned to divide his time between his two passions. Most mornings and afternoons are spent in the dentist office, and he practices his duties as mayor during midday and late afternoons. Van Horn explains that he enjoys doing both things because the pace of being a mayor and working as a dentist are completely different.
He said that the pace of being a mayor is really frustrating to him. “At the dentist office I get closure fifteen times a day, but with the city you never get anything done!” Van Horn said exasperatedly. “Because what the government does effects so many people, the process is very important,” and he explained that that is why it sometimes takes things a long time to get done.
“It shouldn’t be done quick,” Van Horn explained. “It is my job to hear the voice of the people and to do as much fact-finding as I can before I cast my vote.” He believes that the most important part of his job is just listening to what that people want and making the best decision for the city based on the information he collects. Although the citizens will not always get their way, Van Horn wants them to be assured that their opinions do matter to him. Van Horn said, “People ask me about being mayor, and all I can tell them is that I hope that by being chair of the city commission that people have confidence in the process.”