Council Recap: The Fierce Urgency of Now

Credit: Mark Steger

On November 2, 2026, the Richardson City Council discussed conducting a feasibility study for restarting the Richardson Mayor's Summer Internship Program (RMSIP).

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Mayor Amir Omar frequently encourages Richardson to look for and follow best practices. In this case, he sees an example in Plano. The City of Plano initially invested $130,000 to get its Mayor's Summer Internship Program started and allow fundraising to begin. Today, the program's ongoing expenses are funded by sponsorships raised by a consultant. If fundraising falls short, the program is scaled down.

Mayor Omar made the case for the RMSIP on economic development grounds. RMSIP could increase engagement with Richardson businesses, could develop relationships with corporate sponsors, and could provide opportunities for business experience for Richardson students.

Council Member Joe Corcoran expressed support for bringing back the RMSIP, but questioned the urgency of doing the feasibility study now rather than as part of the normal fourth-quarter discussion over expanded program budgeting.

Mayor Omar explained his urgency. There is a current class of high school juniors who will be seniors next year. If Richardson waits, those students will have missed their opportunity to participate. He didn't quote Martin Luther King, Jr., but King's quote about the "fierce urgency of now" was the first thing I thought of.

Corcoran pointed out that the City had recently approved other spending priorities and questioned whether it made sense to keep drawing on reserves for additional projects. Mayor Omar didn't bring it up, but I immediately thought back just 19 minutes to the Council's support for changing City policy to support expanding the Parks Matching Funds Beautification Program (MFB) to pay for projects located on private property, such as privately owned HOA medians. The Knolls of Breckinridge HOA has requested that median reconstruction be funded through the MFB Program, including a $30,000 funding match from the City. I couldn't help thinking that the resistance to spending $12,500 to explore a summer internship program had to do with something more than the relatively small amount itself.

Council Member Curtis Dorian: "I do support the program and I would like to potentially look at this coming back in the future, but I have to also look at the reality. Part of it is, is the timing right?"

Council Member Jennifer Justice: "I will support you on this one, but I am very cautious going forward about doing a whole bunch of these in the future and just on a wing and a prayer that the reserve budget will be there... How many times are we going to have a conversation about needing to fundraise or find it in the budget or use reserve?"

City Manager Don Magner did not appear to be concerned with funding for this feasibility study. He explained: "I would propose funding the feasibility study from the prior-year funds transferred into the city's reserve for special projects. That reserve is never fully allocated."

Council Member Daniel Burdette questioned the program's administrative efficiency, the actual cost per student, and the assumption that corporate sponsorships would cover its expenses. His opinions were based on his knowledge of both RISD's Professional Internship Program (PIP), and the discontinued Richardson Mayor's Summer Internship Program. These two programs have different operating models. His comments sounded like a warning that the revived program could prove more expensive and difficult to administer than its advocates anticipated. I would have preferred hearing some lessons learned to ensure a revived RMSIP can avoid earlier pitfalls. He also questioned why the city was considering the study and potential program expenses when neither had been included in the approved budget.

Mayor Pro Tem Ken Hutchenrider supported proceeding with the feasibility study, but that didn't mean he had committed to launching the program. He specifically said the study would help him decide.

Council Member Arefin was generally supportive of the internship program, but he had concerns about budget constraints, the staffing commitment, the rushed schedule, and the ongoing expenses. He saw value in finding out exactly what would be required before moving forward.

Mayor Omar's comments became more pointed as the discussion progressed. The staff presentation itself described the feasibility study as a way to answer all the questions that council members were raising in their discussion. Omar's argument was that Council should not decide whether to revive the program based on assumptions, questions, and concerns. In the end, the council reached a general consensus for proceeding with a feasibility study.

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My admiration for Mayor Amir Omar's leadership increased. While several council members expressed support for the program in principle, they were reluctant to commit resources before having answers to questions about costs, staffing, and timing. Omar saw the feasibility study as the way to get those answers, not as a commitment to launch the program. He was looking for ways to make it succeed. He might or might not find them. But at least he was willing to try.

Barack Obama on why he ran for office:

I did not run for the presidency to fulfill some long-held ambition or because I believed it was somehow owed to me. I chose to run in this election - at this moment - because of what Dr. King called "the fierce urgency of now." Because we are at a defining moment in our history... At this defining moment, we cannot wait any longer...

Source: The American Presidency Project.

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Quotes have been lightly edited for clarity and brevity.

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"Wait another year
And the students who need it
Will already be gone."
—h/t ChatGPT