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WEIMAR — When new city manager Richard Whitten accepted the position in early March, he solved a months-long concern as the city had been without a manager since June of 2023. With his hire, Weimar has brought in a professional that values the advancement of members under his leadership.
“Weimar council gave me the opportunity to fulfill this role and I’m excited about the opportunity,” Whitten said, “Everyone here has been so warm and welcoming. I’m really excited to be here.”
While coming in as a first-time city manager, Whitten has gained decades of experience dealing with critical situations as a member of paid and volunteer fire departments while also gaining similar levels of experience in leadership as chief for several departments throughout his career.
Despite this being his first time in a city manager position, Whitten has over 40 years of experience dealing with critical situations as a leader for volunteer and paid fire departments throughout his career. Whitten has garnered numerous certifications and credentials that have increased his abilities and expanded his understanding of how to run an organization and inspire those under his leadership.
“I’m a big advocate of personal and professional development.” Whitten said in reference of his leadership style.
Hailing from the northern Dallas Fort Worth area, Whitten spent his early life in the town of Azle. The town’s population has exploded over time, reaching over 13,000 residents after having just over 5,000 in 1975. While still larger than the just over 2,000 residents in Weimar, Whitten is familiar with closely- knit towns.
He gained a deeper connection with Azle after he began his career in firefighting in his hometown. He dedicated 11 years of service to the town of Azle before moving on to his next stops in Euless and Westlake. Whitten served Westlake as chief from 2009 until his retirement from the firefighting force in the fall of 2023. During his tenure as Westlake chief, he headed a large department that included the city of Keller in 2021 and 2022.
According to Whitten, having a combined force of two cities throughout the 15-month period was “unheard of in that area” and an example of Whitten and his fellow leaders “thinking outside the box” to find a solution. Whitten gained the experience of leading a force with a much larger service area than common departments.
Throughout his career, he’s gained many certifications and years of classical schooling to advance his knowledge on fire safety, leadership and organizational skills.
As the new city manager, Whitten is ready for the challenge of learning a new position while applying many of the skills he has gained throughout his career whether through classical training or on-the-job experience.
Whitten acknowledges that he has much to learn about the position and the city in general, but the prospect of getting to know a community that is so proud of its history is an inviting prospect to a man that has spent his career protecting communities just like it.
“Looking forward to the opportunity to learn more about Weimar; there’s a lot of history here a lot of strong culture. We certainly want to protect and cherish that,” Whitten said, “We’ll make some improvements where we can while building that strong culture and protecting those shared values.”
Whitten will begin the first few months of his tenure as an information gathering process, reaching out to the different departments in his charge and assessing the critical needs that will need to be addressed first. He hopes to help inspire his department leaders in their development as leaders and their ability to serve the community.
Once his assessment is completed, Whitten looks forward to taking the steps to help improve the community and prepare it for a huge population boom similar to the one experienced in his hometown of Azle.
While Whitten gets to know Weimar and vice versa, residents can look forward to having someone finally filling a long-vacant position.
