Plano voters elected former city councilman Harry LaRosiliere the city's next mayor. He ended up winning Saturday's election with 59 percent of the vote.
The fact that he is Plano's first black mayor is not that big of a deal to him. Only seven percent of Plano's 259,000 residents are African-American.
"It's great having the storyline about the having first black mayor, but Plano's had a history of great leaders and I really look forward to being the next,” said LaRosiliere. “First is great, but the next effective and great leader is what I look to be."
According to his campaign website, LaRosiliere was born in Haiti. At age three, his family moved to New York City. After graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in Geology, he ran a photography studio. He moved to Plano in 1994 and became a financial advisor. He and his wife Tracy have two teenaged daughters.
LaRosiliere faced Fred Moses, the Collin County Republican Party Chairman.
"Dr. Martin Luther King talked about getting the country to the point where we judge people by the content of their character and not the color of their skin," said Moses. "I think we've grown up here in Plano and seen a lot of changes here and I'm proud and pleased we've grown that much here in Plano."
Moses focused his campaign on keeping taxes low but said it's time to spend money on improving the city's aging infrastructure. LaRosiliere's primary goal is economic development.
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"I've had six years experience, held leadership experience, Mayor Pro-Tem and really the community's come around and the last four mayors and the current mayor have endorsed me as the best candidate," said LaRosiliere.
