Jacksonville City Manager Under Fire After May 3rd Election—Citizens Unhappy
- Donovan Bridgeforth
- May 5
- 1 min read
JACKSONVILLE, Texas (TXAN 24) — A growing number of Jacksonville and Cherokee County residents are outraged after learning too late about a recent Municipal Development District (MDD) proposal election held on May 3rd. Of the 2,800 eligible voters, only about 380 participated, and the measure was ultimately voted down.
Some residents, like one who spoke out publicly and appeared in a KETK/FOX51 interview, say they were only made aware of the election through a last-minute Facebook post by City Manager James Hubbard. By then, it was “too little, too late.”
Many are now calling for more transparency from city officials, criticizing what they view as a quiet push to pass a tax-related proposal without proper community awareness. “We The People of Jacksonville demand better communication,” the resident stated. “We’re struggling out here — and now they want to tax us more and control county land too?”
According to a newscast by FOX51, Hubbard responded about the proposal, reportedly telling their reporter Tori Bean, “I really don’t care if it passes or fails. It’s not that big of a deal.”
But to many voters — it is…
Frustration is boiling over into demands: for better public notice, more direct communication, and accountability from those in power.
TXAN 24 News will be reaching out to the City of Jacksonville for comment.
5/8/25 this is the first I have heard about this proposal. Thankfully it was defeated. Another example of government by the government and for the government.
As residents in the affected area, my family were pretty steamed about the way this was handled. We have two addresses at which we could have received official notice. Did we get anything? NO! They could have even written a summary as to why they wanted to create the MDD and let us know how it would benefit the city and the affected residents. Unfortunately, many of us only heard about it via Facebook, NOT our mailboxes, and where my family and I might have been open to listening to their plan, we felt like we were being manipulated by a government in which we have no voice to do something we simply didn't have time to get smarter ab…