MAYOR
OF
by Caylie Howard | photos courtesy of Derek France & Town of Flower Mound, TX Government social media pages
O
ver the last year and a half, the world experienced some of the most trying and difficult times in our history. Our local community in Denton County was no exception to that statement. When the world as we know it is falling apart, it takes great leadership to piece our world back together. In the election of 2021, the town of Flower Mound made a great step in that direction by electing Flower Mound local Derek France as Mayor. Derek France is your average citizen of Flower Mound. He is a husband, father of three, and businessman. When asked why he decided to run for Mayor of Flower Mound, Derek responded, “I saw an opportunity when Mayor Dixon decided not to run again. I wanted to represent the residents of Flower Mound, and I felt that I could represent them better than my opponents.” Derek and his wife will become emptynesters in the fall. “I just felt that we are in a new phase of our life. With that extra time that I have
to give, I want to give that back to my community.” Derek said.
While Derek came out victorious in his
election for Mayor, he said that his family’s introduction into political life was very
difficult. “There are pros and cons to your kids being adults” Derek said. “I have
three adult children, and they can read. It was hard, especially for my son who
Even with the difficulty that came with the election processes, Derek is enjoying every moment. “I had fun. I’m still having fun. It was difficult, but we survived.” Derek said that he and his team were never out-worked. “We had the best ground game, and I had the best volunteer team. That’s why we won.” Derek said. “Nobody really knew who Derek France was.” Derek and his team knocked on around 2,400 doors and talked to the people of his community about why he would be the best candidate to elect as Mayor.
is an active-duty Marine, to not defend
“We only did one mailer” Derek said.
Facebook is just an app and not the whole
Derek likes to refer to himself as the ambassador of Flower Mound as opposed to the leader.
my honor. I had to remind them that
world. We need to take everything said with a grain of salt.”
“As acting mayor, I now have the ability to help shape the future of our town” Derek said. Derek would like to focus on bringing in revenue for his community without raising taxes. “There is a current division in our community. Some people don’t want any construction. It’s hard. We have to create revenue to afford nice things. I don’t want to sit in traffic while trying to get home from work, but I also want to create more opportunities to spend money in my town.
14 | FLOWER MOUND TOWN LIFE | JULY 2021
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