Ken Shetter was elected mayor in June of 2004, during his second term on Burleson’s City Council.  His priorities for Burleson include responsible management of the city's explosive growth, maintaining the highest standards in public safety, improving the transportation infrastructure, developing a sound economic development plan, maintaining fiscal discipline and the continued revitalization of Old Town.

He is currently active with the Strengthening Families Initiative, which is based on improving economic success, health and wellness, a safe and vibrant community, and child and youth development in the city. Shetter was recently appointed to the National League of Cities Council on Youth, Education and Families, which is composed of elected officials and youth members and representatives from major national organizations and corporations concerned about children and families.

The mayor was instrumental in the development of the Burleson Opportunity Fund which he and others hope will provide universal access to higher education for Burleson students.  He currently serves as chairman of the board of directors for the Burleson Opportunity Fund.

Shetter is active in regional public policy planning and advocacy. He is a former member of the executive board of the North Central Texas Council of Governments and currently serves as chairman of the Tarrant Regional Transportation Coalition.

Mayor Shetter was born and raised in the Burleson, Texas, area, and is a 1990 graduate of Burleson High School. He earned a bachelor of science degree in education from Baylor University in 1994, followed by a master of arts degree in applied sociology from The American University in Washington, D.C., in 1995.  While attending The American University, Shetter was a Dean's Scholar and a sociology department fellow.  In May 1998, he graduated from Baylor Law School with a juris doctorate degree.  As a third-year law student, he was a member of Baylor’s prestigious Mock Trial Team and recipient of the 1998 Scott, Douglass, Luton & McConnico Evidence Award. Following graduation, the mayor practiced law for seven years, concentrating in the areas of civil litigation and real estate transactions.

In addition to being mayor of Burleson, Shetter currently serves as the executive director of Safe City Commission, Inc., a non-profit corporation which develops and supports effective crime prevention and crime reduction programs and provides a framework for collaboration among Tarrant County’s public safety and crime prevention network.

The mayor and his wife, Ashley, have three children, Lexi, Hogan and Olivia.  They are members of the First United Methodist Church of Burleson.

Stuart Gillaspie
Mayor Pro Tem
Councilmember, Place 1
councilplace1@burlesontx.com

Stuart Gillaspie has been an active part of the City of Burleson government for 15 years.

The Place 1 council member, who was elected mayor pro tem by his peers following the May 2007 elections, served on the City of Burleson’s Planning and Zoning Commission for almost seven years, from October 1992 to June 1999. His last year on P&Z, Gillaspie served as the chairman.

In 1992, the mayor pro tem considered Burleson’s impending growth and decided he wanted to be a part of it. Gillaspie was instrumental in establishing the City’s Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP).

“I wanted to make a positive difference,” he said. “Growth is good, if it is managed properly.”

Since his election to the city council, Gillaspie has been appointed as a member of Burleson’s 4B Community Service Development Committee and the 4A tax board.
Projects he feels strongly about include the completion of the business park and commercial complex fronting I-35W, which was ratified as an economic development project in September 2007; the construction of the City’s hike and bike trail system; and completion of the new parks and sports complexes.

The mayor pro tem envisions more growth for Burleson and he is looking forward to promoting Burleson as a City of Character. Gillaspie strongly supports the City of Character initiative and currently serves on the Character Council.

Gillaspie was appointed to the Small Cities Council of the National League of Cities. This council was created in 1976 to ensure that the interests of small communities are reflected in the NLC’s overall policies and programs, serving as NLC’s “voice for all small cities.” He was recently appointed to the NLC Policy Committee on Transportation to assist in railroad issues.

Gillaspie is a 1981 graduate of Burleson High School. He works as a transportation manager for Union Pacific Railroad. Gillaspie earned an associates degree in business management/ administration from Hill College and a bachelors degree in business administration from Dallas Baptist University.

Gillaspie and his wife, Tina, have three children, Shane, Whitney, and Christin.

Jim Wadlow
Councilmember, Place 2
councilplace2@burlesontx.com

Place 2 on the Burleson City Council is held by Jim Wadlow. After living in Arlington for 37 years, he and his wife moved to Burleson in 1999 and Mr. Wadlow took an active role in the community almost immediately.

Mr. Wadlow has served on the Burleson Park Board since 2000; the last two years as board chairman. During his tenure on that board, he helped develop and promote the Park Pals program, which encourages community members to do volunteer work through the parks and recreation department, helping to put on community events, landscape city parks, and generally get more directly involved in the programs and issues that affect the quality of life in Burleson.

Regarding his decision to seek a City Council seat, Mr. Wadlow says, “I have always been interested in public service and simply doing whatever I can for my community.”

Councilmember Wadlow continues to serve as an active member of the Burleson Heritage Foundation and is a member of the Friends of the Burleson Public Library. He and his wife are members of St. Matthew Cumberland Presbyterian Church.

Mr. Wadlow served in the United States Naval Reserve as a personnel man and is retired from a career in multi-media that included experience directing an advertising agency. Jim and Jill Wadlow have been married for 50 years and they share one daughter and two grandchildren.

Carter Mahanay
Councilmember, Place 4
councilplace4@burlesontx.com

Carter Mahanay graduated from Burleson High School in 1978. Thirty years later, he is sitting in the Place 4 seat on the Burleson City Council.

The 48-year-old council member is a certified public accountant and acting chief financial officer of Best Homes, a locally-owned home builder. He was elected to office on May 10, 2008.

“The encouragement of others convinced me to run,” Mahanay said. “As a CPA, I’ve had the opportunity to advise many small business owners and individuals concerning their financial affairs.”

Except for the years he was earning a BBA degree in accounting from Abilene Christian University in 1982, and the year he worked in Abilene, Mahanay has always made Burleson his home. The council member earned his CPA certificate in 1985.

Managing money is something Mahanay and his wife, Susan, share. She is a paraprofessional with the Burleson firm of Jay Wilson, CPA, PC. The couple's oldest daughter, Amanda Pepper, teaches pre-kindergarten for the Leveland school district. Her husband, Talin, is a second year physical therapy student at Texas Tech University. Mahanay's youngest daughter, Nicole, is a social work graduate who is employed as an intervention specialist with Health Resources of Arkansas.

It's not all about the job for the newest council member. Mahanay is deacon over the Welcome and Encouragement ministry at Burleson Church of Christ. For more than 20 years, he has been a member of the Southeast Fort Worth Lions Club and the Burleson Lions Club. He has served both clubs as president and has also served on the board of directors.

The local leader dedicated himself to learning more about a possible convention center for the city as part of a committee chaired by Dr. Norwood in the mid-1990s.

Dan McClendon is a husband, father of four, business owner, and a pilot for Angel Flight, which provides free travel in private aircraft for people with medical and financial needs.

McClendon, 56, was sworn in as the Place 5 councilmember in May 2007.

In 1990, he became the sole owner and founder of McClendon Construction Company, based in Burleson. His company performs municipal street reconstruction. He is also vice president of the Tarrant County Contractors' Association.

He and his wife Mary Lynn, 43, have been married since Valentine's Day 1994. They share four children. Angela, 29; Jack, 13; Cole, 12; and Austin, 9.

The councilman was born in Corsicana and raised in Powell and Navarro County. He graduated from Kerens High School in 1970 and from North Texas State University in 1974 with a bachelor of business administration degree.

He and his family moved to the Burleson area in 1977.

McClendon is a current member of Saint Matthew Cumberland Presbyterian Church, and sings with the chancel choir.   He also sings with Soulful Sound, a popular local gospel group based at First United Methodist Church.

McClendon has been a member pilot and contributor of Angel Flight since 2001. He averages eight missions each year.

“In all the towns and cities I have visited, I have never found quite the same mixture of tradition, progressive thinking, integrity, common sense, and good family values that we have here,” McClendon said. “I hope that my children will find this to be as true as I have so that our future generations will treasure our city too. To keep Burleson this way as it grows and develops is my main goal as a councilmember.”

Chip Stephens
Councilmember, Place 6
councilplace6@burlesontx.com

Chip Stephens is a life-long resident of the Burleson area. He graduated from Burleson High School in 1991, then attended Texas A&M University and the University of Texas at Arlington.  

Mr. Stephens and his wife, Erika, have two children, Enfiniti and Kyler, who are very involved in school and youth sports activities. In 1995, Mr. Stephens became Officer Stephens with the Fort Worth Police Department. In 2003, he also realized a long-time goal when he obtained his real estate license. Mr. Stephens enjoys helping families find the homes of their dreams as well as helping them in his work as a police officer.

Mr. Stephens was elected to the Burleson City Council in May 2004. He hopes to continue to be a leader in the community by doing all he can to help ensure that Burleson remains the wonderful town in which he grew up.