Elzie Odom

Elzie Odom
24th Mayor of Arlington, Texas
In office May 6, 1997 – May 3, 2003
Preceded by	Richard Greene
Succeeded by	Robert Cluck
Personal details
Born	Elzie Delano Odom (1929-05-10) May 10, 1929 Shankleville, Texas, U.S.
Spouse	Ruby Lee Truvillion

Elzie Odom is an American politician who served as an Arlington City Councilman from 1990 to 1997, and Mayor of Arlington, Texas from 1997 to 2003.

Early life and career

Elzie Odom was born on May 10, 1929, in Newton County, Texas. Odom was raised in the Freedom Colony of Shankleville, Texas, which was established by his ancestors, James 'Jim' and Winnie Shankle. The Odom family were subsistence farmers, raising cows, chickens, and pigs and growing crops for food. Odom's father worked as a carpenter and community undertaker, and his mother maintained a small general store across the street from their family home. Both parents later served in various positions at their local church, Mount Hope Baptist Church. Odom was the second youngest of eight siblings.

Odom met his wife, Ruby Truvillion, while he was a junior in High School. Ruby is the daughter of Reverend Henry Truvillion and O'Neal Bluitt. After graduating from Burkeville Colored High School, Odom attended Prairie View College for one year before leaving school to be a carpentry apprentice under his father. Elzie and Ruby were married in July 1947. They have two children, Elzie Odom, Jr. and Dr. Barbara Odom-Wesley.

In 1950, the family moved to Orange, Texas in pursuit of greater employment opportunities. In 1950, Odom became a US Postal Service Letter Carrier in Orange, and earned supplemental income through sales jobs. Ruby was hired to work at the office of a local Black dentist, and became a Registered Radiologic Technologist. The Odoms were active in their community, helping to establish a kindergarten and pre-school for Black children and participating in the PTA. The Odoms were active members of the NAACP, and in 1956-1957 they attended and held secret meetings in response to state persecution of the NAACP.

Odom was elected to serve on the Orange school district board in May, 1965, making him the first African-American to be elected as a city official in Orange County.

In 1967, Odom became a postal inspector and was transferred to Los Angeles, California, where the family stayed for three years. He was one of the earliest Black postal inspectors in the nation. After three years in Los Angeles, the family transferred to San Antonio, Texas before a final transfer to the Dallas region in 1979, where the family settled in Arlington Odom retired from the Postal Service in 1987.

Arlington City Council

In 1989, Odom ran for city council against incumbent Theron Brooks. Afterwards, he was appointed to the Planning and Zoning Commission. He ran again the next election cycle and won the run-off election for Place 4 on May 19, 1990. He was the first African-American to be elected onto the Arlington City Council. While he was a member of the city council, he worked on transportation, mobility, and redistricting issues facing Arlington. Odom and the city council increased minority representation on Arlington's boards and commissions, mirroring the city's population. In 1990, only 2 members of city boards and commissions were People of Color. By 1996, 22% of members of the boards and commissions were People of Color. While in office, he serves as President of the Arlington Sport Facilities Development Authority, oversaw construction of the ballpark in Arlington, and chaired the Arlington City Council's Youth Activities, Waste Water Treatment, Garbage Disposal, Community Development, and Employee Benefits committees. He also represented the city of Arlington on the North Central Texas Council of Governments, the Tarrant County Housing partnership, the Texas Municipal League, the Working Connection, and the State Attorney General's Municipal Advisory Committee. The council successfully kept the General Motor's Automobile Assembly Plant and the Texas Rangers in Arlington.

Arlington mayor

Mayor Richard Greene had served in office for a decade when he announced that he would not be seeking reelection in 1997. Odom did not immediately seek to run for office as Mayor of Arlington as he did not want to risk losing his District 1 single-member council seat, and it was not until he was inspired by a sermon at his church that he chose to run for mayor. In March, 1997, Odom announced his plans to run for office. He stated that his reason for running was: "because I care for my family, my city, and its people, I am running for Mayor of the greatest city in the world. I plan to run a clean and positive neighbor-to-neighbor campaign with a simple theme: Getting Results For Arlington." Odom outlined a 10-point plan for his future administration, which included improving traffic and mobility, reducing crime, encouraging public-private partnerships, addressing unnecessary spending, and economic development. He received endorsements from council members and Arlington businesses. Odom won the election with 8,752 votes. His closest challenger was Laura Hightower, who won 7,060 votes. He and Hightower received 50.19% and 40.49% of the votes, respectively. City officials had estimated a turnout rate of 7.4%, but the rate had risen to 10%. This turnout was the highest in 10 years.

While in office, Mayor Odom advocated for Arlington youth, inviting students to visit his office during winter break. He also supported programs for citizens with disabilities and seniors. During this time, Arlington taxpayers paid off the Rangers Ballpark years ahead of the payment cutoff date, and the city created the street maintenance sales program. He retired in 2003.

See also

• 2001 Arlington mayoral election