LITTLE ELM (WBAP/KLIF)- Curtis Cornelious, the first black mayor elected in the Town of Little Elm, will be officially sworn in to a three-year-term on Tuesday 6/15 at 6pm. Cornelius has lived in Little Elm for nearly 20 years and joined council in 2009. He said he wanted to continue his work as mayor, be a visionary and inspire others.
“I built my resume to be the most qualified so everyone was able to look past that I’m a black man running for mayor and say, well he’s the most qualified,” he said. “Fortunately the most qualified to be mayor happened to be a black man which signifies we are a diverse town, we love it, we embrace it and we will build off of it.”
Cornelious said even though the town has grown from 3,000 to 53,000, his focus is to keep the “small town feel” of Little Elm by prioritizing public safety, development and parks and rec for people to feel safe, get outside and enjoy the community.
“This is how we maintain our small town feel which has been a concern because we are growing so fast,” said Cornelious, “It’s based on building the venues, entertainment, restaurants, trail systems and amenities to get people out of their homes and feel comfortable.”
He said being in this position excites him and shows the town is moving forward to be the best it can be.
“It’ll be under my leadership that I’ll give it 100% every day to make sure everyone has a voice in Little Elm,” he said.