Meet Clay Barnett, Sherman's Newest City Council Member

SHERMAN, Texas (KXII) – Sherman voters elected Clay Barnett to the city council on Saturday.

He will take over Mayor-elect Shawn Teamann’s District 1 seat.

Teamann opted to leave the council to run for mayor and was named mayor-elect earlier this month.

“I look forward to being part of the board and learning as much as I can,” Barnett said.

As a career engineer, Barnett said he would bring a unique perspective to the city council.

During his career, he has worked as an engineer for the city and county, and he believes those experiences will help him succeed.

“It really gave me a lot of exposure and the opportunity to meet a lot of people from all over the county,” Barnett said. “They’re really our regional partners and I’d like to see us work with them to make not only Sherman but the entire county a great place to live.”

To achieve this, he plans to focus his time on the council on three specific areas: infrastructure, quality of life and regional partnerships.

And for starters, he has his eyes set on a specific part of Sherman.

“I knocked on a lot of doors during the campaign, and one of the things I heard over and over again was concern about our downtown,” Barnett said. “You can really determine the character of a city by how well it takes care of its downtown.”

He wants to make sure the downtown area is in good condition and ready to grow.

He also plans to build relationships with council partners such as neighboring cities, county agencies and local school districts.

But, more than anything, he wants to push his house – and its inhabitants – to be the best.

“We’ve made this town our home and raised two boys here,” Barnett said. “Sherman is a great community with great people, and I’m really looking forward to helping my community become the best it can be.”

When he’s not working, Barnett says he enjoys spending time with his wife and two sons, camping and fishing.