As the son of missionaries and working in finances, David Rettig has lived around the world.
But after all his travels, he’s found a home in Northlake and is striving as mayor to guide it into a bright future.
“It’s truly a wonderful place,” Rettig said.
Rettig grew up far from the vast open spaces of Northlake and North Texas. He moved around more than 30 times but spent a significant portion of his childhood in Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic.
“My parents were missionaries. They moved to Prague in 1994 and it’s coming upon 30 years there for them,” Rettig recalled.
He came back stateside and attended Penn State, earning Bachelor of Science degrees in business and information science and technology. He put his degrees to use, going into finance, working for Fidelity, with assignments across New England. As he worked his way up, he found himself traveling west to Denver.
Soon, he brought his family west, settling in the Metroplex in 2012. They moved to Northlake in 2015 and quickly settled in.
While working on his MBA at UT-Arlington, the lessons he learned as a child by watching his parents serve others set him on a new path into public service.
“I started going to council meetings and listening. I wanted to make sure from a strategic perspective the debt being taken on was justified,” Rettig recalled.
Less than six months later, he found himself on the ballot running unopposed for mayor.
Now into his second term, Rettig has stayed focused on helping the city focus on providing citizens with high-quality services — roads, utilities and police — at an affordable rate.
His commitment to quality service for the public has him sometimes surprising citizens by responding to questions in the middle of the night on social media.
“Direct answers are what you are going to get if you hit me up day or night. I just have a passion for quality service,” Rettig said.
That commitment to quality service is shown in the investment in employees by the city, with added training and competitive salaries.
“We have a vision for a professional, responsive government,” Rettig said.
He doesn’t just represent the city at city hall. He is also an advocate on the regional level with the Metroport Chamber of Commerce and state level as a party chair.
“Northlake is a regional player. We’re there with Denton, Flower Mound and other cities. We’re punching outside our weight class,” Rettig said.
Northlake remains one of the fastest-growing cities in the state and region. Rettig welcomes the many newcomers to this wonderful city.
“It’s a community where you can have a beautiful home and wonderful amenities, along with enjoying the best of what this region offers,” Rettig said. “It’s the new melting pot. A vast number of people moving here are from out of state. We’re close to the top five most economical cities from our home values and taxes standpoint. Truly there’s no where better.”
He’s seen enough of the world to know.
“Northlake is a regional player. We’re there with Denton, Flower Mound and other cities. We’re punching outside our weight class,” Rettig said.