Deputy City Manager Mitch Bates

Mitch Bates was named Deputy City Manager in October 2018 to assist with overseeing the day-to-day operations of the City. 

Mitch began his career with the City as a police officer, advancing through the ranks to become Chief of Police in 2003. As Chief, Bates was instrumental in establishing the Community Leaders Group, which meets regularly with the City Manager, Police Chief and other key City staff members to discuss and address important issues that are relevant to the community. During his tenure, the Police Department experienced significant growth and expansion in community policing programs such as the Neighborhood Police Officer (NPO) Program and the School Resources Officer (SRO) Program. Also, Chief Bates established a Community Relations Unit that interacts and responds to community needs in addition to addressing and providing services to those who are homeless. A Youth Police Academy program was implemented to continue to develop relationships and build understanding with high school students throughout the City. 

The Garland Chapter of the NAACP has twice recognized him as Bridge Builder of the Year, in 2009 and 2015. GAFHA honored Chief Bates with their Community Service Award in 2015. 

Chief Bates obtained a Bachelor of Business Administration from Texas A&M University in Business Analysis: Design and Analysis of MIS Systems. He earned a Master of Science from the University of Texas at Dallas (UTD) in Organizational Behavior. 

Chief Bates is a graduate of the 220th Session of the FBI National Academy and the Senior Management Institute for Police (SMIP) sponsored by the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) at the prestigious Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Chief Bates previously served as the Chairman of the North Texas Major Cities Police Chiefs group and was a former Chairman of the Law Enforcement Committee of the Dallas County Criminal Justice Advisory Board (CJAB). He is a member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) and the Texas Police Chiefs Association (TPCA). Mitch is also a proud graduate of Leadership Garland – Class #19 (the “best class”). 

Mitch and his wife, Theresa, have three children – Jacob, Samuel and Hannah.