here is a little white house on Pennsylvania Avenue where David Wallace, past mayor of Sugar Land, would like to serve his nation and fulfill his ultimate goal. With his experience and the momentum he is generating, most agree it is definitely a possibility.

Wallace mentioned he has always been a stringent goal setter. One of those goals is to be sitting in the oval office after the 2024 presidential elections. However, there are a number of political offices along the way he is looking at filling, with the mayor of Houston ’s chair as the first stop.

“Right now, I’m considering and exploring the first steps toward a run for Houston’s mayor,” Wallace said.

A number of influential community leaders have continued to approached him to consider the office. However, if he decides to move forward with running for Houston ’s mayor, he won’t toss his hat into the ring for another couple of years.

The very first step for Wallace and his family though would be to put their name on a Houston mailbox.

“My wife and I have not taken steps to leave Sugar Land and move to Houston, even though discussions with many Houstonians are continuing, so we ’ll have to see how things develop,” Wallace says.

The Momentum is Growing

Joanne Herring, Houston socialite turned fund-raiser, and as portrayed by Julia Roberts in the film Charlie Wilson ’s War, is one of Wallace’s dedicated supporters, and continues to sing his praises after witnessing his successes as mayor of Sugar Land.

“We need someone like David Wallace in Houston. Look what he did for Sugar Land when he was mayor. David pulled in Minute Maid ’s corporate office and all Houston got was a (baseball) park. Look what all Houston has to brag about. We have education, arts and culture, and so much more. But somehow David locked them into Sugar Land; now that gives many people something to think about, ” says Herring.

Herring added, Houston needs someone who understands business and running a city, Wallace has that.

According to Sugar Land Mayor James A. Thompson, when Wallace sat in the city’s top chair, he was active

Some of those highly publicized companies are Minute Maid’s corporate headquarters, Sunoco Logistics, Industrial Information Recourses, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Bechtel Equipment Operation, Advanced Polybag and many others.

National Attention

Wallace also brought national attention to the once small, bedroom community of Houston.

“During his tenure, Sugar Land received numerous awards, such as being named third in “Best Places to Live” in America by MONEY Magazine and CNN/Money, America’s Fifth Safest City by CQ Press, one of the 100 Best Communities for Young People for three consecutive years and the nation ’s first Community of Respect by the Anti-Defamation League,” says Thompson.

Wallace Has the Experience

Wallace’s resume, at a youthful 48, is longer than most politicians who have spent three times the number of years in public service. His resume includes Board of Directors – Texas Economic Development Corporation, Investment Advisory Board – Texas Treasury Safekeeping Trust Company, Investment Advisory Board – State of Texas Comptroller, Member and Chairman – Texas Energy Center Task Force, Founding Treasurer and Director – Margaret Thatcher Foundation, United States Conference of Mayors – Trustee Member: Executive Committee, and serves on boards of directors and leadership positions in numerous public and private companies. Moreover, the list of nonprofits he has served in different capacities fills a couple of pages. Wallace has also won a number of awards from Fort Bend County to national honors.

Wallace served three terms as mayor of Sugar Land and declined to run a fourth time; instead, he opted to fill the chief executive officer and co-founder of Wallace Bajjali Development Partners, L.P., a real estate development firm specializing in single-family lot subdivisions, commercial land development, mixed-

As CEO of Wallace Bajjali, Wallace pulls on his extensive education in domestic and international real estate, 30 years of business experience and terms as mayor of Sugar Land.  

Prior to his foray into politics, Wallace was a business man and turnaround specialist, working in the process of acquiring and or creating over 100 companies and partnerships in a wide range of industries, from petroleum products to telecommunications.

“I worked with investors, lenders and employers. Also, I worked with bankrupt companies in an attempt to turn them around and save jobs. We also would go into troubled companies and have to think outside the box for solutions, which is the same thing mayors do, ” says Wallace.

Wallace’s Work Continues

to Benefit Texas

Today, Wallace continues his public service work behind the scenes to bring jobs to the Lone Star State as the president-elect of Texas One Economic Development Corporation. The board of this corporation was appointed by the governor and its mission is to promote business and commerce in the state of Texas.  

Recently, Wallace was in Chile and Brazil with the secretary of state meeting with site selectors and more than 150 chief executive officers of companies articulating the virtues of conducting business in Texas and moving their headquarters to Texas or opening a divisional office in the state. A month ago, he was on a similar mission to Boston.

“It is our goal to use local and state incentives to motivate these companies to come to Texas and open for business. For example, the Texas Enterprise Fund provides dollars through the Governor ’s Economic Development Department to create jobs in Texas. In one day, we had several meetings with the U.S. ambassador and executives from very large companies, ” Wallace says.

On these trips, a number of those he was traveling with, many from Houston’s leadership and political community, asked Wallace to consider a move to Houston, and his reply, “I’m giving it a great deal of thought.”