As first-ring suburbs, Farmers Branch and Carrollton have long shared not just a border but also challenges such as how to attract new stores and restaurants to aging commercial strips.

With a changing of the guard Tuesday, they also share thinking in the mayor's office.

Tim O'Hare

Tim O'Hare, the City Council member who led efforts to ban housing rentals to illegal immigrants in Farmers Branch, was sworn in as mayor of his city Tuesday, while former council member Ron Branson took over as mayor of Carrollton.

Mr. Branson has said one of his first efforts will be to form a committee to look at ways to combat illegal immigration.

Both mayors say they'll also tackle rejuvenation and redevelopment of aging neighborhoods and shopping areas and recruitment of new businesses.

"We want to work together, but we still have to put together programs that fit our citizens and our cities," Mr. Branson said.

Ron Branson

He replaces Becky Miller, who stepped down Tuesday after three years as mayor and seven more on the council.

Mrs. Miller lost her bid for a second term May 10 after questions arose about her stated ties to singers Linda Ronstadt, Jackson Browne and Don Henley, her attendance at Western Kentucky University and whether she had a brother who died in Vietnam.

Spokesmen have said the singers don't recall her, a university official has said there's no record that she attended, and her father has said her brother is still alive.

Mrs. Miller has responded that she's not surprised the singers don't remember her after 30 years; that she did attend the university, though for only a couple of months; and that she used the word "brother" to refer to a non-relative raised by her family.

Mrs. Miller bid a tearful farewell Tuesday. She had previously criticized Mr. Branson for engaging in dirty politics. She said she was proud to have run a clean campaign that focused on the issues. And she said she hopes that the city will continue to embrace diversity and that it won't be "snuffed out".

"It could indeed destroy a spirit that many, even before me, helped build," she said.

BRANDON THIBODEAUX/Special Contributor

Saying goodbye proved to be emotional for outgoing Carrollton Mayor Becky Miller on Tuesday. She thanked city employees and supporters and said she hopes that diversity continues to have a place in the city.

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She thanked staff, council members and supporters.

Mr. O'Hare is taking the seat vacated by Bob Phelps, who sat on the Farmers Branch council for a decade before serving as mayor for 12 years.

"It's been a trip," the outgoing mayor said.

Mr. Phelps said he had originally hoped to serve one more term so he would be at the helm when DART rail service begins in late 2010. But tensions over his city's illegal immigration crackdown helped change his mind, he said. After he publicly opposed an ordinance last May to ban apartment rentals to illegal immigrants, his home was vandalized twice and he drew strong criticism.

"That's politics," Mr. Phelps said, "and I'm a big boy."

He had said he opposed illegal immigration but couldn't support spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to defend an ordinance the city had been told wouldn't hold up in court. Voters approved the measure 2-to-1, but a pending lawsuit has held up enforcement.

Mr. Phelps' wife, Dee, meanwhile, was found to have breast cancer last fall. She underwent radiation treatment, and a recent check indicated the cancer is gone.

The couple, with their children and the children's spouses, plan a Caribbean cruise this summer.

As the Phelpses enjoy his retirement and celebrate her health, Mr. O'Hare will be busy meeting with developers in an attempt to breathe new life into declining areas.

He'll also be working with Mr. Branson.

"What I think we can do together is do things to help revitalize Farmers Branch and parts of south Carrollton," Mr. O'Hare said. "I think we can piggyback off each other, and the things we can do toward that end will improve schools, will improve property values and give residents more options to choose from when it comes to restaurants and shopping."