Councilmember Adam McGough serves as the District 10 Dallas City Council representative. Elected in 2015, Adam is serving in his fourth and final term as the representative of northeast Dallas, including Lake Highlands and Hamilton Park.
Adam serves as the Chair for the Public Safety Committee and is a member of the Economic Development; Government Performance & Financial Management; Workforce, Education, & Equity; Ad Hoc General Investigating & Ethics; and Ad Hoc Legislative Affairs Committees. Additionally, he is the Mayor's appointee to the Regional Transportation Council, the chair of the Dallas Regional Mobility Coalition and the vice chair of TEX-21, a grassroots organization focused on improving transportation infrastructure in Texas.
In 2015, he was named by the Dallas Morning News "Council Rookie of the Year," for his leadership in negotiating revisions to Chapter 27 of the Dallas City Code to improve minimum property standards, leading improvements to nuisance-abatement laws, negotiating a compromise on the Trinity River Project and for his appointment to draft a compromise agreement for the privatization of Fair Park. In June 2016, Adam released an #ALLinD10 Accountability Plan to improve quality of life and spur economic development in District 10 and remains committed to working collectively and strategically to accomplish those goals.
A native of Nacogdoches, Texas, Adam earned a B.A. in Economics as a University of Texas at Austin Longhorn before earning his J.D. from the Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law. While in law school, Adam served on Law Review, earned status as a "Master Advocate" for the Board of Advocates and had the opportunity to study English Comparative Law and Employment Law at the University of Oxford in England while participating in Alternative Dispute Resolution courses. Here, Adam developed a passion for mediation and sought a Masters of Law, L.L.M, from Pepperdine University School of Law's Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution in addition to earning several certificates at the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School.
After establishing a private law practice for several years, Adam received the call to serve the City of Dallas as a Community Prosecutor within the City Attorney's Office. As a Community Prosecutor, Adam had the unique opportunity to bring together his skills as a mediator and a litigator with the resources of the Dallas police, fire, code and housing departments to solve neighborhood issues and improve quality of life throughout Dallas. Adam was promoted to Executive Assistant City Attorney, where he served as the Chief of Community Prosecution and Community Courts and led teams of attorneys, code officers and city staff across the entire City of Dallas. Adam helped bring the first community prosecutor to the area of Lake Highlands. His reputation as a litigator and prosecutor along with his skill in mediation and desire to make neighborhoods safe earned Adam the appointment of Special Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas.
In 2013, Mayor Mike Rawlings asked Adam to join his office as Chief of Strategic Initiatives and lead GrowSouth, a program dedicated to improving education and economic development in Southern Dallas. Shortly thereafter, Adam was promoted to serve as the Mayor's Chief of Staff where he was involved in the response to the Ebola crisis in Dallas, the JFK Commemorative, the New Cities Summit and establishing the Mayor's Rising Star Council.
From 2007 to 2021, Adam served as the Director of Conflict Management at El Centro College and as an Adjunct Faculty member at SMU in Dispute Resolution. He conducted trainings across the country for judges, attorneys and professionals in negotiation, mediation and dispute resolution and remains a sought-after speaker. Adam was the past Chair of the Alternative Dispute Resolution section of the Dallas Bar Association and continues to serve on the board of directors for numerous organizations.
Adam and his wife, Lacy, have three sons: Noah, Cooper and Eli who, respectively attend Jesuit College Preparatory School of Dallas, Lake Highlands Jr High School and Scofield Christian School. The McGoughs attend Prestoncrest Church of Christ and Watermark Community Church. Adam also serves as a Volunteer Chaplain for Lifeline Chaplaincy.
Adam seeks to be a true servant leader and remains committed to serving the City of Dallas through his unique ability to mobilize communities and coalesce leaders.