Good Neighbor Spotlight: Bruce Archer of Mesquite
Meet Bruce Archer, a good neighbor who’s spreading neighborhood spirit and community pride throughout Mesquite with the intensity of the Energizer bunny.
At 47, Archer wears multiple hats. When he isn’t working as a Realtor to put food on his family’s table, he spends every waking hour as a neighborhood advocate, public servant, and pastor of At the Cross, a non-denominational church. And whether he’s matching families with homes and new beginnings, engaging citizens in their city, or ministering to the poor, the common threads that weave the fabric of all Archer’s hats are his passion for helping people and love of Mesquite.
Using his Type-A personality to advance others is part of Archer’s DNA. Months before he was born in 1970, the Mesquite City Council hired his father and role model, Elland Archer, as its first full-time City Attorney.
“I grew up around City Hall. I’ve known every mayor since George Boyce,” Archer said. “In addition to serving the city, I watched my dad many times help working folks pro bono who needed help and couldn’t afford an attorney.”
Archer added that his most inspiring moment came when his dad appealed a case to the U.S. Supreme Court, which decided to hear the case in 1981.
“I went with my dad and watched him argue before the nine justices,” Archer said, “And I actually met Chief Justice [Warren] Burger while I was there.”
Archer Senior Passes the Baton
Instead of following in his dad’s footsteps as an attorney, Bruce Archer formed his own outreach to the working class and poor. After serving in personal evangelism for years while managing a CiCi’s Pizza, he took his ministry to the next level in 2005 and set up a church apartment in a low-income complex where he initially pastored kids by providing student tutoring, Bible studies, and movie nights. Between Archer’s presence on social media and an influx of parents and other adult tenants seeking ministerial guidance, he opened a second ministry at the nearby Peachtree Apartments and started At the Cross Church to oversee the outreach.
“That work changed my life and my entire outlook on public service,” Archer said.
Archer’s brand of public service is likewise changing Mesquite.
The Power of Trash Clean-Up
Archer isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty. When he expanded his ministry outreach into single-family neighborhoods, he launched his signature trash clean-ups in Valley View Heights with a skimpy team consisting of his associate pastor, kids, and a couple of Facebook friends.
“The more we clean up our old suburb, the greater the opportunities for quality economic development and good jobs,” Archer said.
The aging neighborhood of small brick houses was a combination of well-kept owner-occupied homes and rental houses in need of some love. Archer started knocking on doors, meeting neighbors, and encouraging them to get involved and take pride in their neighborhood. Over time, neighbors joined the clean-up crew, trash on the ground lessened, and pictures of neighborhood improvements were regularly posted on Archer’s Facebook page. But his neighborhood outreach didn’t stop at Valley View Heights.
“I still did a lot of trash [clean-ups] around town, and I helped different neighborhoods start crime watch groups,” Archer said. “I also helped put together Christian Job Fairs with Sharing Life Outreach.”
Archer Throws His Hat in the Ring
Archer was no stranger to public service when he decided to run for Mesquite City Council District 3 in 2014. In addition to his neighborhood ministry, he started working on political campaigns at age 16. He interned for U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison for a year and served on several boards and commissions, including Historic Mesquite Inc., the Planning and Zoning Commission, the Library Advisory Board, and the Board of Adjustment.
Like most Dallas-Fort Worth suburbs, Mesquite had changed significantly over the years as the population became more diverse and neighborhoods matured. While City Council members had historically served as policymaking officials, Archer was a new breed candidate who didn’t fit the establishment mold.
Most Mesquite voters didn’t even know who their councilmember was, so Archer went head-to-head with voter apathy in his campaign by using social media to publicize his town hall meetings, which gave him the opportunity to meet prospective constituents, answer questions, and engage them in local politics. He vowed to work toward getting daytime council meetings moved to nights, so more citizens could attend.
Much to the chagrin of some old school council members, Archer won his election. “You’re an elected official now,” one tenured councilmember told Archer. “We don’t clean up trash.”
Archer made good on his campaign promises, and attendance at nighttime council meetings soared.
“My proactive involvement and social media presence always seemed to make [some] leaders uncomfortable,” Archer said. “But more and more over time [others] are starting to embrace such methods of active involvement and service and being more accessible to the people.”
Now in his third term, some of the neighborhoods Archer has helped are Northridge Estates, Edgemont Park, Valley View Heights, and Rollingwood Hills as well as Town East Estates in District 1, Casaview in District 2, and Mesquite Park in District 4. Archer concludes:
“One of my top priorities from the day I was first elected was to constantly attack apathy and get more and more residents involved in taking ownership of their neighborhoods and their city. I believe leaders should constantly be working to inspire others to take a stand for good and to help bring about hope. Hope is a powerful thing!”