Meet Jeff

Nederland is at a fork in the road.  We cannot stop change; however, we can adapt it to benefit our people.  We can either do that or we can choose to stay with the same "managed decline" that has plagued our City for most of the last two decades.

My name is Jeff Darby, and I am a candidate for Nederland Mayor in the election this year.  I am uniquely qualified to stop Nederland's decline and boldly lead our City into the future.

I was born in Port Arthur, and grew up in Nederland and Groves.  Nederland has been my home since 1990 when I was transferred back to the Golden Triangle as a young investigator with the United

States Department of Labor.  After 33 years in that career, I retired in January 2023 and began JP Darby Services, LLC, my consulting and mediation firm that specializes in the laws I enforced.  My clients are local and nationwide.

My wife, Christy, graduated from Nederland High School in 1987 and retired from teaching at Nederland High School in 2024.  We have been married since 1988.  Our three daughters and two sons-in-law also graduated from Nederland High School  All of us are proud graduates of Lamar University (I earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1988).  We welcomed a grandson in October 2024!

My hobbies include reading, family history research, travel, Bible study, shooting, and foreign language study.  I can read, write, speak, and understand French, Spanish, German, Dutch, Italian, and Portuguese at various levels (and read all well to very well).  I have been, and am, very active in our community.  I am very familiar with the way government works at the federal, state, and local levels.

My resume is in another part of this website. This election is a job interview.  You are choosing who you want to lead our city.  I am asking you to hire me as the guy who will be the "face" of Nederland and who, along with the rest of City Council, will hire the right executives, set the policies that employees are to carry out, and establish the tax rates.

SEE JEFF'S RESUME

It is my pleasure to run alongside Jeff Ortiz for City Council Ward 4 and Britton Jones for City Council Ward 2.  Darby, Ortiz, and Jones, also known as DOJ3 or Team DOJ.  When there are problems, people call the DOJ.  The people of Nederland can call Team DOJ on May 3.

I believe it will be the kind of thinking and experience each of us can provide that can lead Nederland, Texas forward to the success our city was famous for in years past.

Visions and Priorities

I am a Christian, husband, father, grandfather, retired investigator, retired labor leader, and business owner with more than 25 years of executive experience.  I will do my best as a leader, communicator, and advocate for the people to help make Nederland great again!