EAST TEXAS UNFILTERED w/ J. Chad Parker Featuring Special Guest Mayor Don Warren

In this episode of East Texas UNFILTERED, J. Chad Parker sits down with Tyler mayor Don Warren for a candid, surprising, and often hilarious walk through his early life, career, and time in public service. Mayor Warren opens up about growing up in a political household, embarrassing the family name as a mischievous kid, and learning about second chances long before he ever stepped into leadership. From hotwiring a neighbor’s motorcycle on his paper route to watching his father get pulled into the darker side of politics, Warren explains how those early experiences shaped the way he sees people, power, responsibility, and redemption.
Chad guides the conversation through Warren’s winding career path—from studying film at Texas Tech to becoming a cameraman, then accidentally finding his way into land work and the oil and gas industry. Warren shares the stress, risk, and odd characters he encountered while negotiating mineral rights, dealing with angry landowners, and weathering economic collapses. He talks openly about fear, failure, debt, divorce, reinvention, and the moment he walked away from corporate life entirely. That break eventually led him to volunteering, serving on planning and zoning, running for council, and unexpectedly becoming mayor during a pandemic, an ice storm, and a period of massive growth for the city.

The conversation ends with Warren reflecting on the city’s transformation—downtown revitalization, upgraded parks, infrastructure overhauls, light rail studies, and the hotel project taking shape on the square. He discusses social media criticism, community tensions, the realities of running a city, and the parts of the job that feel deeply worth it. Warren talks about what he hopes his legacy will be once he steps down in a few months and why “loving your neighbor” matters more to him than buildings or budgets. It’s a thoughtful, funny, and surprisingly moving look at the man behind the office and the city he’s worked to move forward for everyone. Subscribe and turn on notifications for more conversations like this.