Dallas is halfway through electing a new slate of city council members. Most of the seats were decided in the May 1 general election, with six to be decided by runoffs on June 5.
While we’re preparing for the new council and while there’s still time for voters to ask questions of the runoff candidates I thought I’d present an agenda for culinary change in Dallas. Here are seven concrete ways that the next council can make our city a better place to eat and drink.
By the way, to any future council members reading this, if you package these items up in one big omnibus agenda item, may I humbly suggest a name? Call it the Enabling New Culinary and Hospitality Innovation and Leadership Across Dallas Act (ENCHILADA).
It Is Time for Dallas to Adopt Ranked-Choice Voting
As six council campaigns head to runoffs, let s finally admit that Dallas municipal elections have morphed into glorified primaries.
By Peter Simek
Published in
FrontBurner
May 6, 2021
9:10 am
Amid all the postgame analysisthat has been flyingabout in the aftermath of last Saturday’s municipal elections, one simple and striking fact bears mentioning: up until a few election cycles ago, sitting council members were rarely challenged. That has changed – big time. Last Saturday’s elections saw competitive races in nearly every district, and three incumbents David Blewett, Adam Bazaldua, and Carolyn King Arnold have been forced into runoffs. In general, that’s a good thing. More candidates mean more ideas are brought to the table, more citizens are engaged in the electoral process, and council members are more responsive to the constituents who put them in office.
Early numbers in Dallas
Dallas City Council member Omar Narvaez is running for a third term in District 6
Two ballot initiatives and fourteen council seats were on the ballot in today’s Dallas municipal election. Runoffs are expected in a number of the races because of the large number of candidates that ran. Every incumbent had a challenger.
Of particular interest in the LGBTQ community is District 13. Leland Burk, who is gay, is running against Gay Donnell Willis who runs the Turtle Creek Park Conservancy.
Two gay city councilmen are up for re-election Chad West in District 1 is running for a second term and Omar Narvaez in District 6 is running for his third. Mayor Pro Tem Adam Medrano, who represents District 2, was not able to run for re-election due to term limits.
How Much Does a Dallas City Council Vote Cost?
I broke down the election results by the amount spent by candidates to earn each vote. The data show that money isn t everything in Dallas City Council races.
By Peter Simek
Published in
FrontBurner
May 4, 2021
2:35 pm
As the results of the city council election were coming in Saturday night, a familiar storyline took shape. There were plenty of intriguing political subplots building up to the election. And now we have weeks of limbo as we await a staggering six runoff races that will determine the make up of the next council. But the big takeaway was low turnout.
Eric Johnson might hold the title mayor but his power vanished Saturday
He must change his whole approach now to salvage the next two years.
Mayor Eric Johnson speaks during the opening of ZimSculpt and the Summer of Sculpture exhibition at the Dallas Arboretum, Friday, April 30, 2021. (Elias Valverde II / Special Contributor)(Elias Valverde II / Special Contributor)
It’s one thing to lose in politics, as Mayor Eric Johnson did spectacularly Saturday. Serious politics requires risk, and if you’re going to be in it, you’ve got to roll the dice at some point.
Johnson’s problem, though, is that he took a huge political risk this year with a low-to-nil probability of success.