By Lori Lee
NDG Contributing Writer
This May, Dallas voters will decide 13 of its 15 City Council districts, marking the first-time voters have cast votes in the newly drawn districts, updated last June to reflect the recent census.
District 1
In District 1, Oak Cliff, Incumbent Chad West will go up against Albert Mata and Mariana Griggs, both community activists in the district.
The last few elections have been largely decided by White voters in the northern region of the district, reports the Dallas Morning News (DMN). After redistricting committee efforts to push the White majority vote into similarly composed District 14 failed, get-out-the-vote efforts have aspired to elect either Griggs or Mata, both Hispanic, to reflect the demographic makeup of the majority-Hispanic district, they report.
Incumbent Chad West remains convinced, however, that his experience on Council and the Plan Commision offers the expertise and stability the district needs to maintain focus on increasing workforce housing, gaining funding for vital projects, and continuing to protect residents from gentrification, reports DMN, as he did when he headed up the West Oak Cliff Area Plan.
West’s website demonstrates his expertise and compassion for the minority community, discussing Dallas’ history of redlining and auto-oriented development that has disconnected minority neighborhoods from downtown commerce. West pushes to replace I-345 with improved development designed to reconnect these inner-city neighborhoods, with a focus on bike and pedestrian-access to independent shops in the district. West has worked to grow park space and affordable housing in the district and has demonstrated a willingness to use City land banks and tax stabilizing overlays to do so.
West will go up against Mariana Griggs, former wife of Councilman Scott Griggs, who oversaw the district from 2011 to 2019. As shown on her campaign website, Griggs studied Entomology at A&M and involves herself in community organizations like the Salvation Army, Audubon Dallas, Casa de Paz PTO, and the Gateway Tax Increment Financing District. A founding partner of Community Gardens of Oak Cliff and Better Block, Griggs fights for the environment as a campaign volunteer and garden donor.
Albert Mata, also on the ticket, is a community activist, who supports the West Oak Cliff Coalition, while encouraging equity in land-use planning, as demonstrated on his campaign website. Involved with the Automotive Association of Oak Cliff, Mata has advocated for small businesses and knocked on doors to encourage census response and Covid education. Mata has criticized West as focusing on the northern area of the district, reports DMN, and Mata encouraged Latinos to get involved in the West Oak Cliff Area Plan while on the Board of Somos Tejas, D Magazine reports.
District 2
Two candidates will seek to represent District 2, which includes the Cedars, Deep Ellum, Oak Lawn and Love Field and parts of downtown. Incumbent Jessee Moreno will take on first-time candidate Sukhbir Kaur, two candidates who according to DMN, agree that crime, homelessness, affordable housing, and trash services are most important.
As the incumbent, Moreno has been effective against crime and involved with the Park Board, defending parks like Reverchon and improving the Santa Fe trail, his campaign reports. As a small business owner, Moreno has advocated for resources to help local restaurants thrive, while supporting his neighbors and his city.
Despite his efforts, writer and social activist Kukhbir Kaur claims Moreno has been ineffective. She wants to improve on trash pickup, reduce homelessness and increase affordable housing, reports DMN. A customer service representative in the Airline industry, Kaur wants to make her district a safer and cleaner place, they report.
District 3
District 3, in southwest Dallas, has seen decades of neglect. Casey Thomas, who oversaw revitalization of Redbird Mall and who touts low crimes rates in the district, has served his term limit, reports DMN.
Zarin Gracey will attempt to take the reins, challenged by Joe Tave, August Doyle, Denise Benavides, and John Sims.
As director of the Office of Business Diversity, economic developer Zarin Gracey will take up a campaign to revitalize vacant and underutilized office and retail space without forcing people out of their neighborhoods, his website states. Gracey also says he’ll promote the arts and park space, continue to fund the police, all the while prioritizing minority and women-owned businesses.
Joe Tave is expected to put up a good fight, DMN reports. Radio host, entrepreneur and former teacher, Tavi served in Dallas on the Citizens Safety and Community Development commissions, reports Dallas Express. He has also served his community on various boards, including the Black Academy of Arts and Letters and the Bethlehem Foundation, his campaign website states. He seeks to transparently represent the diversity of the district, while keeping citizens involved in decision making.
August Doyle has also served the City of Dallas as a former code inspector and former teacher in Dallas/Fort Worth. Concerned with mentoring young people and fighting crime and homelessness, he wants to ensure Dallas gains all possible federal funding for infrastructure projects, the Dallas Morning News reports.
Former candidate Denise Benavides will make her run for Place 2 on increased diversity in decision making. Benavides, who runs a nonprofit to help immigrant families, is making a second run to lead the district. The former Board member of Grand Prairie Hispanic Chamber, Benavides’ campaign website advocates that all communications be bilingual.
She supports increased after-school programs and healthcare education and a variety of festivals to showcase the diverse talents in the community. Her stated priorities include partnering with nonprofits to help the homeless, separating warehouses from neighborhoods, and promoting home and business ownership, especially for black and brown renters. DMN reports her goals include bringing more restaurants and ensuring infrastructure projects are done faster.
Entrepreneur, owner of a podcast and radio studio in Oak Cliff, John Sims wants to focus on homelessness, retraining police, improved infrastructure and affordable housing, his website states. After studying electronic engineering and becoming certified as an Emergency Medical Tech, John has served as a firefighter, in Emergency Operations during Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and as a coach in his community. Raised poor by a single parent, Sims believes that with the power to affect lives, people in public office should use compassion, DMN reports.
District 4
In District 4, Mayor Pro Tem and incumbent Carolyn King Arnold will run once again for the Southern Dallas, Oak Cliff district seat. Arnold supports small businesses, economic development, public safety, and affordable office and retail space. Her campaign promises a fight to keep the community clean and to promote affordable housing and home ownership, all the while preserving historic neighborhoods, as she did in the10th Street district.
Arnold will take on first-time candidate Jamie Lynn Smith. An accountant with 13 years’ experience in finance, Smith’s campaign pledges to ensure funding for programs and services are properly allocated. She will also fight to end gun violence and restore public trust, her campaign states. With experience in the public sector, Carolyn King Arnold has been an advocate for the Oak Cliff Garden community that she calls home. Involved with her neighborhood association’s crime watch group, DMN reports Smith worked with code compliance and parking enforcement to promote safety in her community.
District 5
The fight for Place 5 in far southeast Dallas will be a three-way race between incumbent Jaime Resendez, Yolanda Faye Williams, and Terry Perkins.
Resendez, who worked to establish the Southeast Dallas Neighborhood Coalition, helped change city policy and improve quality of life in Southeast Dallas. Resendez’ campaign supports safer streets, with increased LED lighting for areas with high nighttime violent crime. His campaign promises to push for channeling mental health calls from police to health experts and supports lowering the property tax rate.
Former city council assistant, Yolanda Faye Williams, will make a second run for Place 5. Appointed to the Park and Recreation Board, Williams has been working to improve District 5 parks. Now, her campaign for council calls for enhanced equipment and training for first responders and improved quality of life through education and crime reduction. While promoting social, health, environmental and economic outcomes for District 5 residents, Williams calls for incentives to promote development and re-imagine a thriving and prosperous Pleasant Grove community.
Community Activist and former pastor Terry Perkins will also repeat his race for Place 5, running on a call for change. His Facebook page states, “The last four years have been enough. Let’s make change in District 5! The work has started, the fight has begun, and the dream should never die. A better Southeast Dallas.”
District 6
In District 6, West Dallas, Tony Carillo, former council member, Monica Alonzo and Sidney Robles Martinez will challenge incumbent councilman Omar Narvaez.
Narvaez defeated both Carillo and Alonzo in the last four elections, beating Alonzo narrowly in a runoff.
Narvaez serves Dallas on a number of committees, including Economic Development and Housing, Quality of Life, Arts and Culture, Judicial Ad Hoc, and the Government Performance Finance. Narvaez is the current Deputy Mayor Pro Tem. He was appointed by Mayor Johnson to chair the Environment and Sustainability Committee, where he passed environmental policies and lobbied to finance infrastructure along the Trinity, his campaign states. Narvaez now serves as Chair of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committees and is working to extend walking trails around the Pavaho Wetlands sump and to connect Bachman Loop to other Dallas trails.
Carillo pledges to speak for the people and with the people, his Facebook page presents, while Alonzo’s campaign lists improved communications, city services, attracting businesses, and keeping families safe as priorities.
Sidney Robles-Martinez also steps in to serve District 6. A community activist and political consultant, his campaign vows to re-establish transparency and to fight for better roads, sidewalks, and opportunities. He supports refunding the police and ensuring “kids have a safe place to become the leaders of tomorrow.”
District 7
In east Dallas, just south of I-30, lies District 7, where incumbent Adam Bazaldua will meet several challengers. Okema Thomas, Tracie Dotie Hill, Delmar Lamar Jefferson, and Marvin Crenshaw all seek to represent the district.
Community activist Okema Thomas, who has worked with community organizations, like the Dallas Bethlehem Center and Bring the Light Ministries, pledges to bring city leaders together to with citizens to rebuild South Dallas as a safer place. Tracy Dotie Hill, a realtor and loan officer, is also running for Place 7 against anti-apartheid and civil rights activist Marvin E. Crenshaw, and Delmar Lamar Jefferson, who ran for office several times in California.
Incumbent Bazaldua’s campaign proposes more sensible gun regulations and calls for fixing the Texas grid. He seeks to reduce property taxes, improve teacher compensation and expand access to healthcare.
District 8
In southeast Dallas, three candidates are vying for City Council Place 8. Community activist Davante Peters will run against accounting professional Subrina Brenham, who is making a second run to out seat incumbent and elder statesman Tennell Atkins. Brenham runs on criminal justice reform, public safety, housing security and infrastructure repair, her campaign states.
Davante Peters currently leads efforts to develop community gardens and combat food desert issues in the area. As a member of the Highland Hills Community Action Committee, he seeks to expand affordable housing and pushes for the Green New Deal for Dallas campaign, his campaign states.
Brenham and former council candidate Davante Peters will compete with Atkins for the District 7 seat. Atkins is committed to promoting new businesses, economic development, human capital and renewed infrastructure, according to his council bio.
District 9
In Northeast Dallas, Lakewood, Paula Blackmon is running for reelection against Kendra Madison. Blackmon has spearheaded efforts at city hall on ethics reform and wants to reduce violent crime as well as taxes. As Director of Public Affairs with the Real Estate Council, Blackmon secured the initial funding for the deck park over Woodall Rodgers, states Candace Evans’ website. Blackmon also eeks to reduce delays in building permits for single and multifamily housing.
Incumbent Blackmon will make her run for the District 9 seat against Houston transplant Kendra Madison. Madison seeks to bring a new perspective to city politics and has a background in human resources, marketing and architecture, her campaign website states.
District 10
In Northeast Dallas, Lake Highlands, Sirrano Keith Baldeo will go up against Brian Hasenbauer, Katherine Stewart, Chris Carter and Barbara Markham to fill Adam McGough’s seat in Place 10.
With 12 years of political leadership as a publisher, Baldeo has been taking on public corruption. Baldeo supports increased police funding and reforms, closing adult business by 2am, and supporting neighborhood patrols. Baldeo, who supports lower taxes and quality of life, will challenge marketing professional and one-time Community Development Commissioner, Brian Hasenbauer.
The run will also include lawyer and former director of Uptown Dallas, Inc., Katherine Stewart. Stewart worked as Executive Director of the Lake Highlands Public Improvement District (LHPID), where she served on the Board for two years.
Stewart promises to take on homelessness the way she has taken on her work with the LHPID, with a combination of compassion and enforcement.
Former police officer, Barbara Markham and Chris Carter, who according to public records, fought to preserve confederate monuments, are also running for Place 10.
District 11
In North Dallas Central, Place 11 candidates are to include incumbent Jaynie Schultz and community activist and real estate blogger, Candace Evans.
Schultz, who studied urban studies at the University of Texas at Arlington supports strengthened neighborhoods and communities and has led council as chair of the Workforce, Education and Equity committees.
Journalist Candace Evans returns a second time to oppose Schultz for Place 11.
In this district, the future of the International District is being discussed. Evans seeks to push the development along, while Schultz wants to continue their progress, DMN reports. Public safety and livability are also top issues the candidates are discussing, they report.
District 12
In far North Dallas, Place 12, Cara Mendelsohn will run unopposed. As the incumbent council woman, Mendelsohn heads up a number of committees, including the Government Performance and Financial Management Committee, and the Ad Hoc Committee on General Investing and Ethics.
District 13
In Northwest Dallas, Place 13, incumbent Gay Donnell Willis will run against Priscilla Shacklette, a realtor and developer. On her campaign website, Shacklette states her business experience applies directly to the job. Incumbent Gay Donnell Willis will fight for lower taxes, to fully fund police and to fix our city’s infrastructure. her campaign website states.
District 14
In District 14, which includes Oak Lawn, Greenville Avenue, and downtown, incumbent Paul Ridley runs against Amanda Schulz. Formerly on the Park Board, Schulz will oppose retired engineer Joseph Miller for Council for District 14.
Miller, who claims Ridley has not done enough to solve the City’s affordable housing issues, believes his experience as an engineer will be helpful to the City, reports DMN.
As the incumbent, Ridley has served on the Plan Commision 8 years and chaired the Thoroughfare Committee for several. He also represented the district on the Landmark Commision four years.
Mayor’s Race
Finally, in Place 15, incumbent mayor Eric Johnson will run unopposed. Johnson, elected in 2019 as the 60th Mayor of Dallas, has served on the Texas House of Representatives, representing Dallas from 2010 to 2019. While on the Texas Legislature, Johnson served Dallas as chairman of the Dallas Area Legislative Delegation and worked on several committees, including Appropriations, Ways and Means, Higher Education, and Natural Resources, according to his City Bio.
School Board
On the School Board, Dustin Marshall will not seek reelection for District 2 trustee. Three candidates will run for the spot to control budget, academic and legislative priorities for the district for the North Dallas and near East Dallas district. The vote for the district will be split between longtime education volunteer, Sarah Weinberg, nonprofit director Kevin Malonson and small-business owner Jimmy Tran, reports DMN. In southwest Dallas, trustee incumbent Joyce Foreman will also run against the educator, they report.
Trustee Joe Carreon will run unopposed to hold the District 8 seat, covering northwest Dallas and parts of East and West Dallas.
