Fourteen Dallas City Council seats and the mayor’s gavel are up for grabs at the horseshoe on May 6, and today is the first day you can file candidate paperwork with the city secretary’s office.
This could be an interesting election season as the coming May election is the first for the City of Dallas’ newly redistricted city council district boundaries.
Council members are elected for two-year terms and the mayor’s position is a four-year responsibility. The nonpartisan council members are elected to serve the district in which they live, and the mayor, who earns $80,000 per year, serves the entire city. Council members earn an annual salary of $60,000.
That, of course, doesn’t count the $1,000-per-month car allowance the Dallas City Council allocated for its members in September. Also, campaign finance reports can be viewed online.
The deadline to cast your hat into the ring is Feb. 18, and Election Day is May 6.
Dallas City Council Elections
Almost every eligible incumbent has publicly declared intent to seek re-election, as daltxrealestate.com reported earlier this month.
District 3 Councilman Casey Thomas and District 10 Councilman Adam McGough are term-limited and cannot seek re-election.
A contentious race already is brewing in District 1, where incumbent Chad West has drawn challengers Mariana Griggs and Albert Mata.
District 10 could also be one to watch, with Brian Hasenbauer and Kathy Stewart vying for the seat left open by Councilman McGough.
The mayor’s race is always interesting, but it remains to be seen if more than just political newcomer Kendal Richardson will challenge Mayor Eric Johnson.
Redistricting Ramifications
The Dallas city charter requires the council to appoint a 15-member commission to develop a redistricting plan in compliance with local, state, and federal law every 10 years.
The Dallas Redistricting Commission, chaired by Jesse Oliver, produced numerous maps that were amended and fought over in lengthy, sometimes-heated public meetings.
The purpose is to evenly distribute the population, but concerns arose about gerrymandering or diluting the voting power of Dallas minority voters by splitting up traditionally Black or Hispanic neighborhoods into different districts.
Dallas City Council positions are nonpartisan. During the redistricting process, many residents advocated for keeping their neighborhoods intact and not “losing” their current council representative.
“More compact districts will increase voter turnout and allow the public to hold their politicians accountable,” Redistricting Commission member Bill Betzen told daltxrealestate.com in April 2022. “The public must win.”
Ultimately the map approved in June includes eight “minority majority/plurality” districts based on voting population and eight based on voting age.
This is the first of many posts as the campaign season heats up. Announcing your candidacy? Ping us at [email protected].
