Candidate: Maxie Johnson

Age: 47

Website: maxie4dallas.net

Why do you want to be a member of the Dallas City Council, and why are you the best person for the job?

I want to be a member of the Dallas City Council because our district and our city can be better than it is today with the right leadership. It’s going to take the courage to propose common sense priorities without just saying what people want to hear. It will take collaborative action that brings people together. I have a track record of doing that, and I’m not shy about saying that I am pro-business, which I think is a core value that will lead to the kind of decision making we need to chart the proper course.

I was elected to the Dallas ISD Board of Trustees to represent District 5 in May 2019. District 5 is a large and diverse district that spans Wilmer Texas, West Dallas, Oak Lawn, Uptown, and a large portion of South Oak Cliff and shares a great portion of the District 4 city boundaries.

I also serve as pastor at New Morning Star Baptist Church in West Dallas.

Before becoming an elected official, I served as PTA president and Vice Chair of the Site Base Decision Making Committee for South Oak Cliff. As a community organizer I stood with the South Oak Cliff Alumni Association, community stakeholders, student leaders - including standing with my son David, to successfully advocate and procure $52 million dollars in funding for improvements and renovations of the campus. My advocacy and board leadership has led to over $400 million documented improvements in the southern sector.

I want to continue that progress on the city council.

What is the single greatest challenge for your district and how will you address it?

High-quality affordable housing inventory is the greatest challenge.

In order to address it, we have to define and describe what both high-quality and affordable mean. High-quality, to me, means constructed out of sturdy, long-lasting materials, not the cheapest possible materials. It means safe, accessible, and near green space. It means mixed-use so it can generate revenue, provide employment opportunities, and improve the surrounding neighborhood. Affordable means people of all income levels can live there while meeting their other obligations.

There are a few ways I’ll address this:

1. Resolving the police and fire pension issue by attracting new business and revenue for the city - allowing us to increase that 50% of additional revenue the council and city manager have already agreed to direct toward the pension

2. Advocating against algorithmic price setting to avoid predatory practices that reduce affordability, accessible inventory, and place profit over product and people

3. Streamline the permitting process by working with the business community and the city manager

4. Convene community leaders and organizations regularly to streamline the community meeting process and better define community expectations and needs around housing so new developments can better reflect what the community is looking for.

What do you see as the greatest opportunities to grow our city's tax base?

Attracting new businesses and conventions here to Dallas is the greatest opportunity we have.

I plan to take the approach of being unapologetically pro-business and attracting more private investment into Dallas. This would include but not be limited to:

1. Cutting red tape and streamlining the permitting process to make it easier to build and do business

2. Continuing to invest in the education to workforce pipeline, making it easier and less expensive to recruit and train in Dallas

3. Increasing transparency, efficiency, and accountability in the tax process

4. Offering strategic incentives to convert and build affordable mixed use developments in high need areas

With the new convention center project, the new major park projects coming online in the next few years, a rapidly improving school district, and other major reasons to choose Dallas over any other place to bring your business, I want to be an ambassador nationwide alongside our mayor, my fellow council members, and city staff to bring conventions and corporations alike to our city to do business. We have here what anyone could dream of in a destination. We need the right leadership to bring people here.

What is your political party affiliation and what role will that play in your job as a council member?

I am a proud Democrat, and I will continue to be. My job, as an elected official generally and a council member specifically, is to be transparent, responsive, and faithfully represent my constituents. My political party affiliation does not change that role or that responsibility.

These are nonpartisan races for a reason. People from both parties have been supportive of me in my last 6 years as an elected official on the school board. People from both parties are supportive of me becoming the next city councilperson in District 4. I think my record speaks for itself, and I look forward to continuing to be a leader that brings people together for the betterment of my district and community.

Candidate: Kebran W. Alexander

Age: 55

Website: Kebran for District 4

Why do you want to be a member of the Dallas City Council, and why are you the best person for the job?

A product of the district he hopes to serve, Kebran Alexander has been involved in District 4 from the outside, as a volunteer – without pay, notoriety or conflict and would be honored to represent the diverse and hard-working citizens of District 4. His focus is on 1) revitalizing economic development through training and business; and 2) improving the quality of life by reducing food deserts, offering improved senior citizen services, investing in infrastructure and repairs.

As a child of a lifetime public school educator and a Department of Justice employee, Kebran came to understand the struggles of progress and gained interest in the improvement and welfare of our community. Desegregation and integration were major nightly topics of discussion in the household for many of his formative years. Kebran moved into the district when it was thriving in the mid-70s, only to watch as businesses rapidly abandoned their new, increasingly African-American and Hispanic customer base. Glendale, Cedar Crest, Lancaster Kiest, Wynnewood, Village Fair, Westcliff, and then Red Bird Mall went into a state of demise and neglect. As he matriculated through St. Elizabeth, Bishop Dunne, Skyline High School and completed a degree in Political Science at the University of North Texas, he noticed the regression. Support him in his bid to represent the district’s best interests and to work collaboratively with other council members to affect change in Dallas.

What is the single greatest challenge for your district and how will you address it?

I consider Quality of Life, Economic Development and Infrastructure as the top 3 issues facing District 4. Building on the solid foundation that exists in district, I want to focus on revitalizing what has been neglected; repairing what is broken; promoting pride and respect for and among the citizens of District 4; and initiate a 21st century vision for our students so that they see themselves as able to live and work in the district. I believe that the district needs an infusion of younger residents, money (investment capital and disposable income), and racial diversity to turn the corner on realizing its potential while addressing the needs of our senior residents.

What do you see as the greatest opportunities to grow our city's tax base?

Our land and its close proximity to the downtown corridor. It is a perfect place for both economic development and new housing development and has been ignored for far too long.

What is your political party affiliation and what role will that play in your job as a council member?

This is a non-partisan position and I will treat it as such as I develop relationships across the aisle with my fellow council members to bring innovation, as we continue to guide the City of Dallas through the 21st century. With that being said, I am a lifelong Democrat and the child of lifelong Democrats who marched and fought for the right to vote in the 1960's. My 90 and 94 yo parents still exercise their right to vote on every Election Day. I have also volunteered with the Dallas County Democratic Party for many years. I have served as a Voter Deputy Registrar, an Election Judge and Alternate Judge, routinely working the polls on Election Day at Mark Twain Elementary School, in the heart of District 4. I have been a Delegate to our State Democratic Convention numerous times and a Delegate to our National Democratic Convention twice.

Candidate: Avis Hardaman

Age: 73

Website: avisehardaman.com

Why do you want to be a member of the Dallas City Council, and why are you the best person for the job?

I want to be a member of the Dallas City Council because I know what to do to help my communities of District 4. I have lived in zip code 75216 for over 50 years and I have seen many challenges. Most of all, I see the stagnant conditions in most areas of Oak Cliff. I am the best person for the job because I see a vision for constant progression and building a better Council District 4.

What is the single greatest challenge for your district and how will you address it?

City Council District 4 is diverse and the single greatest challenge is not yet defined by me. For example, zip codes 75216 has different issues and challenges from other zip codes. As for as I have discovered just from knowing my neighborhood, crime prevention may be the biggest challenge and police presence, community engagements and better street-lights may deter crime in District 4.

What do you see as the greatest opportunities to grow our city's tax base?

In District 4, and as a new representative, I see job opportunities is a great way to grow our city's tax base.

What is your political party affiliation and what role will that play in your job as a council member?

I learned that the city council district races are nonpartisan and that is why I don't think in terms of division. As the Council District 4 representative, and all precincts and residents working together,we will unite District 4 into one bright shinning diamond.