Your 2025 Dallas City Council Candidates

Hello, friend,

Dallas City Council members make decisions almost every week that directly impact you and your family.

If you live in Dallas and care about public safety, potholes, parks, property tax relief (the “4 P’s”) homelessness, code enforcement, trash pickup, economic development, or any other number of issues, you ought to be preparing to vote in your City Council race on Saturday, May 3, or during early voting.

As of the 5 p.m. filing deadline on Friday, more three dozen candidates were approved to appear on ballots representing 14 City Council districts. Of the ten incumbents looking to return to office, only District 14’s Paul E. Ridley is unopposed, guaranteeing he will be back for his third term representing parts of Downtown, Uptown, Oak Lawn, and East Dallas.

Each of the other nine incumbents drew at least one challenger. The four open seats feature 21 contenders.

Those seeking office are young and old, first-time and perennial candidates, working professionals and retirees. Some are relatively new to Dallas, and others have lived here for decades. Three former City Council members are attempting comebacks. One Dallas Independent School District trustee is looking to make a career change.

I’m tracking all the candidates at the link below, and I’ll be compiling more information about them in the coming weeks. The last day to register to vote is April 3. Early voting starts on April 22.

📖 Table of Contents

• 📰 Highlights From Last Week’s Meetings

• 📝 Memos of Interest

• 🤝 Meetings of Interest: Feb. 18 - 21

  • Tuesday, February 18

    • Quality of Life, Arts, & Culture Committee

    • Transportation & Infrastructure Committee/DART Board

  • Wednesday, February 19

    • Dallas City Council

  • Thursday, February 20

    • Dallas City Plan Commission

    • Dallas Park & Recreation Board

  • Friday, February 21

    • Trinity River Corridor Local Government Corporation

📰 Highlights From Last Week’s Meetings

• Members of the City Council Public Safety Committee backed a resolution to increase the police hiring goal this fiscal year from 250 to 325, even as the interim police chief warned it could make the city less safe in the short term, The Dallas Morning News reports. The recommendation comes on the heels of a voter-approved City Charter mandate to hire roughly 900 more officers.

• Dallas City Council members voted 12-3 to approve a $2.5 million contract with nonprofit Housing Forward for ongoing work to rehouse people experiencing chronic homelessness. Homelessness in Dallas and Collin counties has steadily declined since 2021.

• City Council members also approved:

  • Item 15, a resolution of support for Sycamore Strategies’ application for state low-income housing tax credits for a mixed-income redevelopment of The Magnolia at 1401 Commerce Street in Downtown. A prior plan to transform the hotel into a five-star hotel fell through.

  • Item 43 to authorize the city manager to enter into an event hosting agreement with the nonprofit regional 2026 FIFA World Cup organizing committee. Read more on the agreement in this memo.

  • Item 44 to engage a new performance management consultant to help City Council members conduct performance evaluations of their direct reports, including city manager. More on this in an upcoming briefing below.

📝 Memos of Interest

• An internal review found the Dallas Police Department’s Internal Affairs Division (IAD) lacks policies and procedures that clearly define terms, roles, and responsibilities, according to this memo. This leads to inconsistencies in investigations of the police, by the police, according to a report that includes 17 recommendations for improvements.

• Dallas City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert has launched a national search for the city’s next fire chief, with the goal of filling the post by early Spring. Check out a detailed timeline and the recruitment brochure here. The new chief will replace Dominique Artis, who was promoted to chief of public safety, overseeing both police and fire. The search for a new police chief is following a similar timeline.

• Here’s the complete City Manager memo packet for Friday, February 14, 2025.

🤝 Meetings of Interest: Feb. 18 - 21

Tuesday, February 18

City Council Quality of Life, Arts, and Culture Committee, 9 a.m., Council Chambers, 6th Floor, Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St.

• Thanks-Giving Foundation President & CEO Kyle Ogden shares a vision for a Thanks-Giving Cultural District in the heart of Downtown in this briefing.

• City Council members are expected to vote in late March on a short-term contract extension with the Dallas Museum of Art for continued operation and management of the Downtown institution, according to this memo. That extension will “set both parties up for a successful contract renegotiation period,” the memo says.

Joint City Council Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) Board Special Called Meeting, 1 p.m., Council Chambers, 6th Floor, Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St.

• This joint meeting will include an update on the ongoing regional Transit 2.0 study as it pertains to DART, including more collaborations between existing transit authorities. Read the presentation.

• A DART staff update presentation has not yet posted online.

• Check out the latest progress on $80 million worth of DART-funded Dallas transportation projects, including a feasibility study for a Downtown streetcar.

Wednesday, February 19

Dallas City Council Briefing, 9 a.m., Council Chambers, 6th Floor, Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St.

• The Dallas Police Department has more officers — 3,165 — than at any time since the year a pension crisis drove hundreds of officers to retire nearly a decade ago, according to this briefing. The report highlights programs that have boosted hiring and retention. It also notes that increasing the current year hiring goal to 325 officers, as Public Safety Committee members recommended, would cause a $12.3 million budget gap.

• A White Rock Lake Master update includes proposed enhancements at various points around the treasured lake. Read the briefing.

• The last time City Council members evaluated any of their direct reports, including the city manager, was August 23, 2022. The City is seeking a consultant to guide an improved process for annual evaluations. More on their plans to be better bosses in this briefing.

Thursday, February 20

Dallas City Plan Commission (CPC), 9 a.m. Briefing, 12:30 p.m. Public Hearing, Council Chambers, 6th Floor, Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St.

• Item 18: University Park is seeking a Specific Use Permit (SUP) to remodel a Dallas building into a police training facility. The building is on Fondren Drive, west of Greenville Avenue.

Dallas Park & Recreation Board, 10 a.m., 6FN Conference Room, Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St.

• Board members will consider renaming College Park in southern Dallas the “Fahim J. Minkah Community Park” in response to a long-standing community push to honor the late community activist.

  *I am a member of the Park Board, representing the Lake Highlands area (District 10).

Friday, February 21

Trinity River Corridor Local Government Corporation Board, 10 a.m., City Council Briefing Room, 6ES, Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St.

• This agenda includes an update on the planned Harold Simmons Park from Trinity Park Conservancy CEO Tony Moore.

🗣️ Quote of Interest

Did I miss anything? Do you have any questions? Just want to talk about meetings and memos and other fun stuff? Hit me up.