5 p.m. Monday, Feb. 20: This story was updated to show that Dallas City Council candidates Rickey Lee Perry (District 3), Barbara Markham (District 10), and Jrmar Jefferson (mayor) did not meet qualifications and therefore will not appear on the May 6 ballot.
Forty-five candidates have filed for 14 Dallas City Council races and the mayor’s seat, to be determined at the polls May 6. Three were subsequently disqualified. Mayor Eric Johnson and District 12 Councilwoman Cara Mendelsohn are unopposed.
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.
Campaign finance reports can be viewed online.
Want to know who has thrown their hat in the ring? We’ve got all the information here:
Dallas Mayor
Incumbent Eric Johnson drew challenger Jrmar “JJ” Jefferson late Friday for the mayor’s seat. However, news came Monday afternoon that Jefferson did not meet the necessary qualifications.
Johnson tweeted that he is the “first person ever to run unopposed for mayor since the city switched to electing its mayor to four-year terms in 1991 and … the first person period to run unopposed for mayor since 1967.”
Johnson is the 60th mayor of Dallas, elected in June 2019. Prior to becoming mayor, Johnson served as a member of the Texas House of Representatives where he represented the City of Dallas from April 2010 to June 2019.
During his tenure in the Texas Legislature, Johnson served on several legislative committees, including Appropriations, Ways and Means, Higher Education, and Natural Resources. He also served as chairman of the Dallas Area Legislative Delegation, according to his council bio.
Johnson was born in Dallas and attended Dallas Independent School District schools through first grade before earning a scholarship to Greenhill School through the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Dallas. He attended Harvard College, where he graduated cum laude with a degree in history. Johnson also holds a law degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School and a master’s degree in Public Affairs from the School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University.
District 1
Mariana Griggs and Albert Mata are challenging incumbent Chad West.
West was elected to the Dallas City Council in May 2019 to represent District 1 and the citizens of Oak Cliff, according to his council bio.
The son of a retired farmer and a teacher/principal, West first came to Texas over 20 years ago with the U.S. Army, where he first served at Fort Sam Houston and later traveled overseas to Hungary and Bosnia. After completing his military tour, West was honorably discharged as a combat veteran and attended law school at Texas Tech School of Law, where he graduated with honors.
District 2
Environmental activist Sukhbir Kaur is challenging Councilman Jesse Moreno for his District 2 seat. Moreno is a lifelong resident of District 2, where he was elected to serve in June 2021. The district covers Deep Ellum, Old East Dallas, and the Medical District.
Moreno served seven years on the Dallas Park Board and volunteers with local schools and organizations, according to his council bio.
Moreno serves on the following committees for the Dallas City Council: Workforce, Education and Equity, Public Safety, Transportation and Infrastructure, Housing and Homelessness Solutions, Ad Hoc on COVID-19 Recovery and Assistance.
We reached out to Sukhbir Kaur and did not receive an immediate response. We’ll update this page as more information becomes available.
District 3
Zarin Gracey, Joe Tave, August Doyle, John David Sims, and Denise Benavides are running for the seat vacated by Councilman Casey Thomas. District 3 covers Southwest Dallas.
Rickey Lee Perry filed to seek the District 3 seat but did not meet qualifications, according to the Dallas City Secretary’s Office.
District 4
Jamie Smith is challenging Mayor Pro Tem Carolyn King Arnold for the District 4 seat.
Carolyn King Arnold was elected to the Dallas City Council in June 2019 to represent District 4 during a municipal runoff, according to her council bio. She returned to the horseshoe after being re-elected in the special runoff election in December 2018. She won her first election in May 2015 with 51 percent of the vote over seven candidates.
We reached out to Jamie Smith and did not receive an immediate response. We’ll update this page as more information becomes available.
District 5
Yolanda Faye Williams and Terry Perkins are challenging Councilman Jaime Resendez for the District 5 seat.
Jaime Resendez was elected to the Dallas City Council in May 2019. He was born and raised in the Pleasant Grove area of Southeast Dallas. He grew up in an economically disadvantaged household, according to his council bio.
Resendez enlisted in the U.S. Army before graduating from high school and served for eight years as an engineer, including a year-long tour of duty in Baghdad, Iraq. The realities of war made him really appreciate our country and the opportunities it affords.
District 6
Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Omar Narvaez has three opponents for Place 6.
Challengers Tony Carrillo, Sidney Robles Martinez, and Monica R. Alonzo filed paperwork with the city secretary’s office. Of Narvaez’s challengers, this will be the fourth time Alonzo and Carrillo have run against the incumbent. In the 2017 Dallas City Council election, Narvaez won against then-incumbent Alonzo in a runoff. Both Carrillo and Alonzo have since filed to challenge Narvaez in 2019, 2021, and now in 2023.
Narvaez was elected to the Dallas City Council in June 2017. For over 80 years, Narvaez’s family has lived in District 6, in Ledbetter, La Loma, and Bachman Lake neighborhoods.
Narvaez currently serves as Chair of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. On June 22, 2022, Narvaez was voted by his colleagues to serve as Deputy Mayor Pro Tem for the 2022-23 term.
District 7
Okema Thomas, Tracy Dotie Hill, Delmar Jefferson, Marvin E. Crenshaw are challenging Adam Bazaldua for his District 7 seat.
Bazaldua was elected to the Dallas City Council in June 2019 and is the youngest person to ever serve on the Council in its current form of government, according to his council bio.
Bazaldua is a dedicated husband and father; a local teacher and a community advocate. He is focused on the need for neighborhood safety improvements, solving the City’s growing homeless population, and attracting local businesses that better serve each neighborhood’s needs. He is a dedicated advocate for economic growth that benefits the existing residents of the community.
District 8
Subrina Brenham and Davante Peters are challenging Councilman Tennell Atkins for his District 8 seat. Often referred to at the horseshoe as the “elder statesman,” Atkins was first elected in June 2007 to represent the southernmost district of Dallas.
He began his seventh term as a Dallas City Council Member in June 2021. As the Dallas City Council representative for District 8, Atkins is committed to promoting economic development, including new business recruitment, enhanced human capital support, and infrastructure renewal, according to his council bio.
District 9
Kendra Madison is challenging Councilwoman Paula C. Blackmon in the District 9 race.
Blackmon is currently completing her second term on the Dallas City Council, serving as Chair of the Environmental and Sustainable Committee, according to her council bio.
Under Blackmon’s leadership as the Director of Public Affairs with The Real Estate Council, she secured the initial funding for the deck park over Woodall Rodgers freeway, which eventually became Klyde Warren Park. She has advocated for federal and state dollars to dredge White Rock Lake.
District 10
Brian Hasenbauer, Kathy Stewart, Sirrano Keith Baldeo, and Chris Carter are seeking the District 10 seat vacated by Councilman Adam McGough due to term limits.
Barbara Markham filed to seek the District 3 seat but did not meet qualifications, according to the Dallas City Secretary’s Office.
District 11
CandysDirt.com publisher Candace Evans is challenging incumbent Jaynie Schultz for the District 11 seat.
Schultz was appointed to the Dallas City Plan Commission in 2014, according to her council bio. She chaired the Urban Design Committee (2014-2020), served on the City’s Market Value Analysis Committee, and sits on the Welcoming Communities Committee for the City of Dallas.
Schultz currently serves on the Muslim Jewish Advisory Council of the American Jewish Committee and the Akiba Yavneh Foundation. She is president of the Foundation for CityLab High School, a DISD Choice school for architecture, urban planning and design, and environmental studies.
District 12
Councilwoman Cara Mendelsohn is running unopposed for her District 12 seat.
Mendelsohn serves as Chair of the Government Performance and Financial Management Committee, Vice Chair of Housing and Homeless Solutions Committee, Vice Chair of the Legislative Committee, and is a member of the public safety, transportation, and COVID-19 ad hoc committees, according to her council bio. She was appointed to the Regional Transportation Council and elected to the National League of Cities Women in Municipal Government board of directors.
Professionally, before joining the City Council, Mendelsohn served as executive director of Rebuilding Together North Texas, a director of Visiting Nurse Association of Texas/Meals on Wheels of Dallas County, a director of The Samaritan Inn homeless shelter, and chairman of the Collin County Homeless Coalition.
District 13
Priscilla Shacklett is challenging Councilwoman Gay Donnell Willis for her District 13 seat. The district covers Preston Hollow.
Willis’ professional experience includes managing accounts for Fortune 50 companies at a global advertising firm, as well as a promotions and broadcast career at the CBS affiliate in Lubbock, according to her council bio.
Willis most recently served as President and CEO of the Turtle Creek Conservancy for nine years, during which time the nonprofit organization’s budget doubled, a public-private partnership helped link Turtle Creek Park to the Katy Trail with a $1.7 million ramp project, as well as creating a $1 million endowment and securing an additional five acres of parkland under the Conservancy’s oversight — growing urban park space by 24 percent.
District 14
Amanda Schulz and Joseph Miller are challenging Councilman Paul E. Ridley for his District 14 seat.
Ridley was elected in June 2021. He attended the University of Michigan, where he received a bachelor of science degree and master’s degrees in architecture and urban planning, according to his council bio.
Councilman Ridley has been committed to public service in Dallas for more than 13 years. He served on the Dallas Plan Commission for eight years. While on the Plan Commission, he chaired the Thoroughfare Committee for several years. He also represented District 14 on the Dallas Landmark Commission for four years.
Dallas ISD School Board
Dallas ISD trustees can serve unlimited three-year terms.
The Board of Trustees establishes the policies by which schools operate. In carrying out the task of setting policy, the board identifies needs and establishes priorities for the school system, allocates financial and human resources among the priority areas, and evaluates school performance, according to the Dallas ISD website.
District 2
Business owner Jimmy Tran, nonprofit executive director Kevin Malonson, and education volunteer Sarah Weinberg have filed paperwork to seek the District 2 position vacated by trustee Dustin Marshall, who is not seeking re-election. The district serves North and Near East Dallas.
District 6
Educator Stephen Poole is challenging incumbent Joyce Foreman for her District 6 seat.
Foreman was first elected to the Dallas ISD Board of Trustees in June 2014.
District 6 covers southwest Dallas. As a business owner and community leader, Foreman uses her experience in education and the community to shape Dallas ISD in District 6 and throughout the district, where her efforts directly impact students, teachers, and staff, according to her DISD bio.
District 8
Incumbent trustee Joe Carreón is running unopposed to serve an area that covers Northwest Dallas, Love Field, and parts of East and West Dallas.
Carreón, the board secretary, was elected in 2020.
Carreón is a proud product of northwest Dallas where he attended Dallas ISD schools David G. Burnet, Julian T. Saldivar, and E.H. Cary, according to his DISD bio.
Through the hard work of his parents and community, he became the first in his family to graduate from high school and later college. Carreón earned a bachelor’s degree from Southern Methodist University, a master’s degree in public policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard, and a law degree from the SMU Dedman School of Law.
This is the first of many posts as the campaign season heats up. Announcing your candidacy? Email us at news@candysdirt.com
