Earlier in the week Dallas City Council chose the road not taken: the one where taxpayers pay a contractor the low bid amount for a project.
The $11.5M project is now suspended pending the outcome of legal action filed by Gadberry Construction and owner Dustin Gadberry in Dallas County District Court.
The project for the Design District had previously been approved by both city staff and parks and recreation.
The lawsuit names Mayor Eric Johnson and all members of city council except Jesse Moreno (D2), Jaime Resendez (D5), Narvaez (D6), and Paul Ridley (D14).
Moreno, Narvez, and Ridley all voted against the project, Resendez did not cast a vote on the matter.
The Road Not Taken: Taxpayers
On Wednesday, Judge Kristina Williams, formally blocked the city from proceeding with the contract and disallowed Dallas and the Fain Group from performing any work related to the project.
A May 25th hearing has been scheduled to review Gadsberry’s request for an injunction.
Williams’ order in part read: “If defendants are permitted to contract with the second-lowest bidder, defendants will violate their obligations under Chapter 252 of the Texas Local Government Code, and more than $700,000 of taxpayer money will be wasted.”
Williams is Judge for the 192nd Civil District Court and one of the few elected Republicans still in office. She is currently running for the 5th Court of Appeals, Place 7.
Unlike city staff, she appears to be on the road not taken by city council, defending the city taxpayer from wasteful and excessive spending.
The Road Not Taken: Ethics Disclosures
Some have complained the trail project is delayed because the road not taken in this case was Ethics 101.
Some city council watchers complained that city council member Omar Narvaez did not publicly disclose Dustin Gadberry was his campaign treasurer, but Narvaez disputes that.
Narvaez said, “I did publicly disclose he was my campaign treasurer. Every time I filed a campaign finance report his name is listed in the paperwork, and it’s a public record that anyone can find.”
Narvaez told local news that he’d been told by the city attorney’s office that he didn’t have to recuse himself because he didn’t have any financial interest in Gadberry’s construction company.
Other Side Dallas will follow this story and continue to update as developments occur.