Team OSD – Page 31 – The Other Side Dallas

May 15, 2022May 15, 2022

Primary Runoff Early Voting Starts Tomorrow

Primary runoff early voting starts tomorrow morning at 7:00AM at polling places across Dallas County.

Dallas County will run the party primary runoff elections. When these elections are complete, voters will still return to the polls once more in June for the Dallas County Community College District trustee election in District 1.

Primary Runoff Early Voting

Democratic runoff elections many are watching include TX30 where Jasmine Crockett is facing Jane Hope Hamilton and House District 114 where former Republican Alexandra Guio faces off against John Bryant.

Other races include TX24 where Derrik Gay faces off against three time candidate Jan McDowell for the right to face Beth Van Duyne in November. Additionally, state representative Michelle Beckley will face off against Mike Collier for Lieutenant Governor, Rochelle Merces Garza will face off against Leon Jaworski’s grandson, Joe Jaworski.

Several local races are also being watched including Michelle Ocker’s race for County Commissioner 2 and John Warren for County Clerk as well as two judicial races.

On the Republican side, the TX32 race and the statewide Attorney General race seem to have received most of the attention.

The Republican Attorney General race pits Ken Paxton against George P Bush for the GOP nomination and in TX32 where Antonio Swad will face off against Justin Webb.

May 14, 2022May 13, 2022

The Road Not Taken…

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.

May 13, 2022May 13, 2022

Wild West Deep Ellum Violence Continues

The wild west Deep Ellum violence continues with an overnight shooting in the entertainment district.

This shooting took two more lives and impacted countless others as three others were wounded around 2:00AM when clubs were closing in the area. Dallas Police say they have those involved in custody.

Dallas Police say they believe this is an isolated incident, but a safety plan for the area was released just one day ago.

Overall violence crime is up and Dallas per capita crime rivals Chicago, Los Angeles, and other historic centers of city violence.

Last month, city leaders met with Safe Night LLC, a group aimed at creating safe environments for businesses and patrons, for training on how to improve street safety around Dallas, but particularly as the violence takes a toll on the nighttime economy trying to recover from coronavirus.

Wild West Deep Ellum Violence

Violence is not new to Deep Ellum and Dallas police close streets in the area on weekends under the guise of curtailing violence though it is not clear that works.

Some in Deep Ellum believe Dallas Police Department officers escalate situations unnecessarily as in the case of Melvin Williams who assaulted a bystander.

City code enforcement also has a confusing relationship with the area. Last year code enforcement began ticketing club owners for noise violations in an area zoned for clubs and entertainment.

May 10, 2022May 10, 2022

District Lines Askew In Dallas City Redistricting

The city redistricting commission is getting heated as commissioners attempt to finish their Dallas city redistricting plan and present it to city council.

In a Facebook post Tuesday morning prior to a 9:30AM Redistricting Commission Meeting, District 8 Commissioner seemed to be openly attacking the idea of Hispanics on City Council arguing his map (17) gave four opportunities for Blacks or Hispanics to be represented, but another map under consideration (41) provided no opportunity for Black representation.

Dallas City Redistricting Members Openly Attack Citizen Input

In the same post Bryant attacked Bill Betzen, a self professed data geek, over his amendment to Map 17.

It is unclear what history, Bryant and Betzen may have from the past, but some say the behavior attacking a citizen trying to contribute to the redistricting plan has a chilling effect on citizen participation -which is supposed to be a goal of the group.

Bryant is listed as President of a group, Politics United Marketing, and two sources have told Other Side Dallas that Bryant is angling for future political work for his firm.

Turnout in local elections has been historically low. The recent schools elections this past Saturday had an average county turnout of only six percent.

May 8, 2022May 8, 2022

Camille White Wins In Dallas ISD District 4

In a shock to the local political ecosystem, Camille White wins in Dallas Independent School District‘s District 4 Board of Trustee election beating education reform movement darling Karla Garcia.

The Dallas Morning News endorsed Garcia in her previous election despite issues with her filing affidavit that appeared at the time to be potentially criminal.

One issue that may have motivated turnout for Camille White was the recent report of moldy and spoilt food being served by Dallas ISD kitchens to children in low income areas.

Camille White Wins – The Data

In another low turnout local election with less than 1000 votes cast, White won 51.65% of the vote beating Garcia by 2.5 points.

The lack of intensity in the race may be a precursor of things to come in 2023 city council races.

May 6, 2022May 6, 2022

Rotten Food At Dallas ISD

A petition is circulating after rotten food at Dallas Independent School District‘s Geneva Heights Elementary School by Redistricting Commission Member Randal Bryant goes viral.

Superintendent Hinojosa’s who is planning a run for Mayor did not respond to a request for comment, nor did Dallas ISD communications.

Bryant and other parents document multiple cases of food spoilage and incorrect temperatures on refrigerators at the Dallas school campus.

The principal at Geneva Heights, Patricia Lane, sent out a message to parents in late March 2022 indicating she was aware of the problem.

In social media posts, Bryant plans to present a petition at next week’s Board of Trustees meeting, if he is allowed to speak. (Parents have previously been kept off the speaker agenda by Dallas ISD staff.)

Additionally, Trustee Maxie Johnson, lept for the chance to represent the school at the Board of Trustees despite him admitting this was not in his district and his previous nonchalance about other schools in his constituency.

Something Smells: Rotten Food At Dallas ISD

Dallas schools food programs had generally gotten high marks after a free food benefit at the start of the pandemic.

May 5, 2022May 5, 2022

Jerry Jones Hospitalized After Car Accident

Jerry Jones hospitalized after a car wreck Wednesday night.

Per team sources the Dallas Cowboys owner and General Manager was taken to a local hospital as a precautionary measure, but he was later released.

The motor vehicle collision reportedly happened around 8:00 PM in the area of Wolf and Harry Hines Boulevard in Dallas. Dallas police have not confirmed whether or not Jones was a driver or that he was transported to Parkland Hospital.

Jerry Jones Hospitalized, Mixed Reports On Condition Despite Release

Dallas Police have not confirmed Jones was a driver, but there is one report that he was and may have been intoxicated.

Police said it is not their practice to give the names of people involved in collisions unless there is a fatality and declined to confirm Jones was a participant.

The Dallas football franchise has a long history of players and staff driving under the influence.

In 2021, Cowboys safety Damontae Kazee was arrested for DUI.

Kazee was pulled over for a traffic violation in The Colony. Colony Police noticed physical signs that Kazee had been drinking. After being questioned he told the officer that he had consumed alcohol earlier in the evening.

Kazee was then detained after failing a field sobriety test, and his DWI charge is a Class B misdemeanor for a first offense. The 28-year-old posted a $2,500 bond on Tuesday and was released from The Colony Municipal Jail at 12:34 PM.

April 29, 2022April 29, 2022

Rest in Peace Max Glauben

The Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum announced the passing yesterday of Max Glauben. Glauben was 94.

Their obituary called him Holocaust Survivor, passionate advocate, cherished friend, and co-founder and lifetime Museum director.

Glauben died Thursday on Holocaust Remembrance Day after a battle with cancer, per holocaust museum executive and president Mary Pat Higgins.

“He embodies resilience. He overcame horrific tragedies that we can’t even imagine. He had a beautiful family, business, was a community leader and devoted almost every waking moment of his time to sharing his history,” Higgins said Thursday. “He really was not ready to concede that cancer was going to win this battle. He fought everything.”

After enduring the worst of humanity, Max dedicated his life to sharing his journey, honoring his family’s memory, and delivering his message to never give up.

The museum is located by Dallas’ historic West End. It opened in September 2019 and completed a forty year dream.

Max Glauben

Glauben was sent by rail road to a concentration camp at age eleven. There both parents and his younger brother were murdered by Nazis.

Glauben moved to the United States after he was liberated and eventually to Texas.

Beyond the museum walls though, antisemitism in North Texas has been on the rise. Swastikas were painted on a city garage just last year.

April 28, 2022April 28, 2022

Jasmine Crockett Supporter Donald Trump

A new wrinkle in the Texas 30 runoff election: Jasmine Crockett supporter Donald Trump. The wrinkle happens as the runoff election is now less than a month away.

Yesterday, Crockett received another $250,000 Super PAC donation from the Washington, DC based Web3 group per FEC records.

This group was formed in February 2022 and has offices at the same location as a PR firm that took in hundreds of thousands of dollars to rehabilitate the image of former Trump Centers for Medicare Services Director Seema Verma.

Published reports in Politico and The Washington Post detail how Trump and his defenders directed payments of more than $3M dollars away from programs for the elderly and poor towards image rehabilitation for his CMS administrator. Those same dollars are now flowing to the TX30 candidate Jasmine Crockett.

In addition to the millions of out of district Super PAC dollars flowing to Crockett to rehabilitate her image, she has not found the time to open a constituent office since being elected or passing any legislation.

This despite the fact she accused Mayor Eric Johnson and former State Representative Terri Hodge of not passing any legislation either – lies that were easly proven untrue.

State legislative bills can be reviewed online.

SuperPAC Dollars Tie Jasmine Crockett Supporter Donald Trump To TX30

It is unclear how many more out of state dollars will flow into the TX30 race, but local endorsements continue for Jane Hope Hamilton.

Crockett nearly won the TX30 Democratic primary outright. It is unclear if runoff voters will continue to vote for her after voting against Donald Trump four to one, but it is clear supporters of Donald Trump are now lining up quietly to support Crockett.

Additionally, some of the same financial supporters of the current State Representative for District 100 appear to have been providing financial assistance to QAnon leader and former Trump cabinet pick General Mike Flynn. In June 2021, Flynn called for a coup while here in Dallas at the For God and Country Patriot Roundup.

Crockett’s office would not return a call on this topic and she has yet to accept an invitation to a debate with her opponent Hamilton.

April 27, 2022April 27, 2022

Dallas Housing Socialism

Dallas housing socialism appears ready to come to Dallas if some get their way.

The City of Dallas is considering limiting property purchases within city limits and may seek state legislation also.

David Noguera, the Director of Dallas Housing said, “Canada restricts how many foreign investors can come into your market and buy up your real estate.”

Dallas Housing Socialism

Median prices on housing are up more than twenty percent in th Dallas/Fort Worth market over last year and there has been general sticker shock over the tax bills coming due.

Dallas Councilwoman Jaynie Schultz asked “are we working on a bigger policy regarding the scourge of investment buyers?”

Some are not sure this should be a city council priority.

Mark Fuentes, a local landlord, said “Dallas does not need to follow Canada on anything. We need police to respond to emergencies and city council members to follow their own ethics policy.”

“Why do they want to bring Canada’s socialism to Dallas,” he continued.

Dallas has a poor history of affordable housing issues in part because of repetitive corruptions trials where elected officials were getting rich off federal programs and bribes. These have led in some cases to today’s higher tax bills.

Fuentes said, “Dallas can’t even get its permit office to run properly. Why are they going to restrict how I make a living?”