City Council – Page 3 – The Other Side Dallas

May 25, 2022May 25, 2022

Adam Bazaldua Loses

Adam Bazaldua loses his most recent election – for Precinct Chair of 1084 in South Dallas per Dallas County Elections.

It is unclear why a sitting city council member felt the need to run for Precinct Chair, but the results are disastrous per one local elections watcher.

“Baz just told everyone he can be beat in his own precinct. He just opened the floodgates of new candidates who are going to challenge him.”

One former supporter surmised Tracy Dotie Hill probably did something causing offense to Bazaldua so he decided to take her out of office only to find he couldn’t even win the most local of elections.

Note, final results are not in, but based on Early Voting there is no clear path for Bazaldua to win this seat.

Adam Bazaldua Problems Beginning?

Bazaldua may have a new ethics issue to follow on last year’s regarding his party filing.

The city charter expressly states “A member of the city council shall forfeit his or her place on the council if he or she becomes a candidate for nomination or election to any public office other than a place on the city council or if he or she becomes a candidate for election to any different place on the city council that requires taking office prior to the end of his or her elective term.”

Precinct Chairs are elected positions requiringin a place on a party primary ballot, an affidavit, and are elected by the public. It is unclear how Bazaldua’s filing for Precinct Chair does not violate the city charter.

May 23, 2022May 23, 2022

Dallas City Budget Input 2022

Dallas city budget input 2022 starts tomorrow. The City of Dallas is seeking input from residents on the upcoming Fiscal Year 2022-23 budget.

Two years ago, a progressive group led by Adam Bazaldua, asked for $77M to be removed from the Dallas police budget without city input. In the end they settled for $7M in lost overtime.

That move was described as a budgetary gimmick by some.

Since that time though violent crime has skyrocketed in Dallas making it more dangerous than other cities on a per capita basis.

City Budget Input 2022 Hearings

The City of Dallas holds public hearings to provide residents of Dallas the opportunity to speak on the upcoming year’s budget.

The hearing will be held at Dallas City Hall in the Council Chambers on May 25, 2022 as part of the regularly scheduled City Council meeting, which begins at 9:00 AM.

The deadline to register to speak is Tuesday, May 24, 2022 at 5:00PM.

Additionally, the Office of Budget and Management Services is conducting a Budget Priorities Survey, which is available online in English and Spanish from May 2 to July 2, 2022.

Paper copies are also available at select Dallas Public Library and Recreation Center locations. Please visit the survey website here for more information.

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 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.

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?”

April 25, 2022April 25, 2022

Dallas 911 Dispatch: Too Little, Too Late

The City of Dallas has multiple questions to answer about the Dallas 911 Dispatch Center after a deaf woman, Zarea Dixon, was found dead in her home when police officers took over an hour to respond to her call for help.

In a separate incident it took more than six minutes to respond to an apartment fire in North Dallas.

Dixon called 911 to report her boyfriend had broken into her apartment along South Polk Street and attacked her with a knife.

An interpreter with Sorensen Translation Services relayed that Dixon had been attacked stating her “ex-boyfriend broke into her house, beat her up and tried to stab her with a knife.”

Dixon provided the suspect’s name, description and date of birth to the police through the translator. She also said he had left her home.

Dixon “declined an ambulance but stated she ‘needed the police,'” according to the affidavit.

In addition to the non response to this woman, Dallas Police has not responded to multiple other incidents.

Parents complained about Dallas Police protecting white protestors earlier in the school year at Dealey Montessori.

Sources within the police department told Other Side Dallas that police planned to arrest a black led counter protest should it have occured as a threat to public safety, but police did nothing about the interruption to the school day by white parents.

Additionally, Dallas police never took a report on three students burned by fireworks launched at them in North Dallas.

Dallas 911 Dispatch: Fire Side Issues Also

In addition, Dallas Fire Rescue has launched an internal investigation into why it took six minutes to send apparatus to the Forest Hill Apartment firte that becamse a three alarm event.

Sixty to seventy firefighters responded and saw flames coming from the second floor of the three-story apartment building upon arrival.

The fire quickly spread to the third floor and then into the attic space and roof of the building requiring the additional alarms by Dallas Fire Rescue.

Dallas Fire Station 29 is approximately one mile away or roughly three minutes.

In comments to the media, Dallas Fire Fighters Association President Jim McDade said, “When the first companies got there — there was an enormous amount of fire, probably due to a delay in response,” McDade said.

There were no deaths or injuries, but more than twenty apartments were destroyed and more than one hundred residents displaced.

March 23, 2022March 22, 2022

Dwaine Caraway Released

Dwaine Caraway released from federal prison and back on the Dallas streets per a recent Twitter post by Dallas Morning News oped columnist Robert Wilonsky.

Last time I saw Dwaine Caraway he was about to head off to federal prison in Big Spring in May 2019. Just ran into him at the 7-Eleven at Marsh and Walnut Hill.

While we were talking a guy (probably a Ticket listener) pulled up, rolled down his window and said, “Welcome back.” pic.twitter.com/BwJg2rj2Ny
— Robert Wilonsky (@RobertWilonsky) March 21, 2022

Dwaine Caraway Released After Fifty-One Months

Caraway “earned” credit to his sentence by testifying against Ruel Hamilton. Hamilton was sentenced to eight years in prison.

Chief U.S. District Judge Barbara Lynn cited “Caraway’s credibility while testifying” when she ordered his fifty-six month sentence only lowered by five months to a fifty-one month sentence.

Caraway had been serving time at Big Spring Federal Correction Institution. The federal lock up is about three hundred miles west of Dallas, near Midland, Texas.

Judge Lynn sentenced Caraway in 2019 after he pleaded guilty to taking $450,000 in bribes from promoters of a school bus stop-arm camera system in exchange for helping advocate for the system’s widespread adoption. The governmental entity Dallas County Schools was dissolved amid the scandal.

Caraway also solicited bribes from two other unrelated sources – first, Hamilton, and second, two undercover FBI agents posing as developers.

Caraway was never charged for those secondary bribary crimes, but he testified about them during Hamilton’s trial.

It is unclear what Caraway’s next move might be politically, if any. Former state representative Terri Hodge was found guilty of tax evasion after accepting bribes, but was still nominated to be the Electoral College representative for her Congressional District if Joe Biden had won Texas.

March 22, 2022March 22, 2022

DPD Honored For Violent Crime Reduction Day After Mass Shooting

The Dallas Police Department has curious timing. A press release dropped Monday saying DPD Honored for Violent Crime Reduction just one day after a mass shooting involving ten victims and no suspect in downtown Dallas.

Garcia’s plans have been mostly kept under wraps from citizens and journalists. The award also comes after Dallas was hit by a data breach which affected nearly twenty thousand cases including assaults, rape, and other crimes against persons.

DPD Honored For Violent Crime Reduction – Numbers, Not Neighborhoods

Police Chief Eddie Garcia had a number of comments in the city press release.

Garcia said, “The Violent Crime Evidence-Based Reduction Plan is the result of work closely with criminologists, hearing from other departments within the City, and, most importantly, listening to our neighborhoods most impacted by violent crime. Our ultimate goal is the reduction of crime, with an increase in community trust. We will strive for both, as these concepts are not mutually exclusive. We will see further challenges in 2022 and our priority now is for our men and women to continue to partner with our community and strive to achieve an even safer Dallas.”

February 24, 2022February 24, 2022

Whiteout? Dallas Data Loss Media Drop

Dallas residents were rightfully concerned by Dallas weather conditions Wednesday afternoon with ice pending, but Dallas City Attorney Chris Caso chose Wednesday afternoon for its Dallas data loss media drop saying Erin Nealy Cox’s report was submitted and going to members of City Council.

In the terse press release, Dallas officials said Erin Nealy Cox of the law firm Kirkland & Ellis delivered to the City Attorney’s Office the firm’s report on the March 2021 data loss incident involving Dallas Police Department (DPD) data.

The firm’s report, findings, and recommendations were made available to the City Council in a closed session during today’s council meeting.

Dallas Data Loss Media Drop

Erin Nealy Cox took over an independent investigation into the city IT losses which deleted millions of police files used in criminal prosecutions.

Nealy Cox is the former US Attorney for the Northern District of Texas and was recommended by Dallas officials hoping to find answers to the data loss jeopardizing upwards of 17,000 criminal cases.

Neither Cox, nor Kirkland&Ellis, nor the City of Dallas have responded to questions about the investigation, but there are at least two allegations we have learned about involving a coverup of federal housing dollars in South Dallas and past and present members of City Council.

The report next goes to the Ad Hoc Committee on General Investigating and Ethics on Tuesday, March 1. The report will be made public this week in advance of the committee meeting. That committee is led by Cara Mendelsohn, District 12.

February 23, 2022February 23, 2022

Dallas Infrastructure Deserts

In a surprise to no one, Southern Methodist University provided a study confirming the obvious: Dallas infrastructure deserts exists, they primarily exist in the southern sector, and they are happening despite massive funding and misspending by Dallas City Council.

Civil and Environmental Engineering Professor Barbara Minsker led the research project using public data and aerial maps.

“An infrastructure desert is a low-income area that has very highly deficient infrastructure compared to other areas of the city,” Minsker said.

The study considered twelve features of neighborhood infrastructure including streets, sidewalks, internet access to access to medical care. Neighborhoods deficient in eight or more characteristics were graded as infrastructure deserts.

The City of Dallas has not had a serious effort to handle its budget priorities in years. This has led to multiple cost over runs and quality control issues leading to issues in both Public Works and other programs.

Dallas Infrastructure Deserts Study Details

The study can be viewed here, but has a warning that it should not be cited since it has not been peer reviewed yet.