People – Page 4 – The Other Side Dallas

December 19, 2021December 19, 2021

Gary Kelly Has COVID19

Southwest Airlines Chief Executive Officer Gary Kelly has COVID19 just days after glibly telling Congress he doesn’t think masks provide any health benefit in contradiction to Centers for Disease Control guidance.

It is unclear how many cases are happening within Southwest Airlines right now, but more locally Dealey Montessori cases shot up immediately when unmasked students were allowed it the classroom in violation of Dallas ISD’s mask mandate.

Gary Kelly Has COVID19, But Losing Control At Airline?

Weeks ago Southwest Airlines had to cancel 2000 flights in a weekend stranding tens of thousands of passengers across the United States. At the time they blames weather and technology, but insiders say it was a mass Blue Day – where employees call out sick from work. American Airlines had similar issues.

Southwest also said it would follow Goveror Greg Abbott’s mask mandate prohibitions instead of federal government rules.

December 13, 2021December 13, 2021

Charlie Gearing Endorsements Keep Coming

The Charlie Gearing endorsements train is fully functional right now as former Mayor and US Trade Representative Ron Kirk endorsed Charlie Gearing in his race for House District 114.

Kirk described Gearing as a “lifelong Democrat” and principled coalition builder.

Currently, four candidates are known to be running in the Democratic Primary: Charlie Gearing, Alexandra Guio, Chris Leal, and Kendall Scudder.

Guio had been nominated to serve on the City of Dallas Redistricting Commission, but jumped at the chance to run for HD114.

Charlie Gearing Endorsements

Late last week, Gearing was endorsed by former Texas State Senator Wendy Davis in a move that might keep another challenger out of the race.

Davis’s endorsement focused on Gearing’s support for reproductive rights. He has made repeal of SB8 a focus of his campaign. She goes on to talk about his willingness to be a fighter while Roe v Wade is under attack.

December 8, 2021December 8, 2021

Tacoma Wants Moore

Tacoma Wants Moore – Avery Moore – and is taking him from Dallas Police Department where he has spent the past several years looking to exit to other chief positions across the country.

The Tacoma (WA) City Council unanimously approved the appointment of Dallas’ Assistant Chief of Police for Investigations to the position of Police Chief per a Dallas Morning News report. He is designated to start January 18, 2022.

Moore has served three decades in the Dallas Police Department. He has overseen Dallas special investigations division and the tactical unit. Prior to those assignments he managed seven hundred officers in the East Patrol Bureau. He’s also worked as a SWAT commander and the legislative affairs liaison.

Tacoma is struggling with the same issues Dallas faces: higher crime rates and an inability to recruit officers.

Tacoma Wants Moore Or Do They?

Tacoma has appointed Mr. Moore unanimously, but his record in Dallas is mixed at best.

Despite last year’s After Action Report there have been no substantive changes in Dallas Police accountability. Recently a homeowner was detained in her own home – an issue which the special investigations division has not responded – and officers assaulting citizens on the street.

Additionally, Chief Garcia has been on a mission to limit citizen and journalist access to crime data.

December 3, 2021December 3, 2021

Ghosting Or Just Lost? Alexandra Guio

Alexandra Guio is not missing – she is just ghosting Paula Blackmon and city staff – after her appointment to the Dallas Redistricting Commission and recent decision to launch a campaign for House District 114.

Guio was appointed to the Redistricting Commission in early March 2021. Local city rules prohibit city council appointees from being candidates or treasurers for political campaigns.

Guio’s news comes after Paul Ridley demanded the removal of former D14 City Council Member David Blewett’s appointee to the Redistricting Commission.

Alexandra Guio

Guio did not respond to a call from Other Side Dallas, but at least one other candidate was not surprised.

“Alex thinks she is going to roll into progressive HD114 as a former Republican with a commitment problem and we’re going to let that slide,” said a local Democratic activist.

Currently, there are four announced candidates in the race for HD114: Charlie Gearing, Chris Leal, and Kendall Scudder. There is the possibility of a fifth candidate entering the race shortly.

October 26, 2021October 26, 2021

Eric Johnson Tests Positive For COVID19

Mayor of Dallas Eric Johnson test positive for COVID19 per a statement issued a short while ago.

“I appreciate your thoughts and prayers on behalf of my family, and I look forward to a speedy recovery so I can get back to work with my colleagues on behalf of the people of Dallas,” Johnson, 46, said in the statement. “In addition, I want to take this opportunity to again encourage residents of Dallas to get vaccinated if they have not yet done so — and to receive a booster shot when they are eligible.”

Eric Johnson Tests Positive Despite Vaccination

Mayor Johnson was vaccinated at UT Southwestern Medical Center in January 2021 due to an underlying medical condition not disclosed.

Despite county mask requirements, the City of Dallas has been less strict with enforcing masks locally including at popular gathering places such as The Majestic Theatre.

The Mayor has cancelled a number of appointments including tomorrow’s city council meeting as he recovers.

October 15, 2021October 15, 2021

Erin Nealy Cox Gets IT Investigation

Erin Nealy Cox takes over the city investigation into 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.

Council members on Thursday also questioned the head of the city’s IT department about a 131-page report released two weeks ago that found the country’s ninth-largest city lacked basic policies and procedures for backing up archived data.

The City Council’s general investigating and ethics committee unanimously agreed Thursday to recommend law firm Kirkland & Ellis LLP to conduct the independent review. The City Council will have to approve the decision to make it official.

“The data loss incident may have originated with a single employee who broke the rules,” said council member Cara Mendelsohn, who is chair of the committee. “But it’s clear from this report that there are no rules.

“The discovery of the data loss is horrific to the victims of family violence, and I’m not sure that we can ever fully apologize for any of the cases that don’t move forward because of these errors.”

Erin Nealy Cox – No Stranger To Dallas Police

Nealy Cox, resigned from North Texas’ U.S. Attorney’s Office in December estimated the review and report would take three months to complete and cost taxpayers more than half a million dollars.

Dallas Police Executive Assistant Chief Albert Martinez said an investigation continues alongside the Dallas FBI Field Office.

August 20, 2021June 21, 2022

Indie Centrist Candidates Coming

Two North Texas Democratic incumbents may be facing indie centrist candidates in the upcoming 2022 election after gerrymandering says two sources close to Austin decision makers.

US Representative Colin Allred and State Senator Nathan Johnson may face not one, but two, candidates in the 2022 general election.

Indie Centrist Candidates

Allred has benefited from official administration visits like Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh’s summer visit, but may still be gerrymandered into a tougher district making his progressive voting record harder to defend.

Nathan Johnson, similar to Allred won in 2018 riding an anti-Trump wave, that may not exist in 2022 with Trump off the ballot.

Since 2020, many local Republicans have been associated with QAnon and the GOP voting losses of suburban women voters to Democrats over the past four years. The most recent in North Dallas is probably Barry Wernick.

The Republican Party currently has four candidates running for office in Texas Congressional District 32 per Ballotpedia. They are Montgomery Markland, Brad Namdar, Ricardo Salazar, and Gary Slagel.

No candidates are listed for State Senate District 16, but the Dallas County Republican Party, suffering from its own dysfunction, currently lists candidates who lost their primary races back in 2018.

Additionally, Don Huffines, who lost his re-election bid against State Senator Johnson four years ago, is aggressively running for Governor taking swings at Greg Abbott over the border and the electric grid failure. It is not obvious who would be running for his old seat, but his brother was Dallas County Republican Chair.

August 9, 2021August 9, 2021

Successful Dallas Youth Sports Event

There was a successful Dallas Youth Sports Back To School event on Saturday which put school supplies into the hands of hundreds of students and families.

One participant noted the event was more than just school supplies.

Information was passed out about the Texas Dental Plan and more than three hundred toothbrushes were given out also.

Additionally, several families received full meals.

Successful Dallas Youth Sports Started Early

People were lined up before 9:00AM when lines started for what would be a full day of fun.

Dallas Youth Sports, in conjunction with Dallas Youth Athletic Association, a 501 (c) non-profit organization, works to provide affordable recreational sports programs to the youth of the Dallas-Oak Cliff area.

August 3, 2021August 3, 2021

Steven Monacelli Out At Dallas Observer

Steven Monacelli out at the Dallas Observer per a tweet he sent out seems to indicate he was fired after breaking news about Dallas Justice Now.

Less than a month ago, Monacelli was speaking about the growing influence of QAnon in Texas politics.

Steven Monacelli and Dallas Justice Now

Last week Monacelli did an article for the Observer noting a flyer from a group reportedly from Dallas Justice Now. The article stated that the flyer urged parents in Dallas’ wealthy — and largely white — Highland Park and University Park suburbs to not send their kids to Ivy League schools. The parents needed to make space for students of color, the statement said.

The article insinuated it was a false flag operation put up by Keep Dallas Safe (KDS).

Yesterday a correction went up on the Observer website noting KDS was not connected to the Dallas Justice Now campaign.

As information becomes available we will update this story about Monacelli and the Dallas Justice Now story.

June 29, 2021June 29, 2021

Ruel Hamilton Convicted

Ruel Hamilton was convicted Tuesday of three of four counts of conspiracy and bribing two former Dallas City Council members, the late Carolyn Davis and Dwaine Caraway. Caraway is serving a nearly five-year prison sentence for accepting bribes and kickbacks.

A federal jury convicted Hamilton, the president of AmeriSouth Realty Group, of one count of conspiracy and two counts of bribery of an agent of a local government receiving federal funds.

Ruel Hamilton Case

From 2013 to 2015, Mr. Hamilton paid tens of thousands of dollars in bribes to Carolyn Davis, who was then serving as chair of the city’s Housing Committee.

Ms. Davis supported Hamilton’s Royal Crest housing project, voting to authorize a real estate development loan in a quid pro quo situation, despite the project not meeting the city’s housing priorities for multifamily units.

“The people of Dallas deserve true public servants, not those bought and paid for by the city’s elite. By using money to bend elected officials to his will, Mr. Hamilton betrayed the communities he purports to hold dear,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Prerak Shah.

He continued, “The U.S. Attorney’s Office will not allow a kickback culture to fester at City Hall. To anyone considering this sort of unscrupulous behavior: Think twice. Our prosecutors are tenacious, and we are determined to root out corruption wherever we find it.”

Dwaine Caraway’s conviction was also connected to the Dallas County Schools scandal. Carolyn Davis was killed in a DWI auto accident in 2019.