Incumbents Cruise

Good evening:

All nine Dallas City Council incumbents who faced challengers in yesterday’s election will return to City Hall for another two-year term.

They will be joined by Maxie Johnson, an outgoing Dallas Independent School District trustee, and Laura Cadena, the former chief of staff to term-limited Council Member Omar Narvaez. District 14 City Council Member Paul E. Ridley ran unopposed and returns for his third term.

Johnson won his South Oak Cliff seat in a landslide over two candidates, including one who was endorsed by outgoing Council Member Carolyn King Arnold. Cadena squeaked out an impressive win, crossing the 50% threshold needed to avoid a June runoff despite a field of nine candidates.

Two more races — one in the north and one in the south — are headed to June 7 runoffs.

Former District 8 (southeast Dallas) Council Member Erik Wilson and former City Plan Commissioner Lorie Blair were separated by fewer than 100 votes and will face off again.

In the North Dallas District 11, former Park Board Member Jeff Kitner will face commercial realtor Bill Roth.

Turnout in what will hopefully be the last May election in Dallas history was about as pathetic as expected, with a little over 8% of registered voters in Dallas County bothering to weigh in on races that have a direct impact on their day-to-day lives.

I’ve adapted my “Candidates of Interest” series to highlight the four remaining candidates for Districts 8 and 11 below.

📖 Table of Contents

• 📰 Highlights From Last Week's Meetings

• 📝 Memos of Interest

• 🤝 Meetings of Interest: May 5 - 9

  • Monday, May 5

    • Parks, Trails, and the Environment Committee

    • Economic Development Committee

  • Wednesday, May 7

    • Dallas City Council Briefing

  • Thursday, May 8

    • City Plan Commission

📰 Highlights From Last Week’s Meetings of Interest

• Dallas Area Rapid Transit Board members voted to appoint Dallas representative Randall Bryant as vice chair. That means he will likely succeed current Chair Gary A. Slagel as chair later this year.

📝 Memos of Interest

• The fiscal 2025-26 City of Dallas budget process will follow a “priority based budgeting” strategy to “align our resources based on programs and priorities instead of historical spending patterns,” according to this memo. City Council committees will be discussing budget priorities starting this week.

• The City is set to launch a new online permitting and land management system, DallasNow, tomorrow. To support the launch, the Planning and Development Department will host open house sessions and provide various resources to assist users in navigating the new system. Read more.

• Ahead of a Wednesday City Council briefing on a major parking code reform proposal, City staff answers recent questions about local parking studies, the impact of parking reductions in multifamily developments, and parking reforms implemented in other cities. Read more.

• Inauguration for the new City Council is set for Monday, June 16, at 10 a.m., at the Meyerson Symphony Center. More details in this memo.

• Here’s the complete City Manager memo packet for Friday, May 2, 2025

🤝 Meetings of Interest: May 5 - 9

Monday, May 5

City Council Parks, Trails, and the Environment Committee, 9 a.m., Council Chambers, 6th Floor, Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St.

• City officials are considering using an app used by Houston and San Antonio to speed up solar permitting. Read more.

• The 2025 Dallas Bike Plan is set for a City Council vote on adoption May 28 and will be rolled out in three phases, as outlined in this memo.

• Staff will also be available to discuss fiscal 2025-26 budgeting for departments that fall under the purview of this committee. Read more.

City Council Economic Development Committee, 1 p.m., Council Chambers, 6th Floor, Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St.

• The planned new Downtown convention center has already garnered more than 59 contracted groups with a potential economic impact of $1.56 billion, according to an annual Visit Dallas update to the committee. Read it here.

• It appears committee members may reverse last month’s decision not to make a recommendation to full City Council on the long-discussed overhaul of the City’s off-street parking and loading code.

• If the “reconsideration” is approved, committee members will discuss and deliberate on a long list of City Plan Commission recommendations to amend the parking code. The full City Council is also discussing the proposed revisions on Wednesday.

• City Council members are expected to vote later this month on 10-year tax abatements for a $445 million residential and commercial development of eight six-story buildings surrounding Cityplace Tower. Later phases include conversion of many floors of the existing tower to 970 mixed-income multi-family residential units. Read more.

Wednesday, May 7

Dallas City Council Briefing, 9 a.m., Council Chambers, 6th Floor, Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St.

• The first City Council budget workshop for fiscal 2025-26 delves deeper into the “priority based budgeting” strategy City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert is implementing this year. Read more.

• Council members will also deliberate on proposed off-street parking and loading development code amendments ahead of a planned public hearing on the issue on May 14. Read more.

Thursday, May 8

City Plan Commission, 9 a.m. Briefing, 12:30 p.m. Public Hearing, Council Chambers, 6th Floor, Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St.

• The nonprofit Trinity Park Conservancy is asking for a new subdistrict to allow for modified development standards tied to the planned Harold Simmons Park along the Trinity River. Learn more.

🗣️ Quote of Interest

Did I miss anything? Do you have any questions? Just want to talk about meetings and memos and other fun stuff? Hit me up.