Before getting into what actually happened Wednesday, we will note that council members basically never get rung up on city ethics charges. Complaints get filed, are briefly annoying and then just sort of fade off into the ether. Still, Vonciel Jones Hill and much of the rest of the council…
It’s only natural for Texas’ urban/suburbanites to assume that the choice of agriculture commissioner has little bearing on their lives. This is false. City dwellers eat food, which is grown on farms. They fill their cars at gas pumps and weigh their produce on grocery scales, both of which the…
The sam-sex spouses of Dallas uniformed employees are now eligible for survivor benefits. The Dallas Police and Fire Pension System Board granted the benefits, effective immediately, Tuesday. The move follows a February 18 vote by the City Council to give same-sex spouses of civilian employees pension benefits. The board’s vote…
Like the folks who rose up against Plano’s non-discrimination ordinance, Republican Texas Representative Debbie Riddle is quite concerned with which public restroom you choose to use. Riddle introduced a bill Friday that mandates that anyone over the age of 12 commits a Class A misdemeanor when he or she uses…
So the news here is pretty simple. The East Kessler Nighborhood Association in Oak Cliff scheduled a mayoral candidates forum for Tuesday. Challenger Marcos Ronquillo is going to be there. Until late last week, so Mayor Mike Rawlings, as far as everyone knew. Then, on Friday, Rawlings made it clear…
Who lives in Dallas? No, not not you, suburbs. We mean big D, little A, double L, A, S, the actual city, a curious place with some expensive, high-class entertainment areas and homes but then also a lot of poverty and some Detroit-like patches. City officials decided to investigate that…
Somehow, @fauxmayormike, Unfair Park’s favorite local, civic-minded parody Twitter account, only has 46 followers. This is a grave injustice, as @fauxmayormike is one of the rare parody Twitter accounts that is actually funny. Here’s some of what you’ve missed to this point: Would this face stop Kingston from asking questions?…
The sky over the Texas Horse Park on Thursday morning was clear and blue, unblemished by even a wisp of cloud; weather would not be dampening the morning’s ribbon-cutting celebration, which has been nearly two decades in the making. On the ground, the forecast was equally sunny. All the gathered…
If not for Adam McGough’s residency issues, the race to replace Jerry Allen in District 10 would be, far and away, the most boring bout on the 2015 Dallas City Council card. McGough and his opponent Paul Reyes are both longtime political operators. McGough was Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings chief…
A spouse is a spouse, regardless of genitalia, as far as Dallas’ city code is concerned now. The City Council voted Wednesday morning to change its definition of spouse, clearing the way for same-sex spouses of civilian city employees to receive survivor pension benefits. Gay city workers legally married in…
Newly elected Texas Governor Greg Abbott laid out his most comprehensive vision yet for the state during his first “state of the state” address Tuesday morning. Much of what he said was expected. He hopes to slash spending almost across the board, seal off the border by hiring more Department…
Late Monday night, a U.S. district judge in Brownsville issued a temporary injunction blocking President Obama’s decision to shield about 5 million undocumented immigrants from deportation. See also: Greg Abbott Leads Texas into Immigration Lawsuit Fight With Feds In November Obama announced his plan to create a program called Deferred…
Don’t call what’s being built here a “slate.” In Dallas politics, “slate” is a bad word, thanks to decades of domination by the old guard Citizens Council that still leave a bitter taste, and lingering memories of the battle to put power into independent single-member council districts. But with six…
Last week, we reported District 9 City Council candidate Sam Merten’s response to allegations that a $10,000 payment he received from Dallas mayor Mike Rawlings in May 2014 was improper. Merten told Unfair Park that the $10k was payment for work he’d done on behalf of the DISD home rule…
Much has been made on Unfair Park and elsewhere over the fact that, due almost certainly to a drafting error, the city of Dallas election code allows for unlimited donations to officeholder accounts. See also: Ronquillo Calls Out Rawlings On Fat-Cat Contributors. Me, Too. Marcos Ronquillo, a challenger to Mike…
7-Eleven, the store where bums wait outside by the Redbox to harrass you for change after you buy yourself a $1 slice of something pizza-like, is suddenly trying to act like it’s all fancy. The convenience chain is charging Dallas customers a whole 15 cents if they need to carry…
Sometimes, something happens that gives us hope that some small amount of justice lives in this world. Today was one of those times, because Texas House Bill 195 was referred to committee. Yeah, yeah. That’s extremely wonky, but you take your hope where you can get it. HB 195 is…
Last week, Schutze told you about an interpretation of the city’s election rules that allows any incumbent to receive unlimited donations, regardless of the city’s $5,000 limit on campaign contributions from individuals. Money going to something called an officeholder account are not bound by the $5,000 rule, and can be…
First there was the heavy smoke that enveloped the City Council campaign of Adam McGough, Mike Rawlings former chief of staff. Now, a $10,000 contribution given from the mayor’s campaign fund to another former staffer running for council, Sam Merten, is raising questions. See also: Dallas City Council Candidate Answers…
It may have cost a cool $1 million, but Dallas’ city website, which has looked like a throwback to the Geocities era since, well, the Geocities era, is finally going live with a much needed update on Friday. According to city spokeswoman Sana Syed, the site will be everything the…
It’s hard to understand how the city of Dallas’ mandating 10 minute rest breaks every four hours for construction workers could be controversial. As City Council member Dwaine Caraway put it in December, all the workers are asking for is a break. Nevertheless, Jerry Allen, Rick Callahan and especially Lee…
Last week, Mayor Mike Rawlings’ former chief of staff Adam McGough officially announced that he’s running for the Lake Highlands District 10 City Council seat soon to be vacated by Jerry Allen. Almost immediately, murmurs began on social media about the fact that, at least until recently, McGough’s two school-aged…
