City News

Master list of candidates running for Dallas City Council in May 2021

Dallas City Hall.

Photo courtesy of PCF

The Dallas City Council election is five months away, but campaigns are underway for the more than 25 candidates who have declared intentions to run for office.

Official candidate filing begins January 13 and ends February 12. Most incumbent council members are seeking re-election, though several have not yet announced a bid for another term. There are three representatives who are on their final terms: Jennifer Gates in District 13, Lee Kleinman in District 11, and Adam Medrano in District 2.

All 14 council districts will be on the ballot for two-year terms. Election Day is May 1, and runoff races will be decided June 5. The mayor serves a four-year term, and will again be up for election in 2023.

Here's our list of confirmed candidates seeking office, with incumbents listed first.

District 1 - Bishop Arts/Oak Cliff
Chad West, the first-term incumbent announced he was running again on December 1.

District 2 - Deep Ellum and East Dallas
Jesse Moreno, former member of the Park Board, filed a Treasurer's Report in August 2020.
Jonas Park, neighborhood activist, filed a Treasurer's Report in December 2020.

District 3 - Mountain Creek/Southwest Dallas
Casey Thomas, the incumbent, announced he'll run again on his Facebook page.

District 4 - Oak Cliff/South Dallas
Carolyn King Arnold, the incumbent, hasn't announced her plans.
Johnny Aquinaga, a neighborhood activist, announced his run on Facebook and filed a Treasurer's Report on January 11.
Matthew Canto, filed Treasurer's Report on November 15.
Maxie Johnson, Dallas ISD Trustee, filed a Treasurer's Report on January 7.

District 5 - Pleasant Grove
Jaime Resendez, the incumbent, is running for re-election.
Ruth Torres, who ran in 2019, announced she is considering another run.

District 6 - West Dallas
Omar Narvaez, two-term incumbent, confirmed he'll run for re-election on a December 30 Facebook post.
Earl Thomas, first-time candidate, filed a Treasurer's Report on November 23.

District 7 - Fair Park/South Dallas
Adam Bazaldua, incumbent, announced re-election bid December 1.
Tramonica Brown, social activist, announced in The Dallas Weekly and filed a Treasurer's Report December 16.
Walter "Changa" Higgins, filed a Treasurer's Report on January 11.
Calvin Johnson, lawyer ran in 2019 and announced in January that he's running again.
Donald Parrish Jr., first-time candidate, filed a Treasurer's Report December 4.
James "JT" Turknett, repeat candidate who ran in 2015 and 2017, filed a Treasurer's Report December 23.
Israel Varela, first-time candidate, created a Facebook Page and filed a Treasurer's Report December 22.

District 8 - Red Bird/Far South Dallas
Tennell Atkins, incumbent, confirmed he was running again in a letter to his district.
Subrina Brenham, income tax professional, filed a Treasurer's Report on December 4.
Davante D. Peters, who ran in 2019 in District 3, has been seeking signatures for a run in District 8.

District 9 - Lakewood/East Dallas
Paula Blackmon, incumbent, is seeking re-election.

District 10 - Lake Highlands/Northeast Dallas
Adam McGough, incumbent hasn't announced and did not respond to a query.
Virginia Alexander, filed a Treasurer’s report on December 16.

District 11 - North Dallas
Jaynie Schultz, was on the City Plan Commission, and has a campaign page; she filed a Treasurer's Report on September 17.
Hosanna F. Yemiru, veteran political organizer, is running and filed a Treasurer's Report on December 11.

District 12 - Far North Dallas
Cara Mendelsohn, incumbent has not yet announced.
Charles Foster, filed a Treasurer's Report on September 4, without listing the office seeking, but his address is in D12.

District 13 - Northwest Dallas
Leland Burk, businessman and banker, served on city's Arts & Culture Advisory Commission, announced his candidacy via a January 7 press release from Allyn Media.
Gay Donnell, president of the Turtle Creek Conservancy, filed a Treasurer's Report on January 11.

District 14 - Downtown/East Dallas
David Blewett, first-term incumbent, announced his re-election bid in an online letter.
Paul Ridley, former City Plan Commission representative, filed a Treasurer's Report on December 4.

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Unhappy holidays

Porch pirates pilfer nearly $2B worth of Texas packages, study shows

Porch Pirate Person in Glasses Steals Packages

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’Tis the season for porch pirates. If past trends are an indicator, the Grinch will swipe close to $2 billion worth of packages delivered to Texas households this year, with many of those thefts happening ahead of the holiday season.

An analysis of FBI and survey data by ecommerce marketing company Omnisend shows porch pirates stole more than $1.8 billion worth of packages from Texans’ porches last year. Porch pirates hit nearly one-third of the state’s households in 2024, according to the analysis.

Omnisend’s analysis reveals these statistics about porch piracy in Texas:

30.1 million residential package thefts in 2024.
An average household loss of $169 per year.
An annual average of 2.9 package thefts per household.

“Most stolen items are cheap on their own, but add them up, and retailers and consumers are facing an enormous bill,” says Omnisend.

Another data analysis, this one from The Action Network sports betting platform, unwraps different figures regarding porch piracy in Texas.

The platform’s 2025 Porch Pirate Index ranks Texas as the state with the highest volume of residential thefts, based on 2023-24 FBI data.

Researchers at The Action Network uncovered 26,293 reports of personal property thefts at Texas residences during that period. The network’s survey data indicates 5 percent of Texas residents had a package stolen in the three months before the pre-holiday survey.

The Porch Pirate Index calculates a 25.8 percent risk of a Texas household being victimized by porch pirates, putting it in the No. 5 spot among states with the highest risk of porch piracy.

The Action Network included online-search volume for terms like “package stolen” and “porch pirates.” Sustained spikes in these searches suggest that “people are actively looking for guidance after something has happened. Search trends serve as an early warning system, revealing emerging-risk areas well before annual crime statistics are released,” the network says.

Tips to avoid being a victim
So, how do you prevent porch pirates from snatching packages that end up on your porch? Omnisend, The Action Network and Amazon offer these eight tips:

Closely monitor deliveries and quickly retrieve packages.
Schedule deliveries for times when you’ll be home.
Use delivery lockers or in-store pickup when possible.
Ask delivery services to hide packages in out-of-sight spots outside your home.
Install a visible doorbell camera or security camera.
Coordinate deliveries with neighbors or building managers if you’ll be away from your home when packages are supposed to arrive.
Request that delivery services hold your packages if you can’t be home when they’re scheduled to come.
Illuminate the path to your doorstep and keep porch lights on.

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