City Elections

Master list of all the candidates in the May 2019 Dallas elections

Many vying to get into this building.

Photo courtesy of Dallas Convention and Visitors Bureau

The paperwork is in for individuals running for Dallas City Council, and a record number of candidates have filed.

The deadline to file was February 15. Candidates have the option to withdraw by February 22. Otherwise their names will appear on the ballot. The election is on May 4.

Given the bounty of candidates, a runoff election seems almost certain for some of the seats. The mayor's race has a whopping 12 candidates, with many heavyweights seeking the helm.

Some of the highlights include:

District 1 City Council member Scott Griggs is running for mayor, and five first-time candidates are aiming to fill his spot to cover North Oak Cliff.

District 4 City Council member Carolyn King Arnold is again being challenged by Keyaira Saunders. They faced off last fall during a special election which ended in a runoff that Arnold won.

District 7 has an unusually large slate of nine candidates vying to replace incumbent Kevin Felder, representing Fair Park and South Dallas.

District 9 which covers Lakewood has five candidates to replace Mark Clayton, who is not seeking reelection~~, including Paul Sims, who serves on the Park and Recreation Board~~. *On February 22, Sims withdrew from the race, stating that the timing wasn't right.

Districts 8, 11, and 13 have the smallest number of candidates, with each drawing only one challenger to unseat the incumbent.

Along with Mark Clayton, Sandy Greyson (D12) and Ricky Callahan (D5) are not seeking reelection.

The full list is below. We've highlighted the best candidate in each race. Names are spelled as the candidates requested to appear on the ballot, including middle names and nick names. A map showing locations of each district can be found here.

Mayor candidates
Michael B. Ablon. Real estate developer, managing development of the Trinity River park.
Albert C. Black Jr. Oak Cliff businessman.
Regina Montoya Coggins. Former assistant to Bill Clinton.
Scott Griggs. City Council member for District 1 since 2011, saver of taxpayer money.
Eric Johnson. Member of the Texas House of Representatives, backed by meddling "business elite."
Alyson Y. Kennedy. Candidate from the Socialist Workers Party, also ran for U.S. President.
Debra L. McBee. AKA, Lynn McBee, philanthropist and Highland Park resident.
Miguel E. Solis. Member of the Dallas ISD Board of Trustees.
Jason Villalba. Attorney, former member of Texas House of Representatives.

District 1
Sylvana Alonzo. Sister-in-law to former council member (and current candidate) Monica Alonzo.
Jeremy T. Boss. Founder of Dowdy Ferry Animal Commission, warrior against animal cruelty.
Giovanni "Gio" Valderas. Artist and former member of Dallas Cultural Commission.
Chad A. West. Attorney and small business owner, member of City Plan Commission.

District 2
Barbara Eastwood Coombs. Owner of Environmental Benchmarking, a consulting firm.
Paul A. Freeman. Former member of Dallas County School Board and chair of the Budget/Finance Committee during the corruption scandal.
Adam Medrano. Beloved incumbent since 2013.

District 3
Denise Benavides. Activist and former president of LULAC Grand Prairie.
Charletta Rogers Compton. District 7 member of the Dallas County Community College District Board of Trustees.
Davante D. Peters. Community organizer, youngest candidate.
Britannica Scott. Supervisor for Dallas Independent School District, community advocate.
Casey Thomas. Incumbent since 2015.

District 4
Carolyn King Arnold. Incumbent since 2018.
Dawn M. Blair. Property manager for city of Dallas Department of Aviation, also ran in 2018.
Karon "K" Flewellen. Salon owner, motivational speaker, and community activist.
Obi E. Igbokwe. Club owner, also ran in 2018.
Keyaira D. Saunders. Member of Next Generation Action Network activist group, came in second in 2018.
Asa O. Woodberry. Newbie who tried unsuccessfully to run in 2018.

District 5
Jaime Resendez. Member of the Dallas ISD Board of Trustees since 2016.
Ruth Torres. Author and founder of SuccessfulCareers.org an academic intervention and motivation program for at-risk youth.
Yolanda Faye Williams. Member of the Park and Recreation Board since 2014.

District 6
Monica R. Alonzo. Ex-council member, trying to regain seat she lost to Omar Narvaez.
Tony Carrillo. Returning candidate from 2017, when he earned 42 votes.
Omar Narvaez. Popular incumbent since 2017.

District 7
Adam Ryan Bazaldua. Teacher and community advocate who ran in 2017.
Sandra Crenshaw. Served on City Council previously, has run for Texas House of Representatives twice.
Kevin Felder. Incumbent since 2017.
Yvette Gbalazeh. Best known as Deep Ellum street character "Will Rap 4 Weed."
Calvin D. Johnson. Lawyer, radio talk show host.
Sade' Johnson. "The People's Progressive Candidate," co-founder of non-profit Helping Hands Healing Hearts.
Korey Deon Mack. Admissions officer at St Marks School of Texas, served on City Plan Commission.
Joseph Thomas. Video specialist for the City of Dallas, associate minister at College Park Baptist Church.
Tiffinni A. Young. Former one-term council member trying to get seat back.

District 8
Tennell Atkins. Incumbent since 2017.
Erik Wilson. Former council member running to get his seat back.

District 9
Paula Blackmon. Former assistant to Mayors Rawlings, Leppert.
Tamara "TAMI" Brown Rodriguez. Has four names.
Sarah Lamb. Founder of Lakewood Citizens For Responsible Traffic.
Erin Moore. Former president of Dallas Stonewall Democrats, executive assistant to Dallas County Commissioner Theresa Daniel.
~~Paul Sims. Member of Dallas' Park and Recreation Board, married to former council member Angela Hunt~~.
~~Jacinto Valdespino. DISD teacher.~~

District 10
D'Andrala "DeDe" Alexander. Mental health clinician for Dallas County Juvenile Department.
Sirrano Keith Baldeo. Independent Christian conservative, publisher at Dallas Pulse News.
Adam McGough. Recumbent since 2015.

District 11
Curtis T. Harris. Juvenile detention officer at Dallas County Juvenile Justice; ran for constable in November.
Lee M. Kleinman. Incumbent since 2013.

District 12
Cara Mendelsohn. Executive Director at Rebuilding Together North Texas, has served on multiple homeless-related boards.
Carolyn "Cookie" Peadon. Served on City Plan Commission, endorsed by outgoing incumbent Sandy Greyson.
Daniel Powell. Has served on 5 different boards and committees including Civil Service Board.

District 13
Jennifer Staubach Gates. Incumbent since 2013.
Laura Miller. Former mayor from 2002-2007, former city council member.

District 14
David Blewett. Repeat candidate ran in 2013.
Warren Ernest Johnson. Confederate statue fan.
Phillip Kingston. Dashing incumbent since 2013.

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Politics News

Dallas narrows down field for new city manager to 4 candidates

Photo by R K on Unsplash

This is an Dallasite's sign to launch that small business they've been dreaming of.

After six months without a city manager, the city of Dallas has narrowed down the field of replacements to four semifinalists including one serving as current interim city manager, plus candidates from Fort Worth, Michigan, and Georgia.

Dallas has been without a city manager since May, when previous city manager T.C. Broadnax left to take a job with the city of Austin. Since that time, Broadnax's former chief of staff Kimberly Bizor Tolbert has served as interim city manager.

The city retained Baker Tilly, a consulting firm, to recruit and compile candidates. (Baker Tilly famously erred in the brochure it created for the position by featuring a photo of the Houston skyline instead of Dallas; they've since replaced it with Dallas.)

A spokesperson for Baker Tilly did not respond to inquiries but according to D Magazine, an email listing the candidates has been sent to the Dallas City Council.

The semifinalists include:

Kimberly Bizor Tolbert, Dallas’ current interim city manager
William Johnson, an assistant city manager in Fort Worth
Mark Washington, the city manager of Grand Rapids, Michigan
Zachary Williams, a county chief operating officer in Georgia

All have more than 25 years' of public administration experience and have worked in similar capacities in their respective cities.

Before working in Fort Worth, Johnson was Baltimore’s transportation director and Atlanta’s deputy chief operating officer and public works commissioner.

Washington worked in Fort Worth and Austin before becoming Grand Rapids’ city manager.

Williams has mostly worked in Georgia at the county level, including serving as county manager in Fulton County and chief operating officer in DeKalb County.

Tolbert began working for the city in 1998, first as the city manager’s assistant and later in the aviation department. Broadnax hired her as his chief of staff in 2017.

Unlike the Mayor and the Dallas City Council, the city manager position in Dallas is not elected but is instead appointed by the city council, and is tasked with executing policies, overseeing the annual budget, and managing staff at city hall.

The council’s Ad Hoc Committee will choose finalists, introduce them to the public, and make an offer in early 2025.

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