City Elections

Get up to speed on Dallas city elections with this handy cheat sheet

The day draws near when Dallas will see an election that changes the makeup of our city government, with eight seats turning over on the city council, plus a contest for the position of the mayor. During these impactful times, you want to be on your toes as a functioning member of society. That begins with registering to vote by April 9, the cutoff date for the May 9 election.

Registering is one thing, but how to get informed on the toll road, I-345, the Dream Team and other issues facing Dallas residents? We've compiled a list of online resources that, if ingested daily, will help get you ready to roll by election day.

THE ABCs
The basic tools to get you going.

Dallas County Votes. Info on how to register to vote.

Online form. Site where you can fill out application form. Doesn't get any simpler than this.

City of Dallas election information. List of all candidates running for mayor and city council.

Voter Guide. Dallas Morning News voter guide for May 9 election allows you to compare candidates side-by-side and create your own ballot.

OLD GUARD
Old ways of thinking, longtime deciders of how things go in Dallas, against which a backlash has formed.

Dallas Citizens Council. Founded in 1937, Dallas Citizens Council describes itself as "civic-minded business leaders." They got us where we are today. Here is their accompanying Facebook page.

Connect Dallas Now. A group of individuals and organizations who are pro-Trinity toll road, with members from the Dallas Citizens Council. Accompanying Facebook page.

NEW GUARD
People with new ideas challenging the status quo.

Kill the Trinity Tollroad. An official online rebuttal to the Connect Dallas Now site mentioned above. The real dialog occurs on their companion Facebook page Kill the Trinity Tollroad Project.

Dallas Green Alliance. Political Action Committee (PAC) organized in 2014 to lobby for green and progressive candidates for the city council; their Facebook page.

Coalition For a New Dallas. Dedicated to the teardown of I-345, members include D Magazine founder Wick Allison. Accompanying Facebook page.

Reimagine Fair Park. Group wants to recast Fair Park so that it has more green space and connects more directly to the surrounding neighborhood.

PACE SETTERS
Insiders who are leading the conversation on what should happen in the future Dallas.

Philip T Kingston, Facebook page of city council member and transparency soldier Philip Kingston.

ScottGriggsDallas, Facebook page of city council member Scott Griggs, he of Oak Cliff.

Wylie H. Dallas, Facebook page of shadowy political operative Wylie H. Dallas, who posts city-related links all day and night.

StreetSmart, planning and transportation blog on D Magazine site from urban designer Patrick Kennedy.

Angela Hunt, former city council member and occasional columnist for the Advocate.

PEANUT GALLERY
More new ideas, not as big.

Reimagine DART. Small group wants to eliminate duplicate bus routes and providing more frequent, direct service to popular locations.

My Trinity Park. This group says that it wants a new plan for Trinity Park.

Dallas Civic Digest. One citizen’s attempt to distill complicated issues. Not many posts so far.

VoteForAChange. Page is dedicated to electing "people responsive to citizens instead of special interests."

SATIRE
Using humor to challenge the status quo.

Mayor Mike. Over-the-top satire of Mayor Mike Rawlings portrays him at his bumbling finest.

Mockingbird Pothole. Tongue-in-cheek campaign spotlights Dallas' high number of potholes and the folly of the toll road.

Busted Utility Poles. One of the numerous spin-offs of Mockingbird Pothole, dedicated to broken utility poles.

CANDIDATE FORUMS
See the candidates debate at the following forums:

Tuesday, April 7 at 7 pm. District 6. Bachman Lake Branch Library, 9480 Webb Chapel Rd.

Thursday, April 9 at 7 pm. District 9 and District 10. Audelia Road Branch Library, 10045 Audelia Rd.

Saturday, April 11 at 2 pm. District 7. Skyline Branch Library, 6006 Everglade Rd.

Tuesday, April 14 at 7 pm. District 4 and District 8. Paul Laurence Dunbar Branch Library, 2008 E. Kiest Rd.

Dallas City Council member Scott Griggs.

Scott Griggs Facebook

Dallas City Council member Scott Griggs.

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income analysis

This is the family income needed for one parent to stay home in Texas

Photo by Vitaly Gariev on Unsplash

With costs to raise a child soaring over $20,000 a year in Texas, some households might decide to have one parent work while the other stays at home to raise their child.

The cost of raising a child has ballooned in major metros like Dallas-Fort Worth, forcing many families to weight the choice between paying for child care or having one parent stay home full-time.

A recent analysis from SmartAsset determined the minimum income one parent needs to earn to support their partner staying at home to raise one child in all 50 states. In Texas, that amount is just under $75,000.

The study used the MIT Living Wage Calculator to compare the annual living wages needed for a household with two working adults and one child, and a household with one working adult, a stay-at-home parent, and one child. The study also calculated how much it would cost to raise a child with two working parents based on factors such as "food, housing, childcare, healthcare, transportation, incremental income taxes and other necessities."

A Texas household with one working parent would need to earn $74,734 a year to support their stay-at-home partner and their child, the report found. If both parents worked in the household, it would require an additional $10,504 in annual income to raise their child.

SmartAsset said the cost to raise a child in Texas in a two-working-parent household adds up to $23,587. Raising a child in North Texas, however, is slightly more affordable. A separate SmartAsset study from June 2025 determined it costs $22,337 to raise a child in Dallas-Fort Worth.

In the report's ranking of states with the highest minimum income needed to support a family with one working adult, a stay-at-home parent, and one child, Texas ranked 32nd on the list.

In other states like Massachusetts where raising a child can cost more than $40,000 a year, the report's author says families will look for ways to reduce any financial burdens.

"This often includes considerations around who’s going to work in the household, and whether young children will require paid daycare services while parents are occupied," the report said. "With tradeoffs abound, many parents might seek to understand the minimum income needed to keep the family afloat while allowing the other parent to stay home to raise a young child."

The top 10 states with the lowest minimum income threshold to support a three-person family on one income are:

West Virginia – $68,099
Arkansas – $68,141
Mississippi – $70,242
Kentucky – $70,408
North Dakota – $70,949
Oklahoma – $71,718
Ohio – $72,114
South Dakota – $72,218
Alabama – $72,238
Nebraska – $72,966

texas income smartasset family