Election News

Early voting begins on runoff elections for Dallas City Council

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Six council seats are still to be decided.

Courtesy photo

May 24 is the first day of early voting for a runoff election that will decide the fate of six city council races in Dallas.

The runoff follows an election that took place on May 1, in which all 14 city council seats were on the table. Eight seats were decided; these six remain undecided.

The date of the runoff election is June 5. Early voting extends from May 24-June 1.

The seats still TBD are as follows:

District 2. Two candidates are vying for the seat vacated by Adam Medrano which covers Deep Ellum and Love Field:

Jesse Moreno, a longtime neighborhood advocate, has served on a number of boards and commissions, most recently on the Park Board.
Sana Syed is a former TV reporter and city spokesperson.

District 4. This district in southeast Dallas has an incumbent possibly about to get ousted:

Maxie Johnson is the promising contender who previously served the Dallas ISD Board of Trustees.
Carolyn King Arnold is struggling to keep her seat on the council.

District 7. This district in east Dallas has an incumbent being challenged by a former council member:

Adam Bazaldua is the ex-teacher who has served on the council for the past two years.
Kevin Felder is the former council member who was in office for one term before beaten by Bazaldua in 2019.

District 11. Two candidates are vying for the North Dallas seat vacated by Lee Kleinman:

Jaynie Schultz has served on a number of boards and commissions including the powerful Planning Commission.
Barry Wernick is a lawyer.

District 13. Two candidates are vying for the North Dallas seat left vacant by outgoing Jennifer Staubach Gates:

Gay Donnell Willis is President & CEO of the ‎Turtle Creek Conservancy.
Leland Burk is a developer.

District 14. An incumbent is struggling to keep the seat covering downtown and Uptown that he has held for only one term.

Paul Ridley has served on a number of boards and commissions including the powerful Planning Commission.
David Blewett was elected to the seat in 2019, on a campaign that he was more civil than outgoing Philip Kingston.

D Magazine notes that the races have gotten "ugly" via some mud-slinging, while the DMN has a story with the headline "Here's what you need to know." But they endorsed Carolyn King Arnold so are they really a credible source?

Wylie H Dallas, a fictional character who has his fictional finger on the pulse of Dallas politics, offers his recommendations via this handy tweet. "Make the Right Choice!" he says.

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E-Cigarette News

Dallas City Council places restrictions on vaping in public

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Man vaping

Vaping will now be banned exactly like smoking, thanks to a new ordinance from the Dallas City Council.

At their December 11 meeting, the council passed an ordinance to ban vaping in all the same areas where smoking is not allowed. It'll go into effect on December 11, 2025 — giving everyone a year to get into compliance.

Proposed by City of Dallas Environmental Commission (EVC) and the Office of Environmental Quality and Sustainability (OEQS), the ordinance amends the definition of “smoking” in the Dallas City Code to include the use of vaping devices.

The ordinance does not ban vaping — it only bans where you can vape: no vaping in all indoor and enclosed spaces; within 15 feet of building entrances; and on park property. The ordinance also bans marijuana smoking in those same places.

In addition, the amendment requires restaurants, hotels, fitness centers and other businesses to update their signage to clearly state that both smoking and electronic smoking devices are prohibited.

The ordinance already earned widespread support from health organizations such as the Dallas County Health and Human Services, the American Lung Association, and the American Heart Association. These organizations, along with the World Health Organization, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the U.S. Surgeon General, have all raised concerns about the health risks of direct and second-hand exposure to vaping aerosols, particularly for vulnerable populations such as children and older adults.

Dallas is not the first city to impose such a ban: San Antonio enacted a similar ban in October. Theirs goes into effect on January 1, 2025.

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