Election News

All the candidates running for Dallas City Council in 2025 election

Dallas City Hall Photo courtesy of PCF

The Dallas City Council is up for re-election on May 3, with 14 districts to be determined. The deadline for candidates to file was February 14, 2025, and the ballot has now been posted online, with at least 45 candidates who've successfully filed to run. (The list also shows candidates who did not file properly and will not be on the ballot.)

Of the 14 open seats, 10 have incumbent candidates who are currently in office and are running for another two-year term.

Of the remaining four, three are council members who've served four consecutive terms and can no longer run. The one remaining district has a council member who is not running for re-election.

Here's who's running and what they do:

District 1

Just south of downtown Dallas, includes North Oak Cliff, Bishop Arts

Chad West - incumbent
Jason Vanhof - tech sales
Katrina Whatley - realtor

District 2
Weird propeller-shaped district extends from Love Field on the West, through Deep Ellum, to Casa View on the east

Jesse Moreno - incumbent
Sukhbir Kaur - repeat candidate

District 3
Southwest Dallas

Zarin Gracey - incumbent
John Sims - repeat candidate, owner of a podcast/radio studio in Oak Cliff
Jesseca Lightbourne - assistant professor at UNT Dallas

District 4
South Dallas. Seat vacated by Carolyn King Arnold who has reached the end of her term and cannot run again, despite her efforts.

Maxie Johnson, pastor and DISD board of trustees representative
Avis Hardaman, teacher
Kebran W. Alexander, Dallas County Sheriff Department employee and returning candidate who ran in 2018

District 5
Far southeast Dallas

Jaime Resendez - incumbent
Elizabeth Matus - Health Unit Coordinator at Children's Medical Center

District 6
West Dallas, with seat left vacant by Omar Navaerz, who has reached the end of his term.

Laura Cadena, Navaerz' Chief of Staff
Tony Carrillo - return candidate who ran in 2017 and 2023
David Blewett - one-term council member, but in in a different district (District 14)
Gabriel Kissinger - "filmmaker"
Monica Alonzo - former council member prior to Narvaez
Machelle Wells - flight attendant and minister
Linus Spiller - success coach and repeat candidate
Nicholas "Nico" Quintanilla, youthful entrepreneur

District 7
Far east Dallas, just south of I-30 including Buckner Terrace

Adam Bazaldua - incumbent
Jose Rivas Jr. - deputy ombudsman
Brian O'Neil Hesson - community activist
Cydney Walker - repeat candidate and host of Coffee & Politics talk show
Lamar "Yaka" Jefferson

District 8
Far southeast Dallas, finally vacant now that Tennell Atkins has reached his term limit.

Eliza Ruth Steward - has worked as a notary
Erik Wilson - one-time city council member, running again
Lorie Blair - current member of the Zoning & Planning commission
Eugene Ralph - son of "Christian conservative" Eugene Ralph, is pro Proposition U, requiring Dallas to hire hundreds more police officers
Subrina Brenham - income tax professional, repeat candidate who ran in 2021 and 2023
Davante Peters - community organizer, return candidate

District 9
Northeast Dallas, Lakewood

Paula Blackmon - incumbent
Ernest P. Banda - served on the Red Light Camera commission in 2014

District 10
Northeast Dallas, Lake Highlands

Kathy Stewart - incumbent
Sirrano Keith Baldeo - litigious eccentric repeat candidate ran in 2019 and 2023

District 11
North Dallas/central — left vacant by Jaynie Schulz who chose not to run for another term.

Bill Roth - Lake Highlands lawyer who sued over an affordable housing project
Mona Andy Elshenawy - health care professional
Jeff Kitner - COO at North Dallas Chamber of Commerce, bicycling and schools advocate
Kendal Richardson - motivational speaker

District 12
Far North Dallas

Cara Mendelsohn - incumbent
Marc Rossouw - accountant and financial advisor
Jose Cavazos - poet-philosopher, anti-war & climate crisis activist

District 13
North/northwest Dallas

Gay Donnell Willis - incumbent
Diane Benjamin - realtor in favor of "taking the liberal Marxist trash out in Dallas County and the city of Dallas"

District 14
Downtown and Greenville Avenue

Paul Ridley - incumbent

election politics

Labor Day News

Texas ranks as 4th hardest working state in U.S., new study finds

Texas Capitol building, Texas flag, American flag

Texans are working harder than ever. Photo by kel on Unsplash

It's no secret that Texans are hardworking people. Ahead of Labor Day, a new WalletHub study asserts that the Lone Star State is one of the five most hardworking states in America for 2025.

The report ranked Texas the fourth most hardworking state this year, indicating that its residents are working harder than ever after the state fell into seventh place in 2024. Texas previously ranked No. 4 in 2019 and 2020, slipped into No. 5 in 2021 and 2022, then continued falling into sixth place in 2023. But now the state is making its way back on top of the list.

WalletHub's analysts compared all 50 states based on "direct" and "indirect" work factors. The six "direct" work factors included each state's average workweek hours, employment rates, the share of households where no adults work, the share of workers leaving vacation time unused, and other data. The four "indirect" work factors consisted of workers' average commute times, the share of workers with multiple jobs, the annual volunteer hours per resident, and the average leisure time spent per day.

North Dakota landed on top as the most hardworking state in America for 2025 for another year in a row, earning a score of 66.17 points out of a possible 100. For comparison, Texas ranked No. 4 with 57.06 points. Alaska (No. 2), South Dakota (No. 3), and Hawaii (No. 5) round out the top five hardest working states.

Across the study's two main categories, Texas ranked No. 5 in the "direct" work factors ranking, and earned a respectable No. 18 rank for its "indirect" work factors.

Broken down further, Texans have the second-longest average workweek hours in America, and they have the 12th best average commute times. Texans have the 6th lowest amount of average leisure time spent per day, the report also found.

According to the study's findings, many Americans nationwide won't take the chance to not work as hard when presented with the opportunity. A 2024 Sorbet PTO report found 33 percent of Americans' paid time off was left unused in 2023.

"While leaving vacation time on the table may seem strange to some people, there are plenty of reasons why workers choose to do so," the report's author wrote. "Some fear that if they take time off they will look less dedicated to the job than other employees, risking a layoff. Others worry about falling behind on their work or are concerned that the normal workflow will not be able to function without them."

The top 10 hardest working states are: