Local Government Archives - D Magazine

How Dallas HERO Upended Traditional Dallas Politics

Matt Goodman — Thu, 07 Nov 2024 00:38:09 +0000

The passage of propositions S and U marks an interesting inflection point for how Dallas has traditionally taken care of its political business. An upstart group of well-funded Park Cities residents used tactics most often found in state and federal elections—endorsements from astroturf groups, social media barrages, a political nonprofit that doesn’t have to reveal … Continued

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An Evening at a Brewery With the Dallas Express

Matt Goodman — Wed, 30 Oct 2024 20:16:20 +0000

Last night, the Dallas Express hosted an event at Community Beer Co. titled “What Is Dallas HERO and Why Should You Care?” The apparent purpose of the event was to promote the three city charter amendments—S, T, and U—that were placed on the ballot due to the efforts of the Dallas HERO Initiative, a 501(c)(4) … Continued

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Monty Bennett and the Shadowy Dallas HERO Crew

Matt Goodman — Tue, 22 Oct 2024 18:12:19 +0000

Last Thursday, former Mayor Tom Leppert had his takeaway ready for the Dallas Regional Chamber. “Good intentions can result in bad outcomes,” he said. He then repeated it another five times over the next half hour. Leppert was the counterbalance to Dallas HERO’s Pete Marocco, who had been invited by the chamber to sell three … Continued

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Fair Park’s Misspent Millions: The Call Came From Inside the House

Matt Goodman — Fri, 11 Oct 2024 19:01:37 +0000

Fair Park’s privatization was sold as a way for the city to save tens of millions of dollars by allowing a for-profit operator to make use of its 34 buildings and 277 acres. Like all of Dallas’ public-private partnerships, the city signed a contract with a nonprofit, not the for-profit operator. That nonprofit, called Fair … Continued

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Molly Morgan Wants to Make Dallas Greener

Matt Goodman — Tue, 08 Oct 2024 15:01:05 +0000

In recent years, Dallas’ investment in greenspace has been more ambitious, targeted, and varied than ever before. Parks are no longer just major destinations and enormous investments. They’re on school playgrounds. They’re adjacent to greenbelts. They’ve replaced surface parking lots downtown and illegal dumps in South Oak Cliff. This park-building blitz has resulted in 74 … Continued

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The Dallas Establishment Has Aligned to Defeat Charter Amendments

Matt Goodman — Thu, 03 Oct 2024 15:57:29 +0000

Representatives of Dallas’ past and present power structure stood shoulder to shoulder Wednesday in the basement of downtown’s Aloft hotel and may as well have declared war. The gathering of the city’s establishment—at least 45 people, including former mayors, a police chief, legislators, county commissioners, council members, a park board president, heads of (some) chambers … Continued

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Dallas Police Chief Eddie García Will Retire to Reunite With His Old Boss in Austin

Matt Goodman — Thu, 19 Sep 2024 20:03:24 +0000

Dallas police Chief Eddie García once said he’d “run through a wall” for former City Manager T.C. Broadnax, but it appears he will only have to drive down Interstate 35. According to a memo from Broadnax, García will retire from the Dallas Police Department to become an assistant city manager under his former boss, where he … Continued

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Derelict, Controversial City-Owned Downtown Building is Listed in National Historic Registry

Matt Goodman — Mon, 09 Sep 2024 16:49:26 +0000

Last month, the Dallas City Council voted to auction off the former Family Gateway building at 711 St. Paul. Still, local preservationists have pointed out that the structure, which fell into disrepair after the nonprofit transferred ownership back to the city, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places (as 1722 Marilla St.) and is inside a 2008 … Continued

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City Hall’s Bogeyman: The Opportunity and the Madness of ForwardDallas

Matt Goodman — Fri, 30 Aug 2024 16:09:41 +0000

ForwardDallas is haunting City Hall. The City Council’s Economic Development Committee was briefed Tuesday about the long-awaited, wildly contentious update to Dallas’ land use plan, first adopted in 2006. The discussion at the committee meeting echoed the acrimonious language that has ricocheted between the walls of drab community centers during public meetings for more than … Continued

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Dallas Allowed Developers to Build Larger in Elm Thicket than Zoning Changes Allowed

Matt Goodman — Tue, 06 Aug 2024 19:21:54 +0000

Legacy residents in the Elm Thicket/Northpark neighborhood near Love Field spent more than five years advocating for a zoning change to limit the massive new builds going up in the historically Black community. Council eventually passed rules in 2022 to rein in the size of the homes that were dwarfing the old cottages. And then … Continued

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Jaynie Schultz’s Time to Leave

Matt Goodman — Thu, 25 Jul 2024 20:04:30 +0000

Councilmember Jaynie Schultz last week announced she won’t run for a third term. She sent an email to supporters and then spoke with the Dallas Morning News. For me, a single quote stood out in the News’ story about her planned exit: “We don’t have any vision for our city, and there’s no effort on … Continued

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Irving Joins Cadre of Burbs That Wants to Defund DART

Matt Goodman — Mon, 15 Jul 2024 20:03:19 +0000

On Thursday, the Irving City Council joined the growing suburban chorus to symbolically support cutting its funding to Dallas Area Rapid Transit. Same song, new city: supporting a 25 percent reduction from its sales tax contribution, should it ever become legally allowed, was unanimously approved following brief public comments in opposition. Plano was the first … Continued

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