Updated at 5:50 p.m. to reflect comments from Councilmember Carolyn King Arnold’s staff.
Many past members of the Dallas City Council who have considered running again won’t be able to if voters in November approve the charter amendment known as Proposition E. The charter is the document that sets the rules for how a city operates, and the state mandates that cities review theirs every 10 years.
Currently, a council member can serve four consecutive two-year terms, which is the limit. But they can also sit out an election and run again in two years, effectively restarting the clock. Mayors can serve two consecutive four-year terms and, theoretically, can also sit out an election and run again.
Proposition E writes those term limits in ink: they can serve no more than eight years, a fact I confirmed with city staffers. Once a council member serves those four terms, they can’t run for any council seat, even if they move to a new district. The only office they can pursue is mayor. When council members approved the measure for the ballot, it did not grandfather in past council members who are term-limited.
Former Councilmember Sandy Greyson recently filed a new campaign treasurer report, which informed this quest for clarification on the charter amendment in question. Despite the filing, she says she is not planning to run again.
Greyson served two stints—from 1997 to 2005 and from 2011 to 2019—representing District 12. According to her new campaign treasurer report, she now lives in District 11, which is currently represented by Jaynie Schultz, who has announced she won’t run for her final term.
“I’m not planning to run for any office,” Greyson told me yesterday. “I was advised by the City Secretary’s office that my old treasurer’s report was being purged, along with other old records, and I needed to file a new one.”
A campaign treasurer report is often the first indication that someone is considering pursuing public office. Without naming a treasurer, a candidate cannot legally accept a campaign donation or make campaign expenditures. So far, five people have filed those reports (not counting Greyson): Raymond Adame, whose report indicates a run for the District 1 seat currently held by Chad West; Eugene Ralph Jr., who indicated he could run for the District 8 seat held by Tennell Atkins, who is serving his final term; Jose Rivas, who has announced he is running for the District 7 seat held by Adam Bazaldua; Kristal Roberts, whose paperwork indicates a possible run for Schultz’s seat in District 11; and former Councilmember Erik Wilson, who confirmed last night he is running for Atkins’ District 8 seat as well.
Wilson served from 2015 to 2017, while Atkins sat out two years after being term-limited. Atkins waited the cycle, then ran against him and won. If Proposition E were to pass and he were to win his seat, Wilson would have three terms left.
Several former council members are still eligible to run again. For instance, David Blewett served one term in District 14, Monica Alonzo served three terms in District 6, Philip Kingston served three terms in District 14, Kevin Felder served one term in District 7, and even Schultz, should she decide to run in the future, still has two terms available.
District 4 Councilmember Carolyn King Arnold would not be able to run again should Proposition E pass since she also served one term between 2015 and 2017 and was re-elected in 2019. When reached for comment Wednesday, her assistant Phil Foster said Arnold was aware of the amendment’s implications on her political career. If voters don’t pass it, she will run again, he said.
There is still a lot of time before the election next May. Candidates can’t even file to run until January 15. But depending on how voters choose in November, the field could look considerably different. Would a former council member with, say, only one term still available decide to mount a campaign that could also extend into a June runoff?
Time will tell.
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