Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price this week accused local Democratic Party Chairwoman Kristy Noble of being too vain to properly turn out voters in communities of color.
In a letter to Noble dated Sept. 13, Price channeled singer Carly Simon in criticizing Noble’s get-out-the-vote efforts. He also blasted her for not calling for the ouster of an “inept” Dallas County elections administrator, Michael Scarpello.
“You may be too young to remember, but there was a 1972 hit by Carly Simon entitled you’re so vain,” Price wrote. “It’s hard to believe it’s been 50 years! The opening line and the song’s course epitomize my sentiments regarding your control of the Dallas Democratic Party.”
At issue is a campaign door hanger the Dallas County Democratic Party produced and distributed to voters in Price’s district. The longtime commissioner is bothered that Noble used an image of herself on the material, along with Beto O’Rourke, the Democratic Party nominee for governor against Republican incumbent Gov. Greg Abbott.
“There have been scores of skirmishes that you and I have survived. However, for you to have the nerve to send a door hanger in this community with Beto on one side and you on the other is the vainest deed I’ve ever seen,” he wrote. “My community knows little or nothing about you. I cannot believe that you deferred to self-promotion and self-aggrandizement.”
Noble defended the party Wednesday and said she looks forward to working with Price. She also name-dropped a song, as well as a Shakespearean drama.
“Shakespeare wrote ‘Much Ado About Nothing,’ and Randy Newman sang, ‘You’ve Got a Friend in Me,’“ Noble said in a statement. “I’m not exactly sure if Commissioner Price is referring to his community as the people in his district, Dallas County, or Black voters. Either way, he does not seem to have the full picture of our outreach program.
Noble added that the door hanger is one of several being distributed to voters.
“This particular piece is a Welcome to the Party piece making a personal connection to voters throughout the county that have been overlooked in previous cycles with different party leadership on different versions,” she said. “We are creating a Democratic Party that is going to be present 365 days a year, election cycle after election cycle.”
Price also criticized Noble for being “silent” on the future of Scarpello, the county elections administrator who has been under scrutiny since he took the post in December 2020.
“We have an Election Administrator who is inept and incapable of staging or conducting even simple election cycles,” Price wrote. “Yet when the time comes to replace him rightfully, you are silent at best.”
Price and other commissioners have expressed concern that the county may not be prepared for November’s midterm elections.
Dallas County has spent at least $42 million in the last five years to address issues such as long waiting lines at polls, payroll concerns and disparity complaints between residents in the north and south of the county.
“It’s going to be a stable organization that can run a good election,” Scarpello has said.
But commissioners are skeptical. Almost every contract for polling services put before the commissioners has been met with questions.
The Dallas County Elections Commission, appointed by the Commissioners Court and charged with hiring and firing the elections administrator, warned Scarpello in June that he’ll need to address its concerns or risk losing his job. Noble is on the commission.
Scarpello could not be reached for comment on Price’s letter.
Price’s spat with Noble could be a distraction or wake-up call.
The Democrat is the longest serving member of the commissioners court, which Democrats control by a 4-1 margin. Democrats could take full control of the court in November, if Dallas lawyer Andrew Sommerman defeats Republican incumbent J.J. Koch in a district redrawn to favor the Democratic Party candidate.
O’Rourke has said Dallas County is critical to his chances of beating Abbott. The county is solid blue, but he estimates that at least 450,000 eligible voters did not participate in the 2020 presidential election. O’Rourke and Noble have pledged to get those voters to the polls.
Price said Democrats in southern Dallas would succeed, despite the local party.
“We will continue to deliver despite the neglect and disrespect we receive in this community,” he wrote. “Unfortunately, Dallas County Democrats will never vote at full strength until it has a party that’s engaged and interested in ALL voters.”
Dallas activist Dominique Alexander, founder of the Next Generation Action Network and a precinct chairman for southern Oak Cliff, defended Noble and the party.
“This thing was white as snow,” he said of the local Democratic Party. “Now [Noble’s] telling them it’s a new party and they are restoring trust and belief in the Democratic Party.”
Whatever the case, Price is hearkening back to 1972, when “You’re so Vain” was a hit.
“You walked into the party like you were walking onto a yacht. You’re so vain. I bet you think this song is about you. Don’t you don’t you?,” Price put atop his letter.
