By Everton Bailey Jr.
https://www.dallasnews.com/
More than three dozen current and former elected officials, perennial candidates and newcomers are vying for 14 seats on the Dallas City Council this spring.
The filing deadline for candidates to gain a spot on the May 3 election ballot was 5 p.m. Friday. Write-in candidates have until Tuesday to declare their candidacy. The deadline to withdraw from the ballot is next Friday.
Dallas voters will elect at least four new council members, representing District 4 in south Oak Cliff, District 6 in West Dallas, a vast stretch of far southern Dallas in District 8 and District 11 in North Dallas.
Council member Jaynie Schultz (District 11) is not seeking a third term, and council members Carolyn King Arnold (District 4), Tennell Atkins (District 8) and Omar Narvaez (District 6) are ineligible to run in 2025 because they’ve served the limit of four two-year terms.
Arnold is the only one in the trio who is term-limited despite not serving eight consecutive years. New voter-approved city charter rules in November now ban Dallas mayors and council members from being eligible for election after already serving eight years. Elected officials were previously term-limited if they were selected for two-year terms four times in a row. After sitting out one election cycle, the term count would reset, and they could be eligible for election again.
Atkins, for instance, has served eight two-year terms since 2007. Arnold has been elected to four full two-year terms since 2015. She filed to run again, but the city secretary denied her application, saying the new charter rules apply to past, current and future City Council members.
Mayor Eric Johnson is the only member of the City Council whose seat isn’t up for grabs. Dallas’ mayor is elected to four-year terms, and Johnson is halfway through his second and final term as the council’s only citywide elected official. His term ends in June 2027.
District council members earn $60,000 a year. To be able to run for office, candidates have to be a U.S. citizen, at least 18 years old and a registered city voter as of Feb. 14. They also must be a Texas resident for at least one year and living in the council district they hope to represent at least six months before Feb. 14.
The last day to register to vote is April 3, and early voting runs from April 22-29 for the May 3 election.
If any of the 14 City Council races end with no candidate receiving more than 50% of the vote, the top two vote-getters will move to a runoff election on June 7. The new City Council is scheduled to be sworn in June 16.
Here’s who qualified for the ballot as of Feb. 18:
District 1 (North Oak Cliff)
Jason Vanhof: Small-business owner, first-time candidate.
Chad West (incumbent): First elected in 2019 and seeking a fourth term.
Katrina Whatley: Realtor, first-time candidate.
District 2 (Medical District, Deep Ellum, the Cedars, East Dallas and parts of downtown)
Sukhbir Kaur: Previously ran for City Council in 2023.
Jesse Moreno (incumbent): First elected in 2021 and seeking a third term.
District 3 (Southwest Dallas)
Jesseca Lightbourne: University of North Texas at Dallas professor, first-time candidate.
John Sims: Previously ran for City Council in 2023 and described himself on his candidate filing application as a field service engineer.
Zarin Gracey (incumbent): First elected in 2023 and seeking a second term.
District 4 (South Oak Cliff)
Kebran Alexander: Previously ran for City Council in 2018.
Avis Hardaman: A teacher, first-time candidate.
Maxie Johnson: Dallas Independent School District board trustee and pastor. Previously ran for City Council in 2021.
District 5 (Pleasant Grove)
Elizabeth Matus: First-time candidate who described herself on her candidate filing application as a nanny and secretary.
Jaime Resendez (incumbent): First elected in 2019 and seeking a fourth term.
District 6 (West Dallas, Love Field)
Monica Alonzo: Served three terms on the City Council representing District 6 from 2011 to 2017. She has since run for City Council in 2017, 2019, 2021 and 2023.
David Blewett: Served one term on the City Council representing District 14 from 2019 to 2021. Ran for a U.S. House of Representatives seat for Texas in 2024.
Laura Cadena: Former staff member and chief of staff for outgoing District 6 council member Omar Narvaez. First-time candidate.
Tony Carrillo: Previously ran for City Council in 2017, 2019, 2021 and 2023.
Gabriel Kissinger: A photographer and first-time candidate.
Nicolas Quintanilla: First time candidate.
Linus Spiller: Previously ran for City Council in 2003, 2005 and 2017.
Machelle Wells: A first-time candidate who described herself on her candidate filing application as a professional public speaker.
District 7 (South Dallas, Buckner Terrace)
Adam Bazaldua (incumbent): First elected in 2019 and seeking a fourth term.
Marvin Crenshaw (write-in candidate): Community activist who has run for City Council in 1983, 1984, 1987, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2009, 2017 and 2023.
O’Neil Hesson: Environmental nonprofit owner and first-time candidate.
Lamar Jefferson: First-time candidate
Jose Rivas Jr.: Former Dallas community police oversight vice chair and first-time candidate.
Cydney Walker: Online talk show host and project manager who is a first-time candidate.
District 8 (Far southern Dallas, including Red Bird, Highland Hills)
Lorie Blair: Former city plan commissioner. First-time candidate.
Subrina Lynn Brenham: A tax professional who previously ran for City Council in 2013, 2015, 2021 and 2023.
Davante Peters: Community activist and health store owner who previously ran for City Council in 2019, 2021 and 2023.
Eugene Ralph: A first-time candidate who described himself on his candidate filing application as a low-voltage technician.
Ruth Steward: A retiree who has previously run for City Council in 1999, 2000, and 2005.
Erik Wilson: Served one term on the City Council representing District 8 from 2015 to 2017. He also ran for City Council in 2017 and 2019.
District 9 (East Dallas including White Rock Lake area)
Ernest Banda: A first-time candidate who is retired.
Paula Blackmon (incumbent): First elected in 2019 and seeking a fourth term.
District 10 (Northeast Dallas)
Sirrano Keith Baldeo: Previously ran for City Council in 2019, 2021 and 2023
Kathy Stewart (incumbent): First elected in 2023 and seeking a second term.
District 11 (North Dallas)
Mona Andy Elshenawy: A first-time candidate who described herself on her candidate filing application as a public health professional.
Jeff Kitner: Former Dallas Park and Recreation Board member and COO of the North Dallas Chamber of Commerce. First-time candidate.
Kendal Richardson: Previously launched write-in campaign for mayor in 2023.
Bill Roth: Commercial real estate company owner and attorney who is a first-time candidate.
District 12 (Far North Dallas)
Jose Cavazos: First-time candidate.
Cara Mendelsohn (incumbent): First elected in 2019 and seeking a fourth term
Marc Rossouw: A financial advisor and first-time candidate.
District 13 (Northwest and north central Dallas, including Preston Hollow and Vickery Meadow)
Diane Benjamin: Realtor and first-time candidate.
Gay Donnell Willis (incumbent): First elected in 2021 and seeking third term.
District 14 (Uptown, Oak Lawn, Lower Greenville, Old East Dallas and parts of downtown)
Paul Ridley (incumbent): First elected in 2021 and seeking third term.
Everton covers Dallas city government. He joined The Dallas Morning News in November 2020 after previously working for The Oregonian and The Associated Press in Hartford, Conn.
This story, originally published in The Dallas Morning News, is reprinted as part of a collaborative partnership between The Dallas Morning News and Texas Metro News. The partnership seeks to boost coverage of Dallas’ communities of color, particularly in southern Dallas.
