Dallas, TX
Dallas charter amendment plan is a progressive mess
We’ve worried for some time that our Dallas City Council is becoming disconnected from the people of this city. Now the evidence is in, and it’s damning.
Most of the 15 proposed charter amendments the council is scheduled to debate today demonstrate that too much of the council is out of touch with what residents want this city focused on and what they think of the job the city council is doing setting policy for Dallas.
The charter review process presented the council with a golden opportunity to look seriously at the function of local government and to recommend to voters reforms that could increase efficiency, lower cost, raise voter participation and improve Dallas’ standing as a city on the rise.
Instead, the amendments on the table largely serve to give the council more power, more money and less accountability while also indulging progressive pieties.
The first proposed charter amendment on the council’s agenda is a rambling “preamble” to the charter that promises Dallas’ commitment to “justice and equity for all residents.” Modeled on a New York statement and dripping with language ripped from a cultural studies seminar, the proposed preamble is not the inclusive statement its authors intend it to be.
From the holier-than-thou land acknowledgement that disregards the complex local history of indigenous tribes, to the commitment to relieve systemic inequities, to the assurance of providing “trauma-informed child and youth educators” and “trauma-informed health and mental health care,” the statement makes promises it cannot keep while emphasizing racial and class divisions.
Even as we wrote this editorial, there was a behind-the-scenes scramble to soften the excited undergraduate tone, but the effect appears to be the same.
From there, it’s on to the money, for the council naturally. Some council members want a big raise, from $60,000 a year to $125,000. No one doubts that serving on the City Council is hard work. But it’s also a volunteer role, or at least it was intended to be.
The people who formed Dallas’ strong-manager government did so to avoid creating the sort of professional political class that has corrupted so many American cities. The current council appears to want to reverse the intentions of those who created Dallas as we know it — a place with a government that has proved surprisingly resistant to the sort of endemic corruption that plagues cities with highly paid council members and aldermen. (Chicago pays its aldermen six figures, and need we say more?)
Some council members argue they deserve the money, and they work for it. But a council member is not supposed to be a miniature city manager, resolving code complaints or negotiating zoning deals. We’ve reached a point where some council members carry two phones — one is just for constituents trying to hop the line for service that comes too slow from City Hall.
It can’t be that way. The council must set policy, and the bureaucracy must implement it while handling the day-to-day concerns of residents. The role of the council has become distorted in practice, requiring more time from council members. The answer is not to reward the distortion, but to restore the appropriate balance between what city management does and what council members do.
Meanwhile, council members want to answer to voters less often, switching the charter from four two-year terms to two four-year terms. There is some value in this debate. So few eligible voters cast ballots in municipal elections that we might get more participation with fewer terms.
But debate is the key word here. We would be more inclined to support two four-year terms if the council agreed to hard term limits. Once a person has served eight years on council, they shouldn’t be able to run again for that council seat or for any other council seat other than mayor. There are examples of people doing eight years on council, then sitting out a term or so and running again, pushing out fresh voices with new ideas.
The next substantial item the council wants to try to force on voters is the diminishment of citizenship in local government. Voters already rejected this idea the last time it was raised. The planned amendment would eliminate the provision that members of the city’s charter-required boards and commissions be registered voters, qualified voters or qualified taxpaying citizens.
All residents of Dallas deserve to be heard. But boards and commissions are invested with important powers that affect the governance of the city. Such a power is appropriately reserved to citizens. Citizenship has been a cornerstone of democratic governance since the creation of representative government. Dallas voters made their support for that principle clear in 2021, when many members of this council were serving.
Some council members would also like to make it easier to govern by referendum by extending the time period from 60 to 120 days to collect the required signatures for a referendum and to reduce from 10% to 5% the total number of registered voter signatures needed to call a referendum.
Referendums are usually bad ways to govern. Government works best when elected representatives consider policy carefully, weigh pros and cons, and work through compromises. Referendums more commonly empower populist sentiments, or throw so much sand into the gears of government that nothing gets done while a referendum is debated and voted on.
Another bad amendment would reduce the mayor’s power to appoint committee members, giving the council veto power over mayoral appointments. The mayor is the sole person elected by the entire city and committee appointments are one of the few charter powers the mayor enjoys. It should remain vested in the mayor.
With so many bad amendments, we are left with little room to focus on good amendments that got left on the cutting room floor. First among these was a plan to put the office of inspector general in the city charter to provide greater independence and more oversight to prevent fraud.
As the council begins debate today, this looks like a do-over. The amendments on the floor are, by and large, either divisive statements of activism or self-serving sops to the council itself.
There are good ideas out there, but what the council has decided to debate is largely bad. It’s time to begin again and get it right. Or if these are our only choices, do nothing and do less harm.
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Dallas, TX
New video of Lake Dallas explosion draws focus on order decades ago to remove old plastic pipes
The search for the next general manager or president of basketball operations of the Dallas Mavericks has begun. They terminated Nico Harrison in November, which was about nine months too late, and gave any available candidates clear notice that they were open for business.
The plan was always to wait until after the season to start the search. While names popped up as the season reached an end, they didn’t begin turning over the staff until the Monday after the season ended. However, Dallas Mavericks fans are not going to like how the team is going about the search.
Patrick Dumont Leading Search for General Manager
NBA insider Jake Fischer reported that the Mavericks are not hiring a search firm in their hunt for a new lead executive. Instead, team governor Patrick Dumont is “acting as his own point person.”
This is an… interesting decision, to say the least. Dumont is not a basketball person whatsoever, and most organizations usually hire a search firm. The Chicago Bulls hired one as they look for their replacement for Arturas Karnisovas. Just because a firm is hired doesn’t mean a team will listen, though.
The Mavericks hired a firm in their last search for a GM. They let Donnie Nelson go in 2021 after a long tenure with the Mavs. Instead of listening to the firm, though, Mark Cuban ignored it to hire Nico Harrison, who had no previous NBA front office experience. Harrison had been an executive with Nike, which gave him connections with players like Kyrie Irving, Anthony Davis, and plenty of others.
For a while, that seemed to be working out okay. While he still had some questionable transactions, such as trading for Christian Wood and letting Jalen Brunson walk in free agency, they were still able to make a run to the NBA Finals in 2024. Then, he blew it all up, trading away Luka Doncic for an older and injured Anthony Davis, and the team hasn’t been the same since.
It’s imperative that the Mavericks get this hire correct. The interim Co-GM setup with Matt Riccardi and Michael Finley has performed admirably, but the 2026 NBA Draft is important for the Mavs to get right. It’s their best chance to pair Cooper Flagg with another young star, as they don’t own their first-round pick again until 2031 after this.
Hiring the right GM could help bring in more draft capital by bringing in bad contracts or flipping veterans into picks.
Dumont was able to convince Rick Welts, a Hall of Famer, to come out of retirement to be the CEO and lead the charge for a new arena. Maybe Dumont pulls another rabbit out of his hat for the GM.
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For a moment, it looked like FC Dallas was on its way to another statement win at home tonight.
Petar Musa scored two first half goals, to extend his Golden Boot leading tally to nine goals. But after Dallas grabbed control, the Galaxy found a way back before halftime with goals from Lucas Sanabria and Joseph Paintsil.
The second half brought more chances and more frustration for Dallas, which finished the night with 13 shots to LA’s nine. In the end, the point stretched Dallas’ unbeaten run to five games, though just like last week, it felt like another match where Dallas left points on the table.
Key Moments
7’ – GOAL! After a poor pass back by a LA defender, Petar Musa was free to go one-on-one with the LA goalkeeper. After a touch to get ahead of a defender, Musa slotted home his eighth goal of the season from outside the penalty box.
21’ – Offside! Joaquin Valiente sent a floating ball over the Galaxy defense, where Musa was able to get behind the defense and make an easy play for what appeared to be his second goal of the night. The play was called offside despite a fairly lengthy review period.
38’ – GOAL! This one counts! Musa gets his second of the night off a great ball from Chris Cappis. Logan Farrington picked off the ball in the midfield. He then played Cappis wide to the left of the penalty area. Cappis immediately played a ball back across the goal for Musa to slide in and finish for his ninth of the season.
43’ – Goal LA. Lucas Sanabria got the ball near the top of the penalty area. He took a couple of touches to get outside the penalty box before firing a shot that beat Michael Collodi at the near post.
45+4’ – Goal LA. Gabriel Pec got the ball near the top of the penalty area. He pulled the ball back a bit, which caught a pair of Dallas defenders. This allowed Joseph Painstil to get free behind the Dallas defense as Pec played him through inside the penalty area. Pec immediately smashed home a shot above Collodi to tie the game.
75’ – Another offside goal. This time on a corner kick for Dallas, after a scrum in the penalty box, Kaick hammered home what looked to be the go-ahead goal. But after a few seconds the flag was raised due to a deflection on Osaze Urhoghide, who was in an offside position.
Instant Reaction
Yeah, this is another disappointing result for this team. In a real way, it felt like the first half against Houston from last month. Dallas grabbed the lead, looked in control, but some defensive miscues opened the game up for the visitors to climb back.
With a double-game week coming up, this will certainly be another game where Dallas will wonder ‘what if’ more than anything else…especially when you factor in the two goals called off for offside.
About the Subs
Eric Quill went to his bench for the first time in the 66th minute, as he brought on Santiago Moreno for Logan Farrington. Quill went to his bench again 81st minute with Ran Binyamin and Nolan Norris coming on for Sebastien Ibeagha and Deedson. The final sub came during stoppage time with Herman Johansson and Joaquin Valiente coming off for Sam Sarver and rookie Nick Simmonds, who made his MLS debut.
Man of the Match
No question about it tonight, it has to be Musa.
Where does this fit into the season
As of this writing, the draw puts Dallas into a three-way tie for 5th place with Real Salt Lake and Seattle. Both are in action right now and look firmly in control of their games. I’d expect Dallas to be in 7th place by the end of the night.
What’s next for FC Dallas
Dallas wraps up a three-game homestand next Wednesday night as they host Minnesota United.
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