Dallas City Council District 3 runoff: Zarin Gracey wins open seat over Joe Tave

Zarin Gracey was selected by voters in a runoff election Saturday for the final contested seat on the Dallas City Council. Unofficial results as of 10:45 p.m. show Gracey claimed almost 63% of the vote ahead of opponent Joe Tave, who earned 37%.

Gracey, 46, and Tave, 77, were vying to represent District 3 in southwest Dallas. Their City Council race was the only one that moved on to a second round after no candidate received more than 50% of the vote in the May 6 elections.

The seat was wide open because council member Casey Thomas, who currently represents District 3, is term limited. Thomas endorsed Gracey, who has served as a policy advisor for Thomas.

Gracey is a pastor and first-time candidate, who has also served on the City Plan Commission, Dallas Public Facility Corporation and held leadership posts at Dallas City Hall. Tave is an online radio show host and retired teacher who was seeking his first election to City Council on his fifth attempt.

Gracey told The Dallas Morning News around 9 p.m. he felt he was in a good position to win the race.

“I think the results thus far speaks to what the people want and who they believe can get what they want accomplished,” he said. “I think I was able to get diverse support around the district and show that my goal is to continue building our community, not politics.”

Tave said regardless of the result, he was proud of the campaign he ran.

“We worked hard, there’s no doubt about it,” Tave told The News. “I hope people were able to see that at the end of the day that we both want what’s best for Dallas.”

Thomas told The News he wasn’t surprised by the results.

“I knew he could win,” Thomas said of Gracey. “And I know he will lead this district to the next level.”

In May, Gracey received 46% of around 3,000 votes cast. Tave had 26%, the most among the remaining four challengers in the race.

Gracey will be sworn in for a two-year term June 20 along with the 13 other district representatives. Mayor Eric Johnson was reelected to a second four-year term.

District 3 covers southwest Dallas, including parts of the Red Bird and Mountain View neighborhoods. About 44% of residents are Hispanic and 43% of residents are Black, according to 2022 city population estimates.

One of the biggest issues facing the district will be determining what to do with the former site of University General Hospital, which the City Council approved to buy for $6.5 million last year. The city’s proposal to redevelop the site into housing and other services for people experiencing homelessness has received pushback from residents.

Tave had said he opposes the current plans, and Gracey has said he would support the city soliciting other development ideas for the site.

Gracey has described his top priorities as increasing economic development in underserved areas, keeping industrial development out of residential neighborhoods and working to reduce police response times in the district.

Tave had said if he won, he would focus on outreach to increase participation at City Hall and build trust among residents.

In terms of campaign finance, there was a gap between the two candidates leading to the May 6 election. Tave reported raising more than $12,000 between January and April, while Gracey reported receiving nearly $69,000.

Tave reported adding another $2,500 from the end of April through May. Gracey told The News his latest campaign finance report erronously says he raised almost $839,000. He said the actual amount is closer to about $27,000 and attributed the error to “a couple of technical issues” while filing the report this month.

On Saturday, turnout numbers were modest at voting locations in the district area just before polls closed at 7 p.m. More than 30 Dallas locations were open as polling sites.

County records showed T.W. Browne Middle School and Daniel Webster Elementary School both had more than 70 votes cast there as of around 6:30 p.m. There were 22 votes cast at Thurgood Marshall Recreation Center.

Debbie Williams said she was dismayed to find out she was the 59th person to vote at Friendship West Baptist Church around 5 p.m. Saturday.

“People have paved the way for us to have this right,” she said. “It’s a right and it’s a duty, and I make sure to take part.”

Maxie Johnson, a Dallas Independent School District trustee whose coverage area includes parts of southwest Dallas, said he believes the District 3 race was the only City Council contest to go to a runoff this year due to voters’ lack of familiarity with the candidates and because the May election had five candidates.

“With that many people splitting the vote for a council seat, you’re more than likely going to have a runoff,” he said. Johnson ran for Dallas City Council in 2021 to represent District 4 in South Oak Cliff. The five-person May 2021 election went to a June runoff where he lost to Carolyn King Arnold.

He said a collective effort is needed from the community, candidates and other sources to get people excited to vote.

“Ultimately, people need to feel more empowered to vote, but people also want to see results,” Johnson said. “If candidates stay true to what they promise the community and the people see the work, they’ll continue to support you.”

Turnout was low across the board in Dallas County for the May 6 election. Officials said 8.8% of eligible voters cast ballots, which ranks lower than the past two municipal elections in 2019 and 2021 and well short of recent county projections of 10%. Voter turnout was in the 9% range in 2019 and 2021.

For the runoff Saturday, Dallas County reported a 5% voter turnout of nearly 325,000 voters.