Dallas City Council election filing deadline closes. Here is who’s on the May 3 ballot

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 (D11) is not seeking a third term, and council members Carolyn King Arnold (D4), Tennell Atkins (D8) and Omar Narvaez (D6) 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 her 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. City district 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’s Office 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 6 p.m.:

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]

Zarin Gracey (incumbent): First elected in 2023 and seeking a second term

District 4 [South Oak Cliff]

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 R. Alonzo: Served three terms on the City Council representing District 6 from 2011 to 2015. 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

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

O’Neil Hesson: Environmental nonprofit owner and first-time candidate.

Jose Rivas Jr.: Former Dallas community police oversight vice chair and 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

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.

Bill Roth: Commercial real estate company owner and attorney who is a first-time candidate

District 12 [Far North Dallas]

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]

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