Dallas, TX
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
DALLAS – Former Dallas ISD Superintendent Michael Hinojosa announced that he is running for Mayor of Dallas on Monday.
Hinojosa says the city needs experienced leadership to address the budget challenges and pro sports teams leaving Downtown Dallas.
Addressing Dallas’ budget and pro sports team
Local perspective:
Michael Hinojosa served two stints as superintendent of Dallas ISD, totaling 13 years. He told FOX 4 that he officially filed paperwork to enter the race and plans to formally launch his campaign at a Tuesday morning news conference at Dallas City Hall.
Hinojosa points to financial track record at Dallas ISD
What they’re saying:
Hinojosa cited his tenure leading Dallas ISD as evidence of his financial management experience, saying the district’s reserves grew from about $32 million when he took over in 2005 to nearly $1 billion in obligated and unobligated fund balances by the time he left.
“I think that it’s really important for this community to know that we’re at an inflection point and that the city and the community need a strong, proven leader,” Hinojosa said.
He pointed to the city’s budget shortfall, employee furloughs and concerns over major sports franchises potentially leaving downtown as examples of challenges facing Dallas.
He said solving the city’s challenges would require coalition-building and pledged to focus on issues important to residents, taxpayers and businesses.
“I believe that a vision is a dream with a deadline,” Hinojosa said, adding that if elected he would aim to address the city’s biggest challenges within two terms.
Campaign announcement at Dallas City Hall
What’s next:
Hinojosa said he will outline his priorities during a 10 a.m. campaign announcement on Tuesday, July 14, at Dallas City Hall.
The Source: Information in this article was provided by an interview conducted by FOX 4’s Shaun Rabb.
Construction plans disrupt business in East Dallas. Just a few days ago, the owners of Juju’s Coffee off La Vista Drive in Dallas were informed by Oncor that the street on which their shop is located will be closed.
One of the owners, Nick Rocha, said the closure will last six weeks, but if there are any delays, it could be extended until October.
The coffee shop, which opened in 2023, has recently gained a lot of popularity. One of their drinks, called the “do-si-dos,” has gone viral, and now they have lines out the door on a regular basis.
“It’s a peanut butter milk latte… We probably doubled our sales or more if I had to be honest,” said Rocha.
Since the drink’s release in April, the flow of customers has been nonstop.
“We were like, ‘We’ll go viral and then we’ll die out.’ Then we’re like, ‘Well, when is it going to be over, because we’re just getting slammed?’ We were both doing like 60- to 70-hour weeks… And it just kept going, and it turned from like, ‘Okay, we’re scared of it,’ to, ‘Okay, we can do this,’” said Rojas.
Rojas says that just as they were adjusting to the new normal, the notice from Oncor came.
“They were just like, ‘Yeah, so we’re going to close the street, sorry.’ That was tough… because we’re in the middle of dreaming and vision casting for what’s coming and what’s next,” said Rojas.
Starting July 20, La Vista Drive will be closed, sidewalk accessibility will be difficult, and street visibility will be too. Rojas believes the impact could drop their sales by about 50%. He says they’ve had meetings with the city and Oncor, but says there’s nothing they can do, and now their only plea is to their customers.
“Anybody that comes in and supports, it’s a genuine gratitude from us,” said Rojas.
For the Dallas Cowboys and their owner, Jerry Jones, the hope is always that the changes made will improve the product on the field. Every team heading into training camp will have questions to answer, and the Dallas Cowboys are first on our list with 3 of the biggest ones. This will be an ongoing series for the next couple of weeks until camp starts, and answers start to reveal themselves in real time.
Another season of change for the Dallas Cowboys. Will it make a difference this time around to end the drought? Jerry Jones sure hopes so. Dallas hasn’t had a title in 30 years, and Jerry Jones promised to look in the mirror and make much-needed dramatic changes. The 34-year-old Christian Parker, who has no defensive coordinator experience, must embody the change upfront. Veterans were added, and Dak Prescott is back and healthy, running a new scheme. We shall see.
I wouldn’t worry about whether CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens can coexist long-term. I’m more concerned about whether you can keep them happy with the culture and get them to commit long-term. They declined to negotiate with Pickens and instead slapped him with the franchise tag. If Dak Prescott continues to spread the ball around, he should be able to keep them happy, but it comes at a cost: winning in the playoffs or a Super Bowl title.
Tight end Jake Ferguson’s role could diminish during the upcoming season. Even after signing a four-year, $52 million extension, former undrafted free agent Brevyn Spann-Ford is a better blocker and could have a major impact on the Cowboys’ offense in 2026.
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