Dallas, TX

Dallas’ voters should pass Props D and L for charter amendments

Published

1 month ago

October 16, 2024

Dallas’ voters should pass Props D and L for charter amendments

Voters in Dallas may not have been paying attention to the 17 proposed charter amendments lurking at the end of the November ballot, even though many of these amendments would have an impact — some positive and others not so good — on our daily lives as residents. Some voters may not even be aware these propositions are on the ballot.

In the last several weeks, the discourse on amendments has ramped up, particularly as it relates to Propositions R, S, T and U. These are all proposed amendments that were added to the ballot using state law procedure to obtain 20,000 signatures for charter measures, rather than the Charter Commission and City Council review process. In response, a “Vote No Dallas” campaign directed at certain amendments has emerged, and, as a result, you may find yourself confused when you reach the end of your ballot.

It’s refreshing to see the charter review amendments — which are frustratingly at the end of a lengthy ballot following federal, state, and county partisan races — getting much-needed attention after languishing in obscurity for many months. This allows us to have conversations about each individually proposed amendment, instead of solely focusing on partisan races.

The first 13 amendments on the ballot went through a rigorous review process starting with a Charter Review Commission and then the City Council. The Charter Review Commission received extensive public comment and input before ultimately determining what amendments to recommend to the City Council. The City Council then made the final call on what proposed amendments to place on the ballot. While this process didn’t result in a perfect slate of amendments, it has allowed all of us to make informed decisions about which amendments we would like to see implemented.

After getting through the federal, state and county partisan elections, you might be tempted to reflexively vote for or against all proposed amendments or possibly leave these items blank. But each amendment is worthy of careful review and an up or down vote, and we have the chance to impact meaningfully and positively by passing some things. And if we pass one of the proposed amendments, by state law the City Charter can’t be amended for two more years.

For example, Proposition D would allow the city of Dallas to begin the process of moving municipal elections from May of odd-numbered years to November of odd-numbered years. This is expected to increase our voter turnout and save the city over $400,000 and has received overwhelmingly positive support from both civic organizations and individual residents during the Charter Review Commission and City Council review.

If Proposition D fails, the very earliest we’d be able to implement this meaningful and positive change would be in 2029, and that assumes something like Proposition D even makes it onto a future ballot. This is our best chance to start the process of increasing dismal voter turnout by procedural means.

Another positive amendment is Proposition L, which creates an independent office of the inspector general at City Hall. If enacted, this would maximize the inspector general’s independence and help create a true deterrent for misconduct and ethical violations.

These are just two of several carefully considered amendments that we should approve to help save costs and maximize efficiency at City Hall. There are others that are certainly worthy of debate, as evidenced by the robust discussion our Chamber board leadership had on some of these before finalizing our recommendations. Simply rejecting all amendments, however, would cause us to miss out on enacting some much-needed charter modifications. Worse, it would entirely dismiss the extensive work of the volunteer Charter Review Commission, plus the many members of the public who participated in this process.

While there may be amendments that voters should reject — and no doubt you’ve by now seen a profusion of mailers on some of the amendments — let’s also make sure to pass some good amendments like Proposition D and Proposition L.

Jeff Kitner is chief operating officer at the North Dallas Chamber of Commerce.

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Dallas, TX

Victor Cruz agrees that playing the Cowboys comes with a bit of extra motiviation

Published

4 mins ago

November 23, 2024

Press Room

Victor Cruz agrees that playing the Cowboys comes with a bit of extra motiviation

Something I have come to realize is that if you are a Dallas Cowboys fan around the age of 40 (a little room for flexibility at the top) or younger, you have only gotten the bad in this. Your friends, family, co-workers, etc. all tease you and mock you when your team loses and for the majority of your life, for all of your adult life, that has been the case.

You get the treatment that fans of the Los Angeles Lakers or New York Yankees get in terms of meme-ability but without any sort of hardware to make crawling through the mud worth it. Consider that each of those teams are dealing with droughts of their own, the youngest of which was born when Dallas’ was already 14 years old.

It is for this reason that when CeeDee Lamb said following Monday night’s loss that teams are looking to “embarrass” the Cowboys that I found it interesting. I’m not here to act like playing the Cowboys “is so and so’s Super Bowl”, but I do put some stock into the idea that opposing teams smell blood in the water so to speak and know that a domination against America’s Team lives a little bit louder than most. Consider all the fanfare that the New Orleans Saints picked up earlier this season as a recent example.

These are just my two cents though so I was curious how someone who has actually been in those shoes/cleats feels about the whole thing. Thankfully I had an opportunity to talk to former New York Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz earlier this week and asked him about the idea among other things.

You can watch our conversation here:

Cruz’s Giants team won the Super Bowl 13 years ago when Dallas’ drought was already 16 years old (I’d imagine Jerry Jones bought them a brand new Mercedes for the occasion). They famously defeated the Cowboys in an NFC East title game in Week 17 at MetLife Stadium, the first of three in a row that Dallas would lose to each of their division rivals. I lived those three years like every one of you and still cannot believe that they actually happened in that exact way.

The Murphy’s Law of who the Cowboys are speaks for itself in that what can go wrong will and while Cruz didn’t exactly agree with that particular sentiment, he did note that playing the Cowboys comes with a little bit of extra motivation. He added that playing for the Giants brings with it a big stage in and of itself, an objectively true statement, and said the right things about how you want to embarrass anybody you play because it’s the NFL.

Whatever the case you can add Cruz to people who at least partially share the sentiment that CeeDee Lamb offered on Monday night. The whole thing is depressing and it is hard to know when it will end.

Cruz and I discussed a variety of things, including his recent partnership with Captain Morgan and a particularly sweet new crewneck.

Starting November 22, limited quantities of the Captain Morgan Crewneck will drop on KidSuper.com. Miss the drop? You’re in luck – Captain Morgan is unlocking access for fans 21+ to score the coolest merch of the season. Head over to FollowTheCaptain.com, and while you’re there, dive into a world of hidden clues and surprises, because you never know what Captain Morgan has in store as we gear up for Super Bowl LIX.

Our thanks to Victor Cruz and Captain Morgan for the time.

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Stephen Jones doubles down on Dallas Cowboys failed trade

Published

9 hours ago

November 23, 2024

Press Room

Stephen Jones doubles down on Dallas Cowboys failed trade

When Brock Purdy took over as the starting quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, Trey Lance was left without a spot. That led to a trade with the Dallas Cowboys, who sent a fourth-round pick to the 49ers for the former North Dakota State quarterback.

Adding Lance wasn’t a bad idea on the surface, since he was the No. 3 overall pick in 2021. The problem was that Dallas gave up a fourth-round pick when it appeared there were no serious contenders for Lance.

The trade doesn’t look any better given the fact that Lance is sitting on the bench while Cooper Rush starts in place of an injured Dak Prescott.

MORE: Cowboys’ Mike McCarthy comments on Giants’ release of QB Daniel Jones

Despite this, Stephen Jones believes the team made the right move. While speaking on 105.3 The Fan, he even said they would do the trade again.

Cowboys EVP Stephen Jones on @1053thefan when asked about getting the return on investment in trading for Trey Lance:
“Yeah, we’d do that again. He’s a top tier pick. A guy we had at the top. Dak (Prescott) was coming up for contract. We wanted to take a look at a good, young…
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) November 22, 2024

Ironically enough, the Cowboys said repeatedly that adding Lance had nothing to do with Dak Prescott. Now, Jones is admitting that was a factor in their decision.

Dallas also never truly gave Lance an opportunity. He was the inactive third quarterback all season in 2023, with Rush playing in garbage time games. Not only did they get no look at him during his first season with the franchise, but he’s now only played in spot duty.

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Trey Lance / Tim Heitman-Imagn Images

Lance has completed 4-of-6 attempts for 21 yards with one interception. He’s also picked up 17 yards on three attempts.

Such a low usage proves the coaching staff doesn’t believe Lance has the ability to be a starter. Even so, Jones would do the trade all over again.

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Game Day Guide: Stars at Lightning | Dallas Stars

Published

16 hours ago

November 23, 2024

Press Room

Game Day Guide: Stars at Lightning | Dallas Stars

First Shift 🏒

The Stars had the best road record in franchise history last season.

Looking back, it’s difficult to pin down exactly why.

Obviously, this is a good team and had the second-best overall record in the NHL, so the 26-10-5 mark away from home was a big part of that. But as they try to follow that up this season and are off to a 4-4-0 start on the road, there is no real magic formula they can return to.

“We just have to play our game, it doesn’t matter where we are playing,” said Duchene. “You guys always look at the home and road and think there’s something to it, but there’s nothing to it to us.”

The Stars have an 8-2-0 record at home, including one “home” loss in Tampere, Finland. Last season, they sometimes struggled at home, including a 4-6 mark at American Airlines Center in the playoffs. So how is it they are having such a great start this year?

“It’s hard to say,” Stars coach Pete DeBoer said when asked about the issues on the road. “It’s like our home record this year. It’s not like we’re doing anything different, we’re just winning games. When I look at our road games this year, we’ve played some really good teams.”

Among the road losses are Florida, Winnipeg and Washington – three of the top 10 teams in the league. That’s important as they head out on a three-game road trip with contests against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday and Carolina Hurricanes on Monday. Both are traditional Eastern Conference powers.

“It’s a great test,” DeBoer said. “In the next five games, we have Colorado, Winnipeg, Tampa and Carolina, top teams in the league. So those are great tests for us.”

That can be a huge portion of the midseason for the 12-6-0 Stars.

“I think it can be a turning point,” said goalie Jake Oettinger. “We’ve had an up and down start. Our record is pretty good but I don’t think we’ve played our best yet. These are some great tests on the road.”

Did Oettinger have an explanation for posting an 18-6-2 road record last season?

“Personally, for me, you need to be able to weather storms and close out games,” Oettinger said. “Those are all things we can get better at this year.”

Doing it now would be ideal.

“I always think we have our best against some of those top teams,” said Duchene. “We love that challenge, because those are the teams we’re going to need to beat if we want to achieve our ultimate goal.”

And as for finding specific reasons for wins away from home? Well, the reasons are pretty much the same no matter where you are.

“Hockey is hockey,” Duchene said. “We have a great game plan. I’ve talked about how well-coached we are. We know what the recipe is for ourselves and we make adjustments to whoever we’re playing. We’re well prepared and it’s up to us as players to execute.”

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