Dallas, TX

How the departure of Dallas’ police chief could impact the city’s November election

Published

1 year ago

September 22, 2024

How the departure of Dallas’ police chief could impact the city’s November election

With Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia retiring and heading to Austin to become an Assistant City Manager, how this could affect three ballot initiatives city voters will consider on Election Day. The State Fair of Texas can keep its new policy banning guns after a judge decides in its favor and against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Plus, there’s political fallout between the Tarrant County GOP and two Republican county commissioners who voted in favor of keeping polling locations at local universities. Jack Fink covers these stories and more in the latest episode of Eye on Politics (original air date: Sept 22, 2024).

Big D Departure

After more than three years, Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia is retiring from the city of Dallas and will start his new job as an Assistant City Manager overseeing public safety for the City of Austin on November 4th.

He’s following the man who hired him in Dallas: former City Manager T.C. Broadnax, who’s now running Austin. It comes several months after the Chief agreed to stay on through May 2027 as Chief.

In a statement, Garcia said, “…Deciding to step away from this profession has been one of the most challenging decisions of my life. Law enforcement has shaped who I am, providing me with a strong sense of purpose, responsibility, and camaraderie.”

Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson and interim City Manager Kim Tolbert released a joint statement saying, “We are immensely grateful to Chief Garcia for his dedicated service and unwavering commitment to the safety of our residents.. While we are sorry to see him go, we also know that the big city police chiefs never stick around forever.”

Dallas City Council members Paula Blackmon and Adam Bazaldua have expressed concerns that more people will follow Chief Garcia out the door. They said they worry that three proposed charter amendments voters will consider on Election Day, known as the Dallas HERO Initiative, may have led the Chief to leave the city.

The Initiative’s organizers submitted more than 169,000 signatures to get them on the ballot. One amendment would require the city to maintain a police force of at least four thousand officers, which is about 900 more than in the city now and increase their starting salaries. Another amendment would have the city survey about 1,400 residents asking if the city manager should get a bonus or be fired. The third amendment would allow residents to sue the city if they felt the city isn’t complying with state law or its own charter or ordinances.

Watch Jack’s interview with Council Members Blackmon and Bazaldua:

Dallas council members say they were blindsided by Chief Garcia’s intent to depart

12:53

Jack also spoke with Pete Marocco, Executive Director of the Dallas HERO Initiative.

Marocco responded to council members by saying they have it all wrong.

Watch Jack’s interview with Pete Marocco, Executive Director of the Dallas HERO Initiative:

Dallas HERO Initiative Executive Director discusses the amendments on the ballot this November

13:09

A nationwide search will start soon for Garcia’s replacement.

It comes at the same time that Dallas is looking for a permanent city manager after Broadnax left earlier this year.

Fair Fight

The State Fair of Texas will be able to keep visitors with concealed carry permits from bringing their guns into Fair Park. This after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton took the city of Dallas to court. The city leases the land to the Fair.

The Attorney General’s Office argued in court that Fair Park was public property, and a firearms ban would violate gun owners’ Second Amendment rights. The Fair put the ban into place after a shooting last year injured three people.

Under the new rules, only active or retired police officers would be allowed to carry firearms.

Political Fallout

Now to the political fallout among Tarrant County Republicans over last week’s controversial vote by County Commissioners to keep polling locations at local universities.

Among the four votes to give the green light, Republicans Manny Ramirez and Gary Fickes joined the two Democrats on the court, Alisa Simmons and Roy Brooks. Republican County Judge Tim O’Hare was the only “no” vote. After that, the Tarrant County GOP passed a unanimous resolution expressing disapproval of the vote and criticizing Fickes and Ramirez.

Jack spoke with Commissioner Ramirez and Tarrant County GOP Chair Bo French about this issue.

Watch Jack’s interview with Tarrant County Commissioner Manny Ramirez:

Tarrant County Commissioner Ramirez says his polling location vote wasn’t a mistake

08:22

Watch Jack’s interview with Tarrant County GOP Chair Bo French:

Tarrant County Republican Party disapproves of Commissioners votes for early voting locations

11:31

Texas Senate Debate

In the U.S. Senate race in Texas, there will be a debate between Republican incumbent Ted Cruz and his Democratic challenger, North Texas Congressman Colin Allred. The two will square off in their first televised debate in Dallas on October 15th. It will be broadcast on the Tegna-owned TV stations across the state.

Jack Fink

Jack Fink covers politics for KTVT-TV CBS 11 and has been with the station since September 2003.

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Dallas, TX

Dallas attorney Tony Box running for Texas attorney general

Published

14 hours ago

October 31, 2025

Press Room

Dallas attorney Tony Box running for Texas attorney general

Audio recording is automated for accessibility. Humans wrote and edited the story. See our AI policy, and give us feedback.

Dallas attorney Tony Box is running to be the Democratic nominee for Texas attorney general, he announced this week, becoming the third member of his party vying to replace outgoing incumbent Ken Paxton.

Box, a first-time candidate, is an Army veteran, former FBI agent and former federal prosecutor who now works in private practice in Dallas. He will face former Galveston Mayor Joe Jaworski and state Sen. Nathan Johnson of Dallas in the March 3 primary.

Paxton, who has led the office for a decade, is giving up his post to challenge U.S. Sen. John Cornyn.

In a press release, Box said he was seeking to “bring decades of public service and law enforcement experience to an office plagued by corruption and political theater.”

“The AG should be protecting consumers, cracking down on fraud and partnering with law enforcement, but Ken Paxton has turned this office into a laughingstock,” Box said in a statement. “I’ve spent my entire career fighting corruption, prosecuting criminals and standing up to powerful people who abuse their positions. Texans deserve better.”

Box’s journey to running for attorney general began when he was 16 years old and got shot in the stomach while protecting a coworker from a robbery. The episode prompted him to “dedicate his life to the service of others,” he said in a press release.

After graduating from Morehouse College in Atlanta, Box entered the Army. He was deployed to Iraq as a judge advocate general, the military’s version of a lawyer, and served as an investigator for the Congressional Commission on Wartime Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan, where he helped uncover $30 billion of waste and fraud, according to his campaign press release.

Box spent a decade as an FBI special agent, serving on the SWAT team and deploying as part of the agency’s September 11th response, he said. In the meantime, he went to law school at night.

In 2018, Box joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri handling tax investigations and prosecutions, according to his LinkedIn. In 2022, he joined the law firm Gray Reed in Dallas, where he represents businesses and “high net-worth individuals” in civil and criminal tax cases, white-collar defense and regulatory investigations.

“The Attorney General is the chief law enforcement officer of the state of Texas and the people of this state deserve a leader who is looking out for them, not corrupt politicians and their cronies,” Box said in a statement.

Across the aisle, four Republicans are competing to succeed Paxton as the GOP nominee: state Sens. Joan Huffman of Houston and Mayes Middleton of Galveston, former Paxton deputy Aaron Reitz and U.S. Rep. Chip Roy of Austin.

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Dallas, TX

Mailbag: Why waste offensive talent?

Published

1 day ago

October 30, 2025

Press Room

(Editor’s Note: Time to check the mail! The DallasCowboys.com staff writers answer your questions here in ‘Mailbag’ presented by Miller Lite.)

Is it more valuable for the Cowboys to hold their draft capital rather than use it to trade for a difference maker to create pressure and sacks? Why waist the offensive talent you have this year and hold on to the draft picks when it’s clear that Dallas has half a super bowl contending team? – Will Epler/Colorado Springs, CO

Patrik: I’ve made it no secret about where I stand on this topic: trade for one or two players to not waste this window of elite offensive play. You simply don’t know if Dak Prescott will equal or better this form in the years to come and, oh by the way, he’s already in his early 30s, and not in his mid-20s. Additionally, you can’t predict if George Pickens sticks around to keep the same level of weaponry surrounding Prescott, so forth and so on. Having shiny extra draft picks to use is fun, because of imagination. You get to imagine what might be and who they might select and, maybe, just maybe, that the pick turns out to be a Hall of Famer every … single … time. In reality, though, even for a team that drafts well, like the Cowboys, it’s still a crapshoot every … single … time. More picks are great fuel for draft show talks and mock drafts, but ask Dak Prescott if he gives an iota of a crap about any of that. Win now, while you have the quarterback and offense to do it, and stop pretending you have time to waste.

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