We have supported Adam Bazaldua in each of his three previous races for Dallas City Council District 7, but we think it’s time for voters in this area to select another representative.
In a five-person race, we recommend Navy veteran Jose Rivas Jr., an ombudsman for the Texas Department of Juvenile Justice and the former vice chairman of the Dallas Community Police Oversight Board.
Rivas, 54, has demonstrated a more balanced approach to governing the district that doesn’t lean into national politics or the kind of reflexive progressivism that has become the incumbent’s stock in trade.
District 7 includes some of southern Dallas’ most important historic neighborhoods, from South Dallas to Joppa to Cadillac Heights. It is home to the city’s architectural jewel of Fair Park.
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It is sadly also an area that experiences far too much violence and poverty.
We believe that Rivas offers the best chance to help the neighborhoods of District 7 realize their potential. The first step in achieving that goal is to ensure that people are safe in their homes and safe on the streets.
Rivas is calling for a 90-day plan, including mutual-aid assistance from other law enforcement agencies, to address crime in the district. Hot-spot policing has helped address crime, but it has also forced Dallas police to concentrate resources in high-crime areas. Residents in other parts of town see fewer cops as a result, and the entire city’s sense of safety is drained.
We have spoken to many residents and leaders in this district over the years. They have been clear that they want strong but fair policing. Rivas strikes us as the candidate most likely to deliver that.
Bazaldua, 38, is a gifted politician. When he meets with us, his answers on matters ranging from policing to development are nuanced and serious. But we see another side to him that embraces a view of governing that is well to the left of many residents in this district. We have long expressed concern about dragging City Hall in a partisan direction. Mayor Eric Johnson has been the leader in treating his office as a political stepping stone. What Johnson does from the right, Bazaldua does from the left.
His leadership on city charter amendments, including an embarrassing preamble that had to be revised in a scramble, indicated to us that he is more focused on burnishing his standing among local Democrats than in unifying the city under serious policies.
Rivas has done his homework on the trouble with Fair Park’s operations. His focus on streamlining the city’s regulatory processes to increase housing affordability is on target. And his recognition that the city has to be quicker to address homeless people struggling with addiction and mental illness is refreshing.
Of the remaining candidates, project manager Cydney Walker, 52, impressed us as thoughtful. We urge her to remain engaged in city work.
O’Neil Hesson, 31, and Lamar “Yaka” Jefferson, 44, are not prepared for this office.
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