More or less moments after Edwin Flores announced he wouldn't be running for another term as Dallas Independent School District trustee, a Friend of Unfair Park wondered: "Is he going to give Educate Dallas their money back?" Referring, of course, to the $10,000 pledge made by the Dallas Regional Chamber-connected political action committee that endorsed Flores before it had the chance to sit down with his then-rival, Michael Greenberg. Mark Melton, the tax attorney who's co-chairing the PAC, told me yesterday, "Edwin decided to withdraw from the race before we funded our $10,000 pledge."
I asked Melton about the dough because District 1 school board candidate Greenberg -- who, full disclosure, is a first-year DISD dad at the same school my third-grade son attends -- sent word yesterday that he's posted to his campaign website his EducateDallas questionnaire for all to read. Writes he by way of explanation: "I think it is important to understand the questions various groups or PACs are asking the candidates and it is important for you to know my responses." Intriguingly, Greenberg's posted a second "candidate survey" requested by something called DallasKidsFirst, described here as "a non-partisan group of concerned citizens and parents that believes every kid in Dallas deserves access to quality public schools" and is likewise on the hunt for school board reps. Anyway.
I asked Melton yesterday if EducateDallas would be cutting one of the other District 1 candidate a check. Because right now there are two would-bes: Greenberg and registered nurse-turned-stay-at-home-mom Jennifer Levy, for whom I've left a message as she doesn't appear to have a website yet. (And word is a third candidate will emerge before the 5 p.m. Monday filing deadline.) Wrote Melton: "As
for the contenders in District 1, we have invited all of them to meet
with our board in the coming weeks."