Vonciel Hill

City Manager Mary Suhm is Stepping Down

Say farewell to Mary Suhm. The Morning News' Rudy Bush broke the news this morning that, come September, she's stepping down as city manager. She said so to the City Council and top staff. The announcement begins the close of a remarkable 8-year career as city manager that saw the city become a sa ... More >>

City Council Likely to Pass Gay Marriage Resolution, and Mayor Rawlings Isn't Happy

The Dallas Voice broke the news Tuesday that Councilman Scott Griggs had won the support from a majority of his colleagues for a resolution supporting marriage equality and would be putting the item on the City Council agenda for a vote. "It's timely, and it's relevant," Griggs later told the Morni ... More >>

Morning News Praises Angela Hunt on Drilling! While God's Passing Out Miracles, Maybe We Can Get a Strong Mayor.

In the very wee hours as my eye first opened to the light of this day, I thought I heard a rushing of wings aloft. I caught my breath. Was this ...? And then distinctly as if from the next room, I heard the oinking of pigs. Only later with coffee in hand and the daily newspaper on my knees did I co ... More >>

Vonciel Hill: City Council Member, Prophet, Theologian and Sell-Out

This is a little embarrassing. Nobody wants to say it. It's sort of rude, I guess. Uh-oh. Sounds like my job. OK. Here goes. Dallas City Council member Vonciel Hill is a mean-spirited, spiteful suck-up to the rich who is also increasingly unhinged. Ugly-talking. And way over the top out of bounds ... More >>

In the Northern Suburbs, Visiting a Deracinated World of Tomorrow

So dear to my heart, so very dear is my anti-suburban bias, born of the political battles of yesteryear, back when we actually believed white people could fly. Ah, those were the days, were they not? Good was good, evil was evil, and the city limits lay between. Now it's so perplexing. Last night w ... More >>

Cronies on the Bench

Vonciel Hill and our feckless mayor combine to let two ousted judges stay on the payroll.

As Minority Council Members Play the Race Card, the Mayor Goes All In on Court Reform

Maybe it is like watching them make sausage, but at least you have to give them a tip of the hat when they get the sausage right. The mayor and the Dallas City Council put themselves through a bruising debate yesterday on municipal court reform and in the end came up with the right answer, mostly. ... More >>

Nothing Changes at Municipal Courts Without Approval from the Ticketmasters

The secret story behind the story of the Dallas municipal judge fracas is that judges in the city courts don't run their own courts anyway. Ticket lawyers do. I have been talking about this to lawyers familiar with the municipal courts -- lawyers who work there sometimes, not all the time. They kno ... More >>

Mike Rawlings' B.S. Pro-Toll-Road Data Won't Be Enough to Get it Built

Fine. So the Toll Road Creature Who Comes in the Night paid a visit to Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings bedroom recently, and now he's a "Toll Road Guy." Yesterday the Toll Road Guy handed out an utterly specious document -- a near laughable and transparent fabric of lies and hoodoo -- and said it prove ... More >>

Yesterday Was a Sad Day for Dallas

I sat in the front row of the folding chairs yesterday and gazed around the ceremonial "flag room" at City Hall. Mayor Mike Rawlings and a majority of the Dallas city council were ganged up around the podium endorsing a plan to build a two-billion-dollar toll road next to the Trinity River between d ... More >>

Really? Dallas Needs a $25 Million Horse Park?

Vonciel Hill shovels a load of manure boosting plans for a publicly financed horse park.

Item Involving Charter School's Bonds Pushes Council Into Passionate Philosophical Debate

​This was a good day -- such days do occur -- to study democracy in action at Dallas City Hall. The city council engaged in a smart debate on a proposal to help a charter school organization sell bonds to build more charter schools. The mayor and council decided not to decide. If you listened to ... More >>

To Save the Trees, Start by Saving Poor People

​Maybe we need some context for this week's debate on Wal-Mart Stores Inc. vs. the tree canopy. After a not-very-uplifting debate yesterday including the line, "Trees do not vote," our esteemed city council voted to allow a developer to decimate a vast swath of the urban forest for a new Walma ... More >>

The Ad Man Cometh: One Mayor's "Great Value" Is Another Council Member's Waste of $30,000

Photos by Anna MerlanFrank Lutz addressing the council yesterday​The Degolyer Estate at the Dallas Arboretum is a beautiful spot, a big house set back from a broad lawn, edged this time of the year with pumpkins and purple flowers. In the library, retreating Dallas City Council members and various ... More >>

Race to the Finish: After Ugly Redistricting Meeting, Council (Barely) Settles on Map

​Yesterday afternoon, around 5:30, as a tiny audience sat in the city council chambers, former Mayor Dwaine Caraway came by and declared to Unfair Park, "I think we got something." That's right. A final redistricting map. Finally.Caraway spoke about three hours too soon, though. Last night at 8:30 ... More >>

Making Black Voters Disappear

Domingo Garcia and his council redistricting pals pull off a neat trick.

Tennell Atkins, Dwaine Caraway Demand Four African-American Seats Stay On City Council

Photo by Anna MerlanCaraway and Atkins at this morning's press conference​Did you wake up this morning wondering what all the arguing's going to be about at Saturday's redistricting forum with Mayor Mike Rawlings and the city council members? Wonder no longer! At a City Hall press conference just ... More >>

Dancing With Myself: A Correction and a Call for Dallas City Council Pay Raises (No, Really)

​What I like to say is I told you so. What I do not like to say is I'm full of it. I am not saying I am full of it. But I guess I might be at about a quarter tank. Possibly a third. Yesterday I talked about how Dallas is run by the Dallas Citizens Council, and they all live in the Park Cities ... More >>

Wait a Sec. There's Something Wrong With the Levees? Somebody Tell Carolyn Davis ASAP!

Photo by Sam MertenThe six-headed Trinity monster (from left to right): Jill Jordan, Kelly High, Rebecca Rasor, Liz Fernandez, Col. R.J. Muraski and Kevin Craig​If little else, attending Trinity River Corridor Project Committee meetings is a constant reminder of the jaw-dropping ignorance of c ... More >>

Liveblogging This Morning's Packed, Star-Studded Budget Workshop at City Hall

​Bon matin, Mes Amis de le Parc Qui Est Unfair. Overflow crowd this morning at the City Council Budget Meeting in 6ES, and Tom Leppert, pin-striped as ever, has just told the packed house to sit tight while they figure out what to do with everyone. Atmosphere is stuffy and contentious -- this is t ... More >>

This Just In: Eight Council Members Tell Mary Suhm They Want a 4.91-Cent Tax Hike

Do not expect a repeat of this scene any time soon, at least when it comes to the FY2010-11 budget.​Moments ago I received from council member Angela Hunt's office a memo that follows, in which Hunt and seven of her colleagues (Delia Jasso, Vonciel Hill, Steve Salazar, Carolyn Davis, Pauline Medra ... More >>

Belo Corp. Board Member, Convention Center Hotel Folks and Jerry Jones Top List of Mayor Tom Leppert's Fund-Raising Pals

Patrick MichelsThat hotel victory is the gift that keeps on giving.​While his political future remains unclear, Mayor Tom Leppert raised a combined $243,000 in donations in the first half of this year, according to campaign finance reports filed yesterday. Meanwhile, his officeholder account a ... More >>

Minority Council Members Say Leppert "Mischaracterized" Their Support of Love Field Concession Contracts Delay in Campaign E-Mail

Sam MertenThe seven who claim the mayor needs to be clear when talking about their stance on the Love Field concession contracts (from left to right): Delia Jasso, Dwaine Caraway, Pauline Medrano, Carolyn Davis, Tennell Atkins, Vonciel Hill and Steve Salazar​On Monday, we told you about an e-m ... More >>

Liveblogging Today's City Council Meeting, That Is, At Least Until They're Done Talkin' About the Interesting Stuff

Sam MertenCity Manager Mary Suhm and Mayor Tom Leppert early this morning at today's city council meeting.​With my trusty laptop in hand, I prepared to liveblog the heck outta today's city council meeting -- the last one before the council leaves for its July recess and then returns to tackle ... More >>

Minority Council Members Blast Mayor For Not Supporting Love Field Contract Extensions

Photos by Sam Merten"Enough is truly enough," said Mayor Pro Tem Dwaine Caraway at today's press conference before explaining why he and Mayor Tom Leppert are on opposite sides.​The Dallas City Council's seven minority council members launched a counterattack this afternoon against Mayor Tom L ... More >>

The Battle Over Airport Contracts Opens a Rift Between the Mayor and Minority City Council Members.

The City Council's Sold on Neighborhood Farmers Market Ordinance Proposal

Patrick Michels​I hate it when things work out. From my point of view, it's not good for business. But it looks like city staff and the Dallas City Council may actually come up with a reasonable way to oversee operations of multiple neighborhood farmers markets. Ah, well. Can't lose 'em all. They' ... More >>

Are Vonciel Hill and Carolyn Davis About to Call Out the Mayor? (Update: Apparently Not.)

Sam MertenDMN'er Rudy Bush thought I was taking a picture of him walking into the meeting, but I assured him I was merely capturing City Manager Mary Suhm with a smile on her face, which he agreed is rare these days given the city's $130 million budget shortfall.​The second meeting of the city ... More >>

Mayor Leppert Just Stopped Checking His E-Mail to Chime In on the Love Field Concessions

Sam MertenMayor Leppert, five minutes into the presentation.​Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Pauline Medrano began this afternoon's Love Field Concession Committee meeting by letting folks know why the committee was formed -- to clear up "perception issues reported by the newspaper" -- and what the groun ... More >>

The Latest Stack o' Council Memos: No-Bid Contracts, Policing the Protesters and More Retiring City Employees

Brian HarkinIn May, Vonciel Hill voted to keep concessions at Love Field in the hands of one company, whose CEO contributed to her campaign. ​Every so often I like to post the pack of memos Frank Librio sends to council and media at the end of every week; below are the ones that went out late Frid ... More >>

A Big Green Thumbs Down: Council Sends Staff "Back to The Drawing Board" on Neighborhood Farmers Markets

Daniel RodrigueFarmers, bakers and lotion makers -- all wanting to voice their concerns to council member Delia Jasso and assistant city manager Jill Jordan. ​More than two dozen folks -- several of whom broke meeting protocol by talking to council members and city staff -- showed up yesterday a ... More >>

After Spending All Day Talking Ethics Reform, City Council Punts the Whole Shebang and Wraps It Up With a Freakin' Straw Vote

​As the Dallas City Council reached the end of its painfully long discussion about the proposed ethics reform, Dave Neumann said, "It was productive for the council to go through this briefing, but that's OK." Yup, the council began its agenda meeting this morning chatting about fine points o ... More >>

Off Track, or: Some Notes from the City Council's Downtown Streetcar Briefing

Courtesy Justin CozartThis piece from 1945 must be what DowntownDallas's Kourtny Garrett means when she writes, "I'd say we're coming full circle."​Grudgingly, I have to say that the two Dallas City Council members who asked the best questions at today's council briefing on downtown trolleys were ... More >>

While Breaking Ground for Convention Center Hotel, Mayor Tom Leppert Unveils Updated Design and Becomes Bellhop for a Day

Sam MertenCaption contest!It took Mayor Tom Leppert approximately two years to accomplish what no one else in Dallas could: begin building a convention center hotel. And hundreds of assorted politicos, city officials, business leaders and supporters were on hand Tuesday afternoon at the site of the ... More >>

Transportation Committee Minorities Favor Concession Monopoly at Love Field; Booting Ordinance Briefing Delayed

Brian HarkinVonciel Hill wants concessions at Love Field to remain in the hands of one company, whose CEO is a director for the Citizens Council and contributed to her campaign. The city council's Transportation and Environment Committee yesterday afternoon met for 90 minutes in executive session a ... More >>

Council Doesn't Want to Raise Taxes, Cut Key Services to Trim Budget. Good Luck With That.

Sam MertenThe city's budget is $190 million in the hole because of "revenue erosion," according to CFO Dave Cook.The Dallas City Council yesterday afternoon wrapped up a lengthy discussion on how best to tackle the city's $190-million budget deficit by agreeing that a tax increase and making cuts to ... More >>

Who's No. 1? Dallas City Council Candidates Pick Ballot Positions.

Sam MertenPauline Medrano and Sheffie Kadane were two of only three (Vonciel Hill was the other) incumbents who showed up this morning.City Secretary Deborah Watkins and her staff this morning in the Flag Room at City Hall announced the ballot positions for the May 9 city council elections, as Billy ... More >>

Mayor Tom Leppert Isn't the Only One Who Made False Promises During the Trinity River Toll Road Campaign

Bill BetzenCouncil members Tennell Atkins and Dwaine Caraway do Mayor Tom's dirty work back in November 2007.In the comments of a blog item regarding council member Tennell Atkins's questionable campaign finance reports, someone using the name "joe" suggested that, along with being a hobbit, my moti ... More >>

When Al Lipscomb's the Voice of Reason About the Convention Center Hotel, We're All Screwed

Sam MertenLeppert was too focused on the hotel votes to enjoy today's performance by the Dallas Black Dance Theatre.In separate 10-2 votes, the Dallas City Council approved developer and operator agreements with Matthews Southwest and Omni Hotels for the convention center hotel, leaving the $525 mil ... More >>

Tiffinni Young Sets Record Straight on Ties to Caraway, Endorses LeVar Thomas

Three weeks ago, we briefly mentioned Tiffinni Young's name in a story about Mayor Tom's potential bid to replace Kay Bailey Hutchison if she decides to run for governor. If Leppert leaves office early, the mayor pro tem would take his place, with either Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Dwaine Caraway or Voncie ... More >>

Who'd Be Mayor If Leppert Left Early? And, Why Would Leppert Do It?

Brian Harkin Is Dwaine Caraway positioning himself as Leppert's replacement? While speaking with one of Mayor Tom Leppert's consultants last month, I asked if Leppert was considering running for Kay Bailey Hutchison's senate seat. At that point, I heard he was contemplating the political leap from ... More >>

Smoke! Smoke! Smoke That Cigarette! Because, Come April, Well ...

Sam Merten Chief Ozumba Lnuk-X addresses the council today in opposition to the smoking ordinance. Hey, Adam Woods -- his real moniker -- totally stole our name! After more than three hours of tedious discussion and debate, the council voted today 10-5 to prohibit smoking in bars, pool halls and w ... More >>

Angela Hunt Can Be Very Sarcastic

Caraway Not Exactly Carried Away with Facts About Convention Center Hotel

Council Votes Yup-Yup on City-Owned Convention Center Hotel

Hunt on Today's Council Vote: At City Hall, "Debate Is the Enemy."

Everyone Knows That Hotel's a "Risk." Which Ain't Stopping Anyone.

An Industrial-Sized Misdirect

Giving Joyce Foreman a Break

Tom Leppert: Predictable and Classy