Politics & Government

The Texas State Capitol’s ahistorical Children of the Confederacy plaque is finally coming down after a unanimous State Preservation Board vote Friday morning. The plaque, which features the “Children of the Confederacy Creed” has long been a source of controversy at the capitol. Over the last year, Democratic Dallas state Representative…

As rumors surrounding Dan Patrick and a potential White House job reached a fever pitch, the Observer’s thoughts turn, naturally, to Henny Youngman. “Take our lieutenant governor … please.” Patrick, the most powerful politician in the state, couldn’t be a better fit for the White House. Throughout 2016, he was…

The Dallas city auditor released a report last Friday painting the outfit that promotes the Dallas Convention Center as a runaway, money-burning, out-of-control party barn. Soon after, Mayor Mike Rawlings had words to say. Rawlings told The Dallas Morning News: “The narrative in the audit is about vaguery. That ultimately…

As is typical for the first day of any session of the Texas Legislature, there was a lot of ceremony in Austin on Tuesday. Dozens of kids and other visitors were at the Capitol, gathered to see their parents and loved ones take the House or Senate oath of office…

Do you care who the next mayor is? Who any mayor is? I mean really. Lots of people want you to care. The field of candidates for mayor of Dallas in the election next May, already swollen to just over a half dozen with the announcement Monday of school board…

For two or three weeks before November’s midterm election, there was no better parlor game in Texas than trying to figure out what the daily early voting numbers coming in from the Secretary of State’s Office actually meant. Was 2018 going to be politics as usual in Texas or was…

And then there were six. Or is it seven? Nine maybe? Whichever it is, former Dallas ISD School Board President Miguel Solis announced Monday morning that he’s joining Dallas’ burgeoning herd of mayoral contenders. Solis, rumored for months to be looking at a run, officially kicked off his campaign on…

If it’s anything, the Ridgecrest apartment complex, located almost all the way to Mountain Creek Lake in far West Dallas, is proof that in the last half-century most local and national government programs designed to end poverty have been stupid. The good news is that Dallas is beginning to figure…

Dallas’ airports are feeling the effects of President Donald Trump’s government shutdown but aren’t likely to face any serious pain for another couple of weeks, Transportation Security Administration union officials say. Quoting unnamed local sources, CNN reported Friday afternoon that “call-outs” (sick days) by DFW Airport TSA agents are up…

Thursday should’ve been — and was — a triumphal day for Dallas’ newest U.S. House representative, Democrat Colin Allred. He got his reward for beating incumbent Pete Sessions in their grueling 2018 campaign, finally being sworn in as member of the 116th Congress. Allred, who’s contributing a diary about his…

Adding insult to whatever one might call Lupe Valdez’s quixotic gubernatorial campaign, Texas Monthly announced Thursday that the former Dallas County sheriff was the second runner-up in the magazine’s annual search for Texas’ biggest bum steer. Valdez’s 13-point loss to incumbent Governor Greg Abbott, the largest for any statewide candidate,…

One part of the police reforms advocated by Dallas police Chief U. Renee Hall worries me. Apparently in response to calls from community activists for a more level playing field where police shootings are concerned, the chief is in favor of doing away with the so-called 72-hour “cooling off period”…

This won’t take a minute, I promise. I am writing on New Year’s Eve day, trying to peer ahead. I have this one question: Why wouldn’t President Donald Trump and his supporters interpret special counsel Robert Mueller’s relative silence on collusion in exactly the opposite way they have been interpreting…

Looking over the few end-of-the-year prediction pieces I have composed, I am embarrassed to see that I have written about the year ahead for Dallas as if it were the white year. What about the black year? But, wait. We all know there’s no such thing as white and black…

The Border Patrol is ordering medical checks on every child in its custody following the death of two migrant children as Dallas activists and advocacy groups mourn their deaths and ask why medical checks weren’t a priority as the Trump administration began its crackdown on immigrant asylum seekers. As the…

A new year is about to dawn over Dallas, and it’s going to be for all the marbles. I’m writing about it in a piece that will run next week. But I want to preview that a little by sharing some things I am learning about how we elect mayors…

A couple of Fridays ago, someone you’ve probably never heard of jumped into the Dallas mayoral race. We didn’t write about it because Lynn McBee’s announcement came at 5:30 on a Friday afternoon, prime news dump time, and because no one was kind enough to even send us a press…

When community activist Keyaira Saunders finished second in a 12-person race for Dallas City Council, her supporters knew she would have to clear a tall hurdle to win the runoff against Carolyn King Arnold, who once held the District 4 seat. The Dallas Morning News’ editorial board didn’t make the…

Tell me this. Recently I looked at the website of a prominent Dallas consulting firm and noticed they have a social media specialist on their staff who “guides paid social strategy … working with clients to generate content that educates, motivates and empowers target audiences to act in ways that…

The key to likability was there all along, hiding in plain sight for Ted Cruz, Texas’ junior senator. Turns out, he didn’t need to be a fan of The Simpsons, country music or The Princess Bride in order to convince people that he wasn’t a time-traveling serial killer doing his best to…