Philip Kingston Changes Facebook Page, But Won't Say He'll Run For Mayor

Dallas City Council member Philip Kingston has changed the name of his campaign Facebook page, the one he calls Dallas' "3rd best media outlet," from Philip T. Kingston for Dallas City Council District 14 to Philip T. Kingston for Dallas.

Kingston, long rumored to be a future mayoral candidate, says the name was changed to make it less of a mouthful. 

"It was too long. When I first set it up, we rolled it out to people who were supporting the campaign and a friend of mine said 'Hey, no one can tell what you're running for,' which seemed smart at the time," Kingston says. "It was always too long."
He would not comment on whether or not the change has anything to do with any higher office he might seek in the future. 

Mayor Mike Rawlings won his first election in 2011. He was easily re-elected in 2015 to a second four year term. He's term-limited and Dallas mayors often don't serve a full eight years. Rawlings' predecessor Tom Leppert resigned near the end of his first and only term to run for the U.S. Senate seat eventually won by Ted Cruz. Laura Miller, Leppert's predecessor and former Observer columnist, did not seek a second full four-year term after her first expired in 2007. Miller took over for Ron Kirk, who quit during his second term to run for U.S. Senate. (Kirk won his Democratic primary, but lost to John Cornyn in the general election.)

If Rawlings is planning a similar exit before his term expires in 2019, the time for potential candidates — like Kingston, his buddy on the council Scott Griggs and their fellow anti-Trinity toll road stalwart state representative Rafael Anchia — to begin positioning themselves is now.