"Under the strong leadership of Chief [Eddie] Garcia, we are making progress in combating crime and providing safer neighborhoods for families in every part of Dallas,” DPA President Mike Mata said in a press release. “To continue our momentum, we need equally strong, pro-public safety leaders serving on the Dallas City Council.”
The City Council members DPA wants replaced are District 4’s Carolyn King Arnold, District 6’s Omar Narvaez and District 14’s Paul Ridley. Instead, the association would like to see District 4 represented by Jamie Smith, an accountant and community advocate, District 6 by Monica Alonzo, a former City Council member who served three terms, and District 14 by former Park Board representative Amanda Schulz. The Dallas Fire Fighters Association endorsed all the same people in those races.
Mata didn’t respond to requests for comment about the association’s endorsements, but he has said that Narvaez is polarizing and divisive on council, and Ridley isn’t responsive enough to residents. This is why they didn’t get the association’s endorsements, he told the right-leaning website The Dallas Express. When it comes to District 4, Mata said the association’s endorsement of Smith is nothing personal against Arnold. He just thinks Smith is the better candidate. Arnold didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Jim McDade, president of the Dallas Fire Fighters Association, said the endorsement against the incumbents in Districts 4, 6, and 14 largely came down to how reachable they are. “It’s the lack of communication, the lack of doing things that are positive to public safety,” he said.
Reached by phone, Ridley laughed at the criticism that he’s hard to reach and unapproachable, saying Mata has never attempted to contact him. “So, how would he know whether I’m easy or difficult to get a hold of?” Ridley said. “It’s an easy allegation to make without any evidence to back it up.”“She has no plans, no specific plans that I’ve ever heard of as to what she's going to do different from what I’m doing." – Paul Ridley, Dallas City Council
tweet this
Ridley said he makes frequent efforts to engage with the community regarding multiple issues, including public safety. He said in the first three months of 2023 he attended 39 community events that included numerous town halls on public safety. He also has a public safety town hall every two months for the Downtown Residents Council and said he attends every one. Ridley said he organizes and attends public safety meetings in several communities in his district. These are opportunities to hear residents' public safety concerns and collaborate on ways to address them.
Ridley’s opponent, Schulz, says he hasn’t taken the lead on public safety, particularly in schools. If elected, she says she’ll increase neighborhood community policing programs, work on staffing up DPD and strengthen the department’s partnership with the Dallas Independent School District to make schools safer. Ridley said he’s already done all of these things and that Schulz doesn’t have any specific plans to improve the district.
“She has no plans, no specific plans that I’ve ever heard of as to what she's going to do different from what I’m doing,” Ridley said. He also pointed out that he’s been endorsed by the Black Police Association of Greater Dallas and the Dallas chapter of National Latino Law Enforcement Organization. He said he has supported DPD and Dallas-Fire Rescue in every way he could in the last couple of years, so he’s not sure why the DPA and the Dallas Fire Fighters Association are endorsing Schulz.
Joseph F. Miller, a first-time candidate for City Council and retired transit engineer, is also running for the District 14 seat.
Narvaez and Arnold were also endorsed by the other law enforcement associations. Ridley, Narvaez and Arnold have also gotten endorsements from the Dallas Black Firefighters Association and the Dallas Hispanic Firefighters Association. Also vying for the seat in District 6 are first-time City Council candidate Sidney Robles-Martinez and Tony Carrillo, a developer and former City Council candidate.
On his campaign website, Narvaez cites his efforts on behalf of public safety in District 6. For example, he has created three business crime watch organizations and passed a cruising ordinance in Northwest Dallas to combat human trafficking and prostitution. He’s also secured $5.9 million for a new fire station in West Dallas and $750,000 to rehabilitate a Northwest Dallas fire station.“It’s the lack of communication, the lack of doing things that are positive to public safety." – Jim McDade, Dallas Firefighters Association
tweet this
“I am proud of my record on public safety and other important issues and have garnered 22 highly respected and trusted organizations including the Black Police Association of Greater Dallas and the Dallas Chapter of the National Latino Law Enforcement Organization,” Narvaez said in an emailed statement to the Observer. He said Mata’s criticisms of him make zero sense and are out of touch. Narvaez said he has good working relationships with DPD throughout his district, as well as the City Marshal’s Office, the Dallas County Sheriff's Department, constables and the DISD Police Department.
He said being elected the deputy mayor pro tem and his long tenure on the council are proof of his success as a leader who can collaborate with others to solve problems facing issues in his district and the city as a whole. Referencing what The Dallas Morning News Editorial Board wrote about him in their endorsement of his campaign, Narvaez said he has grown into a seasoned and effective City Council member.
Early voting for the Dallas City Council ends on May 2, and election day is May 6.
