It’s Official: Kunkle’s Running for Dallas Mayor

Last week, former Dallas Police Chief David Kunkle said he was more than likely going to run for Dallas mayor — as in, chances are “greater that I will run than I won’t run.” He didn’t know when he’d announce, though.

But today, it’s official: He’s filed his papers with the City Secretary’s Office naming a campaign treasurer. And it’s none other than Laura Miller’s husband, attorney and former state representative Steve Wolens.

“He’s got a good reputation, he’ll help me raise money and he believes in my campaign,” Kunkle tells Unfair Park when asked about his decision to tap Wolens for that particular gig. A message has been left at Wolens’ office.

As for why he opted to make it official sooner than later, Kunkle says he had no choice, given what he says was the positive response to late week’s tease.

“I thought the response would be good, and it has been, and people want to help in raising money and doing fundraisers,” he says. “But you can’t do any of that till you identify a treasurer, so I couldn’t take the next step. Which is why I took the next step today.”

Update at 5:06 p.m.: On the other side, Steve Wolens says that signing on as Kunkle’s campaign treasurer has “absolutely nothing” to do with his wife, a certain former Observer columnist-turned-Dallas mayor.

Former state Rep. Steve Wolens just called back to talk about why he’s signed on as campaign treasurer for former Dallas Police Chief David Kunkle’s mayoral run. One thing Wolens wants to make very, very clear from jump: His wife, former Observer columnist and Dallas mayor Laura Miller has “nothing to do with this — absolutely nothing to do with this. This is 100 percent David.”

Says Wolens, Kunkle asked if he’d take the gig, and he signed on. Simple as that. Wolens, of course, got to know Kunkle during Miller’s run as mayor.

“He’s been responsible for 25 percent of the city’s budget, and someone who can manage that can manage the city of Dallas,” says Wolens. “He managed 35 percent of the city’s workforce, and that’s somebody who can be mayor. And the fact he’s been assistant city manager of Arlington — this is a nuts-and-bolts guy. He’s visited with neighborhoods all over Dallas, from north to south. He knows City Hall inside and the city outside, and I think that makes him qualified. When the lights go out, that’s the one guy I want to be in a dark room with. We have a lot of movie-star politicians out there. And he’s not much of an entertainer. But he has a blue-chip resume.”