Michael Hogue
The recent kerfuffle at Dallas City Hall on a potential violation of the open meetings act is a sad indictment of how things are devolving. Too little collegiality; too much rivalry.
With a tight budget, the potential of losing both the Stars and the Mavericks, and crippling debt, the elected officials need to demonstrate leadership. Some cohesion would also be welcome.
The city charter gives the Dallas City Council the power to make decisions. Council committees surely do much of the work of the city, but they are not empowered to make any decision as consequential as moving The Bridge Homeless Recovery Center. When Cara Mendelsohn, Lorie Blair, Jesse Moreno and Zarin Gracey met regarding homelessness, they used bad judgment. Four members, however, cannot sway the entire council and make decisions for the city.
Attempting to find solutions to problems downtown, however, needs to happen. I hope they were doing the right thing for the right reasons in the wrong way. I do not believe that they violated the Open Meetings Act. The meeting did go against the customs of City Hall. I suspect it’s also against the advice of the city attorney.
Opinion
Adam Bazaldua and Paula Blackmon — the pair who exposed the meeting in question — are long-time veterans, serving out their final terms in office. They could have asked the city attorney for a ruling quietly and politely. They chose not to do so. This was not a wish for actual transparency. Instead, it was a plea for attention. Their feelings were hurt, and they had a chance to make a news cycle. Hurt feelings do not constitute a violation of state law.
In football, this looks like offsetting penalties. You just replay the down under the supervision of the referee. Herein lies the problem. The city lacks a referee, and that’s who is to blame.
I recall doing Where’s Waldo with my children. It’s tricky. You have to look hard to find that little feller, but that’s nothing compared to looking for Mayor Eric Johnson. He’s nowhere to be seen and his elected colleagues are playing Game of Thrones.
The nature of the 14-1 structure of government is what I call “14 mayors and one guy that runs the meeting.” The mayor’s power is derived from the respect he or she commands. Mayor Johnson lacks weight: all hat, no cattle.
Since the mayor commands little authority in his final term, council members are jockeying for position and evaluating running for mayor. They should stop.
This has been exacerbated by the changes to the charter that prevent serving more than eight years. For Blackmon or Bazaldua it’s up or out.
This same thing happened in 2007 as Laura Miller was leaving office. Gary Griffith, Don Hill and Ed Oakley all tried to claw their way to the top spot, which Tom Leppert secured easily after defeating Oakley in a runoff. It was a rare case in which both candidates were qualified and would have made good mayors.
Voters rarely select a council member to lead the city. Miller did it most recently in 2002. Before that, it was Steve Bartlett in 1991, who had served on the council from 1977 to 1981. He also had gone to Congress and burnished his reputation before coming back as mayor. It’s not impossible, but the current bunch should see that the odds are extremely difficult.
My money’s on someone not at City Hall — and for good reason. What’s going on there does not leave a lot to brag about.