Developer Ray Washburne says he would like to be Dallas mayor but does not plan to enter the 2027 race, at least for now.
“I’d very much enjoy being mayor of Dallas, but I just don’t think that’s something that I need to be doing at this time,” Washburne said Sunday on NBC5’s Lone Star Politics.
His comments come as he serves as co-chair of the Dallas Host Committee supporting the GOP convention opening Wednesday at American Airlines Center, putting him at the center of one of the city’s highest-profile political events.
The committee reported raising $45 million in private donations, and Washburne said in the joint interview with NBC5 and The Dallas Morning News that organizers expect to cover most of the city’s convention-related costs so Dallas isn’t “on the hook.”
Dallas Host Committee co-chair Ray Washburne gives a thumbs-up to Mayor Eric Johnson during a host committee media reception Aug. 4 at Klyde Warren Park. (Tom Fox/The Dallas Morning News)
Washburne, a former national finance chairman of the Republican National Committee, lives in Highland Park, where he and his family own the Highland Park Village shopping center. To run, he would first have to move into Dallas.
The city requires mayoral candidates to have lived in the city continuously for at least six months before the regular filing deadline.
Asked why he would consider seeking the city’s top office, Washburne pointed to his lifelong ties to Dallas, the thousands of people employed through his businesses and his investments downtown.
“I know the solutions to get the city going and the culture that needs to be set and the vision for it,” he said.
He did not identify those solutions during the interview. He went on to say “we have a lot of qualified people” who want to run and already live in Dallas.
Washburne was among business leaders urging Dallas to move municipal operations out of City Hall, saying redevelopment of the site could help revive the southern end of downtown. He proposed relocating city offices to his Founders Square property downtown.
The November 2027 election will choose a successor to Mayor Eric Johnson, who cannot seek another term.
Former Dallas ISD Superintendent Michael Hinojosa is the first announced candidate, while several other business and political figures have been discussed as possible contenders.
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This article originally published at Washburne says he would ‘enjoy’ being Dallas mayor but not planning to run.