Former Dallas ISD superintendent Michael Hinojosa officially began his campaign for Dallas mayor Monday.<\/p>\n
Hinojosa, 70, filed paperwork<\/a> with the city secretary declaring a campaign treasurer for his run. He\u2019s never previously run for office, though he has publicly considered<\/a> running for Dallas mayor in the past.<\/p>\n “I am running for mayor because I believe our city is at a critical inflection point and needs strong, proven leadership now more than ever,” Hinojosa said in a press release. <\/p>\n Hinojosa has more than 25 years of experience<\/a> as a superintendent across six school districts. He stepped down as Dallas ISD\u2019s superintendent<\/a> in late 2022 after leading the district for 13 years across two tenures.<\/p>\n The first, from 2005-2011, saw the district report a devastating deficit<\/a> of $84 million in 2008 due to faulty accounting procedures.<\/p>\n Hinojosa oversaw the restoration of district finances, but only after laying off more than 1,000 employees. The move prompted calls from some community members<\/a> for Hinojosa\u2019s resignation. He did not resign but left in 2011 to become superintendent of Cobb County schools in Georgia<\/a>.<\/p>\n He returned to lead Dallas ISD in 2015<\/a> after reformer superintendent Mike Miles departed. Hinojosa successfully led Dallas<\/a> until 2022.<\/p>\n Since retiring in 2022 as Dallas ISD\u2019s superintendent, Hinojosa has turned to education consulting. He was chief impact officer at Engage2Learn, a business that worked with school districts.<\/p>\n He formed his own Together Network for Transformation<\/a> where the appeal to school districts was his \u2014 and his team\u2019s \u2014 long-term experience in managing school problems.<\/p>\n Hinojosa will be among the candidates in the race to replace Mayor Eric Johnson, who is term-limited in 2027.<\/p>\n Johnson, a former Democratic Texas House member, was elected mayor in 2019 and reelected in 2023 with 98% of the vote. Johnson announced later that year in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece he would be switching to the Republican Party<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Dallas elections are nonpartisan, meaning candidates do not run under a political party.<\/p>\n Personal injury lawyer Ben Abbott has also publicly talked about<\/a> joining the race. Abbott even recently launched a series of advertisements aimed at framing himself as a civic leader.\u00a0<\/p>\n Candidates who do officially join the race will have to stake out positions on divisive issues like the future of city hall<\/a>, how to keep businesses in downtown Dallas and the city\u2019s budget deficit \u2014 which recently forced the city to implement employee furlough days<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Dylan Duke is KERA’s Breaking News Reporter. Got a tip? Email Dylan Duke at\u00a0dduke@kera.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n