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A Dallas City Council meeting in 2023 at Dallas City Hall.<\/p>\n
Shafkat Anowar\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
Three former Dallas mayors are preparing to ask voters to give future mayors more power.<\/a> To succeed, they\u2019ll have to dust off their own powers of persuasion.<\/p>\n Ron Kirk, Tom Leppert and Mike Rawlings were skilled at persuading a majority of council members to support their visions. Encouraging Dallas voters to change the City Charter and reshape how City Hall operates could be considerably harder.<\/p>\n Referendums are tricky, particularly in low-turnout elections where personalities can overshadow the proposals themselves.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The stakes are high. Supporters say a stronger mayor is essential to moving Dallas forward. With the 2027 mayoral election approaching, they argue that a more empowered mayor could attract a stronger field of candidates.<\/p>\n Here are five questions to consider as the campaign unfolds:<\/p>\n Does the plan go far enough?<\/p>\n The proposal would allow the mayor to hire the city manager and city attorney, subject to council approval. It would also give the mayor responsibility for developing the city budget and the power to veto individual spending items. But, the council could override a veto with a two-thirds vote.<\/p>\n Critics of city government, however, argue that Dallas\u2019 current structure \u2014 14 council members elected from single-member districts and a mayor elected at large \u2014 narrows the council\u2019s focus. Council members are primarily responsible for addressing the needs of their individual districts.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Some activists and business leaders have long called for bolder changes, including adding more at-large council members or altering the size of the council.<\/p>\n The former mayors have avoided those proposals, perhaps strategically. Giving the mayor more authority is easier to explain and would avoid a much tougher fight with council members and neighborhood leaders who prefer the current system.<\/p>\n What impact will the \u201cSave City Hall\u201d movement have?<\/p>\n An exterior view of Dallas City Hall at sunset in downtown Dallas, November 4, 2025.<\/p>\n Tom Fox\/Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n The push for a stronger mayor comes as city leaders and residents debate whether to move out of City Hall and what to do with the I.M. Pei-designed building.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The effort to save City Hall could gain momentum and compete for attention with the governance proposal. All three former mayors support moving out of the building, a position that could anger passionate advocates who want to repair it and stay put.<\/p>\n The former mayors will have to prevent the charter proposal from becoming entangled with \u2014 or overwhelmed by \u2014 the Save City Hall campaign.<\/p>\n Are the former mayors the right messengers?<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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