This june, a new mayor for the city of dallas will take over. Here is a quick checklist of action items for consideration:
PUBLIC SAFETY: Crime tops the list of voter concerns, regardless of race or economic status. Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins is determined to bring a more comprehensive approach to crime prevention and law enforcement. Sit down with him, Chief Kunkle, and a handful of crime fighters like Charles Terrell and Buck Revelle and the leadership of Dallas’ neighborhood movement. Meet with State Representative Terri Hodge to understand the challenges facing individuals returning from prison. Tour the barrios with Hector Flores and Rene Martinez and grasp the circumstances of the immigrant community. Assume the mantle of public concern personally and stitch together a new vision and multiethnic leadership coalition on public safety. It does not exist today.
EDUCATION: Refuse to listen to those who say the mayor and city have no role in public education. No issue has more leverage on public safety and economic development than this one. Finding adequate facilities for early childhood education programs and developing a comprehensive strategy for after-school job and recreation programs for middle and high school students (coupled with a “get tough” truancy initiative) would be good places to start.
SOUTHERN SECTOR: You and the city need to be a catalyst for a better quality of life in the southern neighborhoods. A good place to start would be a comprehensive redevelopment program for the Southwest Center (Redbird) Mall area. Meet with community leaders such as Edna Pemberton and ministers like Dr. Frederick Haynes of Friendship West, Rev. Bryan Carter of Concord Church, and Dr. Tony Evans of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship. These are leaders who can bring the economic affluence and political support of the community to your plans for tangible progress. The city has never had much of a partnership with them.
PLANNING: The Forward Dallas comprehensive city land-use plan will be useful at a macro level in guiding development. But many in the city worry that it’s a “top-down” process that will disregard existing communities of interest. You should confront this concern directly. Consider breaking the city down into “village” level planning units, such as South Oak Cliff, Lake Highlands/Hamilton Park, Far North Dallas, Preston Hollow, and White Rock, for example. The Ferguson Road Initiative in East Dallas, led by volunteer executive director Vikki Martin, area businesses, and 21 homeowner associations is a powerful example of the power of village planning units.
REGIONALISM: Make Fort Worth Mayor Mike Moncrief your new best friend; as well as the county judges in Dallas, Tarrant, Collin, and Denton counties. The city has common interest with them on transportation, air quality, water, aviation, and higher education. Take on the challenge of adding member cities to DART without busting the sales tax cap and creating an economic development disaster by giving North Texas one of the very highest sales tax rates in the nation.
THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY: While some level of “civic pluralism” is desirable, you should challenge the business leaders to rethink the way they organize to impact civic affairs. In particular, the relationships between the ethnic chambers of commerce, the Dallas Citizens Council, and the Greater Dallas Chamber must be revisited. Dallas business and its leaders make an enormous commitment of financial resources and human capital to these organizations, and if it were harnessed into a more effective leadership dynamic, the city will benefit. Innovation in this area is not likely without a push from the mayor.
LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT: Like you, a majority of the council will be rookies. Likewise, a new generation of entrepreneurs and professionals is beginning to assume its role in civic life. Be deliberate about creating and empowering mentoring networks and establish opportunities for leadership to those around you.
Good luck, the future of Dallas depends on your success!
Phil Ritter is a senior vice president for Texas Instruments. In addition to overseeing TI’s public affairs, Ritter is a trustee of the TI Foundation and serves as chairman of the company’s Constructive Citizenship Program. He is also on the board of the World Affairs Council of Dallas.
