LITTLE BIG POWER

One day last month, County Commissioner Roy Orr stood before a luncheon gathering of the Irving Rotary Club touting the county’s embattled $215-million bond program. After a statesmanlike presentation of the county’s sales pitch, Orr descended to the realm of practical politics. “The suburban cities,” he concluded with a sigh, “are going to have to carry it.”

The comment was no doubt a jab at the prestigious Dallas Citizens Council, which only a few days before had refused support for the November 8 election – a move unprecedented in Dallas political history. But Roy Orr is not a politician who throws out jabs without meaning to deliver a punch.

It is a fact, of course, that if the county bond program has a shred of hope on November 8, that hope lies in the manicured suburban streets of Garland and DeSoto, and not in the powerhouse precincts of North Dallas.

But the numbers do not lie. Despite the fact that the city provides 72 percent of the county’s tax revenues, the City ] of Dallas holds only 56 percent of the county’s population. In the 1976 gen-eral election, only 58 percent of the votes came from within the city limits. More-over, suburban residents are more likely to vote: Sixty-two percent of the city’s registered voters turned out in the 1976 presidential election, while the suburbs sent 69 percent of their registered voters to the polls. The city is still paying the freight, but it is not necessarily conducting the train.

No one is more aware of that fact than Commissioners Orr, Jim Jackson, David Pickett, and Jim Tyson. It is no accident that the first thing the four commissioners did during early planning for the bond program was to carve the $110.3-million allotment for roads and bridges into four equal portions. It is also no accident that only 55 percent of that money was earmarked for the City of Dallas; the remainder was allotted to the suburbs. No wonder Commissioner Jackson felt free to dismiss establishment leader John Stemmons’ criticism of county government recently by saying, “Stemmons? What’s he ever been elected to?” Fifty percent of Jackson’s district is in Irving, Coppell, Carrollton, and Farmers Branch. The people who live there have a very real stake in this bond program, and thus in county government: Unlike the City of Dallas, smaller suburban cities can’t easily fund improvement projects all by themselves. They have to look to their county commissioners. And the political realities are that the commissioners, in turn, derive much of their political sustenance from the suburban towns.

Conflict between the Dallas City and County governments over governmental services has been long-standing, and there are historical and political, not to mention attitudinal, reasons why the commissioners have developed a closer relationship with the county towns. In the past, commissioners have used their road and bridge power by dispensing favors in the county towns, where the citizens were more dependent on them.

As Orr says, “I don’t believe in heppin’ anybody who doesn’t need heppin’.”

The commissioners will be the first to claim that they don’t go about “heppin’” people with road-and-bridge district projects in return for political contributions. But questions surfaced in the press last January over District 2 Commissioner David Pickett’s $ 100,000 expenditure of county funds to pave a half-mile road that dead-ended on lakefront property owned by four of his contributors. Much of Pickett’s financial support when he was first elected in 1974 came from downtown establishment types, young business and professional friends in the City of Dallas. But once he was elected, constituents in Mes-quite. Garland and Rowlett threw a series of lucrative fund-raisers that helped the young commissioner liquidate his debts.

Most commissioners, most of the time, it appears, have not flagrantly abused road-and-bridge-building policies. But when they lean on their suburban friends for contributions, those friends know that, even without a direct payoff, there will always be another bond program and they will have their say.

They had their say in the preparation of this last one. In each district, a citizens advisory committee was formed which consisted of representatives from each municipal jurisdiction. They were made up primarily of elected officials, some staff people from the various municipal governments and chamber and business leaders. These four committees – one in each district – set the priorities and actually packaged the program within their districts. The commissioners retained veto power, of course, but for all practical purposes this allowed the community leaders in each district to call the shots.

The power of the suburbs is already being felt in the city. When available funding dropped from $30 million to $27.5 million for road and bridge projects in Commissioner Jim Jackson’s North Dallas Country district, most of the bite came out of the city’s piece of the pie, over objections of North Dallas chamber officials. Jackson told them that his population estimates for 1990 indicated only 40 percent of the population in Distict 1 would be in the city.

Where do you look for power in Dallas County suburbs? The politically astute will tell you to look first to the chambers of commerce, to the city councils and their city managers, to the school boards and their superintendents. In some of the communities, the decision-makers play musical chairs, going from city council to chamber president, from school board to council, and chamber to school board.

Commissioner Jim Jackson’s Northwest Dallas County District 1 includes the suburban communities of Irving, Carroll-ton, Farmers Branch, Addison, and Richardson. These communities have grown so rapidly in recent years that Jackson’s constituency is now almost evenly split between city and suburban residents – a fact which has not been lost on the Republican commissioner’s political priorities.

Irving is the district’s largest suburb, with 118,250 residents, but most of the political clout in District 1 is in Richardson, where the Jackson campaign base is, where most of his Republican cronies live, and where political money flows freely. Described as an “independent cuss,” Jackson doesn’t think there are community leaders he must touch base with. He listens to some; ignores others. But he does ply the favor of these suburban communities with regular visits to their chamber meetings and such.

Power in Richardson undoubtedly circles around 10-year veteran mayor Raymond Noah, a powerful Republican. Noah’s orbits of power include the Richardson Chamber of Commerce and the Richardson school district. Incoming chamber president Gene Jackson, a Democrat, joins Noah as co-chairman of the county bond program campaign in the area; Frances Powell, a real estate agent, is a former Richardson chamber head with plenty of clout. Other heavies include current chamber head Ernest Randle; Tom Means, an assistant superintendent of the Richardson schools and probably the number two power at the school district; City Councilwoman Martha Ritter; and League of Women Voters past president Louise Chandler.

Richardson power also emanates from the Republican Party. Jackson, a former county Republican chairman, listens carefully to area GOP operatives such as Gene Koonce, Dave Hankinson, Virginia Stenson, George Bauman, and Dr. Stanley McCaleb. Small wonder: The vast majority of Jackson’s campaign money comes from Richardson and its rank-and-file Republicans.

In Irving, power is more diffuse and confused. The rapid growth in the area in recent years has left would-be powerbrokers still jockeying for position. If there is a center of power, it is former mayor Robert Power, an attorney who can literally spell life or death for any significant measure before the council. Commissioner Jackson is not particularly close to Power, though he wisely maintains a well-oiled working relationship with him. Jackson’s closest confidant in Irving is Roger Hill, a pilot now serving on the Irving School Board. Power holds more sway over the city council, but Hill is the key Republican leader in the area. He can raise money and votes at election time. Other powers in Irving’s evolving power structure include Dan Matkin, a former mayor and currently president of American Bank; new mayor Marvin Ran-dle, a Republican; and Irving council members Harry Field, Gene Sparks, and Jackie Townsell.

Among the other District 1 community leaders who serve as conduits between their areas and county government are Farmers Branch Mayor George Grimmer; banker Steve Jordan (brother of Channel 4’s Judy Jordan), a vice-president of the Carrollton-Farmers Branch School Board; Joel Roebuck, a chamber official in the Carrollton-Farmers Branch-Coppell-Addi-son area; banker Fred Ferguson, who serves on the bond program advisory committee in that district; banker Carl Cooper, past executive director of the Northwest Dallas County chamber. Carrollton City Council members David Claterbaugh and Carolyn Standridge also work well with Jackson, as does Farmers Branch councilman Gene Matthews.

Coppell has Don Carter, a council member who runs Home Interiors with his mother, the wealthy philanthropist Mary Crowley. Carter and Jackson are not bosom buddies, but have a working relationship. Addison’s influential don’t live in Addi-son, but tend to have business connections there. Major input comes through the Addison Businessmen’s Association, from men such as developer Daryl Snay-don and businessman Ray Ratliff. Grover Hope, a contractor, is Addison’s contribution to the district’s citizen advisorycommittee on the bonds, and AddisonCity Councilman Terry Roberts is a linkto Jackson.

Commissioner David Pickett’s East Dallas County District 2 includes the suburbs of Garland, Mesquite, Rowlett, Sachse, and Sunnyvale. These are largely Democratic areas, though the east and northeast Dallas sectors of the district have been threatening to turn Republican for at least ten years.

Garland, the largest suburb in the county with some 20 percent of all suburban residents, is the hub of power in the district. It has the votes and it has the political money. Previously controlled by conservative Democrats, old-time families, landowners, and developers, the Garland power structure has been invaded by new political blood in recent years. The influence of these new populists was reflected in the recent firing of longtime City Manager Charles Duckworth, a favorite of the old-liners.

The “old establishment” here still centers on former Democratic Chairman Earl Luna, a long-time power at the courthouse and in Democratic politics. Luna, who presently represents the commissioners court in its jail case, holds sway both with Pickett and Oak Cliff commissioner Roy Orr, a long-time friend. His clout is reflected in his current co-chairmanship of the county-wide bond election campaign, and in his rumored heir apparency to Pickett’s commissioner’s seat. Surrounding Luna are Garland banker Woodrow Brownlee, a former city councilman and current president of the Garland chamber; Harris Hill, whose wife Anita was just elected to the legislative seat in the area; R. E. Dodson, Garland School Board president; Ruth Nicholson, a Republican city council member; and Elmer Newman, of Newman Chevrolet.

If Pickett has a close confidant in this group, it is Jim Toler, a developer/banker whose name appears several times on the young commissioner’s lists of contributors.

On the “new” leadership side in Garland are Mayor Charles Clack, a pilot, and Councilwoman Gwen Smale, whose husband, Dr. John Smale, is a Pickett financial backer. Delora Lewis carries big stroke and is typical of the new leadership – an hourly employee at Texas Instruments who brings a populist flavor to his position as mayor pro tern.

The other major suburb in District 2 is Mesquite, which accounts for 10 percent of the county’s suburban population. Mesquite also has its old and new factions, but strong leaders from the new side have yet to emerge. The institutions in the area include Mayor B. J. Smith, an attorney; Bob Beard, former mayor and a marketing representative (lobbyist) for Gifford-Hill, who has been tabbed a likely successor to State Rep. T. H. McDonald (former school superintendent and community pillar); and Ralph Poteet, who is well-known and respected as superintendent of the school district, where a lot of power gravitates. Poteet commands a solid voting bloc of school employees.

In Mesquite, there are few influential persons who are not connected to the City Council and Chamber. As in Garland, leaders have emerged from the banks and financial institutions. Lynn Gibbons of Dallas Title, a past chamber president, is thought to be close to Pickett. The 11-member citizens advisory committee for the bond program in District 2 includes Brownlee and Toler from Garland, Beard and C. J. Pryor (Pryor Masonry) from Mesquite and W. H. (Bill) Coyle of Row-lett, another Pickett contributor.

In 1976, Pickett received a total of $16,538 in political contributions over $50 from 150 contributors. Sixty-four of those were from the suburbs. While Garland produced 30 contributors, the tiny town of Rowlett strangely enough produced 24.



Commissioner Jim Tyson’s Southeast Dallas County District 3 includes Balch Springs, Seagoville, and Highland Park. It is a district only minimally influenced by suburban power. More than three-quarters of the voters in the district, which stretches from Oak Lawn through downtown, South Dallas, and Pleasant Grove, live in the city. Except for Highland Park, the district is heavily black and heavily Democratic. After 13 years in office, Tyson appears to be tiring and does not touch as many bases as he used to. He has a black administrative aide, Jon Collins, who stays close to the black community. And Tyson continues to be friendly with labor leaders such as Gene Freeland, secretary of the Dallas AFL-CIO council, and Pleasant Grove labor leader Jim Bradshaw, who is working to promote the local bond program in that area along with L. A. Murr. Tyson moved into the Pleasant Grove area a few months ago from Lancaster, and Murr is said to have his ear – possibly because Murr, a former Dallas City Councilman, is being mentioned as a potential successor to Tyson.

District 3 suburbs, once again excepting Highland Park, have a distinctly rural flavor and are the poorest in the county. Pleasant Grove, though now part of the city, still thinks and behaves much like the county town it once was. Its chamber, under the executive direction of Mrs. Lela Loggins, is one of the most powerful in the county.

As for the “real” suburbs, identifiable leaders probably would include Mayor Bill Bain in Lancaster, former Mayor Don Lucky in Hutchins, banker David King in Seagoville, and banker Harold Altom. a Seagoville city councilman who serves on the district’s bond advisory committee. Lancaster carries the most weight of any county town in District 3, with its power base mainly in the banks. The Business and Professional Women’s Club also exerts some influence in local political races.

Commissioner Roy Orr’s Southwest Dallas County District 4 includes part of Irving, Cockrell Hill, and Oak Cliff. This district contains the suburbs with the highest voting participation: 71 percent of its registered voters turned out for the 1976 general election, compared to 58 percent in the city portion of the district.

A former State Democratic Chairman, Orr covers his bases better than any other commissioner. He works directly through elected officials in most of his county towns, has a good line of communication with his suburban mayors, along with close ties to Democratic party leaders and workers. The majority of his district is in Oak Cliff and he does not slight that area, which has always had its differences with the city of Dallas and often reacts more like a true suburb. Orr, for example, promised Oak Cliff leaders that Burnett Field would be the new jail site, but couldn’t deliver the third vote necessary for Oak Cliff to get the facility. Orr also stays in contact with black political leaders, ranging from precinct chairmen to preachers, and meets regularly with his own black political advisory committee.

Rudy Day, a Dolph Briscoe Democrat and Oak Cliff businessman who sells and rents machinery and supplies to contractors, is Orr’s good friend and closest advisor. Day is treasurer of the county-wide bond program, and was a chief fundraiser for the 1975 bond campaign, raising almost half of the money used to promote it. John Clark, Oak Cliff chamber president who lives in Duncanville, is influential, and Oak Cliff Bank’s Joe Denton also participated early on in the bond program. Some of the older “Jefferson Street” chamber leaders, while on the bond advisory committee, are slowly phasing out of community leadership. The Oak Cliff Tribune’s Ray Zauber is a definite Orr ally.

Orr pays Grand Prairie what the suburb feels is its due, as the largest real suburb in his district and the fifth largest in the county. He works with Mayor Weldon Parkhill, City Manager Cliff Johnson and former Mayor Bill Bowles. But he also has a close alignment with strong Democratic leaders in Grand Prairie – Reg Crump, chamber president: State Representative Carlyle Smith, an architect who has had several county contracts; and ex-councilman Phil Duncan. Other influential Grand Prairie leaders include Durwood Sutton, a banker and Dallas County Community College District board member; C . P. Waggoner, long-time former mayor and land developer; and Johnny Jinks, an ex-city councilman.

Orr also maintains his balance in the Duncanville-DeSoto-Cedar Hill portion of the district, his home base. Ironically, he has most of the problems in maintaining control in DeSoto, his hometown, where his candidate for mayor, Charles Harwell, lost in the last election. His closest tie in DeSoto is his brother, Fred, whom he helped funnel into a state legislative vacancy in that area.

DeSoto is a young, growing community, where the average age is 27. It lacks a cohesive community leadership, largely because of its growth, youth, and “bedroom” suburban quality. “Put 11,000 people on the board and throw a dart at it,” was the way one political observer described how he would pick DeSoto’s leaders. But among those who have been Orr allies are Dr. Robert Nunneley, a contributor, former Mayor Harwell, T. L. (Bill) Green, Orr’s former insurance partner, and Charles Kirtley, whose wife formerly worked in Orr’s District 4 office.

In the Southwestern part of the district, Orr’s real strength and closest associates are in Duncanville. They include Maxie Bell, Duncanville First National Bank president, and David Clayton, funeral home owner. Both are past presidents of the Duncanville chamber and Clayton is president of the Lakeview (Reservoir) Council. Developer Gus Alexander, another well-known name in Duncanville, is a frequent Orr adviser. Bell and Clayton are on District 4’s citizens advisory committee for the bond program, along with Oak Cliff’s Clark, Grand Prairie’s Crump, and Cedar Hill’s Elmer Weaver. Other community leaders Orr gives an ear to include Mayor T. W. Cannady and D. A. Kimmey of First Bank and Trust in Cedar Hill (where Orr serves on the board).

Orr raised $13,795 in 1976 in contributions over $50, and his list of contributors is laced with Oak Cliff and downtown establishment names. But the suburbs, primarily from the southwest part of the district, gave almost 25 percent of that. Duncanville accounted for almost $2,000 and Orr’s key men. Bell, Clayton, and Alexander together contributed $500. Of a total of 135 contributors who gave more than $50 each, the suburbs supplied 41 and Duncanville 25 of those. Among Orr’s other contributors were Cedar Hill’s Kim-mey and Weaver.