Southern Dallas Voters to Decide on New City Council Representative
Southern Dallas voters are poised to decide on a generational change in representation over the next few weeks, with early voting starting Tuesday for the City Council seat in District 8.
Two candidates are facing off in the June 7 runoff to replace Tennell Atkins, who has represented the southernmost district for 16 of the past 18 years.
In the May election, former City Council member Erik Wilson and former City Plan Commission member Lorie Blair emerged from a crowded pool of candidates. Each ended the night with about 40% of the vote, according to unofficial totals.
Wilson held a narrow lead with about 70 votes separating the candidates. Fewer than 2,700 votes were cast among several candidates in the district’s election, totals show.
When no candidate gets more than 50% of the votes, the top two head to a runoff. The race for District 11 in North Dallas is also headed to a runoff.
Here’s what to know about the transition and the candidates hoping to represent District 8.
The District 8 Area
District 8 spans several miles from west to east with diverse neighborhoods — including Red Bird, Kleberg-Rylie and Highland Hills — and the new representative will help shape how the area develops.
The sprawling area is home to Paul Quinn College, which plans to expand its footprint, along with the Inland Port and agricultural land.
The district, near unincorporated parts of southern Dallas County, is also where the city planned a new Dallas police academy, which has faced scrutiny as plans to build the facility at the University of North Texas at Dallas shifted.
Both candidates have discussed their vision for needed infrastructure and development that benefits residents.
Some residents have expressed a desire for a grocery store and highlighted a need to address access to healthy food in southern Dallas. Last year, Tom Thumb scrapped its plans to open a store at the Shops at RedBird, even with city tax incentives.
The Role of Money in the Election
Leading into the May election, a new political action committee called Revitalize Dallas sent out mailers in support of Wilson, among candidates in other races. The effort was funded by short-term homestay platform Airbnb, which contributed $500,000 toward the effort, campaign finance filings show.
“I told them that I don’t agree with Airbnb being in established neighborhoods next to people’s grandmothers and causing problems,” Wilson said. “I believe that they should be at hotel- and motel-zoned areas, and that if they are, then there needs to be a regulation much like we have for our rental properties.”
Wilson said he was not working with the PAC, but like with other organizations, answered questions from it and was interviewed.
The donations raised speculation about whether candidates would support the rentals amid an ongoing fight between the city and short-term rental operators, of which Airbnb has much at stake. The city has reignited a legal fight it lost earlier this year against ordinances that all but banned short-term rentals in single-family neighborhoods.
