Council Member Jaynie Schultz does not plan to seek a third term on the Dallas City Council, according to a recent report.
“I’ve been thinking about where I want to be in the next phase of my life,” Schultz told The Dallas Morning News. “I’m not young, and I know that there’s still things I want to do and, frankly, the clock is running out.”
The District 11 representative was elected in 2021, defeating Barry Wernick in a runoff. Schultz was re-elected in 2023, beating Candace Evans.
“I think she has made mistakes both on council and within her district, dating back to her first term with Midtown-Valley View, still a mess. That’s something I argued when I ran against her last May and still holds today,” Evans told The Dallas Express.
Schultz said she wants to get involved in community issues related to climate change and help plan a school in the Dallas International District, according to DMN. She also said the council was not “a high-functioning board.”
“We don’t have any vision for our city, and there’s no effort on the part of our leadership to help us achieve one,” Schultz claimed, per DMN. “It is exhausting to work without a vision and constantly have to make decisions in silos.”
The Dallas Express reported in June that Schultz remains under threat of recall, with one of the issues central to that effort being the proposed redevelopment of Pepper Square at the southeast corner of Preston Road and Belt Line Road. The area is zoned as a community retail district, but an application filed by Masterplan, representing developer Henry S. Miller, is seeking a planned development district for mixed-use.
“Now, what happens to controversial projects like Pepper Square in North Dallas, where her constituents have clashed with her pro-developer ‘world’ views?” Evans said, referring to how Schultz explained herself to some constituents at a meeting this summer about the project.
A week later, The Dallas Express reported that Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson removed Schultz as chair of the Workforce, Education & Equity Committee and relegated her to vice chair. Johnson appointed Council Member Carolyn King Arnold (District 4), who had been vice chair, to replace Schultz.
Schultz was also one of the eight council members who then-City Manager T.C. Broadnax identified as those who sought his resignation in February. This triggered a clause in his employment agreement that allowed him to receive a severance payment equal to his annual salary—just over $423,000. Broadnax has been Austin’s city manager since May.
Schultz did not return a message from DX seeking comment.
“I hope, during her remaining tenure, she continues listening to those who voted for her and who pay her salary, about projects she personally has been pushing. I wish her very well, but also hope she doesn’t leverage her political will as a real estate consultant for developers on these very projects. There’s a precedent for that. And frankly, I think that has to end,” Evans said to DX.
UPDATE: This article was updated at 10:45 p.m. on July 16, 2024, to include Candace Evans’ response to DX’s request for comment.