The Dallas Police Association is backing several fresh candidates who are running for Dallas City Council seats against incumbent members.
On Monday, the DPA released its endorsements for the upcoming election.
The Dallas Police Officer’s Political Action Committee (DPOPAC) has officially endorsed Jamie Smith for District 4, Mónica Alonzo for District 6, Kathy Stewart for District 10, and Amanda Schulz for District 14.
The council members currently representing those districts are Carolyn King Arnold, Omar Narvaez, Adam McGough, and Paul Ridley, respectively.
McGough will not run in May as he has reached his term limit; however, the other three council members are running for re-election. The DPA has backed their opponents.
In an interview with The Dallas Express, DPA President Mike Mata called Smith “an exceptional candidate.”
Smith has nearly 13 years of work experience in finance, according to her campaign website, and Mata said the City of Dallas needs “more number-crunchers.”
“We need individuals that can look through a budget,” he continued. “There’s a reason that budget is 10 inches thick — because they hide the two inches that [actually have] the numbers.”
Mata said that Smith “understands that you have to have a very vibrant tax base, and to do that, you have to have a safe city.”
“Businesses do not come to cities that aren’t safe,” he told The Dallas Express. “We don’t need council members who are going to look at cutting the police budget.”
He said the DPA’s endorsement is “nothing personal” against Arnold, noting that the organization has endorsed her in the past.
“But it really comes down to picking the best possible candidate for what’s best for the city and also the best for public safety,” he said. “And we believe it’s Jamie Smith.”
Regarding Alonzo, Mata said that, while he doesn’t always agree with her positions, she has “always been fair,” and District 6 needs change.
“Omar [Narvaez, the incumbent] can be somewhat polarizing and divisive on council,” Mata explained. “We don’t need that anymore on council.”
“We need to get back to the basics,” Mata continued, pointing to sidewalk maintenance, trash collection, and having prompt response times for police and fire departments. “We don’t need divisive voices who do nothing but polarize one group against another group and get nothing done at City Hall.”
Mata told The Dallas Express that the DPA endorsed Stewart because of her extensive experience and its confidence that she will “get things done.”
Stewart is endorsed by McGough, the current District 10 council member.
Mata noted that Stewart and her husband have served on several community boards and committees, “and they understand how City Hall works.”
He said she is “definitely” one of the hardest working people he has seen in District 10 “in a long time.”
“It’s hard to beat a candidate like that,” Mata said.
Finally, Mata told The Dallas Express that the DPA endorsed Schulz because the association believes change is “direly” needed in District 14.
“I have heard from a lot of people regarding Council Member Paul Ridley that he’s not very approachable,” Mata said. “He doesn’t return phone calls. … He isn’t about getting things done.”
Mata added that based on his interview with Schulz, he thinks she is “a wonderful candidate.”
The incumbents endorsed by the DPA include Chad West, Jesse Moreno, Jaime Resendez, Tennell Atkins, Paula Blackmon, Cara Mendelsohn, and Gay Donnell Willis.
The association did not endorse candidates running in districts 3, 7, or 11.
Mata told The Dallas Express that he needs to hear more from the candidates running in those districts before the DPA makes official endorsements.
He said the DPA might soon endorse a candidate in the District 11 race between Jaynie Schultz and Candace Evans, but the other two races currently have too many people in them, and the DPA wants to wait and see who makes it into the runoff election before making an endorsement.
The Dallas Express reached out to Council Members Arnold, Narvaez, and Ridley for comment on the DPA’s endorsement of their challengers but did not receive an immediate response from any of their offices.
