Ex-Democrat Mayor Eric Johnson focused on public safety in his remarks at the Republican National Convention on Tuesday night, criticizing his former party for its handling of crime in America.

“Four years ago, progressive activists stood on my front lawn with the stated goal of intimidating my family,” Johnson’s speech began. “They wanted me to defund the police. I said no. Folks, I grew up in high-crime neighborhoods. What we wanted was more and better policing — not less. As mayor, I knew we needed to increase support for our police department and prioritize violent crime reduction.”

Johnson is in his second term as Dallas’ 60th mayor. The Dallas Express reported in March that Johnson announced he voted for Trump in the primary because he “cares more about the issues that are most important to me and my family — such as fighting crime, reducing tax burdens on hard-working people and businesses and enhancing border security — than Joe Biden.”

In September 2023, Johnson announced his switch from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party in a Wall Street Journal op-ed. That decision came four months after he won re-election.

“I’m … proud that Dallas, Texas, is the largest city in the United States of America to be led by a Republican,” Johnson said in a video message to the Republican National Committee in February.

“It is a tremendous honor to accept the RNC Trailblazer Award for 2024 — an award that has recognized so many wonderful leaders, such as United States Sen. Tim Scott, Secretary Ben Carson, [Virginia] Lt. Gov. Winsome [Earle-]Sears, and so many more. My journey to the Republican Party stands as an invitation to our brothers and sisters across America who are tired of being taken for granted by today’s Democrat Party.”

Mayor and city council positions in Texas are generally nonpartisan. But Johnson served in the Texas House of Representatives for 10 years as a Democrat before becoming mayor of Dallas.

“I’ve been a Democrat my entire life, albeit a conservative one,” he said at the RNC in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on Tuesday. “But when those activists tried to scare my kids, my fellow Democrats were silent. It was Republicans who offered their support — both privately and publicly. Party affiliation didn’t matter. They cared about doing what was right.”

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Johnson’s remarks were met with cheers from the crowd.

“Today, I’m the proud Republican mayor of Dallas, Texas — the largest city in the United States led by a Republican. I wanted to say I didn’t leave the Democrat Party because they left me first. But the truth is, on matters of public safety, the Democrats were never actually there for me, for Dallas families, or for the American people.”

Among the other largest cities in Texas — Houston, San Antonio, Fort Worth, and Austin — only Fort Worth has a Republican mayor, Mattie Parker. The mayor of San Antonio, Ron Nirenberg, is an Independent.

“With their words and their actions, and sometimes with their silence and their inactions, Democrats in power demonstrate they don’t care about stopping the killers or the thieves that terrorize brown and black communities,” Johnson said at the RNC. “They don’t care about securing our border, and they don’t care about dangerous homeless encampments. No, the heart of today’s woke Democrat party is with their criminals — not with their victims.”

Cara Mendelsohn, often one of the most outspoken members of the Dallas City Council, praised Johnson’s speech on Tuesday night, with particular reference to his mention of the city’s efforts to lower violent crime.

“@Johnson4Dallas speaking at RNC convention! Thank you for shining a spotlight on the violent crime reduction happening in Dallas and sharing your own story of growing up in unsafe neighborhoods. Great job! #publicsafety,” she posted on X.

Mendelsohn, the winner of DX‘s Dallas Derby for five straight months, is the only council member to post on X about Johnson’s speech. Trump’s campaign, though, quoted one line of it:

“The heart of today’s WOKE DEMOCRAT PARTY is with the criminals, not with their victims.” – Now-Republican Mayor of Dallas @Johnson4Dallas.”

Johnson ended the speech to more applause by further criticizing the Democratic Party.

“Democrats are … terrible at building safe neighborhoods and safe cities. … Together, let’s make America safe again by retiring Joe Biden and electing Donald J. Trump. Thank you.”

DX reached out to Eddie Garcia, Dallas’ chief of police, seeking comment about Johnson’s remarks, and received this statement:

“We are fortunate to have the support of our Mayor, Council Members, the City Manager, and our community. I’m proud of our amazing men and women who continue to sacrifice for our city with professionalism and tenacity.

“As we’re in the middle of our fourth straight year of crime reduction in the City of Dallas, now is not the time to ease up. One victim is too many, and there is still much more work to be done. But this city, this community, and the Dallas Police Department are all in.”

Note: This article was updated at 2:21 p.m. on July 18, 2024, to include a statement from Garcia.