A reporter for The Dallas Express was refused entrance Wednesday to a meet-and-greet campaign event for District 14 Council Member Paul Ridley’s campaign after having received an email invitation to the event from an endorsing organization, the Stonewall Democrats of Dallas.
A woman outside the house told the reporter that the council member was not accepting interviews and instructed the reporter to call the council member’s office.
Another woman who identified herself as the owner of the house on Abrams Road where the campaign event was taking place then offered to bring the reporter to the council member. However, after the first woman conferred with the homeowner, the reporter was again told to call the office.
On Thursday afternoon, the reporter called a number on the Ridley campaign website. Ridley answered the phone, and after the reporter identified himself as a reporter for The Dallas Express, Ridley apparently hung up.
Afterward, an editor from The Dallas Express called the number. Ridley answered and said, “What do you want to talk to me about?”
When the editor asked Ridley to repeat his question, the council member said again, loudly, “What do you want to talk to me about?”
While the editor was explaining what happened at the meet and greet, Ridley apparently hung up once again.
Ridley previously refused to speak to another reporter from The Dallas Express at an all-ages drag show he attended in January.
The Dallas Express has tried to reach out to Ridley and his office seeking comment on the crime in his district on multiple occasions but to no avail. While the council member has never been named Crime Boss of the Month, he has come in as a runner-up multiple times, and certain categories have skyrocketed this year.
As of Wednesday, car burglaries are up 15.6%, motor vehicle thefts are up 35.2%, robberies are up 5.3%, and drug offenses are up 16.7%, year to date, according to the City of Dallas Open Data crime analytics dashboard.