District 12 Council Member Cara Mendelsohn continues to dominate in the Dallas Derby, winning again in May.
Unrivaled by her peers, Mendelsohn was once again scored highest by residents in The Dallas Express‘ monthly feature centered on City leader effectiveness. Last month’s “Rate Your Council Member” survey results showed Mendelsohn with an average overall rating of 9.1 out of 10, earning her the Dallas Derby winner’s title for May.
While Mendelsohn took home the gold for the fifth consecutive month, the gap between her and her competition has widened. District 5 Council Member Jaime Resendez came in second place with an average overall rating of just 4.7 out of 10. In third place, District 9 Council Member Paula Blackmon earned the bronze for effectiveness, with an overall rating of 4.4 out of 10.
May’s worst ratings were given to District 6 Council Member Omar Narvaez (0.2 out of 10) and District 2 Council Member Jesse Moreno (1.6 out of 10).
Mendelsohn leads in overall scores year-to-date, sitting comfortably ahead of the pack with an overall average rating of 8.9. Her nearest competitor, District 10 Council Member Kathy Stewart, presents little threat to her lead with an overall average rating of just 4.0.
Like every month since this feature was launched, residents living in Dallas were asked to weigh in on the effectiveness of City leaders in the areas of crime reduction, homelessness reduction, aggressive panhandling reduction, litter reduction & city cleanliness, street repairs & maintenance, and park maintenance & cleanliness.
Council members were rated on a 0-10 scale for each area. Mayor Eric Johnson was also rated. The mayor received an average rating of 5.1.
Looking at Mendelsohn’s results, survey respondents living in her northern district were apparently most impressed by her effectiveness in keeping parks maintained and clean, ranking her an average score of 9.7 out of 10 in this category. City cleanliness and crime reduction were her next highest-rated categories, with her constituents giving her 9.3 and 9.1 out of 10, respectively.
While Mendelsohn was not rated less than 9 out of 10 in every category in April, this was not true for May. Survey takers gave her 8.9 out of 10 for both street repair and maintenance and homelessness reduction. The worst-rated category was aggressive panhandling reduction, which received an average rating of 8.6.
Click here to learn more about how DX arrives at its monthly rankings.
If you are a City of Dallas resident, DX encourages you to click here to ensure you can take May’s “Rate Your Council Member” survey so your local representative knows how you feel about their performance. Also, be sure to spread the word and refer a friend who lives in Dallas so they can give their two cents.