Bringing up the rear in last month’s Dallas Derby race was Council Member Omar Narvaez.
Dallas was once again invited to participate in The Dallas Express‘ “Rate Your Council Member” survey in May. Participants were able to rate the effectiveness of their municipal representative on various key issues. Scores ranged from 0 (terrible) to 10 (excellent).
The residents of District 6 awarded Narvaez, their representative in Northwest Dallas, an average score of 0.2 out of 10 in May for how well he has handled sanitation, crime, homelessness, vagrancy, and more. Council Member Tennell Atkins (District 8) held this dubious honor last month, achieving an overall rating of 1 out of 10 in April.
As previously covered in The Dallas Express, Council Member Cara Mendelsohn (District 12) has dominated the field in this inaugural year of the Dallas Derby. Having swept every month’s race thus far, she now boasts an impressive lead over her competitors. Her average score this year has been 8.9 out of 10, which is twice the average year-to-date rating that keeps Council Member Kathy Stewart (D10) in second place.
Circling back to Narvaez’s survey results last month, he received a zero for every assessment category but one: the cleanliness and maintenance of parks. Narvaez’s effectiveness in this area was deemed worthy of just the slightest bump to 1 out of 10.
Northwest Dallas is known for its illicit sex trade, within which certain types of crime tend to flourish. According to data from the City’s crime analytics dashboard, motor vehicle theft, drug violations, and simple assaults are the top three most prevalent crimes reported in District 6. Meanwhile, reports of aggravated assaults are rising — 336 were logged as of June 25, 3.4% more than were recorded by this point last year.
However, it is prostitution and human trafficking offenses that tend to be most frequent in District 6 compared to the other council districts. As of June 25, there had been 103 reports of solicitation of prostitution, 42 of prostitution, and 27 of assisting or promoting prostitution. There were also 30 cases of human trafficking.
Narvaez did not respond to requests for comment regarding the persistence of such crime in District 6 and the resident feedback he received in the most recent Derby survey.
If you are a City of Dallas resident, DX encourages you to click here to ensure you can take June’s “Rate Your Council Member” survey so your local representative knows how you feel about his performance. Also, be sure to spread the word and refer your friends who live in Dallas so they can give their two cents.
Look here to read about how DX arrives at its Dallas Derby rankings.