A blistering Facebook post from Irving Mayor Pro Tem Dennis Webb has ignited a political firestorm just days before a pivotal City Council meeting.
Webb’s post, published May 26, accused Councilman Luis Canosa and his allies of “radical” politicking and manipulating city staff on Memorial Day to push through resolutions that Webb claimed were designed to consolidate political power.
“As a council member he is worthless! To him this is all a game to get the PAC POWER!” Webb wrote, referring to Canosa and tying him to the Families for Irving political action committee.
The resolutions at the heart of the controversy were formally requested by Canosa in an email sent to the city manager, city secretary, and city attorney on the same day as Webb’s Facebook post.
In the email obtained by The Dallas Express, Canosa asked to place three items on the May 29 council agenda. Two of them drew particular attention: a resolution calling for donor transparency from the Lone Star Conservative Action Fund, which has spent heavily in local elections, and another seeking to prohibit gambling operations in Irving’s high-density zoning districts, such as PUD 6, the location of the proposed Sands destination resort project.
The exact text of the resolutions has not yet been released to the public. However, both resolutions clearly target potential destination resort casino gaming in Irving.
“Regarding resolution [Resolution Number 1]- At the March 14th town hall, Las Vegas Sands [Senior Vice President Andrew Abboud] promised transparency and pledged that the company would not intervene in Irving’s local elections. Yet all available evidence strongly suggests that Las Vegas Sands is closely tied to the nearly $200,000 spent by Lone Star Conservative Action Fund in this year’s city council races. Everyone knows this money is coming from Sands—there’s just no formal paper trail due to the structure of 501(c)(4) organizations, which aren’t required to disclose donors,” Canosa said in a statement to The Dallas Express, referring to Las Vegas Sands and its alleged ties to the PAC.
“When private interests stand to benefit from local election outcomes, voters have a right to know who is behind the money—and why,” Canosa concluded.
In an internal email shared among council members and obtained by DX, Webb lashed out at his colleagues: “Louis [sic] you need to focus on doing city business and quit politicking. Mueller, you have not been to a regular council meeting yet and you already [are] showing your reason for running. John I have lost all respect for you! I will not vote for neither of them and will have a lot to say on each one!”
The tensions appear to be deeply rooted in the broader political environment in Irving, where recent elections have been sharply divided over outside influence and casino expansion. Lone Star Conservative Action Fund, a political fund with deep ties to Las Vegas Sands interests, has spent around $200,000 in recent council races—much of it supporting David Pfaff, a candidate in the June 7 runoff for City Council Place 2.
Sergio Porres, the other candidate in that race, has been endorsed by several community leaders who have expressed concern over casino influence in Irving, including Vicky Oduk, a civic leader and former council candidate.
Oduk previously told The Dallas Express that Webb had warned her her political career was over after she endorsed Porres. She recalled Webb telling her to back her endorsement of Porres or her future in politics is finished. After refusing to back down, Oduk said she received persistent texts and phone calls from Webb urging her to reconsider and further warning her that negative rumors were starting to swirl about her, DX reported.
Porres, who has campaigned on local control and limiting casino expansion, has become a central figure in the debate over who should shape Irving’s future—and how much influence outside money should have in the process.
A previous attempt by Canosa to prohibit casino gaming in PUD 6 died during a March 20 council meeting because there was no second. However, since this time, the composition of the council has shifted, with Adam Muller joining and John Bloch being re-elected.
The May 29 City Council meeting is now shaping up to be a high-stakes showdown—not just over resolutions on paper, but over the deeper struggle for political control in one of the Metroplex’s most watched local governments.