The candidate for Dallas City Council District 9 once lived in the Bay Area and said she watched it deteriorate.
“Human waste and needles are found throughout public parks in San Francisco, making them unusable by anyone, especially young children,” she told the Dallas Express.
In response, Kumar and her husband Ari started volunteering for California groups that helped the homeless. Eventually, though, the couple packed up and move to Dallas.
“We felt felt powerless to make any meaningful impact,” she said of her former home.
So it is not surprising that her fierce concern for public safety has prompted Kumar to run for Dallas City Council District 9.
“The events of the past year deeply concerned me as I witnessed city council members pushing the city down the same path of implementing the failed policies we saw in Minneapolis and San Francisco,” she said. “I am as concerned that the crime rate in Dallas is double that of the rate in all of Texas. I’m shocked that there are 1,000 fewer police officers in Dallas than in Washington, D.C., a city with half the population. And, I believe that if re-elected, the incumbent would continue to listen to radical ideas that undermine Dallas.”
If elected, one of Kumar’s top priorities will be restoring and increasing police funding. Dallas County District Attorney John Creuzot stopped prosecuting thefts of items valued at under $750, Kumar said.
“Tolerating thefts signals to criminals that they can keep pushing the boundaries and what starts as one individual stealing $750 worth of goods quickly escalates to a flash mob, with each person stealing that amount,” she said. “I have seen San Francisco go from tolerating $900 to $1,200, with the result that businesses shut down, crushing the livelihoods of small business owners. I vow to make Creuzot uphold the law and protect businesses.”
Kumar also thinks the city council should expand its work with the Dallas Regional Chamber (DRC) and with small businesses.
“The recent pandemic and winter storm illustrate the importance of ensuring that the city and businesses collaborate on disaster recovery plans,” she said. “Generally, small businesses do not have the bandwidth to tackle this, but I believe that forums led by the city and DRC could help businesses be better prepared for future crises.”
