Dallas City Council is composed of 14 Council Members and a Mayor. According to the Dallas City Code, the mayor and the city council are to assure that “…a high performance level of services to the citizens is maintained, responsiveness to the people is provided, and accountability in municipal government is assured” (City Council of the City of Dallas, 1961, sec. 13, para. 1). City Council is important because they hold various responsibilities including setting policies, approving budgets and plans for capital improvements, and appointing other city officials.
The city has 14 council members because in 1990 the city was redistricted into 14 single-member voting areas. This means that you can only vote in the district you live in for your representative to City Council and the mayor is elected at large. This is important for South Dallas and other communities that throughout history have often been neglected by city government. Before the 14-1 system there were 8 single-member districts and 3 at large members including the mayor. The 8-3 system primarily served North Dallas and according to former council member Diana Ragsdale, was “flawed, elitist, exclusive, and racist” (Dallas Municipal Archives, 2019). U.S. District Judge Jerry Buchmeyer said that the 3 at large members “…watered down minority voting strength” (Simnacher, 2017, para. 21). A lawsuit against the City of Dallas resulted in the 14-1 system.
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The lawsuit was brought by Roy Williams and Marvin Crenshaw; the Ledbetter Neighborhood Association (West Dallas) also joined. Several community members marched in support of 14-1 system and community leaders like Domingo Garcia made Time magazine for their efforts to change the system (Garcia, 2010)
“I recall a meeting at a church in South Dallas, when we decided that the only option left was to start a campaign of civil disobedience. As a lawyer, the idea of wearing chains at a City Hall protest was not my idea of fun. However, with the city polarized and a majority of the council dug in to keep the status quo, we had little choice. That is how we made Time magazine for the first time, with a picture of me, Steve Salazar, and Roberto Alonzo (all future elected officials) in symbolic political chains. A Dallas political struggle became national news” (Garcia, 2010, para, 3).
-Domingo Garcia
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To hear from an advocate in the fight for a fair City Council watch the video below. More videos can be found here.
Sources:
City Council of the City of Dallas. (1961). City of Dallas, Texas codes of ordinances. https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/dallas/latest/dallas_tx/0-0-0-50075
City of Dallas. (n.d). The 14-1 ruling, suing for single-member voting districts. https://dallascityhall.com/government/citysecretary/archives/Pages/Archives_14-1home.aspx
Dallas Municipal Archives. (2019, Oct 10). Diane Ragsdale – former council member. [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LAYyd6UYIY
Garcia, D. (2010, January). Dallas adopts 14-1. D Magazine. https://www.dmagazine.com/publications/d-magazine/2010/january/dallas-adopts-14-1/
Mundinger, R. (2018, April 3). How the Dallas city council works. Medium. https://medium.com/themap/how-the-dallas-city-council-works-dd1d3ca1a22a
Simnacher, J. (2017, March 21). Roy Williams, 74, co-plaintiff in suit that created Dallas’ 14-1 City Council system, led to election of minorities. The Dallas Morning News. https://www.dallasnews.com/news/obituaries/2017/03/21/roy-williams-74-co-plaintiff-in-suit-that-created-dallas-14-1-city-council-system-led-to-election-of-minorities/