ISSUES
This campaign is about people.
Throughout this campaign, we will
listen to you, hear you and highlight
the solutions you’d like to see from
your city.
Throughout this campaign, we will
listen to you, hear you and highlight
the solutions you’d like to see from
your city.
I believe we can build neighborhoods on purpose - attainable and safe housing, great schools and amenities close to home.
Housing influences every element of our lives. It determines where your children attend school, where you work, where you worship, and whether you can build a fulfilling life. Dallas is ranked as the 13th most unaffordable housing market in the country and the LEAST affordable in the state of Texas, among the five largest cities. We are in the midst of a housing crisis, with rising home prices, property taxes and mortgage rates forcing residents and businesses out of a city they love because they can’t afford to stay.
As Mayor, I will say, “come on home to Dallas.” We will work with community partners to ensure residents that want to remain in their neighborhoods, can. From my upbringing in the Frazier Courts housing projects to my work as chairman of the Dallas Housing Authority, I have spent 58 years coming to terms with the real value of a safe, stable home in a city with opportunity.
Housing influences every element of our lives. It determines where your children attend school, where you work, where you worship, and whether you can build a fulfilling life. Dallas is ranked as the 13th most unaffordable housing market in the country and the LEAST affordable in the state of Texas, among the five largest cities. We are in the midst of a housing crisis, with rising home prices, property taxes and mortgage rates forcing residents and businesses out of a city they love because they can’t afford to stay.
As Mayor, I will say, “come on home to Dallas.” We will work with community partners to ensure residents that want to remain in their neighborhoods, can. From my upbringing in the Frazier Courts housing projects to my work as chairman of the Dallas Housing Authority, I have spent 58 years coming to terms with the real value of a safe, stable home in a city with opportunity.
I believe Dallas can have the strongest economy in the world, doing so by putting people first.
As a business owner for more than 45 years, and former chairman of the Dallas Regional Chamber, I know that the best way to create jobs is to build strong companies. It’s why I started my first company at age 10 so my best friends and I could afford to buy our own lunches. It’s the same reason my wife and I built On-Target Supplies & Logistics from nothing in 1982, grew it to a company with almost 200 employees, and never even considering moving it from its home in Oak Cliff where we are able to add to the local tax base and employ people in southern Dallas.
I’ve never missed payroll, and I’ve done so while providing paid sick leave, maternity leave, prioritizing diversity in the workforce and elevating women into executive roles.
A little more than a decade ago, I realized I could enfranchise far more people through training and workforce development programs. So we founded Ready to Work and trained more than 2,200 high school students in the skills that make them employable and give them options for furthering their education.
Our plan for Dallas is to be the single best place to live and work in this country - one that gives every Dallas resident the opportunity to cultivate the life they want today, while positioning our city for the growth, innovation and advancement that will sustain Dallas tomorrow.
As a business owner for more than 45 years, and former chairman of the Dallas Regional Chamber, I know that the best way to create jobs is to build strong companies. It’s why I started my first company at age 10 so my best friends and I could afford to buy our own lunches. It’s the same reason my wife and I built On-Target Supplies & Logistics from nothing in 1982, grew it to a company with almost 200 employees, and never even considering moving it from its home in Oak Cliff where we are able to add to the local tax base and employ people in southern Dallas.
I’ve never missed payroll, and I’ve done so while providing paid sick leave, maternity leave, prioritizing diversity in the workforce and elevating women into executive roles.
A little more than a decade ago, I realized I could enfranchise far more people through training and workforce development programs. So we founded Ready to Work and trained more than 2,200 high school students in the skills that make them employable and give them options for furthering their education.
Our plan for Dallas is to be the single best place to live and work in this country - one that gives every Dallas resident the opportunity to cultivate the life they want today, while positioning our city for the growth, innovation and advancement that will sustain Dallas tomorrow.
I believe Dallas can be the healthiest city in America. And for many residents and their families, access to healthcare, in their neighborhoods, is a literal matter of life and death.
It’s difficult to overstate the importance of healthcare available to our citizens. Our health is the foundation on which we build our lives. While healthcare continues to be an issue in Washington, D.C., I believe we can address nonpartisan access issues close to home. I’ve spent close to 20 years fighting to remove the barriers that too many low- to middle-income families and children face every day. More than 90,000 North Texas children have asthma. Also, diabetes continues to be an epidemic. Diseases like diabetes are an economic burden for those who suffer from the disease, because proper self-management requires medication and supplies for monitoring blood glucose.
Dallas is a city of big thinkers and problem solvers, and we need to use that brainpower to improve access to and the quality of healthcare. In working to galvanize city government, healthcare providers, community stakeholders, schools, hospitals and donors around a shared mission, we can embrace innovative new ideas to minimize health disparities and reduce costs while improving outcomes.
It’s the approach I took to help build The Baylor Diabetes Health & Wellness Institute in my home neighborhood, Frazier Courts, where three times as many residents were dying as a result of diabetes than anywhere else in America. The Institute is an early example of the type of Health Enterprise Zones I hope to create throughout the city, which blend economic development and public health to create sustainable, measurable plans for long-term improvement in traditionally underserved communities.
It’s difficult to overstate the importance of healthcare available to our citizens. Our health is the foundation on which we build our lives. While healthcare continues to be an issue in Washington, D.C., I believe we can address nonpartisan access issues close to home. I’ve spent close to 20 years fighting to remove the barriers that too many low- to middle-income families and children face every day. More than 90,000 North Texas children have asthma. Also, diabetes continues to be an epidemic. Diseases like diabetes are an economic burden for those who suffer from the disease, because proper self-management requires medication and supplies for monitoring blood glucose.
Dallas is a city of big thinkers and problem solvers, and we need to use that brainpower to improve access to and the quality of healthcare. In working to galvanize city government, healthcare providers, community stakeholders, schools, hospitals and donors around a shared mission, we can embrace innovative new ideas to minimize health disparities and reduce costs while improving outcomes.
It’s the approach I took to help build The Baylor Diabetes Health & Wellness Institute in my home neighborhood, Frazier Courts, where three times as many residents were dying as a result of diabetes than anywhere else in America. The Institute is an early example of the type of Health Enterprise Zones I hope to create throughout the city, which blend economic development and public health to create sustainable, measurable plans for long-term improvement in traditionally underserved communities.
I believe Dallas can have a well-designed transportation infrastructure that strengthens our economy and gives individuals in every neighborhood reliable access to jobs, child care, health care and the communities near and far.
Public transportation, modern and safe infrastructure and the foresight to look to the future of what’s next, are part of what makes a strong city. I can remember the nights (almost a decade) where I would ride the Commerce Street bus downtown after a day’s work to meet Gwyneith, and pass off our baby son, Tre’, before heading to my night-shift job. Now, as a grandfather, I depend on safe streets with reasonable traffic when I pick up my granddaughter from school on Thursdays.
One of Dallas’ strongest assets is our robust infrastructure. We are fortunate to have many of the nation’s most innovative projects underway, including the Bullet Train and UBER Elevate. Like so many, I’ve relied on public transportation for much of my life, so I know the importance of having access to transportation when and where it’s needed.
As we continue finding success with our transportation initiatives, I want to support projects that will grow our economy while also fulfilling the needs of our residents. We need to ensure that we have better access to transportation in the neighborhoods that need it, so that it doesn’t take a family hours to get to a grocery store and our children are not late to school.
Public transportation, modern and safe infrastructure and the foresight to look to the future of what’s next, are part of what makes a strong city. I can remember the nights (almost a decade) where I would ride the Commerce Street bus downtown after a day’s work to meet Gwyneith, and pass off our baby son, Tre’, before heading to my night-shift job. Now, as a grandfather, I depend on safe streets with reasonable traffic when I pick up my granddaughter from school on Thursdays.
One of Dallas’ strongest assets is our robust infrastructure. We are fortunate to have many of the nation’s most innovative projects underway, including the Bullet Train and UBER Elevate. Like so many, I’ve relied on public transportation for much of my life, so I know the importance of having access to transportation when and where it’s needed.
As we continue finding success with our transportation initiatives, I want to support projects that will grow our economy while also fulfilling the needs of our residents. We need to ensure that we have better access to transportation in the neighborhoods that need it, so that it doesn’t take a family hours to get to a grocery store and our children are not late to school.
I believe Dallas can have the most open city government in the country, and as a result, the most efficient and responsive elected officials that work for all.
This campaign is about opening doors for all. I believe that every person in this great city deserves the opportunity to shape our future. I would do the same if given the honor of serving as your Mayor. I believe the citizens of Dallas want to get involved and should be given the opportunity to serve on more civic boards, task forces and commissions - regardless of who they know at “the top.”
We will encourage everyone to get involved in their local government, attend city council meetings at convenient times, and engage in debates with city leaders to highlight real solutions to issues affecting their neighbors and neighborhoods. When I hear about someone doing good work, I’ll let them know their efforts are appreciated, the same way former Mayor J. Erik Jonsson did for me all those years ago.
This campaign is about opening doors for all. I believe that every person in this great city deserves the opportunity to shape our future. I would do the same if given the honor of serving as your Mayor. I believe the citizens of Dallas want to get involved and should be given the opportunity to serve on more civic boards, task forces and commissions - regardless of who they know at “the top.”
We will encourage everyone to get involved in their local government, attend city council meetings at convenient times, and engage in debates with city leaders to highlight real solutions to issues affecting their neighbors and neighborhoods. When I hear about someone doing good work, I’ll let them know their efforts are appreciated, the same way former Mayor J. Erik Jonsson did for me all those years ago.