Nov 19, 2021
A people-focused agenda for Dallas
I laid out an ambitious agenda for the next year in the State of the City address.
The following was adapted from my email newsletter.
In more than 46 years of calling this city home, I have never been more optimistic about the future of Dallas.
The state of this city is stronger than ever. That’s the case in spite of the unrelenting states of emergency over the past two years. And it’s true for many reasons, but it’s primarily because of the continued hard work and determination of the people of Dallas — including people who might never come down to City Hall, or even give much thought to city government, but who nonetheless want what’s best for their families and their community.
In the annual State of the City address on Wednesday in the Dallas City Council chambers, I discussed the need to enact an ambitious, people-focused agenda that gets the city Back to Basics and Builds for the Future.
The major news outlets in Dallas also covered the annual address, examining different facets of the wide-ranging speech.
The Dallas Morning News focused on the optimism espoused in the address, as well as the economic possibilities that were detailed at length. The News also posted a photo gallery of the event.
NBC5 and CBS 11 focused primarily on the remarks about the importance of public safety and how the violent crime reduction efforts are working.
Frontburner suggested that the speech — which called for the City of Dallas to assert itself more aggressively at the regional, state, national, and international levels — marked “the long-overdue end of regionalism at Dallas City Hall.”
Axios Dallas also took note of the economic goals laid out in the speech and recapped key lines about how the city must become more competitive regionally or be left “in the dust of new construction to the north.”
KRLD took note of the comments on the city’s incredible growth — 9 percent over the last decade, a rate that only two other top 10 American cities exceeded.
KERA and Fox 4 were most interested in the calls for accountability and the proposal for a new sunset review process — akin to the one used by the Texas Legislature to eliminate waste, improve efficiency, and modernize services — of city departments, offices, and programs. Such a process could also help to materially reduce the property tax rate, which remains too high.
You’ll also read in those stories about top legislative priorities at City Hall, such as ethics reform, new workforce development efforts, and strategies to attract and retain families in Dallas.
If you’d rather read my unfiltered thoughts, you can check out the full text of the address by clicking here.
Now is the time to work together to enact this agenda — the agenda of the people of Dallas.
Looking forward to a great year ahead. Have a wonderful weekend, and take care of yourselves.
