The Big Things
Ultimately, the people of Dallas — not the city government — are the stars of the show in Dallas.
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Dallas has become a consequential city on the global stage.
This is a city that attracts investment, businesses, workers, and families from around the world. Dallas boasts the world’s second-busiest airport, 11 Fortune 500 companies’ headquarters, and renowned arts, sports, and cultural scenes.
And in the years to come, Dallas is on track to become a financial giant, a leader in green space development, a center of innovation, and so much more.
Dallas — dubbed America’s “Comeback City” after the pandemic by the U.S. Travel Association — has an amazing story to tell, which is why I went to Davos, Switzerland, this week to attend and speak at the World Economic Forum.
The trip was a very special opportunity to represent the City of Dallas and Dallas Fort Worth International Airport. The World Economic Forum is a premier annual gathering that brings together global government officials, non-governmental organizations, economists, business titans, entrepreneurs, civic leaders, journalists, and others to discuss crucial international issues and share ideas and solutions.
It was an honor and a privilege to share this city’s story and to meet thought leaders from around the world.
And because transparency is important to this Administration, a daily readout of what I did at the World Economic Forum was provided to the news media. A quick recap:
- Spoke on a panel titled “Decongesting Cities” about how Dallas is developing its urban neighborhoods, improving its traffic signals, and keeping people safe without impeding on residents’ and businesses’ freedoms.
- Participated in a Mayors Roundtable and discussed how the World Economic Forum could help Dallas and other cities with park development.
- Discussed building stronger cultural, diplomatic, and business ties with leaders from the United Kingdom, Mexico, Ukraine, and other nations.
- Met with CEOs and business leaders about how to collaborate to make Dallas safer, stronger, and more vibrant.
- Attended panel sessions that covered topics such as artificial intelligence and energy efficiency.
- Talked about Dallas’s competitive advantages in interviews with The Wall Street Journal, Yahoo Finance Live, Business Insider, and Monocle Radio.
If you want to know more, you can check out the full readouts of Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, and Day 4 of the Forum.
It was an extraordinarily successful trip. It was also great to be among leaders from different backgrounds who want to have honest, in-depth conversations about real problems and potential solutions. And the meetings in Davos planted the seeds for some even more impactful work that will continue to raise this city’s profile nationally and internationally.
Silly Calendar Warfare
Back at home, there was a little bit of political noise surrounding this trip. While usually this kind of noise should just be ignored, it’s worth talking a little bit about it here because it affected an important debate about the city’s potential 2024 bond package.
To go back to the beginning: The city manager had tentatively planned to have a discussion about the upcoming bond package on Wednesday, January 17, during the World Economic Forum. That wasn’t going to work.
The discussion about the makeup of the next bond is vital to this city’s future. The only elected leader who represents every neighborhood in Dallas should be part of that conversation. And there was a simple solution: Dallas City Council meetings are almost exclusively on Wednesdays, but there was no meeting scheduled for Wednesday, January 31. So, I rescheduled the bond discussion for the 31st instead. This kind of thing isn’t unusual. For example, the City Council agrees not to meet for a week in March to allow councilmembers to travel to a National League of Cities conference.
Then, a trio of city councilmembers didn’t like this rescheduling, so they turned around and used a somewhat obscure procedure in the City Charter to call another meeting about how to spend $1 billion in taxpayer money — for 2 p.m. on Friday.
That definitely wasn’t going to work. Besides being a highly unusual time to conduct the public’s business, the flight back to Dallas from Davos was Friday.
Ultimately, though, the move makes much more sense when you consider that this whole rigamarole about scheduling the Friday meeting was motivated by politics. (It happens — call it an occupational hazard).
And, look, when you are involved in politics and policymaking long enough, it becomes apparent who wants to make a deal, and who is only trying to make a point. In this case, it was clear that this was simply an attempt to capitalize on a nonsensical narrative, pushed by people with ulterior political motives, about my attendance record as the presiding officer of Dallas City Council meetings — which, to be completely clear, has been over 90% every year in office. (By the way, unlike councilmembers, state law says the presiding officer cannot attend the meeting virtually).
With all of this in mind, it quickly became clear that this silly calendar warfare wasn’t worth waging. Any further back-and-forth wasn’t going to make Dallas safer, stronger, or more vibrant. It wasn’t going to be an argument that would reduce crime in your neighborhoods, lower your property taxes, create jobs, or improve your streets. It wasn’t a debate that makes life easier for you and your family. And it certainly wasn’t going to promote international investment, tourism, and interest in Dallas.
The Big Things
Dallas City Council meetings do matter, but this job is also about much, much more. Any mayor of a major city such as Dallas must also make time to do the big things — the things that don’t happen only on Wednesdays (or at 2 p.m. on a Friday).
Things like setting a bold vision, such as making Dallas the safest major city in the nation — and working with law enforcement and community leaders to develop strategies to reduce violence.
Things like convening community and business leaders and galvanizing them to pursue a goal, such as creating new neighborhood parks on unused city-owned land to get Dallas closer to ensuring every resident lives within a 10-minute walk of a green space.
Things like advocating for state and federal support for funding to build a new Law Enforcement Training Facility for Dallas police officers and a new federal research facility that will make Dallas an innovative national hub for biotech research.
And, yes, things like opening foreign trade offices and promoting Dallas at prominent international gatherings such as the World Economic Forum. As Richard Fisher, a former Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President & CEO and Deputy U.S. Trade Representative, wrote in The Dallas Morning News, “representing Dallas on the world’s biggest stages is exactly how” the only citywide elected leader should spend his time.
That’s because this is the stuff that matters. This is the kind of work that will ensure the City of Dallas and the people who call it home can thrive for a long, long time. That is where this Administration’s focus has been these past four and a half years, and no matter what the political noise of the day is, that is where this Administration’s focus will be: on you.
Ultimately, the people of Dallas — not the city government — are the stars of the show in Dallas. This Administration supports putting a bond proposal on the ballot that focuses most heavily on better streets, better parks and trails, and a safer city. But the bond package will still be your decision come election time.
Make sure to write or call your city councilmember to let them know where you stand on the bond. Hopefully, they will be prepared to make deals that are in your interest. Your voice matters, and your engagement in this process is vital.
That’s all for today. Take care of yourselves and each other, and have a great weekend.
