It’s
an odd question to ask indeed, but perhaps not so odd if you have kept up with
recent news stories about this year’s Dallas mayoral election. Several recent
stories in the Dallas Morning News, for example, continue to praise Mayor
Rawlings for the programs that have been initiated during his tenure as Mayor
of Dallas, and his campaign fundraising success in comparison to his one
challenger, Marcos Ronquillo. The DMN has made no secret about its love affair
with Mayor Rawlings, and that a second term would be a piece of cake for the
mayor.
But
the stories did not stop there. One rather bold DMN columnist stated that “Marcos
Ronquillo has a zero chance of being elected” as mayor of Dallas. Yet another
story announcing Ronquillo’s candidacy for mayor was placed next to the
Obituary section of the DMN. Of course,
this was probably just a coincidence.
While
it may be obvious to the Dallas Morning News staff that Mike Rawlings is
destined to win the next mayoral election, I believe that Dallasites are smart
enough to make up their own minds about who our next mayor should be. With
voter turnout rates at historic lows, it doesn’t make sense to discourage voter
participation by telling voters that the mayoral election is a done deal.
The
voting public needs to understand what the mayoral candidates have in mind for
improving the quality of life for City residents. The subjective opinions of
media pundits should not substitute for a series of well-planned public debates
that would require the candidates to address important issues in their own
words. Once scheduled, the candidates should embrace the challenge and not
avoid open debate.
Following
are a few questions and issues that I would personally enjoy hearing the
candidates address in a public debate:
Trinity Tollway: Is there any
scientific evidence that Dallas needs the Trinity tollway as a transportation
solution? Are there any scientific polls that tell us whether Dallas residents
favor or oppose this tollway? Wouldn’t it make better sense to first upgrade
our local streets, bridges and highways which are suffering from a lack of
maintenance and increasing traffic?
Education: Mayor Rawlings stated in
a recent DMN story that Dallasites “do not value education.” What evidence allows you to make such a
profound statement? How does this conclusion fit your role as the
self-proclaimed “Education Mayor?”
Poverty and Unemployment: Efforts to remediate poverty and unemployment
often focus on helping people improve their job skills, business plans or
personal skills. However, poverty and unemployment also result directly from
the loss of millions of contract dollars that leave the City of Dallas every
year to companies located outside of the City of Dallas. These lost dollars contribute
nothing to our local economy. Moreover, the City’s poverty rate is among the
highest in the nation. As mayor, what plans do you have for awarding more
contracts to local business firms and bringing more jobs to City residents?
Fundraising
Roadblocks: Current City policy places a $5,000 cap on the amount of funds
that a mayoral candidate can raise from any one donor, although the policy does
not apply to the incumbent mayor. This policy clearly gives the incumbent mayor
a decided advantage in fundraising. How does an incumbent mayor justify
accepting donations larger than $5,000 when it clearly creates an uneven
playing field for other candidates?
Of
course, the notion of not having a mayoral election this year is ridiculous.
But equally ridiculous are efforts by the media that discourage voter
participation by suggesting that the election outcome has already been determined
and that some candidates have a zero chance of being elected. Perhaps the media
pundits can find something more useful to do with their time rather than discouraging
voters from participating in important elections.
