3/31/09  Councilman Steve Salazar Deserves Re-Election

There was a time when an endorsement from the Dallas Managed News could be the difference in winning an election.  That has not been true for several years.  Whether it's a city council race or a senatorial race, a DMN endorsement no longer matters.  The DMN Editorial Board is so out of touch with Dallas voters they think they can still tell us what to do.

In 2003, Steve Salazar, Linus Spiller and I ran for the District 6 council seat.  The DMN Editorial Board hated me (DallasArena.com and all that).  They made an issue of my only owning my District 6 home for 2 years.  They liked Steve Salazar even less.  They endorsed Linus Spiller.  Linus came in third; I came in second, and Steve won without a runoff.

So much for DMN's influence in local elections.

For some reason, the DMN Editorial Board decided to attack Councilman Salazar in his last election.  No recommendation in Dallas council District 6 (DallasNews.com, 3/27/9).  They probably don't remember a big hunk of Northwest Dallas is in District 6.  They accuse Councilman Salazar of ignoring South Dallas. 

Councilman Salazar does not represent South Dallas.  He represents Arcadia Park, West Oak Cliff, West Dallas and Northwest Dallas.  A very small part of his district would be considered in Southern Dallas.  The part of Northwest Dallas in District 6 has been struggling for 20 years.  Since Councilman Salazar was elected in 2003, Harry Hines has been steadily improving.  With his support, we have seen most of the massage parlors closed.  He has been available to any group that invites him to meet with them.

How would the non-Dallas residents on the DMN Editorial Board know things are improving in Northwest Dallas under Councilman Salazar's watch?  They don't even know we are the poorest part of North Dallas.  We are at least 55%, if not more, Hispanic.  Many of our single family neighborhoods are on the cusp of revitalization or deterioration, with housing stock built in the 50's and early 60's.  We have aging, poorly maintained, over-populated apartment houses that are havens for crime.  One of the worst complexes (Webb Chapel at NW Hwy) was condemned and demolished because Councilman Salazar kept the pressure on.  He has been actively pushing the site for potential retail.  Although no one has bit the bait, fenced vacant land is much better for Northwest Dallas than a horrible apartment complex that was unfit for human habitation.

The European Crossroad center has been another plague on redevelopment along Northwest Highway.  Councilman Salazar has met with several potential buyers and developers interested in the site.  Every time, he has consulted with community leaders to see if the plans would meet our goals.  He even helped us do a community-based land use study for Northwest Highway.

District 6 is a poor district.  The late Joe May and Mad Max Aaronson drew District 6 in its ridiculous configuration to include every Hispanic resident possible.  They didn't care that the extreme distance between NW Dallas and West Dallas would make it difficult to represent. 

The NW Dallas part of District 6 should either be connected to Oak Lawn (Love Field) in District 2 or the rest of Northwest Dallas in District 13.  For that matter, District 2 should be all of what is in District 14 and District 2  on the west side of Central, and District 14 should be all on the east side of Central.

Councilman Salazar lives in West Dallas, but he has been very attentive to Northwest Dallas.

Some of the people who live in Arcadia Park and West Dallas don't want the area to improve.  They want it to remain poor, so they can hang on to their power base and maintain their patron system over a little pond.  Councilman Salazar is not like that. 

I'm in a better position than most to testify to Councilman Salazar's effectiveness.  I wanted to represent District 6 on the council, but he beat me in a district where apathy reigns supreme.  He was very gracious in victory and did not try to punish people who had supported me.  We have differed on several big ticket issues, but we have been in sync on community and neighborhood issues.

In Chaos, I talked about the way the DMN Editorial Board  has turned on Mayor Leppert.  All he has done as Mayor is promote the agenda for Our Downtown Betters (the ODB), which is the same agenda as the Dallas Managed News and the Belo Family.  They all but call him a liar in Leppert didn't level with voters in Trinity campaign (DallasNews.com, 3/24/9) when all he did was repeat the ODB/DMN party line with vigor and enthusiasm.  The DMN Editorial Board had the information on the Corps' reservations about the safety and feasibility of building a toll road inside the Trinity River floodway.  They never questioned the veracity of the Mayor's campaign statements.  They ridiculed Councilwoman Angela Hunt who urged caution and flat out said the Mayor was being untruthful.

I absolutely feel sorry for Tom Leppert.  He has been as blindsided by the DMN Editorial Board as was Con Jerk/Ron Kirk when they threw him to the wolves in 2002.  I don't feel sorry for Con Jerk.  If there was ever an evil, deceitful man in public office, it would be Ron Kirk.  I don't think Mayor Leppert is evil.  He's a team player and a cheer leader, which was just what the ODB wanted in their mayor. 

There is no explanation for what the DMN Editorial Board does these days.   They were very complimentary in their endorsement of Pauline Medrano for District 2 We recommend Pauline Medrano in District 2  (DallasNews.com, 3/30/9).  She deserved their endorsement, and DallasArena.com endorsed her, too.  But, I got a bunch of hostile responses for endorsing her.  People in Deep Ellum were outraged and said she couldn't even find the area by herself.  Others in the Love Field area were critical of her lack of response and availability to them.  Does that mean she isn't doing her job well?  No! 

With the horrible configurations of the 14 council districts, only a few far North Dallas districts have any cohesiveness or geographic connection.  Those districts benefit from a council member who is in tune with the entire district.  The rest of the city has to make do. 

The DMN Editorial Board claims to be concerned with the Southern Sector, but they have never commented on the 3 ribbon districts that span from Pleasant Grove to West Dallas.  If those districts were split into cohesive/connected districts with neighborhoods of common interest, they would have better results from City Hall. 

Everything wrong with this city got started in the secret chambers of the Belo machine.

There is good news.   Nobody listens to them anymore.

sb