12 June 13 - 19, 2024 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents marijuana decriminalization in the city’s charter. Organizers have gathered more than 50,000 signatures on the Dallas Free- dom Act petition, but West says a City Coun- cil-proposed charter amendment, instead of one proposed by petition, will save the city time and resources. The amendment would direct the Dallas Police Department to stop issuing citations and making arrests for Class A or Class B misdemeanor marijuana possession. Several other cities across Texas have decriminal- ized marijuana with over 70% voter ap- proval, including Austin, Denton, Killeen and San Marcos, but those efforts have been met with opposition by Texas Attorney Gen. Ken Paxton. He has sued all of those cities for decriminalizing marijuana. “Voters in our city and across the country want to decriminalize marijuana,” West said in a press release. “Our already burdened police should focus their attention on seri- ous crime, not arresting people with small amounts of marijuana.” Asked how he expected Paxton to re- spond to his amendment if it passes, West told the Observer, “I would hope the attor- ney general would support and respect the strong will of Dallas residents on this issue. However, based on past actions, I am not op- timistic.” After a proposal by Bazaldua in 2021, Dallas police enacted a general order to stop arrests for possession of less than 2 ounces of marijuana. “For the past four years I have advocated for our council to implement this kind of initiative,” Ba- zaldua said in the press release. “Our jails are overfilled with predominantly Brown and Black males serving sentences for a substance that is making others millions of dollars in more than 30 states across the country. It’s past time we take action against this injustice.” Even under the DPD general order, ar- rests for misdemeanor amounts of mari- juana continue in the city, Resendez said. “Despite the positive steps taken by the city and DPD in recent years, marijuana-re- lated arrests continue, and racial disparities persist,” he said in the press release. “Al- though marijuana use is comparable across racial lines, Black and Latino individuals are disproportionately arrested and punished. Decriminalization is the best way to address this disparity.” Gracey said the criminalization of mari- juana has led to unnecessary arrests, crimi- nal records and a cycle of disadvantage that hinders economic and social progress. “De- criminalizing marijuana is not just about changing laws; it’s about rectifying decades of injustice and ensuring that our legal sys- tem is fair and equitable for all,” Gracey said in the press release Former City Council member Philip Kingston said in the press release that many on the council have tried to decriminalize marijuana with marginal success at best, de- spite overwhelming support by residents. In 2017, the city passed a cite-and-release pro- gram for marijuana possession. However, in 2018 it was reported by The Dallas Morning News that Dallas police were using cite-and-release in only a frac- tion of marijuana cases. Kingston said, “Amending the charter will provide clear and unmistakable instruction, enforceable by law, to city officials to avoid the pointless harm caused by treating marijuana users as criminals.” ▼ CITY CHARTER CHARTER CHANGES DISCUSSIONS SHOW WHERE SUPPORT LANDS FOR CHARTER AMENDMENTS. BY EMMA RUBY T he Dallas City Council parsed through recommended amendments to the Dallas City Charter, including those submitted by the council’s own mem- bers, during seven hours of deliberation last week. Ranked choice voting, November elections, council member term lengths and council salaries were some of the hot-button issues discussed. The charter, which acts as the city’s gov- erning document, is amended every 10 years through a lengthy process in which amend- ments are recommended by a 15-member Charter Review Commission, finalized by the city council and voted on by residents. The current charter requires the review to take place every 10 years. “That review could result in no changes, but it never really does,” former Dallas City Council member Philip Kings- ton told the Observer earlier this year. “[The charter review process] allows ev- erybody to kind of take a look at what works and what doesn’t work and see if they can develop proposals to improve the document with the goal of improving the governance of the city.” The Charter Review Commission sub- mits a list of suggested edits to the docu- ment, but council members are able to submit their own amendments. Sev- enteen amend- ments to the charter have been recommended by council members this year, and 12 of those were dis- cussed by the horseshoe on Wednesday. While council members held up green cards to indicate support of an amendment, the “straw votes” are non-binding and merely indi- cate how a council member anticipates voting when the final decisions are made later this month. Council Member Recommendations Municipal elections have been a prominent topic that council members seem keen to address with the charter. In a suggestion that garnered no support from the council, member Chad West proposed moving city elections from May to November in odd- numbered years, with council terms to re- main at the current length of two years. West argued that the switch would result in savings for the city, but City Secretary Billie- rae Johnson said the savings amount would be “relatively small.” Council member Paul Ridley said he was concerned that moving city council elections to November, when state and na- tional elections take place, could result in the races becoming partisan and place the city council near the bottom of the ballot. The financial impact on Dallas ISD and Dallas County, the bodies with which the city splits the cost of May elections, was a concern for council member Omar Nar- vaez. The motion failed, with West as the single member voting in favor, prompting council member Carolyn King Arnold to remind everyone, “We do still love our hanging Chad.” But West did get support for an amend- ment to transition the council to four-year terms starting in 2026. With the suggested change, council members would be limited to two terms. After the council discussed the merits of a three-year versus four-year term, the majority showed support for moving to the four-year model. Amendments put forward by Adam Ba- zaldua gained support, advocating for a preamble declaring Dallas an “equitable democracy” to be added to city charter and for a provision allowing members of the council outside of the Mayor to call meet- ings to order when a quorum is reached. The text of the proposed preamble is not fi- nalized, but the sentiment gained wide- spread support from members who agree the city’s governing document should in- clude a vision statement. “Given that it’s not an item in the char- ter itself but rather sets the tone for the Dallas we are and hope to become, I’m sup- portive,” council member Gay Donnell Willis said. The council also agreed to move forward with a motion that will allow the mayor pro tem to call a meeting to order when a quo- rum is reached before the mayor is present, and the deputy mayor pro tem to call the meeting if both the mayor pro tem and the mayor are absent. Bazaldua said he was in- spired to draw up the amendment after hearing frustrations from residents “time and time again” because of the council’s late starts. Wednesday’s meeting began 52 minutes after the posted starting time. “I think it’s just about respecting peo- ple’s time,” Bazaldua said. “I think it’s about efficient government. I think it’s about adopting a culture of professionalism.” Ridley’s amendment updating an “ar- chaic” provision on associate municipal judges was voted through, and an amend- ment suggestion from Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson was sent to Government Perfor- mance & Financial Management for further consideration. Johnson is arguing for the charter to allow the city manager to offer a contract to the chief of police, a response to the very specific corner the city found itself backed into last month when Austin and Houston expressed interest in hiring Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia. Charter Review Commission’s Recom- mendations One amendment that has re- ceived a lot of attention proposes to double council members’ salaries, hiking the pay to $125,000 a year from the cur- rent $60,000. Bazaldua and council mem- ber Kathy Stewart suggested lowering that salary to $95,000 and $80,000, re- spectively. “I am not afraid to say we de- serve more pay,” Bazaldua said, noting that 2014 was the last time council mem- ber salaries were adjusted. The discussion was tabled until a June 18 meeting, with Bazaldua and Stewart agreeing to coordi- nate an amendment that splits the differ- ence between their recommended salaries. Bazaldua was also an outspoken sup- porter for a provision that would allow any resident living legally in Dallas to serve on the city redistricting commission, the city plan commission, the civil service board and the park and recreation board. City staff rec- ommended that using the language “autho- rized residents” would be considered more palatable by voters, but most council mem- bers showed support for allowing “Dallas residents” to serve on the boards and com- missions. A suggestion for a trigger law that would make ranked choice voting go into effect if the Texas Legislature moves in fa- vor of the process drew strong objections. A majority of members said the ranked choice voting would add undue complexity to the voting process and would be prema- ture action ahead of the state body’s vote. The commission recommendation was del- egated to the Government Performance & Financial Management committee for fur- ther consideration. Unfair Park from p10 Nathan Hunsinger The current Dallas City Charter requires a three-stage review of the document to take place every 10 years. “THAT REVIEW COULD RESULT IN NO CHANGES BUT IT NEVER REALLY DOES.” -PHILIP KINGSTON
