4 August 28 - september 3, 2025 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents Official Luxury We are very jealous of the mayor’s $40,000 trip to Africa. BY EMMA RUBY P lantation tours, safaris, luxe stays and meals with ambassa- dors were all on the agenda for the eight days Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson spent in Tanzania last month. The trip culminated in signing a sis- ter city agreement with Dar es Salaam, a city of 7.8 million people on a cove of the Indian Ocean. Based on a statement sent to the Observer from Johnson’s office, sister city agreements seem to be the kind of thing politicians love to point out but which mean absolutely nothing for the normal person who doesn’t get giddy over economics. The agreement includes “provisions for small business exchange pro- grams and investment opportunities,” and is the first time Dallas has entered such a full- fledged agreement since 2010. City records obtained by the Observer show that the trip came in around $40,000, around $13,300 of which is expected to be reimbursed to the city by the Dallas Interna- tional Fund because the costs exceeded what the city typically agrees to pay for travel. For instance, the city won’t pay for its employees to fly business class, but as city staffers noted in planning documents for the trip, traveling to Tanzania requires “a diffi- cult flight of more than 24 hours.” Obviously, the mayor isn’t flying coach. Trip coordinators assured the city that the international fund would step in to pay for the difference between the regular people’s seats and the seats that come with a little glass of Champagne during boarding. The government rate (what the city is willing to pay using taxpayer dollars) for a hotel stay in Zanzibar, where Johnson spent two nights, is $301 a night. Johnson’s stay at the Park Hyatt Zanzibar cost twice that. Now, whoever says money can’t buy happi- ness doesn’t know about the Park Hyatt in Zanzibar. The website for the hotel shows four-post beds draped in creamy fabrics, bal- conies with blue sea views and an 18-meter infinity pool that surely left the mayor ask- ing, “Do I really have to go back to Dallas?” Now, this is where we must say we are not criticizing the mayor for this trip, even if we don’t really understand why it was nec- essary. For transparency, we love vacations here at the Observer. And looking at John- son’s itinerary, we are deeply, deeply jealous. We also think he should start traveling with a press pool, like the president, for transparency purposes. We volunteer. In a statement to WFAA, the Dallas Foundation, which manages the interna- tional fund that Johnson’s office told the city would be responsible for reimbursing par- tial costs of the trip, said it is still reviewing the trip’s costs to ensure “they align with the guidelines and stipulations set forth in the fund agreement.” We asked SMU political science Profes- sor Cal Jillson to look at Johnson’s financial records from the trip, and he stated that all seemed to be in line with what would be ex- pected of a major city mayor. No ethics con- cerns stuck out to him, and he applauded correspondence between city officials like Chief Financial Officer Jack Ireland and Beth Huddleston, who serves in Johnson’s office as chief of protocol and international relations, for due diligence ahead of the trip taking place. “There are often small shows of selfish- ness, people taking advantage on the mar- gins [with city finances], but frankly, I did not see that in this [trip],” said Jillson. “The cost did not seem to me to be out of line, once you assume that principals like the mayor of Dallas are not going to fly coach.” Jillson added that while sister city agree- ments are pretty standard, he got a chuckle out of Johnson’s decision to partner with a city from Africa, considering Johnson’s switch to the Republican party, and Presi- dent Donald Trump’s famous 2018 refer- ence to African “shithole countries.” “If I were the mayor, I would try to keep this from Donald Trump if at all possible,” Jillson said. The mayor spent three nights at the Hy- att Regency in Dar es Salaam, records show, for $1,805. That hotel, too, is about as lovely as you’d expect. But here’s where you’re going to be really jealous. A readout of the Johnson’s trip shows he spent four nights in Arusha, which is known as the safari capital of Africa and sits adjacent to the Serengeti National Park and Ngorongoro Conservation Area. A stan- dard Hyatt would not do for our mayor, here in Arusha. Instead, he split his time between a lux- ury cottage tucked along the grounds of a coffee plantation and the ultimate glamping experience overlooking Africa’s wildlife mi- gration path. First up was the Legendary Lodge. The grounds are pristine, if photos do them any justice, and a smattering of private cottages overlook a working coffee plantation, which Johnson reportedly visited. A garden cot- tage rings in at $1,100 a night, and while the tropical gardens appear stunning, Johnson’s itinerary suggests he didn’t spend much time relaxing at the resort. His readout states that after the coffee plantation tour, Johnson visited the Arusha City Cultural Heritage Center, met with conservation leaders, dined with Elsie Kanza, the United States’ Ambassador to Tanzania, and visited the Open Arms Clinic, a medical facility founded by former Texas Health Resources CEO Douglas Hawthorne. Johnson’s office told us that his accom- modations were selected by Tanzanian offi- cials with consideration for the fact that his security detail did not come on the trip, “making safety an even more important con- sideration. The cost to the City of Dallas is the same regardless of the lodging selected, as the difference between the actual cost and the City’s standard policy rate is reim- bursed to the City through the aforemen- tioned Dallas International Fund.” An interesting coincidence here is that Legendary Expeditions, which manages the Arusha properties where the mayor stayed, is owned by Mwiba Holdings. Mwiba Hold- ings is owned by Houston billionaire and ac- tive political donor Dan Friedkin. “Has Mayor Johnson ever met or spoken with this guy?” We asked because we are nosy. No answer. The itinerary briefly mentions that John- son traveled to the Serengeti, and financial records show he was staying at the Songa Migrational Camp. We will let the website explain what type of experience this is. “Guests are granted a front row seat to the procession of more than two million wil- debeest, zebra and Thomson’s gazelle as they traverse across the vast grass plains,” the website states. “It’s not uncommon to awaken at dawn to the sounds and sights of wildlife just outside your tent, and out in these endless grasslands, time seems tempo- rarily suspended as you’re struck by the ut- ter vastness of the wilderness. Songa Migrational Camp puts you in the thick of it, in the heart of it … the wonder of the Seren- geti ecosystem permeating every one of your senses.” The website depicts stylish lounge seat- ing around fireplaces, trendy dining table- scapes (or “bush picnics”) that overlook watering holes, a community lounge tent with a stocked bar and massive private tents fitted with king-sized beds and ensuite bath- rooms. One night is $3,270. Johnson has posted several photos from his Tanzania trip, but none from his time in Songa, even though there has literally never been a better place for him to wear an Indi- ana Jones hat. Release the safari photos, mayor! Let us live vicariously through you! ▼ HOMELESSNESS TRUMPING PROGRESS FEDERAL ORDER MIGHT CHANGE HOW DALLAS HANDLES ITS HOMELESSNESS RESPONSE. BY EMMA RUBY A s summer draws to a close, Presi- dent Donald Trump has declared that restoring law and order to American cities is a top priority in the com- ing months. Caught in the crosshairs of that goal is the homeless population and the pro- gram Dallas officials credit with reducing downtown crime and homelessness. Last month, Trump signed an executive order that made it easier for cities to remove homeless encampments and for the un- housed to be admitted into mental health or addiction treatment centers even if they do not consent. That pressure ramped up last week, when the president called for officials across the United States to focus on remov- ing the “slums” of homeless encampments that have surged in number in recent years. After that announcement, a bulldozer was sent into a Washington, D.C., park at Trump’s behest to dismantle a group of tents the president noticed while driving through the city, the BBC reports. “We’re getting rid of the people from un- derpasses and public spaces from all over the city,” the president told reporters. But Trump’s approach to handling home- lessness might run contrary to Dallas’ “hous- ing first” model. This strategy states that once people have access to reliable housing, | UNFAIR PARK | Office of Eric Johnson Mayor Eric Johnson met with U.S. Ambassador to Tanzania Elsie Kanza and Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority Commissioner Abdul-Razaq Badru to talk about green spaces. >> p6
