4 September 28–OctOber 4, 2023 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents The Ol’ Switcheroo Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson is now a Republican. BY KELLY DEARMORE, JACOB VAUGHN AND SIMONE CARTER O n Friday, Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson dropped a whopper of an announcement onto the city by letting the world know he is officially switching par- ties from Democrat to Republican. In an op- ed in the Wall Street Journal, Johnson laid out the case for why he’s jumping to the other side. “After these wins for the people of Dallas — and after securing 98.7% of the vote in my re-election campaign this year — I have no intention of changing my approach to my job,” Johnson wrote. “But today I am chang- ing my party affiliation. Next spring, I will be voting in the Republican primary. When my career in elected office ends in 2027 on the inauguration of my successor as mayor, I will leave office as a Republican.” For those who have been paying even somewhat close attention, this news, al- though still surprising, isn’t exactly the most shocking thing to ever come out of City Hall. For months, since Johnson won reelection after running unopposed in May, he has openly and rather boldly carried himself in ways that lean more red than blue. The for- mer Democrat state representative for Dis- trict 100 has made multiple appearances on Fox News, and in June, he invited Republi- can U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz and John Cornyn to the city’s 2023 inaugural ceremony. There’s more there to consider, including developments from City Hall in the very re- cent past, but Observer reporter Simone Carter was curious enough about Johnson’s Democratic loyalty to reach out to his office back in July. She emailed the mayor’s spokesperson, posing the question “Given his recent deal- ings with Republicans/conservatives, some critics on social media have said that the mayor should go ahead and ‘switch parties’ while others have praised him for his bipar- tisanship. What is Mayor Johnson’s re- sponse to those who have said he’s playing on the other side of the aisle?” The mayor’s spokesperson, Maddy Madrazo, toed a diplomatic, benign line when replying, for the most part. But she didn’t mince words when it came to John- son’s party affiliation, writing, “Those obser- vations are inaccurate. Mayor Johnson’s full attention remains focused on leading Dallas down the path toward becoming the safest major city in the United States with the best park system in Texas and the lowest tax rate in the North Texas region. He is interested in partnering with anyone supportive of these goals and making Dallas the best city it can be.” In the WSJ article, Johnson says he was never a fan of the Democratic caucus during his House run, nor, according to him, were they a fan of his. Later, he added more expla- nation to his switch by invoking the name of one of history’s most prominent Republi- cans, whom it should be noted, also switched parties, but his was to move away from the GOP. “In other words, American cities need Republicans — and Republicans need Amer- ican cities,” Johnson wrote. “When my po- litical hero Theodore Roosevelt was born, only 20% of Americans lived in urban areas. By the time he was elected president, that share had doubled to 40%. Today, it stands at 80%. As America’s cities go, so goes America.” Predictably, the response, especially on- line, has been swift and polarizing. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott quickly posted his ap- proval to X (formerly Twitter), writing, “Texas is getting more Red every day. Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson switches to Republican Party. He’s pro law enforcement & won’t tol- erate leftist agendas. Two of the 10 largest cities in America now have Republican May- ors & they are both in Texas.” Gilberto Hinojosa and Shay Wyrick Cathey, the chair and vice-chair of the Texas Democratic Party, issued a statement taking aim at the timing of the announcement, say- ing “the voters of Dallas deserved to know where he stood before he ran for reelection as Mayor. He wasn’t honest with his constit- uents, and knew he would lose to a Demo- crat if he flipped before the election.” Dallas municipal elections are nonparti- san in a sort of nudge-nudge, wink-wink fashion. Party affiliations aren’t listed on the ballots, but savvy voters know who’s what, generally. The timing of Johnson’s announcement is curious. Not only has he just begun his second mayoral term, but last week, the mayor was handed a convincing defeat when City Council voted 10-5 to approve a city budget that he had vocally opposed over the previous few weeks, claiming it did not lower property taxes enough, among other concerns. Dallas City Council member Adam Ba- zaldua said he wasn’t surprised by the may- or’s op-ed. “The substance of the announcement it- self does not shock me,” he told the Ob- server. “The timing, I would say, is something that I’m most intrigued on.” He said there’s no real reason to announce your party affiliation in a nonpartisan role unless there’s a plan or aspiration to run for a role that is partisan. “At the same time, if he thought it was im- portant enough to tell the public now of his party affiliation, I think that it could proba- bly have been important enough to let the voters know before they went to the ballot box for him in May,” Bazaldua said. But Bazaldua has suspected this for some time. “The GOP is the leading party in disin- genuous messaging, and this started in 2020 with a false narrative to the public that his colleagues on the council were trying to de- fund the police, when in all reality, he also is quick to tout being the safest large city in the country, and that was done under the watch of a Democrat majority council.” Bazaldua said he doesn’t think this will affect his working relationship with the mayor. “The way I look at this announce- ment, is this is a personal announcement,” he said. “This doesn’t affect how the body’s going to continue to govern, and it doesn’t affect the fact that the governing body is by large Democrat majority. We’re going to continue to work with the structure of gov- ernment we have, which requires us to have eight votes. So, it’s going to be more depen- dent on how he carries himself after this an- nouncement on his success. “I’m hoping that he’s more strategic in collaborating with his colleagues and not al- lowing partisanship to end our progress.” SMU political science professor Cal Jill- son isn’t as puzzled by the timing of the mayor’s switch as some others. Under- standing it is as simple as understanding the political party landscape Johnson is navigating. “You can only be elected mayor of Dallas as a Democrat,” he said. “And you can only be elected statewide in Texas as a Republi- can. I think that helps to explain the timing. After his election, he’s now giving Republi- cans time to get their mind around what has happened and to get comfortable with him as he prepared to think about what office he wants to run for.” Dallas City Council member Chad West said many, including himself, cherish that the coalitions and working groups that form among Dallas City Council members often transcend partisanship. “Every City Hall observer knows there have been many votes over the years in which its self-identified Democratic and Re- publican members split on issues as elected officials tried to do right by their districts rather than their parties,” West told the Ob- server. “I remain a steadfast and proud Dem- ocrat because of my values as a small business owner, military veteran, gay man and father of two. I do not understand the mayor’s decision to switch parties in the era we find ourselves in, but I hope he uses this inflection point in his life to double down on the commitment he made to serve Dallas for the next four years as its mayor. “If Mayor Johnson reaches out for non- partisan consensus on parks, public safety or city services that reflects the values of our city and council, I will work with him. But I will not allow our city to become a labora- tory of right wing attacks on our residents, businesses and visitors.” ▼ PUBLIC SAFETY REINSTATED BUT NOT IN THE CLEAR DALLAS PARAMEDIC WHO KICKED MENTALLY ILL MAN IS BACK. BY JACOB VAUGHN B rad Cox, the Dallas Fire-Rescue (DFR) paramedic who kicked a men- tally ill man several times while on the job in 2019, has been allowed to return to the department. Cox, a former MMA fighter, was one of several with the department who showed up to the scene of a grass fire in West Dallas in August 2019. When they got there, they found a man named Kyle Vess, who they suspected was setting the fires. Vess suffers from a mental illness similar to schizophre- nia as well as the lasting impacts of a previ- ous traumatic head injury. Cox claims that when he tried to approach Vess about the fires, he was attacked. Vess can be seen in video captured that day throwing a piece of PVC pipe at Cox, taking a fighter’s stance and approaching Cox. In the video, the two then disappear behind a fire truck. When they reappear, Vess falls to the ground where Cox kicks him several times. | UNFAIR PARK | Brian Maschino Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson officially leans red. >> p6
