4 OctOber 10 - 16, 2024 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents HERO OR VILLAIN? One of three Dallas charter amendments backed by conservatives would force the city to spend more on police. Who does it serve? By Tyler Hicks H e didn’t sleep much, preferring to stay awake in case his daugh- ter stirred or an “intruder” both- ered them. But on this particular morning, before knuckles rapped on his window, Ron Campbell had managed to momentarily throw off some of his worries and catch a little rest. He awoke to the sound of knocking: A person on the other side of the glass was asking if he needed help. “We saw you sleeping here,” the stranger said, “and just wanted to see if you’re OK.” At that point, in 2023, the 61-year-old Campbell and his 6-year-old daughter Autumn had been sleeping in their car for about four months. One of their go-to spots was near a park downtown (“just past the eyeball,” he says), though they moved around a lot to stay ahead of cops monitoring the loiterers. “It took me a while to get home- less,” Campbell says, “but eventually we ran out of money. Believe me when I say it can happen to anyone. You can be on your job for 20 years, then one thing happens, and you’re homeless.” For Campbell, it was the death of his wife on April 11, 2022. The loss “shattered” him, he says, and he eventually lost his job and his house. Looking back, he says the stranger at his window could have been sent by God; that’s one way to explain what happened next. He was connected to the non- profit Family Gateway, which helps families experiencing homelessness, and he and his daughter went from sleeping in a car to staying at a motel. Eventu- ally, they entered a rapid rehousing pro- gram and landed an apartment of their own. When interviewed for this story, Campbell was calling from his and Au- tumn’s two-bedroom home. Their apart- ment complex has a pool, too, which helps make the place “like heaven.” “He’s paying the rent on his own after a year in our shelter,” says Ellen Magnis, CEO of Family Gateway. “That, to me, is a success story.” Stories like this, she adds, are possible thanks in part to the support her organiza- tion receives from the city of Dallas. While Magnis is quick to point out that the city’s support is “quite variable,” Family Gateway has the benefit of operating rent- free out of a city-owned building. That’s a significant perk for an organization that re- lies on donations and grants to help people like Campbell and his daughter. “We need more investments and the right kinds of investments,” she says, referring to city funding of homelessness services. “If money gets pushed out of the budget, specif- ically allocated for other issues, then every- one is getting hurt.” Yet Dallas residents from wildly differ- ent backgrounds worry this “pushing out” could indeed happen, imperiling future in- vestment in homelessness solutions and other services like libraries, parks and in- frastructure. On Nov. 5, alongside the presidential race and the contest for U.S. Senate pitting Colin Allred against incumbent Ted Cruz, Dallas voters will decide on three controversial City Charter amendments made possible by a group called Dallas HERO. One would make the city manager’s job security and pay increases subject to a com- munity survey. Another would allow any Dallas resident to sue the city for violating the charter. Finally, the most hotly debated proposal would compel City Council to de- vote at least 50% of Dallas’ new annual reve- nue above the prior year’s amount to fund the police and fire pension “in the amount directed by the State Pension Review Board and/or city council, whichever is higher.” Any part of that 50% left after the city cuts a check to the pension fund would be used to increase the starting pay for police officers. The proposition would also raise the total number of officers to at least 4,000 (an in- crease of about 900 cops). In plain language, cops get first dibs on half of any growth in the city’s income even if the elected City Council sees better ways to spend the money. These proposals have sparked concern over affordability and a perceived over-in- vestment in police. (Roughly 63% of the city’s $1.9 billion general fund is used for public safety expenses in- cluding policing.) Only recently has an opposition of sorts spoken out against these proposals. Departing police Chief Eddie Garcia and former Chief David Brown aren’t fans, and neither are former Mayors Ron Kirk and Mike Rawlings. When Garcia announced his retirement from the Dallas Po- lice Department on Sept. 19, coun- cil members Adam Bazaldua and Paula Blackmon cited HERO’s amendments as likely reasons for the popular chief choosing to skip town for a new job in Austin. At an Oct. 2 news conference featuring a slew of current and for- mer city leaders, former Mayor Laura Miller described the HERO efforts as “the biggest threat that I’ve seen in the 40 years I’ve been involved with City Hall.” This group has launched “Vote No Dal- las,” an effort which casts the HERO group as “extremists” who “paid to force [the propositions] on your November ballot” and will now defund parks, libraries and other services. In multiple statements to the Observer, the group’s executive di- rector Pete Marocco pushed back on the idea that the propositions are unaffordable. “At no point would these mea- sures result in an increase in taxes or require tax cuts,” Marocco says. Both sides claim they’re fighting for the city’s best interests. Meanwhile, residents, or- ganizers, former politicians and many others who spoke to the Observer on the record or on background have two big questions: Is it too late to stop these amendments? And who would they really benefit? “There is no good faith reason for these amendments,” former council member Philip Kingston says. “It’s a really, really grim vision of the future.” Kingston believes the proposals were “in- tentionally designed to destroy city govern- ment,” and, when asked if they stand a | UNFAIR PARK | Photo illustration by Sarah Schumacher/ Photography by Brian Maschino; Getty Images
