8 OctOber 10 - 16, 2024 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents handle well while also identifying some opportunities. According to the presentation deck from the meeting provided to us by Willis, the “May 28th storm was the most impact- ful storm ever in Oncor’s Dallas County service area” while also being the “second- most-damaging storm for Oncor system- wide.” The significance of the destruction was highlighted by the many complaints from residents who suffered through days with- out power and many weeks waiting for sub- stantial debris, including downed trees, to be picked up. “The overall objective of the meeting was for Oncor and City departments to share the scope and impact of the storms and how to make homes resilient for future weather events,” Willis wrote in an email to the Ob- server. Eventually, more than 550,000 cubic yards of debris was picked up, but Willis noted that such recovery took longer than many residents think it should have. “Many complaints voiced during the meeting involved Oncor’s response time,” she wrote. “We wanted to help residents un- derstand City code with regard to keeping alleyways and sidewalks clear of vegetation, which delayed some of Oncor’s efforts to as- sess, repair and restore power.” To that point, “speed of restoration was negatively impacted by severity of damage and debris clogging roads and alleys,” On- cor’s section of the presentation explained, while also pointing out that “downed and damaged trees” were major causes of power outages. Also hindering restoration was a storm on May 30, which forced a work-stop- page of a half-day. East, Northeast and Northwest Dallas, as well as the area around Love Field, were most heavily affected by the storm. Around 27,000 residents in Willis’ District 13 experi- enced power outages, according to Oncor, and The Dallas Morning News recently re- ported that 94% of Oncor customers in Dis- trict 9 and 91% of Oncor customers in District 10 lost power during the May 28 storm. Aside from issues with clogged alleys and additional storms, Oncor’s communication methods failed to reach residents in a timely manner. The Dallas Morning News report stated that “communication from city officials to residents regarding power restoration and brush pickup was also lacking,” yet Willis told the Observer that wasn’t the case, writ- ing that “Oncor did have some communica- tions issues (not the city, as reported in the DMN), however they are working to im- prove that.” In Oncor’s section of the presentation, it’s noted that “all communication tools were activated,” including a “digital assis- tant” (aka chatbot) named Sara and text alerts and an increase of 265% in call center staff. But that wasn’t enough to get key in- formation to residents in a timely manner in many cases, according to Oncor’s inter- nal review. On June 4, Dallas City Council member Paula Blackmon issued a memo requesting that Oncor conduct an immediate investiga- tion into “the reasons behind the delayed power restoration.” When reached by phone, a spokesperson for Blackmon said this after-action report presented by Oncor and the city satisfies that request while al- lowing the city to “get more information on how to increase preventative measures in the future.” ▼ POLICE NEW TOP COP NAME EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT CHIEF MICHAEL IGO WILL TAKE OVER AS INTERIM POLICE CHIEF FOR EDDIE GARCIA ON OCT. 18. BY KELLY DEARMORE O utgoing Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia’s last day will be Oct. 18, and Executive Assistant Chief Michael Igo will step in as interim police chief, ac- cording to a Friday morning memo from Dallas’ interim city manager. “I am confident that Chief Igo will pro- vide the Dallas Police Department with the continuity we need during this transition. His experience, trust within the community, and knowledge of the Department gives me the confidence that he is the right person at the right time for this assignment,” said in- terim Dallas City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert in a press release attached to the memo. “Chief Igo has been unwavering in his commitment to his service in uniform. He will continue the Dallas Police Depart- ment’s focus on safety, our number one pri- ority,” Tolbert added. Garcia’s departure came as a surprise to the mayor and council on Sept. 19, when he confirmed reports that he was retiring from law enforcement. Later that day it was re- ported that Garcia had accepted the job as assistant city manager in Austin. There, he will join Dallas’ former City Manager, T.C. Broadnax, who resigned earlier this year for a similar job in Austin. Garcia has been vocal in his admiration of Broadnax. Only five months ago, Garcia said he planned to stay in Dallas at least three more years following an agreement with the city that would pay him an additional $10,000 every six months as a retention bonus. “While we are sorry to see him go, we also know that big city police chiefs never stick around forever,” Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson wrote in a statement in September, hours after the news of Garcia’s resignation broke. “We are fortunate to have had a capable, commit- ted, experienced, and innovative police chief these last three and a half years. We wish him the best of luck on his next journey.” Two council members, Paula Blackmon and Adam Bazuldua, laid part of the blame for Garcia’s departure on the controversial charter amendments championed by a group called Dallas HERO, which Garcia vo- cally opposed. According to the press release, Igo has been with DPD for 33 years.He was promoted to se- nior corporal in 1997 before serving as ser- geant, lieutenant, major, deputy chief and assistant chief. He was named as executive as- sistant chief in January of this year. According to the email, there will be “special recognition for Chief Garcia” dur- ing the City Council meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 23, “as a formal farewell to honor his service and commitment to making Dallas one of the safest cities in the United States.” ▼ ELECTION/COMMENTARY POLTICS LEGAL AGAIN IN TEXAS ... ALMOST JUDGE BLOCKS TEXAS LAW AGAINST SO-CALLED ‘VOTE HARVESTING’. STATE APPEALS. BY PATRICK WILLIAMS A federal judge ruled that a portion of Texas’ S.B. 1 voting law aimed at ending “vote harvesting” is uncon- stitutionally vague and violates free speech rights. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeal stayed the lower court’s injunction blocking enforcement of the law at least until Oct. 10 while Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s Offices readies an appeal. U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez, who serves in the Western District in San Antonio, had immediately halted the state’s efforts to investigate vote harvesting under the 2021 law until the 5th Circuit inter- vened. He ruled the law would stifle speech and suppress efforts by legitimate advocacy groups and nonpartisan organizations to en- courage voting. The unsavory practice of “vote harvest- ing,” essentially paid political hacks defraud- ing old people of their mail-in ballots, is already against the law in Texas. What S.B. 1 tarred as “vote harvesting” was, in fact, things like assisting voters to obtain ballots, helping non-English speakers fill out forms and run- ning get-out-the-vote programs, all of which fall under the heading “legitimate political activity,” at least in other parts of the country. S.B. 1, which also banned drive-thru and 24-hour voting, tightened rules for mail-in ballots and granted partisan poll watchers greater freedom of movement inside polling places, is the target of multiple other chal- lenges still pending before Rodriguez. Opposition to the law, which critics say is aimed at suppressing likely Democratic vot- ers, was so fierce in 2021 that Texas House Democrats walked out of the Legislature and headed off to Washington, D.C., to deny the House a quorum in an effort to block its pas- sage. It took two special sessions of the Legis- lature for GOP lawmakers to pass the bill. The section that would be blocked by Ro- driguez’s ruling threatened third-degree fel- ony charges against anyone who “harvested” votes in exchange for compensation, anyone paying for vote har- vesting services and anyone who collects or possesses a mail ballot or official car- rier envelope in con- nection with a vote harvesting service. Rodriguez ruled that the law was un- constitutionally vague about what is compensation — Does a free lunch for a canvasser count? A bus pass? And even talking with a voter about an election while being too close to a mail-in ballot could conceivably have been a crime. According to S.B. 1’s text, the ban on paid vote harvesters applied to anyone having “in-person interaction with one or more voters, in the physical presence of an offi- cial ballot, a ballot voted by mail, or an ap- plication for ballot by mail, intended to deliver votes for a specific candidate or measure.” How close could a vote canvasser, full-up on snacks at a get-out-the-vote event, get to an absentee ballot before running the risk of a stretch in prison? The law was unclear, and that’s a problem for a group like OCA- Greater Houston, one of the plaintiffs in the case. It’s a membership-driven organization advocating on behalf of Americans of Asian and Pacific Islands descent largely in Harris, Brazoria and Fort Bend counties that holds events where volunteers assist non-English speakers and new voters to understand and complete voting applications and mail-in ballots. You know, democracy in action. “Nothing in the trial record suggests that Plaintiffs’ or their members seek to defraud or intimidate voters. Thus, as applied to Mike Graham Eddie Garcia’s final day as DPD chief will be Oct. 18. Unfair Park from p7 HOW CLOSE COULD A VOTE CANVASSER GET TO AN ABSENTEE BALLOT BEFORE RUNNING THE RISK OF A STRETCH IN PRISON?
