Dallas mayor and council sworn in

Eric Johnson was sworn in as Dallas’ 60th mayor and members of the Dallas City Council took their oaths of office at the Winspear Opera House on Monday morning (June 17). The program opened with about 50 members of the Turtle Creek Chorale singing the Star Spangled Banner.

Former and newly elected members of the Dallas City Council sat on stage together. Each was accompanied by a spouse or relative.

The old rule about public displays affection by same-sex couples was off the table as both council members Omar Narvaez and Chad West entered the stage holding hands or arm-in-arm with their husbands to cheers of the crowd. That seems to be the Buttegieg effect: Mayor Pete Buttegieg, who is in the top tier of Democratic candidates running for president of the United States, is often seen in pictures holding his husband’s hand or kissing him.

Outgoing members of the city council were recognized with plaques. Scott Griggs, who served on the council four terms and lost the mayoral contest to Johnson, and Philip Kingston, who lost a bid for a fourth term on the council, didn’t attend the event and weren’t mentioned by outgoing Mayor Mike Rawlings.

Councilwoman Sandy Grayson was recognized as the longest-serving council member in Dallas history. She served two eight-year stints with a one-term break between her first four and last four terms in office.

In his inaugural address, Johnson said he would seek consensus on the council.

“The campaign is over,” Johnson said, acknowledging a divisive campaign. He turned to the council promising he would “work with each and every one of you,” calling for a “new culture of civility at city hall.”

“We can attack problems without attacking people,” he said,

Referring to recent prosecutions of former city council members, Johnson said there’s “no place in government for corruption,” and asked for a rewrite of the city’s code of ethics.

He called for a new commitment to education from pre-K through the community college district including access to affordable child care.

With the goal of making Dallas one of the safest large cities in the country, Johnson appealed for a new approach to fighting crime, while endorsing the work of Chief U. Renee Hall. He said he would address police officer salaries and benefits as well as low morale.

Johnson summarized his agenda as including civility, fighting corruption, using data for innovation, making the Dallas workforce one of the most skilled in the U.S. and turning Dallas into one of the safest large cities in the country.

He called Dallas a 21st century city that deserved a 21st century government.

Rawlings leaves office as the longest serving mayor of Dallas in about 60 years. A mayor may serve two consecutive four-year terms, but must resign to run for higher office. Both mayors Ron Kirk and Tom Leppert resigned to run for the U.S. Senate. Laura Miller’s first term as mayor was as a replacement. Before the current council configuration was put in place in the early 1990s, the term of office was two years. Kirk’s immediate predecessors, Steve Bartlett and Annette Strauss, each served two two-year terms. Woodall Rodgers (1939-1947) and R.L. Thornton (1953-1961) each served four two-year terms. Prior to 1907, mayors served one-year terms.

— David Taffet