D.A. Susan Hawk
Dallas District Attorney Susan Hawk took another leave of absence and returned to rehab in Houston.
City Manager A.C. Gonzalez resigned over the weekend.
Hawk, who lived in the Perry Heights neighborhood of Oak Lawn until recently, has been concerned with the attacks in the area and has met with the community several times.
The Dallas Morning News noted that Democrats have been silent on her absence, although they are confident they will retake that position in 2018 when her term is up.
Quiet? Here’s why. If she leaves office, that position isn’t filled by the County Commissioners Court, which has a 4-1 Democratic majority.
No, the governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, would appoint a replacement.
Here’s the fear. Either Abbott would appoint someone most of the county would dislike, because, well, that’s just the kind of guy he is. Or, Abbott could appoint someone like state Rep. Jason Villalba, who’s a moderate Republican, would do a good job, and, with the power of incumbency, would be harder to defeat in 2018.
Gonzalez has been controversial since replacing Mary Suhm as city manager. That controversy began the day he assumed the office when the Dallas City Council almost doubled what they paid Suhm, who had been city manager for eight years and worked for the city for 35. Gonzalez was among the highest paid city managers in the country but Dallas is the largest city in the U.S. with a city manager.
He’ll remain in office, if needed, through the end of the year.
Gonzalez is credited with bringing the Dallas Stars to town and passing the $479 million bond package to build the Omni at the convention center.
He worked with the Mayor’s LGBT Task Force to correct wording in existing ordinances that didn’t change those laws, but made them clearer, especially for the trans community. He also took all of the task force’s recommendations to equalize benefits and interpretation of ordinances for LGBT people in Dallas.
