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Candidates for Dallas City Council were required to file campaign finance disclosures for contributions and expenses from Jan. 1 through March 27. A look at the filings for the two candidates in District 9 and the three candidates in District 14 provide some insight into the nature of each candidate’s support.
District 9
Incumbent Paula Blackmon is seeking a third term on the council. She raised $18,325 during the first three months of 2023, spending $48,717 in the campaign during the same period. Two previous election fundraising cycles have benefited the incumbent, as Blackmon still has $98,630 in the bank running up to the May 6 election.
Her list of contributors is what you might imagine for a mainstream incumbent. Coming from different parts of the spectrum are contributors banker and community leader Ron Steinhardt, education advocate Todd Williams, businessman Albert Black, Hunt Realty CEO Colin Fitzgibbons, real estate developer Lucy Billingsley, Shannon Wynne, Kessler Theater owner and Longhorn Ballroom savior Edwin Cabaniss and Dallas business icon Craig Hall.
If anything, Blackmon’s campaign has supported East Dallas food and beverage businesses including White Rock Coffee, Hypnotic Doughnuts, Well Grounded Coffee, Casa Linda Bakery and White Rock Alehouse.
By far her largest expense was $20,000 for Sole Strategies, a Nevada-based political consulting firm. Sole Strategies assisted Blackmon’s campaign in a paid walker strategy, knocking on 7,000 doors early in the season.
Kendra Madison is a newcomer to politics, never running for public office before deciding to take on Blackmon for the District 9 city council seat.
Madison serves as her own campaign treasurer and collected $1,201 in contributions during the filing period. Expenses amounted to $1,498. The largest amount was $702 for campaign signs. She had $402 in the bank at the end of March.
District 14
Ridley is asking District 14 voters to return him to city council for a second two-year term. Filings show he garnered $45,261, the most of any of the five East Dallas candidates. Ridley spent $7,223 and had $89,883 in the bank at month’s end.
Yard signs costing $2,992 were the largest expense for Ridley’s campaign.
Ridley does have the highest loan total of the five candidates. He made two personal loans to his campaign — $20,000 on Dec. 31, 2020, and an additional $30,000 on June 13, 2021. The $50,000 is still outstanding and carries an interest rate of zero.
Even though Ridley and Blackmon are both incumbents and their districts share a long border, their contributors come from different crowds. Ridley’s supporters include former and current council members or candidates Veletta Lill, Chad West, Leland Burke, Ann Margolin and Mitchell Rasansky. Also on the list are State Rep. John Bryant, former State Rep. Harryette Earhardt, Dallas County Commissioner Theresa Daniel, Dallas County Treasurer Pauline Medrano and former Dallas County Democratic Chair Carol Donovan.
Former Trammell Crow Company CEO Don Williams and his wife, Ellen, both contributed $1,000 to Ridley.
Interestingly, Dallas business icon Craig Hall shows up as the only $1,000 contributor to both Ridley and Blackmon’s campaign.
The Belmont Conservation District resident and former park board member took in $24,574 for the three-month period. Expenses amounted to $40,031, and Schulz had $4,209 in the bank at the end of March. Her bank account includes $8,500 in personal loans she has made to her campaign.
Schulz’s largest expense was $19,185 to Tim Reeves Consulting, covering campaign consulting and printing.
Schulz’s contributors are a more eclectic bunch, including current park board member Maria Hasbany, East Dallas real estate owner Terry Syler, former council candidate Bobby Abtahi, former State Fair of Texas board Chair Pete Schenkel, Safer Dallas board member Calvert Collins-Bratton, Dallas businessman Darwin Deason and two other Deason family members.
Turtle Creek resident and first-time candidate Joseph Miller reports no contributors and $386 in expenses, not including an unpaid bill of $119 for a box of “It’s Miller Time” trucker caps.
The rules require all candidates to make another pre-election filing eight days before the May 6 election. Stay tuned.
