Crime, code enforcement, and street repair and maintenance – these are the most important issues facing our neighborhoods, say our City Council members elected last month.
Craig McDaniel of District 14 was elected to a second term, beating Sharon Boyd. Chris Luna of District 2 returns for third term after edging John Loza, and long-time neighborhood activist Mary Poss replaces Glenn Box, after defeating Lisa Saemann Teschner. Box chose not to run for re-election.
All three council members say the new Council is optimistic and want to work together.
Luna and McDaniel want to keep the ball rolling on projects they say have had a positive impact on the community so far. That is why both of them say they chose to run for re-election.
“It takes a lot of time to get your feet on the ground and affect City policy,” McDaniel says.
Both Councilmen say they want to see more residential development, a continued decrease in crime and improved code enforcement.
“A lot of the programs we have begun have not been finished yet,” says Luna, citing a recent project to increase multi-family housing inspections and crack-down on properties violating City codes.
“I view this (being re-elected) as an opportunity to bring closure to these projects.”
Poss says she will focus on juvenile crime, street and drainage repair, and what she calls core assets of Dallas, such as White Rock Lake, Fair Park and the Zoo. She and McDaniel also say more attention needs to be paid to our libraries.
“There are many significant issues we need to get started on,” she says. “I’m ready to go to work.”
Poss chose to run this year, after being defeated six years ago by Box, because she says her experience has prepared her to make a difference at City Hall. Like Box, she says she is a fiscal conservative.
Poss has served on the Greater Dallas Crime Commission for six years, directing the organization for two years. She also has served as vice president of the Greater Dallas Planning Commission.
A business management consultant, she grew up in Dallas and graduated from Bryan Adams High School in 1969. She met her husband, Mike, in the third grade at George Truett Elementary. The two dated in college at the University of Texas at Austin and have been married for 22 years.
As a Council member, Poss says neighborhood residents can expect her to be accessible.
“I plan to attend as many neighborhood meetings as possible,” she says. “I’ll return every phone call and attempt to answer every letter.”
During her campaign, Poss kept a list of all the needs and wants she heard expressed at campaign meetings. It is this list that will shape her priorities she says.
“People told me all kinds of things,” she says. “As soon as I left a meeting, I’d sit in my car for a few minutes and write all the things down.”
