Amanda Schulz, Joseph Miller and Paul Ridley participate in a City Council District 14 forum hosted by the Lakewood Heights Neighborhood Association. Photo by Renee Umsted.
City Council District 14 incumbent Paul Ridley and challengers Amanda Schulz and Joseph Miller appeared together in a candidate forum hosted by the Lakewood Heights Neighborhood Association on Tuesday night at Times Ten Cellars. This was the first assembly where all three candidates have appeared together to answer voter questions.
Who they are and why they want to serve on the council
Ridley has professional degrees in architecture and urban planning and a law degree from University of Texas. Prior to his 2021 election, Ridley served on several volunteer city commissions, including eight years on the plan commission.
The East Dallas resident touts his customer service, emphasis on public safety, stopping neighborhood incursion of development, protecting neighborhood parks, promoting economic development, adding workforce housing, stopping short-term rentals in residentially zoned areas and serving on the environment and sustainability committee.
Miller is a professional electrical engineer educated in Scotland and has lived and worked in the U.S. since 1978. His career developed around designing and building electric trains in Philadelphia, Boston, New Jersey, Puerto Rico, San Francisco and Dallas. Miller lives in Turtle Creek at The Renaissance condominium building.
Miller believes Dallas has “gone off the tracks” since he moved here in the ’90s, turning into a place where you can’t go to a restaurant without having your catalytic converter stolen. He wants to address crime, homelessness and integrate Dallas’ transportation system.
Schulz lives in the Belmont Addition Conservation District. She has an undergraduate degree from the University of Texas and a law degree from St. Mary’s. She has practiced law and served as a residential real estate agent for 20 years. Schulz was previous District 14 Council member David Blewett’s appointee to the Dallas Park and Recreation Board. She currently serves on the boards of Friends of Santa Fe Trail and Friends of Tietze Park.
She hopes to bring a better sense of collaboration between city government and its citizens and sees a “next generation of leadership” in District 14 that she wants to join.
Short-term rentals in residential neighborhoods
The council is currently debating the KISS amendment (Keep It Simple Solution) to define short-term rentals as a lodging use in the development code. KISS would make STRs like Airbnb or Vrbo an unlawful use in areas zoned for residential.
Schulz noted her background in law and residential real estate and is “very serious with property rights.” She is not a proponent of “hard-line mandates” and disputes the notion that “conglomerates” are the culprits. She cited examples of neighbors who can afford staying in their homes in District 14 only because of their ability to participate in rental programs for additional income.
Ridley “fully supports” the KISS amendment, saying it would bring Dallas in line with state law. He contradicted Schulz, saying that 85% of STRs have multiple owners or are corporations “invading our neighborhoods with their businesses.”
Miller also aligns with KISS, citing the work he did at The Renaissance in limiting STR programs in the building.
The April 4 forum was hosted by the Lakewood Heights Neighborhood Association. Photo by Rudy Karimi.
Homelessness in Dallas
In combination with “wraparound services,” Ridley wants more permanent housing options such as the city’s recent purchases of hotels for housing homeless people and a program where the city master leases apartment units and then subleases the units to voucher holders.
Miller would like to see a program where a property-tax credit is given directly to property taxpayers for contributions to homeless service agencies.
Acknowledging the complexity of the problem, Schulz agreed with Ridley on his answer of combining services for mental health, employment, etc. with permanent housing strategies.
Public safety
“We need more police officers. Back your police officers,” Miller said. “Back them to the hilt so they want to come and be an officer in Dallas.”
Schulz’s father was a Dallas police officer and has a personal connection to the public safety issue. “The problem is multi-faceted,” Schulz said. “The pay and the facilities are not adequate, and we have a pension problem that we have to solve before 2025. All of these things play into recruiting, and we are losing out to the suburbs.” Schulz later noted her endorsement by the Dallas Police Association.
Ridley believes the city has had “a focus on funding for public safety.” He notes the billion-dollar budget for police, fire and the municipal courts. “We are doing whatever we can to put money into public safety to decrease response times,” Ridley said. He complimented Chief Eddie Garcia on his violent crime plan.
Private management of public assets
Schulz lauded the successful management of certain park department owned land — Fair Park, the Dallas Zoo, the Dallas Arboretum and Klyde Warren Park. She distinguished these type of facilities as different from small neighborhood parks that the city can properly manage.
Ridley essentially said the same thing, but in what was the first small fireworks of the night, he hit Schulz on her vote on Reverchon Park during her time on the park board.
“The city can’t keep all of these parks up on their own,” Miller said. “Eventually they will degrade. Any funds we can get are welcome.”
Top priorities
Ridley:
- Public safety
- Build more affordable housing
- Continue forward with the Comprehensive Environmental and Climate Action Plan
Miller:
- Pursue more affordable housing
- Solve the crime problem
- Improve public transportation
Schulz:
- Infrastructure: Operable streets, safe sidewalks
- Public safety
- Find responsible balance of new development and existing neighborhoods
In closing, Miller stressed his independence, free from influence and donor pressure to focus on citizen representation.
Schulz emphasized her commitment to collaboration and reliance on others’ expertise to guide her decisions rather than feeling “like the smartest person in the room.” A barely veiled criticism of Ridley came through when Schulz said she would be an advocate for citizens in all areas of city government. “It’s not just the things you like to get involved in. It’s not just with the groups of people that are your friends,” Schulz said. “You have to be an advocate on council for everyone.”
“What this choice comes down to is one word: experience,” Ridley said. “I have 14 years’ experience working in City government. I know people at City Hall and what they are supposed to do.”
Early voting for the City Council election begins April 24. Election Day is May 6.
