Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson removed two of his colleagues from council committee leadership positions. Some on the council say he鈥檚 done this before without any notice 鈥� and likened the move to 鈥渂ully tactics.鈥�
Both District 7 Council Member Adam Bazaldua and District 11 Council Member Jaynie Schultz will no longer chair their assigned committees.
In a recent memo announcing the switch, Johnson said in the last year the council has 鈥渦nited鈥o address the basic needs of the people of Dallas.鈥�
鈥淭his collective unity has been instrumental in achieving significant progress and improvements for our city鈥檚 residents,鈥� Johnson continued in the memo. 鈥淎ccordingly, I hereby announce the following medications in committee assignments, all of which are effective immediately.鈥�
四虎影院 reached out to the city for comment into the specific reasons Bazaldua and Schultz were removed from their positions. A city spokesperson told 四虎影院 the request had been forwarded to Johnson鈥檚 office.
Schultz, who previously chaired the Workforce, Education and Equity Committee, will now serve as the vice chair of the committee. District 4 Council Member Carolyn King Arnold is now the chair 鈥� who Schultz said she has great respect for.
鈥淚 was very surprised,鈥� Schultz told 四虎影院. 鈥淭he mayor has not spoken to any of us about it, and of course I am deeply disappointed because that chairmanship was something I valued and treasured every minute of the work.鈥�
The Quality of Life, Arts and Culture Committee, which was chaired by Bazaldua, has two new leaders. District 14 Council Member Paul Ridley is now the chair of the committee 鈥� and District 5 Council Member Jamie Resendez will serve as vice chair.
Bazaldua, who is still a member of the committee, has faced public scrutiny for briefings he added to agendas. Those include from advocates and opponents of water fluoridation 鈥� and an ongoing debate over horse-drawn carriages in Dallas.
On Friday, Bazaldua took to social media to voice his outrage over Johnson鈥檚 announcement.
鈥淥ur weak Mayor is also a petty one! Today, [Johnson] removed me as Quality of Life Chair, as he has done to several other colleagues when his throwing a tantrum,鈥� Bazaldua wrote in a post
鈥淗e believes in bully tactics because he doesn鈥檛 know what real leadership is, just like the president he supports or the failing party he recently joined.鈥�
Johnson identified as a Democrat for many years, including when he served as state representative. Months after he was reelected in 2023, Johnson announced his switch to the Republican Party.
In May, Johnson said he voted for former President Donald Trump in the 2024 primary elections,
Confrontation
While the motivations remain unclear, the announcement comes after an apparent confrontation between Bazaldua and Johnson at an early June council meeting. The body was slated to discuss a resolution condemning the controversial Texas immigration law Senate Bill 4 (SB4).
The bill essentially empowers law enforcement officers across Texas to detain those they suspect of being in the country without proper immigration documents. The law has been in legal limbo since being signed into law earlier this year.
Bazaldua introduced the resolution condemning the action and its 鈥減otential negative impact on public safety and community relations.鈥�
But, before the item could be discussed, Johnson told the council it would be breaking for lunch before hearing residents who had shown up to speak in favor of the resolution. They had been waiting for hours for the item to come up.
Bazaldua, who was elected deputy mayor pro tem earlier in the meeting, moved to object formally to Johnson鈥檚 announcement. 鈥淲ell, you don鈥檛 get to,鈥� Johnson replied.
鈥淚 am just asking that we take up an item so that we hear from the public that is sitting here,鈥� Bazaldua said.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e going to get to sit there for 51 more minutes,鈥� Johnson told Bazaldua before continuing with the meeting. When it was time to break, Bazaldua tried to get the mayor鈥檚 attention around the horseshoe.
Johnson recessed the meeting and could be seen walking over to Bazaldua鈥檚 seat in council chambers.
Bazaldua鈥檚 amendment goes directly against the Republican-led effort for SB4 to remain on the books as written. GOP advocates say the law is meant to crack down on illegal border crossings.
But critics have called the immigration law racist and unconstitutional. Dallas residents have called on elected officials to take a stand against the law.
Schultz, who has chaired the Workforce, Education and Equity Committee for years, told 四虎影院 she really didn鈥檛 know why she had been removed from her role. And she said she hadn鈥檛 spoken to the mayor in quite some time.
鈥淎bout anything,鈥� Schultz said. 鈥淒efinitely out of the blue, no communication about this or frustration or anything in anyway.鈥�
Schultz also said she wasn鈥檛 aware of how Johnson goes about forming committees 鈥� and changing them.
鈥淭o my knowledge, in my three years as a chair, the mayor has not had a strategic conversation around committee work,鈥� Schultz said.
A pattern?
Johnson鈥檚 been surprising council members with committee shake-ups for years, according to media reports.
In 2020, Johnson formed two separate committees to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. In March of that year, that District 9 Council Member Paula Blackmon had signed a five-signature memo that sought to start discussion of an eviction moratorium with the full council.
鈥淛ohnson responded two days later with his own memo, stating that he would refer the evictions proposal to one of two COVID-19 ad hoc committees he鈥檇 created,鈥� Peter Simek wrote in the June 2020 article. 鈥淚n the memo, Johnson also announced that he would eliminate two of the COVID-19 ad hoc committee co-chairs.鈥�
Blackmon and District 12 Council Member Cara Mendelsohn both lost their positions as committee co-chairs. D Magazine reported at the time that Mendelsohn 鈥渨asn鈥檛 sure why she was removed鈥� from the role.
Just months later, that Blackmon had been 鈥渉ereby removed鈥� from the city鈥檚 ad hoc committee on legislative affairs.
In the article, Schutze references another COVID-19 measure Blackmon was involved with that could have led to the mayor removing her from leadership positions on committees. That measure would 鈥渆nact a mayoral鈥isaster declaration鈥� on top of Dallas County鈥檚 declaration.
鈥淏lackmon supported Johnson鈥檚 motion, but in so doing she seems to have committed two cardinal transgressions. First, she dared to offer an amendment,鈥� Schutze wrote.
Blackmon鈥檚 amended motion capped how long the declaration was in effect and won by an 8-7 vote.
According to the article, Johnson's then-chief of staff did not return Schutze's calls about why Blackmon had been removed from yet another committee.
District 1 Council Member Chad West, who has been an outspoken advocate for housing initiatives in Dallas since being elected, served as chair of the city鈥檚 Housing and Homelessness Solutions Committee in 2020.
By 2021, he was removed from the committee completely.
Before being inaugurated for a second term last year, tension surrounded the ceremony planning process.
Before the event, that among the planning issues, 鈥渨hat鈥檚 really frustrating City Council members is the issue of guests.鈥�
Johnson had foregone an inauguration tradition that allowed elected officials to bring a guest on stage for the ceremony. Johnson鈥檚 office told The News that it was a 鈥渓ogistical decision.鈥�
Blackmon, Bazaldua and District 14 Council Member Gay Donnell Willis were all named in the article as confirming their frustration over the change.
鈥淏azaldua got the news after mentioning that he had taken his young daughter to NorthPark Center to get a special dress. Blackmon had planned to bring her son on stage,鈥� the article said.
Shortly after reelection, Johnson reassigned some of the committees.
Blackmon, who had chaired the city鈥檚 committee focused on the environment, was replaced by District 10 Council Member Kathy Stewart. Stewart was elected to her first term a few months before Johnson鈥檚 announcement.
Willis chaired the Ad Hoc Committee on Administrative Affairs. A few months after the council was inaugurated, she also was removed from her position on the committee.
In comparison, former District 10 Council Member Adam McGough chaired the Public Safety Committee for three years under Johnson before leaving office due to term limits.
Mayor Pro Tem Tennell Atkins has chaired the city鈥檚 economic development committee since 2020. But Atkins was replaced as chair of the Ad Hoc Committee on Legislative Affairs in July 2023 and replaced with Mendelsohn.
"I expect this committee鈥檚 work to commence immediately and urge its members to take advantage of any available opportunities to advocate fervently for the passage of this property tax relief bill, which could include providing public testimony at the Texas State Capitol," Johnson said in his memo announcing the change.
In August, Johnson and Mendelsohn both started advocated for lowering property taxes in the city.
'Par for the course'
Johnson鈥檚 relationships with council members and other city officials can be tense. His relationship with former City Manager T.C. Broadnax was cited as the reason a majority of council suggested Broadnax resign.
After he did, Johnson publicized his opposition to paying Broadnax over $400,000 in severance 鈥� as was determined by Broadnax鈥檚 contract with the city.
On social media, Bazaldua alluded to Johnson reassigning council committees as retaliation on social media. But, Schultz said it doesn鈥檛 really change the dynamic of the council.
鈥淚ts par for the course that there are words and then there are actions,鈥� Schultz said. 鈥淭hat said鈥he people who will bear the brunt of this decision is the staff.鈥�
Schultz said the staff must constantly 鈥減ivot to the mayor鈥檚 political whims.鈥�
It鈥檚 unclear if more committee reorganizations could be on the horizon. The council faces multiple financial and operational hurdles including balancing the budget, remedying billions in unfunded pension obligations 鈥� and finalizing the charter review proposals to send to Dallas voters.
Got a tip? Email Nathan Collins at ncollins@kera.org. You can follow Nathan on Twitter .
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