Dallas voters said “yes” to term limits last fall, which led to a current city council member receiving a “no” this week on their attempt to appear on the ballot.
Still, Carolyn King Arnold said she’s pushing to be reelected this May. The filing period to appear on the ballot for city council opened on Jan. 15.
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Three of the current 14 council members won’t return. Omar Narvaez in District 6 and Tennell Atkins in District 8 have served eight consecutive years. Jaynie Schultz isn’t seeking reelection to represent District 11.
Arnold, elected to her first two-year term in 2015, has served eight years, too, separated by a 2-year gap from 2017-2019.
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“For sure, I know when I was elected in 2019, we came in with the understanding that we were eligible, not entitled, but eligible, to run for four, two-year terms,” Arnold said.
Dallas used to allow council members to serve eight years, sit out for two years and then run again. It’s a strategy that allowed Atkins, for example, to serve 16 total years on the council from 2007 to 2015 and again from 2017 to 2025.
But voters sent a completely different message last fall, overwhelmingly approving Proposition E, which caps city council service at four two-year terms.
On Friday, the city secretary’s office sent Arnold a “not qualified” letter, citing updated city charter provisions.
“We believe that there was ambiguity and lack of clarity around the ballot amendment,” Arnold said.
Matthew Wilson, with SMU political science, said that 69% of support for Prop E indicates voters want new faces, more often, at Dallas City Hall.
“Clearly the language of this proposition – and the intent of voters – was to say, ‘once you’ve had eight total years on the council, you’re done,’” Wilson said.
On Monday, Arnold told NBC 5 that she would review a copy of the letter, which she said she had yet to receive, before deciding on her next steps.
“Is this the end? Well, it’s not,” Arnold said.
The deadline to file for the May election is Feb. 14.