Dallas City Council member Scott Griggs officially entered the race for Dallas mayor on Thursday, making him the seventh candidate to announce a bid to replace term-limited Mayor Mike Rawlings.
Griggs, who represents District 1 in North Oak Cliff, has served on city council since 2011 and is term-limited as well. His announcement came as no surprise, and he’s expected to be a strong contender for the mayor’s office.
“Dallas needs a new kind of mayor, a mayor we can trust to champion our neighborhoods and our diverse communities, and lead us to reclaim Dallas for the people of Dallas,” Griggs said, adding the city should prioritize “crumbling infrastructure” over “city-owned hotels and designer bridges and white water rapids.”
In addition to his work on city council and community service, Griggs is a patent and trademark attorney and partner in the law firm Griggs Bergen LLP.
Dallas ISD trustee Miguel Solis announced his entry into the mayoral race last Monday. Griggs and Solis join five other declared candidates: real estate developer Mike Ablon; businessman and former Dallas Housing Authority chair Albert Black, Jr.; former City Attorney Larry Casto, who spent 25 years as the city’s chief lobbyist; philanthropist Lynn McBee; and longtime Democrat operative Regina Montoya, who chaired the mayor’s Task Force on Poverty.
Ex-lawmaker Jason Villalba also all but announced his candidacy on Thursday. The former State Rep. for House District 114 in North Dallas teased in an email a “special announcement” he’ll make Tuesday at his “grandmother’s house in Oak Cliff” about “a new challenge” he’s undertaking.
Villalba has been hinting at a mayoral run since losing his Republican primary last March. In his three terms in the Texas House, Villalba earned failing scores on the Fiscal Responsibility Index and became known as much for his “inappropriate” Twitter rants as his changing policy positions.
More candidates may enter the race for the open mayoral seat, and the large field means Dallas voters are sure to face a runoff election. All 14 city council seats will also be on the ballot. The filing period for candidates in the May 4 municipal election begins January 16 and ends February 15.
