Seeking to push their progressive values on citizens, far-left organizations are again teaming up to target local elections in North Texas.
“DFW for All is a coalition of over 20 progressive organizations in North Texas that joined together during the 2021 municipal elections based on our shared values,” the coalition’s website reads. “We are a combination of nonprofit organizations and advocacy groups who have cooperated to build a plan for our cities that we all believe in and will fight for as one.”
A member of this coalition is United Fort Worth, which has so far tried and failed to pressure Tarrant County commissioners to end Sheriff Bill Waybourn’s cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The organization also failed in their bid to wrest power from the local establishment in the 2019 Fort Worth City Council elections.
Members of the Dallas Community Police Oversight Coalition (DCPOC)—specifically Local Progress, Mi Familia Vota, North Texas Dream Team, and Faith in Texas—are also part of DFW for All.
DCPOC helped organized last summer’s protests-turned-riots in Dallas and pushed the city council to “defund the police.”
What are the values of DFW for All? Here’s a snapshot of their platform:
- Permanently stop the disbandment of houseless communities which criminalizes poverty and instead provide direct services to shelter and house vulnerable communities.
- Support the right for all city employees and public workers to organize and join unions.
- Create city-wide relief funds for direct assistance to undocumented individuals and families, left out of stimulus bills, federal and state-wide relief programs.
- Create city level IDs for all residents regardless of documentation status.
- Create public banks to invest in unbanked and underbanked communities to service individuals outside the private sector’s scope.
- Continue to train and dispatch community care workers, mental health crisis response teams, and de-escalation first responders in routine patrols, 911 calls, and emergency situations, and invest in non-police forms of emergency response (i.e. CAHOOTS).
- Fully fund public and community services including, public transportation, health care, food security, accessible housing, immigration assistance, child care, internet access, fine arts, and after-school programs.
While DFW for All has not announced any candidate endorsements, one of their members, Our Revolution North Texas (ORNT), has.
ORNT identifies itself as a far-left progressive organization that seeks to “turn Texas a bright, progressive blue.” One of their key issues is pushing the “Green New Deal.”
“Wind and solar power will not only save us from the climate crisis, it will create millions of Texas jobs,” the site claims.
Former State Rep. Jason Isaac has said that Texas putting “so many eggs in the renewable basket” was a factor in last month’s rolling blackouts. “Decades of taxpayer-funded energy subsidies have created a systemic bias towards renewable energy and away from more reliable energy sources,” he said.
ORNT also is pushing “immigrant rights,” wanting President Joe Biden and Congress to “abolish ICE, close the camps, reunite families, and enact compassionate immigration reform.”
Among their endorsements are Deborah Peoples for Fort Worth mayor and Tara Wilson for Fort Worth City Council District 4.
Earlier this year, Peoples pushed defunding the police as a solution to rising crime.
For Dallas City Council, ORNT has endorsed Giovanni Valderas in District 1, Omar Narvaez in District 6, and Hosanna Yemiru in District 11. They’ve also given dual endorsements for Jennifer Cortez and Jesse Moreno in District 2, as well as Adam Bazaldua and Changa Higgins in District 7.
Bazaldua introduced the motion to cut $7 million from Dallas police overtime last year, and Narvaez voted with him. Higgins also pushed to defund the police.
A full list of which candidates and ballot issues ORNT has endorsed can be found on their website. They boast of 12 local election victories in 2020.
Charles Blain of Urban Reform and Derek Cohen of criminal justice reform campaign Right on Crime recently discussed how to combat attempts to defund the police.
Early voting for the May 1 election begins on April 19 and ends on April 27.
