Miguel Solis today became the sixth candidate to announce a run for mayor of Dallas in this May’s municipal election.
“The wait is over,” Solis said Monday on Facebook. “I am announcing my candidacy for Dallas Mayor to transform our city into one that benefits everyone.”
The Dallas Independent School District trustee has long been expected to enter the race to replace outgoing Mayor Mike Rawlings, who is ineligible to run after serving two four-year terms.
Solis, 32, earned a master’s degree in education policy and management from Harvard University in 2012. In 2013, he became the youngest person elected to the Dallas school board and has championed a number of reforms, including performance-based pay for teachers and the Accelerating Campus Excellence (ACE) program that incentivizes the best teachers to work in the most challenging schools:
“As a former Dallas public school teacher, school board member, and nonprofit leader, I’ve heard from hundreds of people across our city who believe the old ways of doing things just won’t work anymore. Like me, they’re proud of the progress being made in Dallas but recognize the many challenges still left to overcome. They want to create paths to prosperity and equity for everyone — but they’re waiting for new leaders and ideas that will bring hope and change.”
Solis worked as a field organizer for Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign. He considered running for Congress in the 2018 Democrat primary and supported failed Senate candidate Beto O’Rourke.
Five candidates already in the mayor’s race are 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.
Other Dallas politicians have hinted they may pursue the open seat.
All 14 Dallas City Council seats are also on the May 4 ballot.
