Dallas City Hall
The filing deadline for candidates to gain a spot on the May 3 election ballot was 5 p.m. Friday, and over three dozen current and former elected officials, perennial candidates and newcomers are vying for 14 seats on the Dallas City Council this spring.
Write-in candidates have until Tuesday to declare their candidacy. The deadline to withdraw from the ballot is next Friday.
Dallas voters will elect at least four new council members, including those representing District 4 in south Oak Cliff and a vast stretch of far southern Dallas in District 8. Council member Carolyn King Arnold (District 4) is ineligible to run in 2025 because they’ve served the limit of four two-year terms.
District council members earn $60,000 a year. To be able to run for office, candidates have to be a U.S. citizen, at least 18 years old and a registered city voter as of Feb. 14. They also must be a Texas resident for at least one year and living in the council district they hope to represent at least six months before Feb. 14.
The last day to register to vote is April 3, and early voting runs from April 22-29 for the May 3 election.
If any of the 14 City Council races end with no candidate receiving more than 50% of the vote, the top two vote-getters will move to a runoff election on June 7. The new City Council is scheduled to be sworn in June 16.
Here’s who’s running to represent districts in Oak Cliff:
District 1 (North Oak Cliff)
Jason Vanhof: Small-business owner, first-time candidate.
Chad West (incumbent): First elected in 2019 and seeking a fourth term.
Katrina Whatley: Realtor, first-time candidate.
District 4 (South Oak Cliff)
Kebran Alexander: Previously ran for City Council in 2018.
Avis Hardaman: A teacher, first-time candidate.
Maxie Johnson: Dallas Independent School District board trustee and pastor. Previously ran for City Council in 2021.
District 8 (Far southern Dallas, including Red Bird, Highland Hills)
Lorie Blair: Former city plan commissioner. First-time candidate.
Subrina Lynn Brenham: A tax professional who previously ran for City Council in 2013, 2015, 2021 and 2023.
Davante Peters: Community activist and health store owner who previously ran for City Council in 2019, 2021 and 2023.
Eugene Ralph: A first-time candidate who described himself on his candidate filing application as a low-voltage technician.
Ruth Steward: A retiree who has previously run for City Council in 1999, 2000, and 2005.
Erik Wilson: Served one term on the City Council representing District 8 from 2015 to 2017. He also ran for City Council in 2017 and 2019.
