Every two years every seat on the Dallas City Council is up for election, and every four years the citizens of Dallas vote to elect a mayor. It's that time again...and the DGLA PAC is knee-deep in the candidate endorsement process.

DGLA is the only non-partisan GLBT civil rights organization that endorses candidates for City of Dallas public offices. We have a long tradition of screening & vetting Dallas City Council candidates (since 1977), and that rich tradition continues now as the 2011 election looms just ahead on Saturday, May 14th.

Why is this election important? We've all heard the saying "all politics is local" - and that adage could not be more true. It just doesn't get any more local than City of Dallas politics!

Some quick factoids about Dallas city government:

The City of Dallas is run by the City Manager (Mary Suhm), while the Dallas City Council sets policy for the City. The Dallas mayor sets the agenda for the Council, works to sell the City for business & economic growth, and drives its major initiatives for residents and tourists. Dallas has a 14-1 system, where the City is divided into 14 geographic districts, each with its own elected representative on the City Council...and the mayor, who is elected at large by all Dallas voters. Click here to view the 2011 Dallas City Council & Mayoral candidates along with a map of the 14 Dallas City Council districts.

Dallas municipal elections are conducted in May in odd-numbered years, with city council & mayoral inaugurations held in June after the May election and any June run-off elections are completed.

• Councilmembers serve a 2-year term and are limited to four (4) consecutive terms, earning $37,500 annually.

• The mayor serves a 4-year term and is limited to two (2) consecutive terms, earning $60,000 annually.

Dallas city government employs over 13,000 people, and provides a wide array of services for Dallas citizens. From public safety & emergency response services (such as fire & police) to quality of life services (such as streets, sanitation, parks, libraries, arts facilities, museums, zoning, code compliance) to economic/business permits & programs to housing, animal control, and many other services, the City of Dallas touches all of our lives in virtually every way.

The people elected to represent us at Dallas City Hall are empowered to impact our lives and our livelihoods in ways no other elected official can. It is our duty to get involved, to know our representatives, to elect the best possible candidates to represent us on countless issues that affect us on a daily basis.

While presidential elections traditionally offer the most excitement and garner the most participation, traditional turn-out for Dallas municipal elections is sadly extremely poor. Each of the 14 districts represents about 90,000 people. Behold the turn-out for the last two Dallas municipal election cycles (in a city of 1.2 million people):

                      2009 Turn-Out       2007 Turn-Out
District 1                2,724                       1,605
District 2                2,247                       1,999
District 3                5,310                       5,735
District 4                4,063                       5,094
District 5                4,617                       4,887
District 6                1,053                          717
District 7                3,940                       3,860
District 8                3,238                       3,493
District 9                8,737                       7,850
District 10              8,304                       4,211
District 11              4,381                       3,934
District 12              5,079                       5,431
District 13            14,525                       6,308
District 14              6,555                       6,786
District 15                   -                         71,467

In both cycles, the COUNTY-wide voter turn-out was barely 10%. Pathetic.

So. What does this mean for the GLBT community?

Well, it means that when we get really engaged in municipal races, we have a chance to make a SERIOUS impact on the outcome! GLBT people live in ALL districts in the City of Dallas -- not just in the Oak Lawn entertainment district -- and with such pathetic turn-out numbers, our votes can be far-reaching and decisive.

ALL things considered -- the structure of Dallas government, turn-out for municipal elections, and the potential power that GLBT voters hold to REALLY SERIOUSLY impact our daily lives & livelihoods in the City of Dallas -- it is IMPERATIVE that GLBT Dallasites VOTE in our municipal elections!

Stay tuned for the DGLA candidate endorsements!!