By Bill Zeeble, KERA 90.1 reporter
Dallas, TX – Bill Zeeble, KERA 90.1 reporter: Whether it's in front of hundreds of lunching realtors, political partisans, or a church filled with community activists, challenger Mary Poss and incumbent Laura Miller have been consistent in stating their priorities and issues.
Mary Poss, Dallas City Council member: One of the first things we have to do is make Dallas business-friendly again. If we don't attract the jobs, expand our existing businesses and make city hall business friendly, we'll never expand the overall tax base so we have the money to do the second thing; strengthen our neighborhoods.
Zeeble: Poss says a growing tax base will also help fund libraries, parks, city infrastructure, and pay-raises for police and firefighters. It's a campaign message that's been heard and used successfully in Dallas for decades. And it's so like the mayor's, there barely seems to be a difference between the candidates. Mayor Miller's top priority? As in her last race - it's basic services, despite a $95 million budget shortfall.
Dallas Mayor Laura Miller: My request to the city manager was make sure you don't cut anything the citizens can see when driving around the city. We didn't cut basic city services.
Zeeble: In addition, Miller is passionately behind a re-worked Trinity River Project. The bond package passed in 1998, when Miller first won a council seat.
Miller: I got a briefing on the Trinity River right before it went on the ballot and after the presentation, I said, "I have one question for you guys. Where's the water?" Because there was no water in the presentation, it was highways. It was very frustrating because this project is the key for us becoming the kind of city we aren't now. The kind of city where people say, "Let's go to Dallas to see the largest urban park in America, with water."
Zeeble: As Mayor, Miller met with privately funded urban planners and the council, and forged a plan with more accessible lakes, parks, trails and ball fields. That project's moving ahead, with praise even from Miller's challenger. But when Mary Poss talks about the Trinity, her primary focus is economic.
Poss: And it's a great opportunity to solve some flooding concerns and put in some basic infrastructure and make a large landmass developable. Land that has never been developable.
Zeeble: Mary Poss claims her greatest difference with Mayor Miller is over style. For example, she says she'd never publicly chastise a city worker the way Miller openly expressed her lack confidence in city manager Ted Benavides.
Poss: Never in the text books have I ever seen anything about a personnel discussion or review taking place on the 6 o'clock news if something's wrong, I believe the person needs to be taken into the conference room, the issue discussed, a solution identified and then you emerge with a statement that doesn't put a permanent blemish on the city of Dallas.
Zeeble: Miller defended her statements.
Miller: I don't think we've cleaned house yet at City Hall. I've been there 12 months and I think we have management issues until we stop picking up the paper every day and reading about of our water supply after we paid to clean it, leaking out into our city streets and underground, or a $33 million phone system that we just bought at City Hall. Now we're in a $3 million billing dispute with Southwestern Bell.
Zeeble: SMU political science professor Cal Jillson says while Poss and Miller are different, he's not sure many have noticed, because the war has gotten in the way.
Cal Jillson, SMU political science professor: The campaign does not have a shape at this point. If you recall when Poss declared for office, she did it aggressively. The expectation was that Poss' would be a hard-hitting, personal campaign, in which she took on Miller directly and challenged her aggressively and continually. But I think the feeling is, if no one's watching, why do that? And no one is watching.
Zeeble: Jillson, however, expects a print and broadcast media blitz from both leading candidates leading up to the May 3rd election. And while most figure the contest is between Miller and Poss, there remain three additional mayoral candidates - Jurline Hollins, E. Edward Opka, and Erik Saenz. Early voting starts April 16th. For KERA 90.1, I'm Bill Zeeble.
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