Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson frequently doesn't stay at council meetings from start to finish. And he's spent more time away than any of the current council members — including the eight who, when he became mayor in 2019, also were on the council.
A KERA analysis of data found that he's missed more than 130 hours of council meetings that were not excused by the city secretary. That includes missing portions of dozens of meetings — or just not showing up at all.
City records show that Johnson has missed 13 meetings in their entirety. None of the council members have missed more than three meetings.
In addition to casting votes on items before the council, a mayor also can exert influence on the direction of discussions at meetings.
KERA contacted Johnson's staff and tried to reach the mayor at Locke Lord, the law firm where he works, seeking comment about his council meeting attendance record. As of late Tuesday, he had not replied.
'Important to attend'
District 9 Council Member Paula Blackmon was among the council members elected in 2019. City records show she's missed about 15 hours of meetings since that time. She would not comment on Johnson's attendance record. She said she believes it is important to attend council meetings.
“To me, I signed up for this and I am going to go and participate,” Blackmon said. “I just value the dialogue, the interaction…so we can make an informed decision.”
Blackmon says that she believes her constituents would be more than frustrated if she frequently missed meetings.
“I think that would be a warrant to dismiss me from my job,” Blackmon said. “Participating in the activities in which you say, ‘hey I want to represent you’ is important.”
District 1 Council Member Chad West also would only comment about his own attendance. He said showing up is crucial.
“For me this is a priority that I have made a part of my life,” West said. “For the limited time I’m here I want to make the difference I can make…to do that you need to be in person as much as possible.”
West says he doesn’t keep up with who shows up and who doesn’t. He says everyone is human — and sometimes things come up.
The city has rules that govern attendance at council meetings. And there are supposed to be consequences for when the the mayor or council members are away too much. That includes having to return a portion of their city salary if they don’t attend the required number of meetings.
If a council member or the mayor misses more than half of of a meeting, or an entire meeting, they’re responsible for explaining why in an “absence memo" according to Dallas City Secretary Billierae Johnson. Absence memos submitted by council members include a number of explanations. Those include trips to Austin to oppose legislation, or attending conferences and conventions.
Frequently, Johnson was gone for a significant amount of time — sometimes just short of 50 percent of a meeting — but not enough to trigger a memo.
And in some cases, no absence memos appear to be on file, despite the city's rules.
Out of the 13 meetings Johnson has missed completely, KERA was able to locate six memos.
Johnson has missed a meeting to travel to Doha, Qatar, another to attend President Biden’s State of the Union earlier this year, and one for "official city business." Other memos referred to a "personal illness, a "personal matter," and "personal business."
District 7 Council Member Adam Bazaldua, had missed a meeting because he was attending an educational seminar and another when his plane was delayed because of inclement weather. Bazaldua submitted memos for both absences.
Most council members who missed parts of meetings had some of that time excused. For example, District 12 Council Member Cara Mendelsohn missed almost 10 minutes of a mid-August meeting. She is marked as being excused for three of those minutes.
Generally, council members’ time is excused if they leave a meeting — or skip a meeting — on official city business.
"They may step to the restroom, they may step outside to talk with city staff or a visitor," said Johnson, the city secretary. "We track every time they step out of the room... but if it's under 15 minutes, we'll credit them back that time."
The mayor and city council are scheduled to adopt a final budget, decide on a property tax rate and will discuss how to move the city forward financially during Wednesday's meeting.
“Showing up is half the battle so I feel that it's just important,” Blackmon said.
Got a tip? Email Nathan Collins at ncollins@kera.org. You can follow Nathan on Twitter @nathannotforyou.
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