Community members and environmental activists vehemently opposed at least two reappointments to Dallas' environmental commission. Residents allege their community meetings have been disrupted and that they've been retaliated against — and that commissioners fail to adequately respond to concerns of vulnerable communities.
The Dallas City Council members who appointed them say they stand behind their nominees and are confident that they will continue to do “great work.”
Members of the Joppa Environmental Health Project, Downwinders at Risk and Singleton United/Unidos opposed the reappointment of the current chair of the commission, Kathryn Bazan and District 7 commissioner Temeckia Derrough.
Bazan was nominated by District 9 Council Member Paula Blackmon. Derrough was appointed by District 7 Council Member Adam Bazaldua.
Both commissioners were reappointed with no discussion from the council during Wednesday’s meeting.
Most of the prepared comments from activists and residents were cut short. The speakers were limited to only one minute to speak. That’s in contrast to the five minutes city council members get during discussions — and three minutes that open microphone speakers get at the beginning of a meeting.
KERA was able to obtain the full statements from many of those who challenged the reappointments.
“If the City of Dallas truly believes in the effectiveness of the environmental commission, the city needs to appoint real leaders to hold these positions,” Joppa Environmental Health Project Chair Alicia Kendrick said in the written statement she had intended to read to the council, which she later sent to KERA.
"They are hostile and attacking me because they want me to push their narrative of environmental justice and racism," Derrough said.
Bazan told KERA that allegations of blacklisting and political agendas made during the meeting are not correct. She said she has worked for the benefit of Dallas residents. Commissioners, she said, have been physically threatened and even spat upon.
‘A predetermined political agenda’
Kendrick lives in Joppa — a predominately minority neighborhood in southern Dallas that is surrounded by heavy industry on nearly every side. She alleges in her written statement that Derrough does not listen to the community.
“The city should reconsider appointing Mrs. Derrough so that the next two years there is someone in the seat that wants to affect real change,” Kendrick said. “…so that we as a city can rectify the generations of inequity.”
KERA has reported extensively on the Joppa community’s recent battle to get an asphalt plant shut down. The plant had operated for decades just a half mile from the historic Freedman’s Town. The facility was in what’s known as the Miller Yard — a heavy industrial complex named after the plantation where Joppa’s founders once were held in captivity.
Kendrick, along with other Joppa residents, have complained in the past about Derrough’s actions during community meetings. Bazaldua, who represents District 7 where Joppa is, says he stands by Derrough.
“It’s always great to hear public input, even when the input is false,” Bazaldua said in a comment to KERA. “I remain committed to stay above drama brought froth from agitators and stand behind my appointees, who are passionate and dedicated to serving our district.”
During the community’s fight, KERA found that the City of Dallas had spent millions of dollars on asphalt and other construction materials from the same plant that Joppa residents say has been polluting their air for decades. That was while city officials and the plant’s operators told community members that they were looking for the best path forward for the community.
Janie Cisneros is the director of Singleton United/Unidos — another community group working to get an 80-year-old shingle plant out of their West Dallas neighborhood.
“At first we were under the impression that environmental commissioners are public servants who advocate for the best interest of the community,” Cisneros said. “My neighbors complain about a lack of trust with this commission and while we have been trying to work with them, we are hard pressed to find areas of praise.”
Cisneros says her community has gone back and forth with city officials about the removal of the GAF Materials factory. The West Dallas facility has pumped out high levels of particulate matter pollution — or microscopic particles that have been shown to cause severe health problems.
And GAF is just one of many industrial sites that line Singleton Boulevard where Cisneros lives.
It separates the small residential community along Bedford Road from the West Dallas Library branch, churches and even daycares. It’s across the street from Fish Trap Lake.
“From what we have witnessed, this Environmental Commission...has been functioning with a predetermined political agenda where the residents needs are secondary,” Cisneros said. “This presents a problem because the commissioner’s objectives do not align with those of the residents.”
‘It's set the cause, and city, back’
Jim Schermbeck is the director of Downwinders at Risk — a nearly 30-year-old environmental advocacy group that focuses on air quality in Dallas Fort-Worth.
“By definition, when my group is asked to assist a neighborhood, there’s already a large failure of government,” Schermbeck said. “And when we do our due diligence, there’s always a direct correlation between the amount of pollution in a neighborhood and the amount of Bad Government.”
Schermbeck claims Bazan “uses her official role to carry out personal vendettas, including ones against Downwinders’ as a group” and against city hall staffers. He says that’s counterproductive to what communities across Dallas are trying to do.
“It’s set the cause, and city, back,” Schermbeck said.
Schermbeck is well known in the environmental organizing community. His group is active in most of the large environmental fights in the city — including Joppa and in West Dallas. And he is no stranger to City Hall.
In fact, it is common to see Schermbeck escorted out of a meeting by security — or the police — for speaking over his time limit, or pressuring officials to answer the community’s direct questions.
Blackmon defended Bazan's work as an environmental commissioner.
“[Bazan] is passionate about environmental justice and works on those issues that move awareness and cleanup forward,” Blackmon said. “She does great work of all our communities.”
Blackmon stressed that if residents feel strongly about the alleged ethical concerns, they should submit a formal complaint to the city’s Inspector General’s Office.
Bazan said the chair of the commission has no authority to investigate unethical behavior by other commissioners.
"This is the job of the city's inspector and no such behavior has been reported to them about a commissioner to my knowledge," she said.
“As someone who fought for the creation of the commission years ago, it’s a huge shame to see the city’s resources squandered and diverted in ways completely contrary to the spirit and purpose of the commission,” Downwinders at Risk Co-Chair Evelyn Mayo said in the statement she intended to read to the council if she had been given enough time.
Mayo says Bazan has turned a blind eye to “the unethical and inappropriate behavior of her fellow commissioners.”
In addition, Mayo alleges in her statement that Bazan threatened to sue the entire Downwinders Board of Directors for "baseless defamation" in a cease and desist letter.
Bazan disputed that account.
"I sent a letter directly to Evelyn Mayo regarding racist and derogatory statements she made about the ethnicity of my children," Bazan said. KERA reviewed a copy of the letter, which is addressed to Mayo.
KERA was able to verify the letter was also sent to at least one other member of the Downwinders at Risk board of directors.
Mayo disputes the allegation and says she never said those statements.
Mayo also alleges that Bazan actively sought to remove members of her organization from public meetings — and went “so far as filing ‘disorderly conduct’ charges" against Schermbeck that were ultimately dismissed.
"I remain open to working with the organization's leadership to find a path forward that will allow us to collaboratively resolve our challenges," Bazan said in a statement to KERA.
Schermbeck says Bazan's actions go beyond any personal squabble.
"She's extended her official blacklisting to any neighborhood group working or aligned with Downwinders," Schermbeck said. "Since these groups are usually already the most put-upon demographics in Dallas, her actions hurt the most vulnerable."
Bazan said it was "absolutely false" that she blacklisted environmental groups or pursued her own agenda.
“I have attempted in good faith, many times, to work with anyone who has expressed interest in being a collaborative partner,” she said.
Got a tip? Email Nathan Collins at ncollins@kera.org. You can follow Nathan on Twitter @nathannotforyou.
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