Mayoral Race Now In Overtime as Mike Rawlings, David Kunkle Go to Runoff

roadsidecouch

It will be fun watching Mayor Rawlings kiss John Wiley Prices's butt as the Perot/Price unholy alliance takes over the county. Rawlings kiss John Wiley Prices's butt as the Perot/Price unholy alliance takes over the county.

CrackerDaddy

On the bright side, we STILL have Mayor Dwaine for another four weeks!

Irony13

Looks like grand dad and his grand daughter...

Gal Pal

I'm glad, once again, the Sharon Boyd selected candidate will lose. I find her choices to be poor choices. In fact, she usually only endorses candidates that promise to perform specially for her. Otherwise she lambasts them on her blog. She has too high an opinion of her own opinion.

Wylie H.

Voters are supposed to dislike a candidate because Sharon Boyd likes the candidate? Seems a little simplistic.

Titus Groan

Well this result just confirms what I thought all along - none of these guys is electable.

Cityrunamuk

If "ifs and buts" were candy and nuts we would all have a Merry Christmas. It is a new ballgame. For the next 4 weeks - Rawlings and Kunkle will campaign hard for the hearts and minds of voters. Two solid candidates - will be interesting to watch...........

Let's hope that informed voters and larger turnout will make for the best decision. When you consider that the vast majority of voting districts in Dallas has less than 10% turnout with a total number of votes casted at approximately 100k out of a city of over 1.0m people, look at the voting areas across the city as displayed in the DMN today. A sad day for voter engagement.

I hope all in this blog - who are eligible to vote in the City of Dallas - did vote..........

Thanks Robert for the reporting........

MattL1

You make a good point. I went to a party later that day, and NOBODY there had any clue that there was an election Saturday. These were all smart, educated people. Whose fault is that? Who benefits from keeping turnout low?

Cityrunamuk

No one benefits - not the candidates for sure. And for them so say they didn't know of an election - either (like the Geico commercial) they live under a rock, don't pay attention to their mail, don't live in the city of Dallas or just don't care. Sad regardlesss.........

Watching South Detroit

The Dallas business establishment will throw a bunch of $ at south Dallas pastors and "leaders, they will endorse Rawlings, and if he gets elected, he will get south Dallas the same thing Lepperts gave them - NOTHING. In other words, south Dallas "leaders" will once again sell out their people for some cash.

Wylie H.

Not true... even after the election, certain "leaders" (if you call selling out your own people "leadership") will reap rewards via a slew of MWBE contracts, which frequently require the recipients to do little or no work (I have even heard of prime contractors telling MWBE subcontractors to stay away from the project... with the understanding they would get paid anyway).

Bnjb33

KUNKLE ALL THE WAY !!

Cliffhanger

Of course, to read Dallas' Only Daily, you'd swear Rawlings swept to a Soviet-style 99% of the vote victory. Maybe it's time to blow the bridges and start thinking about seceding again. (Oak Cliff, that is).

Bikes Rule

I hate the DMSnooze, but Rawlings did sweep the votes. We had 3 candidates.One of which had super duper name recognition but could not capitalize and actually lost ground.The other candidate gambled his council seat and lost that bet big.Rawlings increased his voter base every day since he announced his run.

Rawlings did amazingly well against a highly favored candidate.

In my book that was a grand achievement on the part of Rawlings. His campaign deserves high praise.

I'd prefer the candidate that picks a winning cast of players to get the job done.

Kunkle's campaign has done crappy work and I expect Kunkle can't make good decisions. --Five times married kind of drives that point home!

Ginger5

Is this Allyn Media praising itself?

Sharon Boyd

Rawlings got over $100K from out of state and almost that much from the Park Cities. You apparently prefer a candidate who buys "volunteers" from The Bridge and from whatever Kathy Nealey, et al do in the "Southern Sector". David was never the favorite. The money people and John W Price were behind Rawlings from the get go. David has been trying to prove that a regular person who doesn't live in a Preston Hollow mansion can get elected in this city.

Tom Leppert hired the "right people" and how did his 3-1/2 yr reign work for you?

OED_Denizen

I gleaned the following information from Rawlings Financial Statements:Total contributions $1,561,163Contributions of $1,000 and greater: $1,408,188 or 90% of his total raisedContributions from individuals who live OUTSIDE of the City of Dallas: $571,720 or 37% of the total he raised

I view this as the rich business people contributing with at least some expectation that they will get something in return.

As Sharon said we have done this before with Leppert and how did you like his 3 1/2 years work for us?

Cliff Dweller

Highly favored? Since when...? Rawlings was rolling in money and endorsements. All the council dummies stood behind Natinsky. Kunkle was always an underdog.

Snookie Pie

oh, please. this election proves no one gives a rats ass whom the council endorses.

Kunkle was the public favorite the minute he announced his filing. This town was all abuzz with koodos for him. Then once the scruitiny began, he just kept losing traction, voters walked away and chose the other candidates.

Only reason a front-runner candidate loses position is: 1) the candidate does something stupid, or 2) campaign management is poor.

Kunkle is being "managed" by his wife Sarah Dodd. She is the decision-maker of all matters. They are pretending that CP is the manager, but actually he has very little he can do without Sarah Dodd's approval. CP owns a printing company. That is really his only area of expertise. Avi Adelman is being paid through the printing company and/or Sarah Dodd's Media business so that his name is not showing up on campaign finance reports.

OED_Denizen

Rawlings outspent Kunkle by a factor of 7 to 1. Rawlings should be ashamed that he didn't win outright. I really don't want the position of Mayor to be bought by folks outside of the City of Dallas (check out the financial reports to see where all that money came from).

DTowner

Wondering how Mary Suhm, Paul Dyer and Forrest Turner slept last night...

Snookie Pie

Throw A.C. Gonzales and Perkins into that pack of restless sleepers. Goodbye Queen Mary and her crew.

Wylie H.

One can only hope. The amount of damage and general havoc Mary Suhm has wreaked on this City is incalculable.

CliffManorCzar

If Dallas voters elect Rawlings, then they really are as gullible as I was told coming to this place.

Don Abbott

There's one way to pick, sure-fire, the best candidate for mayor: go against Roger Staubach's pick. Roger is one of the Park Cities thugs, I know he was a great Cowboy (I agree), but he ALWAYS endorses the big ticket, screw-the-little-guy candidate. Can't stand the thought of having your street re-paved? How about that curb? Want more Marilla lip service? Vote for whoever Staubach is pimping. That would be Rawlings.

MattL1

All I can say is that the next month should be fun, if only to see how these two reposition themselves, if at all, now that all the other pieces are off the board. Should also be interesting to see how the newly elected and reelected council members cozy up to one or the other.

Gangy

Follow the money.

OED_Denizen

I did and it doesn't live in Dallas! Now the big question is what do they expect to get for all of that money?

Montemalone

Yo Matt,Don't forget the whitewater rafting. We're gonna be the next Colorado.

MattL1

Bridges. Lots of bridges.

OED_Denizen

Just for grins I divided the amount of campaign contributions by the number of votes that Rawlings and Kunkle got and there is a real surprise there. Rawlings spent $55 per vote and Kunkle spent $8 per vote. Now if I was Rawlings, I would be somewhat ashamed about the way he squandered money to get elected. Is that the way that he will watch out for the dollars of the city. I remember that Not Mayor Leppart also spent a lot of money to get elected.

Snookie Pie

No comparisonCan't compare apples and organges.Spending money to win election has NOTHING to do with blowing public tax dollars. In elections, the only thing that matters is whether you win or lose.

Play a little scenario game with yourself...if you were the two candidates, which position would you prefer to be in today.Rawlings with plenty of cash, and 41% of the voteorKunkle, no cash, and only 32% of the vote.

I suspect Kunkle would gladly switch positions.

Robert Wilonsky

Oak Cliff Res, say what?

http://blogs.dallasobserver.co...

Oak Cliff Res

Sorry. Didn't see it at first glance.

J. Erik Jonsson

Well, now that really is interesting, Mark since only 2 adults live there. Anyway, way to miss the point.

CP Henry is a pro. Why don't you ask him what he thinks of the Avi hire. I have.

Mark anthony of dallas

So a teenager living at home and over the age of 18 does not count as an adult in your eyes. His kid went to school with mine and both voted early.

Wylie H.

Dallas Citizens Council must now escalate to DEFCON 2 in continued support of Rawlings-- deploy the cash bazooka! Double retainers to self-serving South Dallas preachers; send wads of cash to South Dallas newspapers and radio stations; give Willis Johnson buckets of money for various "voter outreach projects!"

"Laissez les bons temps rouler!"

CrackerDaddy

I still marvel at how our southern sector voters continue to vote against their own enlightened self-interest. SMH self-interest. SMH

Hasanmary

How the hell is Kunkle and Laura Miller in our best interest. Crackerdaddy you must be exactly like your name.

CRA

CrackerDaddy and Betty Culbreath are dead on!!!

Its amazing how the black folk continue to get hoodwinked by these black "leaders" while they sell them and their best interest out!!!! Its so obvious and has been for many years. Its time for that to change.

CrackerDaddy

@Bettyculbreath -- Preach sister........PREACH!

CrackerDaddy

Yep........but it doesn't make what I'm saying any less true. Keep voting as the ministers, JWP, EBJ and Willis Johnson tell you to vote. They're pocketing the white man's $$$ to deliver your vote and sell you down the river.

Oak Cliff Res

@ Betty Culbreath. Laura Miller's name is not on the ballot just like the Citizens Council is not. The point is people associate the candidate with who is behind them. Just like Kunkle's first reason for running was because he didnt want the next mayor to be backed by the Citizen's Council. His words not mine. So he can't be mad when people say that he is Laura Miller's candidate when he claims that Rawlings is the Citizens Council's Candidate...

Bettyculbreath

Where is Laura Millers name on any ballot ? Mayor or any other office.Only fools, would not vote for Kunkle because ,John Price called Laura Millers name.The Black community South of Trinity will never come up or have anything,as long as Black Southern Leadership continue to sell us out.I like Rawlings but so tired of Black folk selling their own people out.

Montemalone

I don't recognize you. Who are you? Are you on some re-relection committee?

Sharon Boyd

Mary, how is Rawlings in your best interest. Go look at my analysis of the $$ he raised in the next to last report. In some cases, over $50K came from one family (not his). Tens of thousands came from out of state. Not to mention the almost $100K out of Park Cities.

Don't let your feelings about Laura cloud your judgment. Rawlings just wants to keep non-ODB working on the plantation. Don't forget -- as Pizza Hut CEO, it was his decision to close all the Pizza Hut's in the southern sector. How was that good for your best interest, or all the people who worked in those stores?

Jane Smith

So then, you'd rather support the Citizen's Council Candidate?

Hhharry2002

did i hear correctly on the news that Kunkle has been married 5 times ??

Anonymous

I love how this comment keeps surfacing, with the implication that Rawlings is some kind of family man because he is in a longstanding relationship. He was the CEO of Pizza Hut, among other things. When you're climbing the corporate ladder, the only way to make it to the top is to put your family second to your career. That's not a "family man" in my opinion.

Giggles

WOW! you are one screwed up soul. I know of many fine, corporate and civic leaders who all have wonderful, healthy, long-time marriages.

Screwing up four marraiges before he reached 57yrs of age is a lot. Based on Kunkle's past, it's kind of difficult for me to buy into the thought that this 5th marriage, to an aggressive woman, half his age, will last until: Death Do Us Part.

Anonymous

I don't have personal insight into either men's personal relationships. What I have a problem with is the troll who always posts on Unfair Park about Kunkle's 5 wives, while saying that Rawlings is still married to his longtime wife and "is on good terms" or something like that w/ his two daughters. It's directed to "values voters" who think a man (or woman) should be judged by their personal relationships. All I'm trying to point out is that if you are the CEO of a large public company and your family needs you and the company needs you, the company wins every time, or you don't last long there. I'm just trying to offer another side to the values debate because I generally don't think corporate leaders have them.

scottindallas

Long time marriages doesn't mean that the Corporate execs are able to be there as others might. The comment is fair, and again, just because a marriage is long running doesn't mean it's happy. There are other reasons someone might stay in a marriage. Generally speaking corporate execs are well compensated--hate to generalize too much--so likely the marriage affords a luxurious life if time with the busy spouse is scarce. A girl could do worse.

Jack E. Jett

HH...yes but never to a man so it is okay. He still holds true to the sanctity of marriage.

Montemalone

I always thought marriage was like craps, you keep rolling until you win.

Rocky

Don't forget--Kunkle's hired Avi Adelman to help him reach out to voters.

Good bye, Kunkle.

Ginger5

Posted by Allyn Media.

Mark Anthony of Dallas

You may not like Adelman but apparently his social media work has paid off, with double the number of Facebook likes as Rawlings. Of course, Rawlings probably included thousands of Bridge people he hire to work the phones and polls for $10 an hour.

I would rather have a few thousand friends voluntarily being my friends than paying a bunch of non-voting bums to be my friends

Snookie Pie

Mr. Anthony,Why have you ASSUMED that people who use the social services at the Bridge (which is NOT a housing shelter, but a facility with a variety of services providing assistance but not living quarters) -- why would you state that they are non-voting bums. Just like you, they are able to apply for a voter certificate. Many are voters.

Oak Cliff Res

So for the low income resident's, we should pick somebody with twice as much instead of five times as much. Yea that make since...

William Newbill3

Non-voting bums, really you're going to sink that low. Pick on somebody with your own income and housing status.

Snookie Pie

Social Media? HA!Never saw any connection between Facebook and votes. Most City election voters are over 50 yrs. old and they don't use Facebook.

Can't imagine Natinsky voters jumping on board with Kunkle side.

Davidwilson75205

What map are you looking at? According to the Dallas County Elections map

http://results.enr.clarityelec...

(Kunkle = bright hot green, Rawlings = dark green, Natinsky = purple)

Kunkle took large chunks of East Dallas - lower greenville, far east dallas, some lake highlands. He also took large pieces of oak cliff, north oak cliff.

Granted this does not include the actual voter counts. But a picture is worth a thousand votes.

So you're statement is - again - disproven by facts. Your reply?

Hasanmary

You don't know what the hell you are talking about. All Kunkle people are not volunteers. I know Joyce Foreman is getting paid.

Oak Cliff Res

Speaking of Social Media... Hey Dallas Observer. What happened to that post you had up on yesterday about James Campbell from Chicago and his analysis of Facebook pages and him saying that Kunkle would not only win the race but without a run off, based upon his facebook performance??? What most people fail to realize is that every major election in the City of Dallas comes down to people who don't even have internet, let alone a facebook page (The South). You can like a picture, comment or be a fan as many times as you want, but you can only vote once... Why did you take that post down Observer?

Mark Anthony of Dallas

@ J. Erik - It's obvious that you cannot read a simple Excel file from the Dallas County Elections Department website. According to the early voting database, three people with the last name ADELMAN at his address voted early.

In your opinion, what would be more bizarre - Kunkle hiring people like Adelman, Henry, and maybe one or two other staff while having volunteers do the phone banks or say hello at the polls, or Rawlings paying people from the Bridge Homeless Shelter $10 an hour to work the phones or stand at the polls.

My answer - I would rather support a candidate who has honest to goodness support from people who live here and pay taxes and will have to live with their decision to support Kunkle for four years, than people who are being fed off the public teet and doing something for money only.