Council Pays Tribute to Leslie Allen Davis, the Nicest Public Speaker Ever to Grace City Hall

Earlier today, in an item he's since updated, Rudy Bush noted the death of Leslie Allen Davis, among the rare regulars at the city council's public-speakers podium whose presence was welcomed by city officials. They've long been charmed by his warm wishes.

How Davis died remains a mystery: The police report says only that the 51-year-old was found Thursday in his apartment on Ledbetter, "face down on floor." A Dallas Police spokesperson told me earlier today he was initially discovered by a neighbor. The Dallas County Medical Examiner's office tells Unfair Park today that autopsy results are pending, but may not be available for another eight to 12 weeks.

I love what Rudy wrote about Davis:

[He] appeared almost every week before the council, often dressed in a bright yellow shirt and shorts combo that he festooned in marker with his random thoughts. The thing about Leslie was that his random thoughts were kind and infused with love and happiness. He radiated it.

I was watching the council meeting today when, at the very end, Mayor Dwaine Caraway said there was one additional public speaker not on outgoing City Secretary Deborah Watkins's list. At which point the video you see above was screened for the council, a tribute to Davis put together by city staff. I asked city spokesman Frank Librio for a copy, which Bennie Jones in the audio-video department, who's referenced by Caraway in the intro above, was kind enough to send.