Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson is becoming a Republican, he announced in a Wall Street Journal article appearing on an Op-Ed page Friday morning. Johnson is in his second and final term as mayor, after receiving more than 98% of the vote in his reelection campaign earlier this year.
Before becoming mayor in 2019, Johnson served five terms in the Texas House of Representatives as a Democrat, representing a district that includes South Dallas and parts of Oak Cliff and Pleasant Grove.
In the op-ed, Johnson argues that cities benefit from law and order and fiscal conservatism, which he says Democratic mayors in other major cities are overlooking.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Mayors and other local elected officials have failed to make public safety a priority or to exercise fiscal restraint.
Most of these local leaders are proud Democrats who view cities as laboratories for liberalism rather than as havens for opportunity and free enterprise," Johnson wrote.
His tenure as Mayor has been marked by fighting hard for lower property taxes and fully funding Dallas PD."
“I am proud to welcome Mayor Johnson to the Republican Party––the party of freedom, opportunity, and economic prosperity,” said Governor Abbott.
"Mayor Johnson’s decision to switch parties highlights the stark contrast many Democrat-led cities face: out-of-control crime, reckless spending, and a radical leftist agenda.
On Monday afternoon, the statewide Texas Democratic Party also released a statement of its own, attributed to Gilberto Hinojosa and Shay Wyrick Cathey, the chair and vice-chair:
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