Overview:
All ten incumbent candidates in the 2025 Dallas City Council elections were reelected, but the voter turnout was low at 8.3%. Districts 8 and 11 will have a runoff election in June, and Districts 4, 6, 8, and 11 did not reelect incumbent candidates. New faces took over in Districts 4 and 6, while incumbent Adam Bazaldua reclaimed the District 7 seat. The highest voter turnout was in District 13, with 7,457 votes. The Dallas City Council candidates will be officially declared on May 14, and the inauguration will take place on June 16, 2025.
The 2025 Dallas City Council elections saw the reelection of all ten incumbent candidates, a devastatingly low voter turnout, and a lively debate surrounding term limits during its campaign season.Â
Roughly 8.3% of Dallas’ registered voters appeared at the polls this election.
Districts 4, 6, 8 and 11 are the only seats that did not reelect an incumbent, and two districts are eligible for a Runoff Election in June.
New Faces on Marilla
Dallas ISD trustee Maxie Johnson took a historic win in District 4, sweeping 75% of votes and displacing longtime incumbent Carolyn King Arnold, who previously held the seat for nearly a decade.
Laura Cadena narrowly escaped a Runoff election in District 6 over former city councilmember Monica R. Alonzo by winning exactly 50% of the vote. Cadena faced eight other candidates for the District 6 seat in this election, marking her first City Council win amid a stacked ballot of opponents.
Incumbents Take the Cake
Incumbent Adam Bazaldua retook the District 7 seat over a crowded field of competitors. His win of 57% of District 7’s votes put him out of the way of a possible runoff and into his final Dallas City Council term. Newly passed term limits will keep Bazaldua from running for any municipal seat other than mayor next election season.
Incumbent Zarin Gracey narrowly escaped a Runoff election in Southern Dallas District 3 by winning 54% of the vote over UNT Professor Jessica E. Lightbourne. This marks the Black Chamber of Commerce board member’s second term in the District 3 seat.
District 5 Incumbent Jamie Resendez will now serve his fourth term in the seat after winning 84% of the vote over opponent Elizabeth Matus. Resendez first lost the race for the District 5 seat on the Dallas ISD board in 2016 before winning the city council seat in 2019.
Incumbent Paula Blackmon once again took the District 9 seat with 78% of the vote over Ernest Banda. This marks Blackmon’s fourth term in the position.
District 10 incumbent Kathy Stewart also took a large victory winning 93% of the vote over Sirrano Keith Baldeo for yet another election cycle. Stewart first won the seat against Baldeo in 2023.
Cara Mendelsohn reclaimed the District 12 seat over candidates Marc Rossow and Jose Cavazos by garnering 64% of the vote. Mendelsohn has held the seat since 2019.
Incumbent Gay Donnell Willis defeated Diane Benjamin with 65% of the vote to win her third term in the District 13 seat.
District 14 incumbent Paul Ridley was the only candidate who ran unopposed in this election, successfully winning a third term in the seat with 2,099 votes.
Runoffs Galore
Districts 8 and 11 will see a Runoff election on June 7. Runoff elections are held when a candidate secures less than 50% of votes in their General Election win. And Dallas City Council seats 8 and 11 aren’t the only local spots due for a runoff this election season. Desoto, Garland, Grand Prairie, Irving, Lewisville, Rowlett, and Richardson ISD will also hold runoff for various municipal roles in June.
District 8’s tight race between Lorie Blair and Erik Wilson had the candidates separated by a margin of only 73 votes. The winner of the District 8 seat will replace long-time incumbent Tennel Atkins, who is term-limited.
Moreover, only 203 votes separate District 11 candidates Bill Roth and Jeff Kitner. The Pepper Square Shopping Center in the Belt Line/Preston Road area drove many early voters to the District 11 polls this election season. The highest point of debate among District 11’s North Dallas residents will determine the fate of an aging shopping center that could soon turn into a mixed-use high-rise development due to re-zoning.
Where are all the voters?
The highest voter turnout was in District 13, with 7,457 votes in this municipal election selecting incumbent Gay Donnell Willis.
The low voter turnout can be related to the odd timing of the Dallas municipal election, D Magazine’s Bethany Erickson asserts.
In February of this year, two Dallas lawmakers, Texas Representative Rafael Anchia and Texas Senator Nathan Johnson, brought a charter amendment that would move Dallas’ May municipal elections to November.
Though the measure has already been passed municipally, lawmakers in Austin have until the end of the legislative session on June 2 to approve Proposition D.
The last “big” turnout for a Dallas election was the mayoral election of 2019, with a whopping 12% of registered voters making it to the polls to elect then Democrat Eric Johnson as mayor.
The Winners’ Circle (Thus Far)
Here are all of the unofficial results for the city council elections by district. Incumbents are noted (I):
District 1: Chad West (I)
District 2: Jesse Moreno (I)
District 3: Zarin Gracey (I)
District 4: Maxie Johnson
District 5: Jamie Resendez (I)
District 6: Laura Cadena
District 7: Adam Bazaldua (I)
District 8: Runoff election between Erik Wilson and Lorie Blair
District 9: Paula Blackmon (I)
District 10: Kathy Stewart (I)
District 11: Runoff election between Bill Roth and Jeff Kitner
District 12: Cara Mendelsohn (I)
District 13: Gay Donnell Willis (I)
District 14: Paul E. Ridley (I)
The newly-elected city council candidates will be officially declared on May 14, which is listed as the official deadline to canvass returns and declare General Election results, and officially order a Run-Off Election. Early voting for the Runoff Election begins on Tuesday, May 27.
The official inauguration of Dallas City Council members will take place at the Meyerson Symphony Center on Monday, June 16, 2025.