Johnson becomes the second Republican mayor of a major Texas city, after Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker, despite the fact that the mayor’s position in Dallas is officially nonpartisan.
Longtime Democrat Eric Johnson, the mayor of Dallas, switched to the Republican party, making Dallas the largest city in the nation to have a Republican mayor.”I am changing my party affiliation today,” Johnson stated in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece that was published on Friday. “I’m going to cast a ballot in the Republican primary (spring of 2019). I shall leave office as a Republican in 2027, when my tenure in elected office comes to an end with the inauguration of my successor as mayor.Prior to winning the 2019 mayoral election in Dallas, Johnson was a Democrat serving nine years in the Texas Legislature.
Johnson is one of two Republican mayors of a large Texas city, the other being Mattie Parker of Fort Worth, despite the mayor’s post being officially nonpartisan. Dallas political analysts noted that Johnson had been hinting for some time that he was leaning towards the GOP and separating himself from Democrats, so their surprise at his decision was little. “This is among the worst-kept secrets in the political industry,” Republican consultant from the Dallas region Vinny Minchillo stated. “This has been deteriorating for a while.
Representative John Bryant, a Democrat from Dallas, trivialised Johnson’s announcement on the social media site X, which was once known as Twitter. Changing sides? Bryant wrote, “I was unaware that he was a Democrat.’Johnson did not pick up the phone when asked for comment.
Johnson argued in his opinion piece that his plans for Dallas are in line with conservative Republican values by highlighting his support for law enforcement, cheap real estate taxes, and creating an atmosphere that is conducive to business .During his time as mayor, Johnson has firmly supported anti-crime programs and cultivated a close relationship with Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia. After uniting the city’s commercial donor class, which frequently leans Republican, and the Dallas Police Association, the city’s police union, he easily won reelection in May.
Johnson stated in the opinion piece that “mayors and other local elected officials have failed to exercise fiscal restraint or to make public safety a priority.” “The majority of these local leaders are Democrats, and they see cities not as places of opportunity and free enterprise, but as testing grounds for liberalism. “Following his reelection this year, Johnson invited Ted Cruz and John Cornyn, the two Republican U.S. senators from Texas, to his inauguration. Some commentators felt that this inappropriately introduced partisanship into a nonpartisan setting.
