City Council Runoff Voters Guide

Runoff election day for Richardson City Council is Saturday, June 8, 2019. Early voting runs from Tuesday, May 28, until Tuesday, June 4. One place is on the ballot: Place 3. All registered voters in Richardson are eligible to vote. The candidates are Janet DePuy and Dan Barrios. I explained the issues that mattered most to me in the Voters Guide published before the May 4 election. I won't repeat that here. Instead, let's jump right to the recommendation.

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City of Richardson Place 3

Janet DePuy has done something I didn't think could be done. She has attracted the endorsements of both the Richardson Coalition and Amir Omar, who were on opposite sides of the bitter mayoral election of 2013. She has also attracted the endorsement of the third place finisher in the May election, Franklin Byrd. She has a decade's experience as HOA president. So she has working knowledge of what our neighborhoods need. She has a Bachelor's Degree in Art from UT-Dallas and is a board member of the Arts Incubator of Richardson. So she has the understanding of how the Arts can overcome cultural differences and bring people together. She has called for review and strengthening the City's Code of Ethics, including adding a section on proper use of social media. She checks all the right boxes for me. The Wheel endorses Janet DePuy for Place 3.

Dan Barrios has called for a citizen-led ethics commission to strengthen our Code of Ethics and has made other concrete suggestions for strengthening the code. That's good. In the original Voters Guide, I said "He is personable, intelligent, and focused on service. I think Richardson would be in safe hands if Dan Barrios is elected." I no longer can say those things. He deserted his personable character with a direct mail attack ad against Janet DePuy, unfairly implying that she supports overcrowded schools and corruption in city government. I recommend a vote for Janet DePuy.