Home / Dallas News / Jaime Resendez faces 3 challengers in City Council race, including one endorsed by Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson

Jaime Resendez faces 3 challengers in City Council race, including one endorsed by Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson

Dallas City Council member Jaime Resendez is fighting three challengers to keep his seat after Mayor Eric Johnson endorsed his opponent Yolanda “Faye” Williams.

Resendez was one of a block of council members who supported cutting police overtime, an issue his opponents have latched onto as they argue he’s done too little to combat crime in southeast Dallas.

Resendez, who has represented the Pleasant Grove area since 2019, said the district will benefit from stability rather than a revolving door of representatives.

But ahead of the May 1 election, his opponents say that the district needs someone else in office who can tackle persistent public safety problems, boost economic development and respond to quality of life issues.

Resendez took 52% of the 2,089 votes cast during the last election cycle, with perennial candidate Williams and Human Resources consultant Ruth Torres splitting the rest of the electorate. Torres is running again this round, as is first-time candidate Terry Perkins.

Two challengers — Williams, a paralegal and substitute teacher, and Perkins, a former pastor at Abundant Grace Church — raised more money than the incumbent, according to campaign finance reports filed in early April.

Johnson announced shortly before early voting begins on Monday that he is backing Williams, the only race he’s explicitly weighed in on. But he appears to favor two other challengers in Districts 7 and 9, according to a Dallas Morning News review of social media posts and donations.

A screenshot of a flyer released by Dallas City Council District 5 candidate Yolanda Faye Williams on April 15, 2021, shows an endorsement from Mayor Eric Johnson.
A screenshot of a flyer released by Dallas City Council District 5 candidate Yolanda Faye Williams on April 15, 2021, shows an endorsement from Mayor Eric Johnson.(Courtesy of Yolanda Faye Williams campaign)

The mayor clashed with the council over its plan to cut $7 million from the Police Department’s overtime budget, which Resendez supported. The council initially hoped to funnel the money toward programs like expanded bike lanes, streetlights and affordable housing, as well as adding civilian positions to the Police Department. Ultimately, the funds were reinvested back into the other police and public safety projects. The police budget overall grew.

The councilman’s challengers have also pounced on the issue. Williams’ campaign distributed flyers accusing Resendez of trying to defund the police.

Resendez dismissed his opponents’ attacks as misleading and par for the course in an election year. He’s proud of his record, he said, including initiating new development projects, like the purchase of a vacant grocery store with the hope of transforming it, despite the pandemic.

He channeled the mayor’s endorsement of his opponent, Williams, on Thursday into a last-minute fundraising push. His campaign emailed supporters with the subject line, “Mayor Eric Johnson’s Biggest Mistake.” Resendez said they’ve raised more than $10,000 since the endorsement news broke.


Attorney, Iraq War veteran and Pleasant Grove native Jaime Resendez is seeking reelection to the Dallas City Council.
Attorney, Iraq War veteran and Pleasant Grove native Jaime Resendez is seeking reelection to the Dallas City Council.(David Guzman – DMN photo )

Southeast Dallas has become a focal point in the city’s fight against street racing. Two years ago in Pleasant Grove, 8-year-old Olivia Mendez was thrown from her family’s car and killed after when people who were illegally racing crashed into them.

Resendez joined police officers on a ride-along while they sought to quell racing, ending up in a high-speed chase. He partners with the department to track and publish data on street racing enforcement, he said, and worked with the city attorney to push statewide legislative action.

“I helped bring this to the forefront,” he said.

He said the design of some corridors in his district — with three lanes going each way — encourages drivers to go too fast. He’s been talking with the city transportation officials about conducting a traffic study and is interested in possibly converting some of the roads into protected bike lanes.

Williams wants to increase penalties for those caught street racing, including requiring that insurance agencies be notified if motorists receive a citation for doing it.

Torres has also pushed for legislation to curb street racing, including a bill that would require information on its dangers be added to driver education courses. She’s traveled to Austin to testify.

“That’s not something I did as an elected official,” she said. “That’s just a mom who’s working and put that time and effort into it.”

Ruth Torres is running for the District 5 City Council seat.
Ruth Torres is running for the District 5 City Council seat.(Courtesy of Ruth Torres / Photo courtesy of Ruth Torres)

To tackle crime, Perkins said the first thing he would do is form a task force of people who live in “hot spots” to ask for insights. He wants to use old police cars that have been taken out of service to beef up neighborhood citizen patrols.

“We definitely need something new,” he said, “someone with new ideas to bring resources to our community.”

Terry Perkins is one of the candidates running for the District 5 City Council seat.
Terry Perkins is one of the candidates running for the District 5 City Council seat.(Debra Gloria / Photo courtesy of Terry Perkins)

The candidates are also focused on quality of life issues in the district, where most residents are Black or Hispanic. In the ZIP code encompassing Pleasant Grove, more than a quarter of its residents live below the poverty line.

Williams said an elderly man in the district is often out cleaning up the neighborhood, instead of city workers.

“Code compliance is the easiest thing we can do to make our communities look better,” Williams said.

Resendez said he rode his bike on every street in his district and ended up reporting more than 200 issues, from broken sidewalks to potholes, to the city for service.

Challengers are also pointing to their records within the district. Williams, a former Park Board member, said she’s proud to have helped bring the Crawford Aquatics Center to Pleasant Grove.

Perkins, who said he’s been working to feed Southeast Dallas families going hungry during the pandemic, previously ran the Passage of Youth Family Center, a foster child placement nonprofit.

In 2013, a woman sued him after she said in a lawsuit that he ignored pleas for help and that one of the children placed in her care doused her with hot grease, resulting in second- and third-degree burns over a quarter of her body. Court documents also outline allegations that Perkins misappropriated money intended to help kids involved in the nonprofit.

Perkins acknowledged the case in The Dallas Morning News’ Voter Guide, saying: “I was named in a civil lawsuit with a nonprofit that I was previously employed with.” He declined to elaborate, saying he could not provide details about the case because it had been settled.

“We always maintained on behalf of Terrance Perkins and Passage of Youth that they had no liability for a foster daughter hurting her foster mother and there was no misappropriation of funds ever proven in the case,” said Travis Casey, who represented both Perkins and the nonprofit.

The candidates say the city must do a better job of spurring economic development in the area. Torres said she would be laser-focused on workforce development and build up a resource center to help support new and existing businesses.

Resendez, a lawyer and Iraq war veteran, is a former Dallas ISD school board member. He worked to bring the first Talented and Gifted Magnet School to Pleasant Grove. He resigned after it was reported that he no longer lived in the district he represented.

Check Also

How to find Rangers home opener tickets

The World Champion Texas Rangers are hosting the Chicago Cubs for the Rangers’ home opener …