Dallas voters to decide if non-U.S. citizens should be allowed to serve on advisory boards

A year ago, it would have been impossible for Edith Rodriguez to serve on a Dallas city advisory board.

While she’s lived here for a decade as a legal permanent resident, she could not participate on any of Dallas’ more than 50 city boards and commissions because she is not a U.S. citizen and can’t vote. City code and charter barred her and thousands of others like her from serving because she was not a registered voter.

Last April, the Dallas City Council approved changing city code to eliminate a requirement that board and commission appointees be “qualified voters.” State law defines that as a U.S. citizen who lives in Texas; is at least 18 years old and is a registered voter with no felony convictions.

A month later, Rodriguez was appointed to the municipal library board.

But the city code change didn’t apply to four boards and commissions created through the City Charter, which requires voter approval to change.

The City Council on Wednesday voted 10-5 in favor of putting the proposed charter amendment to voters May 1. The city charter calls for members of the park board and city plan commission to be qualified voters; that redistricting commission members be registered voters and that civil service board members be “qualified taxpaying citizens.”

Voters will be asked if they want to eliminate those requirements for members of those four boards and commissions.

Rodriguez was one of two dozen people who were in favor of letting Dallas voters decide in May whether to approve the change.

“Like my family, immigrants pay taxes to the city and deserve the same opportunities and representation as any other person,” said Rodriguez, who represents District 5 on the library board.

If the measure is approved, Dallas could be the second major city to change its city charter to grant non-U.S. citizens the ability to serve on city advisory boards and commissions. San Francisco is believed to be the first after voters greenlit the proposal last November.

The Dallas proposal was spearheaded by council member Jaime Resendez, who nominated Rodriguez to the library board and is the elected representative for Southeast Dallas and Pleasant Grove. He described it as an opportunity to remove a longstanding institutional barrier and uphold the city’s commitment to all residents.

He pleaded with his colleagues to vote in favor of the proposal because future city councils may not consider it a priority. He noted that his parents are among those who immigrated to the U.S. without legal documentation.

“My parents signed on the dotted line for me to be able to join the military at 17 years old. They were willing to sacrifice their son for this country, and they couldn’t serve on the Park Board,” said Resendez, a U.S. Army veteran.

Liz Cedillo-Pereira, Dallas’ chief of equity and inclusion, said city data in 2018 showed about a quarter of Dallas’ population was made up of immigrants and refugees. About 70% of them are not U.S. citizens, she said.

Council members Adam McGough, Carolyn King Arnold, Lee Kleinman, Jennifer Staubach Gates and David Blewett voted against sending the proposed amendment to the ballot.

All but Blewett voiced concerns before the vote that residents should have weighed in more and that the idea should be considered during the charter review process in 2023.

An earlier motion by Kleinman to delay the proposal failed 9-6. Councilmember Paula Blackmon voted for the delay but later approved sending the proposal to the ballot.

Kleinman acknowledged voting for the code change last year and said he agreed with the concept of resident representation. But, he said, charter revisions needed to undergo a “very deliberative process.”

If residents vote down the proposal in May, the City Council should consider restoring the language that was removed from the city code last year, Kleinman said.

All two dozen people who spoke on Wednesday said they were in favor of the proposal going to voters. The charter requirements largely impact Dallas’ Latino community. Without allowing more people to serve, it limits representation as well as opportunities to groom future city leaders, they said.

The council voted 14-1 on April 8, 2020, to change the city code requirement for boards and commissions. McGough was the lone no vote.

Charter amendment proposals can be placed on the ballot through council committees, voter petition or a recommendation from the charter review commission.

The city charter proposal was forwarded to the council last Thursday after being approved by the government performance and financial management committee.