EARLY VOTING OCT. 20 - 31, ELECTION DAY NOV 4
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Paid for by Vote Yes for Prop 8 • Ronald Steinhart, Treasurer • 2030 Main Street, Suite 410, Dallas, TX 75201
Photo credit: Nigel Young / Foster + Partners
FOR
50.8
%
AGAINST
49.2
%
RESULTS
"I believe we need to attract a new generation of the best and brightest to public service
and I believe that government can be a source of inspiration, not degradation."
- A. Cuomo -
ABOUT
The Vote Yes For Proposition 8 Campaign is a coalition of citizens who care deeply about the City of Dallas and who are seizing an opportunity to help make our city’s future even brighter. On the November 4, 2014 City of Dallas election ballot there will be several proposed changes to the Dallas City Charter, our city’s “constitution.” There are several proposed changes, referred to as propositions, but the focus of our coalition’s attention is Proposition 8.
WHY “YES” FOR PROP 8?
Saying “Yes” to Proposition 8 (“Prop 8” for short) would bring the pay for our Mayor and City Council more in line with the demands and responsibilities of their role -- and with our expectations of them.
The days when Dallas was smaller and her city leaders were part-time community volunteers are long gone. As the governing body of the nation’s ninth largest city, the mayor and city council members oversee an organization larger than some FORTUNE 1000 corporations. They work between 40 and 60 hours per week overseeing a $1 billion+ annual budget, making hundreds of high-stakes policy decisions and fulfilling thousands of citizens request for assistance. In short, it’s a demanding, full time job.
Saying “Yes” to Proposition 8 will help ensure that capable and committed citizens who want to serve as the future leaders of our city can afford to leave their professional positions without fear of making ends meet on a part-time salary. So whether our next leaders are wealthy or just hard-working citizens, they won’t be blocked from the opportunity to serve.
If you also believe saying “Yes” to Prop 8 is important to the future of Dallas as we do, won’t you join our campaign? All you need to do is send us your name, address and email, and we will add your name to the roster of hundreds of people who believe Dallas is worth the very best leaders we can get.
And most important, please vote!
Early voting is Oct 20 – Oct 31.
Election Day is Nov 4.
GO TO THE END OF THE BALLOT and Vote Yes for Prop 8.
Please send your info to:
info@VoteYesForProp8.com.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What is Proposition 8?
Proposition 8 would bring the pay for our Mayor and City Council more in line with the demands and responsibilities of their role -- and with our expectations of them.
The ballot language says:
Increasing compensation for the Mayor and Council Members. Shall Chapter III, Section 4(a) of the Dallas City Charter be amended to increase compensation for council members to $60,000, effective upon the swearing in of city council members in June 2015, and for the mayor to $80,000, effective upon the swearing in as mayor of an individual who did not hold the office of mayor on November 4, 2014?
Why "yes" to Prop 8?
City council members work between 40 and 60 hours per week overseeing a $1 billion+ annual budget, making hundreds of high-stakes policy decisions and fulfilling thousands of citizens request for assistance. In short, it’s a demanding, full time job. Saying “Yes” to Proposition 8 would bring the pay for our Mayor and City Council more in line with the demands and responsibilities of their role -- and with our expectations of them.
Saying “Yes” to Proposition 8 will help ensure that capable and committed citizens who want to serve as the future leaders of our city can afford to leave their professional positions without fear of making ends meet on a part-time salary.
What do other large cities pay their governing officials?
Salaries from some of our peer cities are shown below:
• Austin pays its mayor $81,344 and council members $69,885
• Houston pays its mayor $209,000 and council members $56,000
• Denver pays its council president $90,428 and the 12 members are paid $80,753
• Phoenix pays its mayor $88,000 and council members $61,600 a year.
• Chicago pays its mayor $200,000+ and council members $104,000 - $115,000
Will the current elected officials receive the salary increase?
The increase will only apply to council members that are elected or re-elected and sworn in in June of 2015. Six of the current council members will be rolling off in 2015 because of term limits so they would not be eligible to run in 2015. It would not apply to our current mayor, Mike Rawlings, even if he runs for reelection in 2015.
When is the last time council members were given
an increase in compensation?
Council members have not been given an increase in 13 years.
How many times have Dallas Citizens given the
council member a raise?
Since 1930, there have been three compensation increases.
1) In 1930, compensation was $20/day, not to exceed $1,040/year
2) In 1968, compensation was increased to $50 per diem for regular and special called meetings
3) In 2001, council members compensation was increased to $37,500/year, Mayor $60,000/year
NEWS
Press inquiries, please contact:
Eddie Reeves, Reeves Strategy Group
214.236.0688
info@VoteYesForProp8.com
Dallas mayor, council deserve a raise
Dallas Morning News, October 28, 2014
Backers of raise for Dallas council and mayor say job's gotten tougher
Dallas Morning News, October 28, 2014
Dallas mayor campaigns for higher council pay
Dallas Morning News, October 9, 2014
Media Release: October 2, 2014
Mayor, Other Leaders Launch Campaign to Support
City Charter Change
Leaders Citywide Say ‘Vote Yes On Prop 8!’
Will Strengthen Council and City
Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings and other members of a coalition of local business, civic and political leaders today announced the launch of a campaign to educate and persuade voters on a key city charter proposition that will appear at the end of the November 4 ballot. Proposition 8 would increase compensation for future city council members to $60,000 per year and future mayors to $80,000.
Supporters of the Vote Yes For Prop 8! (www.VoteYesForProp8.com) campaign believe that a salary update is necessary because serving as a city council member is a 40 to 60 hour a week job, and no longer allows the time for another full-time job. Increasing the salary would allow more citizens from more backgrounds the opportunity to serve the city, they say.
“We need to attract the very best candidates to serve our city, and to do this we need to realize that this is a full-time job with high demands on time and talent,” said Mayor Mike Rawlings.“I believe that increasing council member pay is not only fair, but will also ensure that we are opening this opportunity to anyone and everyone who has the valuable skills our city council needs.”
Rawlings, who is still deciding whether to seek reelection next spring, would not be eligible for the pay increase even if he is reelected. He and other civic leaders stressed that their support is based on the future needs of the city. A campaign is necessary, they say, because the city charter propositions, which will be at the end of a long November ballot, is too important for voters to miss.
“A big part of why the North Texas region has been the envy of the rest of the country economically over the last few years is because of the leadership that has been shown at city hall on a host of measures,” said local private equity financier and education activist Peter Brodsky. “We are competing with cities not just in America but all over the world for investment, jobs and talent, so we need to ensure Dallas can draw leadership from the widest pool possible to help keep us competitive.”
“As the person who had the privilege of chairing the task force that developed proposed city charter amendments over the last several months, I believe that passing Proposition 8 can make our city government more inclusive, more representative and, ultimately, stronger,” said State Representative Rafael Anchia.
Reverend Bryan Carter, pastor of the influential Oak Cliff megachurch Concord Baptist agreed: “Proposition 8 will allow us to provide fair and equitable compensation for our mayor and council members for the weighty responsibility of work done on behalf of the citizens of Dallas. A strong compensation plan for our city leaders allows us to attract and retain high-quality, highly-qualified candidates for these important positions.”
For more information on Vote Yes For Prop 8!, please contact Eddie Reeves at (214) 236-0688 or email him at Info@VoteYesForProp8.com or Eddie@ReevesStrategyGroup.com.
ENDORSEMENTS
Bobby Abtahi - Civic Leader
Arcilia Acosta - CEO, CARCON Industries/STL Engineers
Joe Alcantar - Business and Civic Leader
Monica Alonzo - Deputy Mayor Pro Tem, City of Dallas
Roberto Alonzo - State Representative
Rafael Anchia - State Representative
Garrett Boone
Michael M. Boone - Haynes & Boone, LLP
Peter Brodsky - Business Leader
Pastor Gerald Britt - CitySquare
Richie Butler - Sr. Pastor, St. Paul United Methodist Church
Dwaine Caraway - Council member, City of Dallas
Bryan Carter - Pastor, Concord Church
Liz Cedillo-Pereira - Attorney and Civic Leader
Dr. Jerry Christian - Pastor, Kirkwood CME Church
Fred Conright - Two Podners
Dallas Citizens Council
Denny Davis - Pastor, St. John Church
Chris Escobedo – Business Leader
Trevor Fetter - President & CEO, Tenet Healthcare Corporation
Ron Gafford - CEO of Austin Industries & Former Chair of Greater Dallas Chamber
Guillermo Galindo - Business and Civic Leader
Domingo Garcia - Former Council Member, City of Dallas
Mark Gottfredson - Bain & Co
Greater Dallas Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
Michael Gruber - Civic Leader
Dr. Freddie Haynes - Pastor, Friendship West Baptist Church
Craig Holcomb - Former Dallas City Council Member
Craig Hall - Hall Financial Group
Marquis Hawkins - Educator, KIPP DFW
Hispanic PAC of Dallas
Antonia Hubert - Mayoral Board Appointee, Community Development Commission, City of Dallas
David Holl - President & CEO, Mary Kay Inc.
Matt Houston - Chair, Dallas Black Chamber of Commerce
Lyria Howland - Business and Civic Leader
Brenda Jackson
Omar Jimenez - Dallas Citizen
Lelious Johnson - Pastor, St. Paul Baptist Church
Tom Karol - Civic Leader
Ron Kirk - Former Mayor, City of Dallas
Richard Knight, Jr. - Chairman, Pegasustexas Construction
Mike J. Lafitte - COO, CBRE
Veletta Lill - Former Dallas City Council Member
Raul Madgaleno - Business and Civic Leader
Stephen L. Mansfield - President/CEO, Methodist Health System
Schuyler Marshall - Chairman of the Board, Rosewood Corporation
Gilbert May - Business Leader
Adam Medrano - Council member, City of Dallas
Jesse Moreno - Business and Civic Leader
Alice Murray - President, Dallas Citizens Council
Melanie Neal
Edna Pemberton - Southwest Center Mall
Fred Perpall - CEO, The Beck Group
John Proctor - Black Contractors Association
Roland Ramirez - Civic Leader
Mike Rawlings - Mayor, City of Dallas
Regional Hispanic Contractors Association
Rikki Rincon - Business Leader
Dr. Jim Rodriguez - Business and Civic Leader
Brint Ryan
Byron Sanders - Dallas Education Foundation
Pete Schenkel
Miguel Solis - Trustee, DISD
Mike Sorrell - President, Paul Quinn
Southeast Dallas Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
Ronald Steinhart
Jesse Tafalla, Jr. - Immediate Past President, LULAC 4871 - Dallas Rainbow Council
Jeronimo Valdez - Attorney and Civic Leader
Juanita Wallace - Dallas NAACP
Bernice J. Washington - DFW Airport Board Member
Erik Wilson - Unity Estates HOA President
VOTE YES FOR PROP 8
© 2014 Vote Yes For Prop 8
