Dallas Mayor Selects an Ethical Czar
Eric Johnson, Dallas’ mayor who came under scrutiny for taking a job with a high-profile Dallas law firm just a few months after campaigning on fixing the city’s ethics problems, selected a head of ethics reform Friday. Attorney Tim Powers gets the honor.
As the so-called Ethics Czar, the Haynes and Boone Managing Partner will helm a small “working group” to take a complete look at the city’s ethics code. Powers will also be in charge of selecting the members of that group.
Our city has seen its fair share of ethical mishaps in recent years. Former City Councilman Dwaine Caraway is currently serving a four and a half year prison sentence for taking $450,000 in bribes and kickbacks related to bus system Dallas County Schools. Former Councilwoman and the late Carolyn Davis pleaded guilty to accepting $40,000 from affordable housing developer Ruel Hamilton before she was killed by an intoxicated driver.
Former Councilman Philip Kingston was hit with a minor ethics violation in 2017 when he filmed a campaign ad inside City Hall. Councilman Casey Thomas received a small reprimand—still pending Council approval—for failing to report his use of VisitDallas’ suite at American Airlines Center on his annual gift disclosures. Former Councilman and mayoral candidate Scott Griggs’ 2015 run-in with Secretary Bilierae Johnson, in which he allegedly threatened to break her fingers, also feels noteworthy here.
Read more: https://www.dmagazine.com/frontburner/2019/11/the-mayor-selects-an-ethical-czar/