Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson talks about his decision to become a Republican
DALLAS - Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson opened up for the first time in local media about his decision to switch political parties and become a Republican.
"I've thought about it awhile," Johnson said.
He said he started seriously thinking about becoming a Republican in the aftermath of George Floyd's murder by Minneapolis police officers and the resulting "defund the police" movement.
"I had to be honest with myself, and I had to do some inventory. I realized that, you know, I became a Democrat at 18 when I voted for the first time. I turned 48 this year. 30 years is a long time, and I'm not the same guy 30 years later," Johnson said. "It became very clear to me I was in the wrong party and that there really is no conservative wing in the Democratic Party left, certainly not on that issue and so I switched."
The mayor, a former State Representative of Dallas, announced in September that he would be leaving the Democratic Party in an op-ed he wrote for the Wall Street Journal.
He received sharp criticism from Democrats, and some called it a 'betrayal of trust' to his voters.
When asked for a response, the mayor said, "It doesn't even make sense to me. The voters in Dallas vote for a mayor on a non-partisan basis. When a high-profile member of a party leaves, you have to say something, and I suppose it's something they came up with—that he betrayed the voters. It's factually, it's on its face ridiculous."
Johnson said when he first ran for mayor in 2019, he didn't run as a Democrat but as someone who could solve problems in Dallas, and that this year, he ran on his record. He was the only candidate on the ballot and faced a write-in candidate.
His announcement came three months after being re-elected by a wide margin.
The mayor said that after he made up his mind to vote in the Republican primary this coming March, he wanted to be the one to tell people about it instead of having someone else report it first.
"It was going to become public that I switched, and so I decided to announce it when I announced it because it was going to become an issue when I voted in the Republican primary."
He wouldn't disclose which GOP candidate he plans to vote for, and he said he didn't endorse Joe Biden when he ran for president and brought his campaign to Dallas the night before the Texas primary in 2020.
"Joe Biden's people approached me very quickly and asked for an endorsement, and I declined, and you know what? That was not an easy thing to do. He collected the endorsement from every prominent Democrat in Dallas except for the sitting mayor, who was a known Democrat, because I made a promise on the campaign trail that I would not endorse in any partisan races."
Watch the entire interview with Mayor Johnson:
Our interview took place as Mark Cuban is in the process of selling a majority stake in the Dallas Mavericks to Miriam Adelson and her family, who run casino operator Las Vegas Sands Corporation.
When asked if he's concerned the Mavericks could leave Dallas, Johnson said, "I think Mark Cuban has flat-out said they would never do it. And I take him at his word. I think he's an honorable guy, and I hope he will keep his word on that. They are the Dallas Mavericks, and I would hope they would stay in Dallas."
A Cuban has said he favors a casino resort being built in downtown Dallas. Before that can happen, state law must change to legalize casinos in Texas.
The mayor said if that happens, it will be up to Dallas residents and elected leaders to consider this for the city.
"I bet it's actually a popular idea. I'm willing to bet that there's support for it. But the reality is it's not something that's without consequence for the city. Overall, my job is to be a steward of the city and to think about the city's long-term best interests."
Johnson also said property taxes are too high, and he wants the city to cut them further and do so by holding the line on spending in next year's budget.
"Is it not possible that we could run the city of Dallas government next year on the same amount of money that we ran it on last year, or even less possibly? The answer is there is significant inefficiency and significant numbers of things that we can do that, frankly, somebody else could do better, at a lower cost, and more efficiently."
The mayor has also said repeatedly that he wants the city to expand its park system and that he remains focused on his top priorities: public safety and reducing violent crime in the city.