Dallas endorses giving up control of DART board in attempt to save service
DALLAS, TEXAS - OCTOBER 24: A general view of a train at the Cypress Waters Station during the DART Silver Line Opening Ceremony on October 24, 2025 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Rick Kern/Getty Images for Dallas Area Rapid Transit)
DALLAS - Dallas approved of a new governance structure for DART as the service attempts to entice cities into canceling withdrawal elections scheduled for May.
What we know:
Dallas city council voted in favor of a resolution that would see the city giving up majority control of DART's board. Council members voted 15 to 2 to approve the resolution.
Under the new structure, no one city would have a voting majority and all 13 cities that use the service would have a seat on the board.
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DART considers new governance structure to keep cities from leaving service
DART officials proposed significant changes to their structure to entice cities into cancelling special elections about leaving the service in May.
The resolution calls for Dallas to hold seven seats on the board and a 45% voting share. Presently, the city holds nine of the 15 seats on the board.
What they're saying:
The voting comes as six cities that currently use the service could vote to leave DART altogether in special elections due to be held in May.
Dallas city councilman Paul Ridley led the charge on approving the measure, saying the move shows Dallas is willing to cooperate with neighboring cities to save DART, even if the vote doesn't guarantee that cities with scheduled elections will cancel them.
"We also are motivated by the spirit of cooperation and collaboration with the other member cities," Ridley said during Wednesday's meeting. "There are two other significant issues that are not within our control that have been raised by those cities, which are the amount of sales tax revenue that they contribute to DART, and service issues."
Dallas mayor Eric Johnson said saving DART is something he wants to be a big part of his legacy.
"The most common question I get as mayor as it relates to me personally in this role is, what do you want your legacy to be?" Johnson said. "DART and its future and what it means to this region and what it means is these issues are tough."
"50 years from now, whatever, I'm telling you what your legacy is going to be. It'll be that council just got it done," Johnson continued.
The other side:
The two members of Dallas city council that voted against the measure warned that changing the board structure would disenfranchise Dallas residents who use the service the most.
"Dallas built DART, Dallas funds DART and Dallas rides DART. Our residents account for approximately 75% of the ridership," council member Cara Mendelsohn said. "If we're going to save DART, the answer can't be simply by reducing Dallas representation without securing measurable reform, improve service delivery and accountability standards. Dallas taxpayers deserve governance proportional to their contribution."
"I will be voting no because I can't get over a gut feeling that our dance partners are not interested in making sure the City of Dallas residents have the best public transit system possible," said Chad West, the other council member to vote against the measure, said during Wednesday's meeting.
What's next:
The six cities that have called for the special DART withdrawal elections have until Feb. 23 to call them off.
The Source: Information in this story came from DART's official website and FOX 4 reporting.