Eric Johnson, Scott Griggs to face off in Dallas mayor runoff election
DALLAS, Texas - The Dallas mayoral race has gone from nine candidates down to two who are now set to face off in the runoff election. Both have long histories in Dallas.
Texas State Representative Eric Johnson had the highest number of votes, securing roughly 20 percent of the vote.
He'll face off against Dallas City Councilman Scott Griggs, who had about 18 percent of the vote.
The runoff election will be June 8. They will be trying to replace Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings, who can't seek a third term due to term limits.
The campaigning doesn't stop for Griggs and Johnson.
Both say they plan to continue running strong campaigns and getting their message out to voters over the next five weeks.
“We ran a very grassroots campaign where we talked to people, and we told them what our vision was and I think they agreed with us,” Johnson said.
“We look forward to this process over the next five weeks, reaching out to all the engaged voters and making the case for why I should be mayor of the city of Dallas,” Griggs said.
Griggs brings with him eight years of experience on the dallas city council.
“We're going to continue the message we've had, which is accountability and transparency in government, strong, safe neighborhoods, and a renewed emphasis on the basics,” Griggs added. ”Taking care of our police officers and firefighters, our streets, our parks, our rec centers, our libraries.”
Johnson has served in the state legislature since 2010.
“I do think we do need to focus on our workforce. I think law enforcement needs more support, we need to be able to fund higher salaries for our officers, hire more officers and retain officers we have,” Johnson said.
Now, both candidates will spend the next five weeks trying to show voters why they're the right choice for dallas.
“I grew up in far north Dallas, after returning to Dallas after law school, I lived in Uptown, and now I live in southern Dallas, where I have lived for the last 17 years, so I have a perspective on so many different neighborhoods in the city of Dallas, which is so important to being mayor, to bring the city together,” Griggs said.
“I'm a native of this city, I was born and raised here and I have a lot of experience actually bringing diverse groups of people, people from various walks of life, together to accomplish things. I have a track record in Austin of bringing folks together to accomplish legislative goals,” Johnson said.
Lynn McBee received 14 percent of the vote, and Michael Ablon was at 13 percent, with Regina Montoya at 11 percent and Miguel Solis at 10 percent.
Jason Villalba, Albert C. Black Jr., and Alyson Kennedy rounded out the remaining candidates.
Click here for full election results.