Caraway's troubling

I'm becoming increasingly worried about Dallas City Councilman Dwaine Caraway. It's not that his constant political grandstanding often comes dangerously close to demagoguery or that his shady dealings in the past trouble me; it's more that he's clearly angling to succeed Da Mayor and, barring some strong, so far unknown, opponent, he just might make it.

Just what kind of mayor would Caraway make? Well, if this kind of meddling is any indication, he would be a mayor that would trample all over the City Charter and city ordinances. My main concern with former Mayor Laura Miller was that she wanted to be both the mayor and the city manager; but, at least, she was up front about it, initiating a city referendum that, if not soundly defeated, would have allowed the mayor  to assume both roles.

I have the same problem with City Council member Angela Hunt. Her interference in the Jenny the Elephant saga of a year or so ago proved that she would overstep the boundaries of a city council member as outlined by the Dallas City Charter. In fact, there's not one single member of the current Dallas City Council that I would support as a future mayor, which, when you think about it, is a fairly strong condemnation of the current  makeup of the city's board of directors.

But Caraway is the one who really scares me. Reading between the lines of this Dallas Morning News story, I got the impression he is incensed because his father got a parking ticket while he was inside a South Dallas house playing poker. Should the police be focusing on ferreting out more dangerous criminals than parking offenders? Probably. But that's the responsibility of the area police commander, the police chief and ultimately the city manager to establish those guidelines. That territory is clearly marked "No Trespassing" when it comes to City Council members. So Caraway is either negligent for ignoring the signs or stupid for not being able to read them. Either option should eliminate him for consideration for any higher political office.


UPDATE: The Dallas Observer's great Jim Schutze weighs in on the person he calls "Dwaine Carried-away," but, although Schutze has convinced me that Caraway is unjustly persecuting Oak Cliff Metal recycling, his constant defense of the Oak Cliff business makes me wonder whether he has some personal stake in the facility's continued existence.