DALLAS — Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson will run unopposed for re-election in May.
The deadline to file to appear on the ballot for the May 6 election was 5 p.m. Friday, Feb. 17.
As of Monday morning, the city secretary's office listed two candidates for mayor, Johnson and Jrmar Jefferson, but said Jefferson is not qualified. The city requires mayoral candidates to have at least 404 signatures; Jefferson last week posted on Facebook that he submitted paperwork with more than 1,000 signatures but that he was still waiting to see if he met the city's requirements.
It was not immediately clear why Jefferson was not qualified.
Johnson, ironically, will be the first Dallas mayor to run unopposed for re-election since Erik Jonsson in 1967.
Jonsson, the co-founder of Texas Instruments, served as Dallas mayor from 1964-1971. The downtown Dallas public library is named in his honor.
This upcoming term will be Eric Johnson's second at City Hall. He defeated Councilman Scott Griggs in the 2019 election to replace outgoing Mayor Mike Rawlings.
“It is the greatest honor of my life to serve as the mayor of my hometown," Eric Johnson said in a statement. "We have achieved significant, measurable results for the residents of Dallas over the past four years, and I look forward to continuing this incredible progress in my second term."
While Johnson is running unopposed, only one of the 14 councilmember seats will be unopposed: Cara Mendelsohn in District 12.
In the mayoral election, it was speculated that Michael Hinojosa, the former superintendent of the Dallas Independent School District, would run for mayor.
But Hinojosa in December confirmed to WFAA that he was not planning to run, saying it was simply "bad timing" for him.
The former school superintendent also told WFAA that Johnson, whom he would have potentially challenged, is doing a “great job” as a mayor.