DALLAS — WFAA invited each of the nine candidates for Dallas mayor to answer the following questions to help inform voters before the May 4th election.
Here are Regina Montoya's responses:
Occupation:
Chair of the Mayor’s Task Force on Poverty; Attorney; Civic and Community Leader
Education:
Wellesley College (B.A.)
Harvard Law School (J.D.)
How long have you lived in the city of Dallas?
I have lived my entire adult life in Dallas. I have lived in far east Dallas, far north Dallas, Lakewood, and Preston Hollow. In total, I have lived in Dallas for 35 years.
Why are you running for mayor?
I am passionate about our city’s progress, potential and people. We have so much going for us. I want to celebrate and build on all that is good about our city, and all of our recent progress. And I want a city that works for everyone. We are a city in transition, and this moment is critical for leadership with vision. As Mayor, my goal is to make it easier for everyone to partake in the opportunities this city provides. I want more people in Dallas to be successful and reach their dreams. I feel this way because I know what this city gave me: the chance to use my talents, work hard, build a career and raise a family. I am the product of immigrants. One grandfather came to this country at a young age. My other grandfather went into the coal mines at age 13. My father is a World War II veteran. After having four children, my mother returned to school and received a teaching degree. She taught English as a second language at Thomas Jefferson High School. I stand on their shoulders. I think about the sacrifices my family made to give me so many opportunities. They told me to dream big, audacious dreams. They told me nothing could stop me if I tried and worked hard. When I returned to Dallas after college and law school, this city made it possible for me to find success. Everyone should have that chance. That is why the theme of my campaign is “Great Cities Invest in People.” I know we are a city of neighborhoods, buildings, parks, sports stadiums, bridges, rivers, roads and all of the rest of the built environment. But our city lives and breathes because of people. They are our greatest resource, and our city should be defined by them.
Prior political experience or civic leadership involvement?
I have spent my entire adult life in Dallas, serving as an attorney, civic and community leader, educator, and nonprofit CEO. I recently served as chair of the Mayor’s Task Force on Poverty and spearheaded the development of the Child Poverty Action Lab. Previously I was the Vice Chair of the DFW Airport Board. I was the Senior Vice President, External Relations and General Counsel at Children’s Medical Center of Dallas. Prior to that I was the CEO of the New America Alliance, a national nonprofit organization promoting economic advancement for minorities. I also had the opportunity to serve in President Bill Clinton’s White House and was appointed to the 53rd General Assembly of the United Nations. I am also proud of my time as the Chair of the Board of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), an organization that has successfully defended the civil rights of those who have no voice.
There are a lot of candidates in this race, why should voters choose you over someone else?
I have a uniquely broad background and a wide perspective on this city and how it can work together. My experience spans industry and business, the law, nonprofits and city involvement. I have a collaborative leadership style, based on building coalitions and consensus. We need a mayor who can unite the city, bring together its districts, businesses, nonprofits and all interested parties to pull in one direction. There is so much good going on in Dallas, but we have silos that need to be brought together and connected. I have a strong grasp of what is working well in Dallas, as well as the challenges we face. My knowledge of the city is informed by my work on the Mayor’s Task Force on Poverty and service on the DFW Airport Board. My knowledge of business and commerce is informed by my professional background. My understanding of the role of nonprofits comes from working with MALDEF, New America Alliance and other civic groups. I want to bring all the parts of this network together.
In your view, what are the three biggest challenges facing Dallas? Specifically, how do you plan to address them?
Number one: BASICS. It is not glamorous, but one priority is obviously the basics: road repairs, code enforcement, public safety and the like. I want the city to look at the way it allocates funds for these basic services and organizes and manages departments, so that areas of the city with greater need get the funds they need. I want to make sure we have a strong public safety system that is responsive to the community and accountable. Number two: HOUSING COSTS. I am also concerned about the rising cost of living in Dallas, particularly home ownership. Home ownership is traditionally one of the most powerful ways a person can build wealth and security. We are dealing with a housing situation buffeted by high property taxes, too few housing units available to meet demand, and a shortage of lower cost housing and mixed use. We have initiatives to work on these problems, but I would make this a core focus. We have to make it easier for people to own homes or find rentals that are not prohibitively expensive. This problem affects our young people starting out in life, struggling lower and middle income families, and also older residents who have fixed incomes. I want to make it easier for housing to be developed in the city of Dallas. We can automate parts of the permitting process to make it more efficient and transparent. We can use city-owned land to add affordable housing. Number three: COMBATTING POVERTY. I led the Mayor’s Task Force on Poverty and initiated the Child Poverty Action Lab. Working with Councilman Mark Clayton and the members of the committee we found that every single district in Dallas has neighborhoods of concentrated poverty. Over 100,000 children in the city live in poverty. This is a complex problem with multiple variables that cause systemic poverty. But the Mayor can do things to help: partnering with DISD and continuing to shine a spotlight on the critical importance of early education; fighting for strong public schools; encouraging adult education and training programs; enabling learning and networking opportunities for people through internships at the city; encouraging business and corporations to invest in our young people and area colleges and universities, and raise wages where feasible; understanding the value of partnerships with private citizens and civic organizations to get funding and buy-in for major projects that can impact poverty; creating opportunities for local entrepreneurs and fostering small and medium sized businesses; making it easier for developers and businesses to work in areas of our city that need jobs, housing and amenities; and improving the city’s mobility and transportation.
With growing property taxes, it gets more expensive to live in Dallas every year. If elected, what specifically would you do to address that?
One of the critical issues in the last midterm was the relationship between public school finance and residential property taxes, a portion of which is used to pay for public education. I support the state contributing a higher portion of the annual public school budget so that the burden on homeowners is reduced.
Dallas now has hundreds of fewer police officers than five years ago. Emergency response times have increased, as well. How do you solve this problem?
We need to do a much better job of marketing and recruiting, especially on a local level, going into high schools and local colleges. Serving as a police officer is a respected career and could provide stable employment to many of our young people. Dallas is an incredible city, and we need to let potential recruits know about the benefits of living here. We could do some practical things, as well, like programs to reduce housing costs for officers.
There is a growing homeless population in Dallas. Prior administrations have struggled to address it. What would you do differently?
We have allocated resources and funds to combat this problem, but we are not meeting the challenge completely. Unfortunately, homelessness has increased over the past three years. Often our chronically homeless suffer from inadequate health treatment or mental illness. Homelessness was studied by a different commission than the Mayor’s Task Force on Poverty, but our committee understood the severity of this issue. We have to continue encouraging public-private partnerships on this issue. Last year, Catholic Charities in partnership with the Catholic Initiative, opened a re-developed former assisted living facility to provide housing and wrap-around services for homeless seniors. The public-private partnership has made a huge impact in that neighborhood. If City Hall could provide support and structure to similar re-developments, we would finally see a decrease in our homeless population.
Major strides have been made in Dallas’ southern sector but challenges remain. What are the two biggest opportunities you have identified?
As one example, I am impressed by the Dallas Entrepreneur Center at Red Bird Mall and the young business people working there to find success. They have great energy and desire. We need to encourage these incubators of talent and ideas. It is a question of connecting young people with funding, expertise and resources. As a general rule, I want to see more focus on enabling entrepreneurship and small and medium sized businesses in the southern sector. I want people to have the opportunity to own businesses and accumulate capital. The growth of the Inland Port has also been impressive. We need to buttress that by making it easier for people to live nearby and have better mobility to the workplaces there. I also see the UNT Dallas campus as an anchor around which to build.
Have you ever been arrested, charged with a crime or faced criminal proceedings in a court? If yes, please explain:
No.
Have you ever been involved in any lawsuits or declared bankruptcy? If yes, please explain:
I have never been sued personally nor have I ever declared bankruptcy. I have been sued in my capacity as a corporate and governmental board member, which is not uncommon.
Favorite Dallas restaurant – or night out?
I have many favorite haunts, so it’s tough to pick just one. But I have always enjoyed La Calle Doce – both the location in Oak Cliff and the one in East Dallas. They have great seafood dishes and the restaurant is a great story of a family-owned local business. We hosted a meet-and-greet at the Oak Cliff location and the staff is just exceptionally nice and welcoming.
Have you ever ridden DART?
Yes, I have ridden DART. I have also attended DART board meetings, most recently to argue against the 20% fare increase that was announced last year.
Tell us something about yourself – unrelated to politics or this race – that voters probably don’t know.
I love writing and receiving hand-written cards. Papyrus is probably my favorite store. It doesn’t even need to be near a holiday. I’ll always find some special cards to send to friends or family.
