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 Lynn McBee's responses:
Occupation:
As CEO of Young Women’s Prep Network for the past 5 years, I’ve taken on the vital challenge of helping thousands of public school girls gain a top-notch STEM-focused education and go to college – creating thousands of first-generation college grads and shifting cycles of poverty - and we’re succeeding. To date, our graduates have a 100% college acceptance rate. From my work in education, I’ve seen that investing in people and in our future lifts us all and can shift generational trends.
Education:
I grew up in Freeport, Texas – I’m a product of Texas public education and hold a degree in Biochemistry from the University of Texas.
How long have you lived in the city of Dallas?
For the past 25 years, I’ve been actively involved in helping solve Dallas’ most difficult challenges, serving on boards of more than 25 organizations, and leading on tough issues like homelessness, domestic violence and improving education. My husband and I moved to the downtown parks district last summer, and we love living in the heart of Dallas.
Why are you running for mayor?
Our city needs a fresh perspective from someone outside of politics who can rise above the fray, find common ground, focus on the mission, and get things DONE. As a volunteer leader for the past 25 years, I’ve taken on some of Dallas’ toughest issues, including leadership roles on homelessness, fighting domestic abuse, improving public education and removing barriers to college for under-served students. From more than 25 years of non-profit work, I’ve learned that serving people is not just about raising money and managing budgets – that some of the biggest impacts come from simply how we treat each other, communicate, and relate to each other as people.
Through my career in biotech, education, and in serving our community, I’ve learned so many valuable lessons, I’ve led boards and committees made up of different personalities and backgrounds – often as the only woman at the table – and I’ve seen first-hand that success is never about one person, one idea or a single approach to an issue. Successful leadership that solves problems is about bringing everyone to the table, aligning behind a shared mission and putting action behind vision. This collaborative, focused style is the same approach I’ll take as Mayor, focusing on creating the best quality of life for those who choose to make Dallas “home.”
Prior political experience or civic leadership involvement?
Dallas Women’s Foundation, 2009 – 2012: Board member for the Dallas Women’s Foundation (now Texas Women’s Foundation)
VNA, 1994 – current: Board Chair for the Visiting Nurse Association, awarded VNA Lifetime Director.
The Family Place, 1995 – current: Auxiliary member, Board member and Board Chair of The Family Place and their Foundation, awarded the 2017 Texas Trailblazer Award from The Family Place.
Junior League of Dallas (JLD), 1996 – current: member, Board Member, past President, Chair of various service projects, and now a Sustaining Advisor.
Children’s Medical Center Auxiliary, Board & Foundation, 2000 – current: Auxiliary member, Board member, Trustee on the Children’s Foundation.
Dallas County Community College District Foundation (DCCCD), 2007 – current: Board member
AT&T Performing Arts Center, 2007 – current: Board member
The Bridge Homeless Recovery Center, 2010 – current: member of the inaugural Board of Directors and as Chairman of the Board
The Letot Center Campaign Committee & Foundation, 2011 – 2016: Campaign Committee member and Foundation Board Member
Dallas Afterschool, 2014 – current: Board member
In addition, I’ve served in leadership positions and volunteered the following non-profits:
After School All Stars
American Cancer Society
Boys & Girls Club of Dallas (Tutor)
Cattle Baron’s Ball
Community Partners of Dallas
Crystal Charity Ball
Dallas Film Society
Dallas Historical Society
The Dallas Opera
Dedman College Executive Board at SMU
Genesis Women’s Shelter
Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas
Habitat for Humanity
Salvation Army
SPCA
TACA - The Arts Community Alliance, Dallas
Texas Ballet Theater
The Trinity Trust / Trinity Park Conservancy
United Way Tocqueville Society
The University of Texas College of Natural Sciences Board
UTD Center For Brain Health
Voice of Hope (Tutor)
There are a lot of candidates in this race, why should voters choose you over someone else?
Experience. My work as an executive at a biotech startup and as a CEO gives me the business and leadership background needed to serve as Mayor. And, my long-term and deep involvement as a volunteer and non-profit leader give me a deep, first-hand understanding of the big issues facing Dallas.
I’ve seen what works, I’ve seen what doesn’t work, and I have the knowledge and relationships to bring all the stakeholders to the table to create sustainable solutions.
In your view, what are the three biggest challenges facing Dallas? Specifically, how do you plan to address them?
Safer neighborhoods: As Mayor, I’ll create an environment where police and fire work hand-in-hand with our city leaders to keep us all safe – and we must make growing our police force a top priority.
Better basic services: As Mayor, I’ll make quality of life the foundation of our city. That means smooth streets, strong city services, well-maintained parks and public spaces, but it also means streets safe from stray dogs, city codes that are enforced, and even safe gas lines.
Protect taxpayers: As Mayor, I’ll lead for taxpayers and families, and work to get the best return for taxpayer dollars. This means more budget dollars for services that improve quality of life, and fighting abuse, misuse and spending on pet projects or inefficient programs. And, it means keeping our rising city budget in check.
With growing property taxes, it gets more expensive to live in Dallas every year. If elected, what specifically would you do to address that?
We must protect taxpayers and ensure we are getting the most value for tax dollars. Our city budget has gone up 40% over the past 8 years and this sort of rising expense is not sustainable. We must maintain a keen focus on basic services like public safety, streets, and infrastructure. We must reduce spending on programs that fall outside of our city’s scope of expertise (i.e. Fair Park revitalization, convention center management, etc). And, we must eliminate abuse, misuse and pet projects that do not directly impact our citizens.
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 must hire more police. When we have maintained a ratio close to 3 officers per 1,000 citizens, our crime rate has been at its lowest levels. We must make this the goal.
There is a growing homeless population in Dallas. Prior administrations have struggled to address it. What would you do differently?
We must disrupt cycles of poverty. Since 2000, the number of our citizens living in poverty has increased nearly 40% – a trend we cannot afford to ignore. As a city, we must address root causes of poverty cycles and provide resources through public-private collaboration, not expanding government to treat symptoms of poverty. This issue has been studied and the new Child Poverty Action Lab was launched in 2018 – what we need now is a Mayor who can implement the plan by reaching into business, civic and philanthropic networks to secure the long-term resources needed to see this plan through in the coming decades. This is what I’ve been doing for decades, and there’s no one better prepared to make the difference in this important issue.
Major strides have been made in Dallas’ southern sector but challenges remain. What are the two biggest opportunities you have identified?
We must bring parity to our city, with equality in how we address code enforcement and infrastructure.
We can’t have our citizens being attacked by dogs or living next to junk piles. Prioritizing excellent basics in Southern Dallas will do more for attracting long-term growth than economic incentives.
Also, the University of North Texas at Dallas is a game-changing opportunity for all of Dallas, and especially Southern Dallas. As the only public university in the City of Dallas, we must support and grow our university – not only to lift surrounding communities, but also to create the educated workforce that future opportunity demands.
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:
No.
Favorite Dallas restaurant – or night out?
A great night out would be a movie at the Angelika or Magnolia (with popcorn) and then gelato or ice cream afterwards.
Have you ever ridden DART?
Yes.
Tell us something about yourself – unrelated to politics or this race – that voters probably don’t know.
I’m a scientist at heart – as a child I was fascinated by science classes, microscopes and the new worlds they reveal. I spent 25 years as a research scientist in a biotech, running labs and unlocking critical gene research that helps people live healthier lives.
