Leppert: Dallas and Best Southwest Chamber “united” together

by Brian Allen of of TODAY Newspapers

Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert brought two messages to the Sept. 18 Best Southwest Chamber Luncheon, neither unexpected. One was a traditional message of unity between Dallas, the Best Southwest and other area cities. The other was a not-so-subtle suggestion of something to unite against: a referendum on November's election ballot to a proposed Trinity River toll road.

State Rep. Helen Giddings introduced Leppert, saying she is impressed with his wide range of knowledge on issues like education, transportation and the environment.

“He understands today's world is a much smaller place, but it requires a much larger vision,” she said.

Leppert inherited a city council not known for its efficiency, starting with meetings that routinely began 30-45 minutes late. The council is so notorious for its late meetings, Leppert said, that his first meeting became a news story because it started at 9 a.m.

“A TV reporter asked me if I was going to start all the meetings on time,” Leppert said, and followed with that reporter's distressed reaction. “That's really going to mess up my schedule.”

The Dallas mayor said the entire Dallas/Fort Worth area, including the Best Southwest, must position itself on the world stage. He believes when an area takes care of its most pertinent issues, prospective businesses focus less on individual cities.

His “we're all in this together” mantra was a recurring theme.

“I haven't yet seen where bad air stops at one city when you move into another city,” he said.

It's no secret that local leaders have long thought southern Dallas County doesn't get the political favors that northern Dallas does. Leppert said that is because other areas have done a better job of presenting a unified front in Austin.

Of course, any discussion about Dallas taking a leadership role eventually touches on a topic they don't want to be leading in. Dallas has the nation's highest crime rate, a stat that affords neighboring police chiefs as many sleepless nights as it does Leppert.

He pledged Dallas will lower those stats with more officers and specific goals targeting problem areas.

Much of Dallas' crime, he said, is property crime and not violent crime. Acknowledging how little comfort that difference is to crime victims, Leppert said high crime rates also stunt business growth.

With a Nov. 6 referendum on the proposed Trinity River toll road looming, Leppert didn't miss the chance to trumpet his views.

He called the reliever road passing through the river corridor a “make or break proposition not just for Dallas, but the entire southern sector.”

“The question is are we willing to invest in this region?” he asked.

“If Dallas doesn't invest in a reliever road to clear its nightmarish congestion,” Leppert said, “businesses would not continue investing in the Dallas area.”

According to him, a vote to kill the Trinity Toll Road could deal a crippling blow to projects like the Southern Gateway or the Allen Group's inland port at Lancaster.