Dallas Morning News Endorses Nathan Johnson

“We recommend in Texas Senate District 16, Democratic primary”

By Dallas Morning News Editorial

As part of a cynical redistricting effort undertaken with the goal to pack as many Democrats as possible into ever-tighter districts, Texas Republicans remade Senate District 16 representing Dallas and inner ring suburbs.

They’ve gotten exactly what they wanted, a struggle between two important Democratic voices in the Legislature that will leave one without an office.

Incumbent Sen. Nathan Johnson, 56, and state Rep. Victoria Neave Criado, 43, should not be political rivals. But such is the zero-sum state of politics now that they are engaged in a bare-knuckled primary fight.

The theme of the race, at least according to Neave Criado, is that Johnson isn’t sufficiently tough on Republicans. She’s the fighter, according to her campaign.

We don’t doubt she is a fighter, and Neave Criado has done important work on behalf of not just Democratic causes but causes that benefit people across the state, particularly women.

But primary voters need to be careful what the word fighter means because Johnson has quietly become one of the most effective Democratic legislators in Texas. He has worked tirelessly, strategically and across the aisle to advance a swath of matters that help Texas be a better state. And he has stood in the path of Republican overreach in ways that the public can’t always see.

In politics these days, fighter really means noisemaker. We don’t think that is what Neave Criado is. She’s a serious lawmaker. But when she contrasts her stance as a fighter against Johnson’s, that’s the only meaning it can have. Because Johnson fights constantly. His fights aren’t on social media or in self-aggrandizing floor speeches that fire up the base only to alienate the broader electorate and the Republican senators Democrats need if they are going to advance their causes even an inch.

Johnson personally authored 99 bills in 2021 and 175 in 2023. In a Legislature that is hostile to Democrats, he actually gets bills passed.

Neave Criado has focused on a single vote from Johnson that increases the penalty for human smuggling and operating stash houses as evidence that he somehow is backing a racial-profiling agenda. This is a political distortion and not reflective of what actually happened when the Senate voted nearly unanimously, with 10 of 12 Democrats in support, to try to crack down on the sort of human smugglers who leave people to die in tractor-trailers.

It’s unfortunate that Republicans are getting what they wanted out of this race, a mud fight between two gifted Democrats. We wish Neave Criado hadn’t taken the bait. Her political future is bright, but it’s now marked by targeting a Democratic senator who has worked to improve the grid, water availability, access to health care and any number of issues critical to our future.

We urge voters to look at Johnson’s record and return him to office.

Dallas Morning News Editorial. Dallas Morning News editorials are written by the paper's Editorial Board and serve as the voice and view of the paper. The board considers a broad range of topics and is overseen by the Editorial Page Editor.

Dallas Lawmaker on Why Texas' Property Tax Cut Deal Could Haunt Us

State Sen. Nathan Johnson, a Dallas Democrat, told the Observer about his concerns regarding the $18 billion package.

Texas homeowners may soon see relief on property taxes. Photo by Tierra Mallorca on Unsplash

BY Simone Carter

PUBLISHED August 29, 2023

Dallas Observer

Earlier this summer, many Lone Star lawmakers celebrated after the announcement of an $18 billion property tax cut deal. Now, the legislation’s critics say that not all that glitters is gold. 

In an op-ed published last week in The Dallas Morning News, state Sen. Nathan Johnson warned readers that the sizable cut will likely incur a “big bill” down the line.

Lawmakers had a $32 billion surplus to play with this session, paving the way for the $18 billion property tax slash. Johnson, a Dallas Democrat, pondered in the piece: “[G]iven that we’ve created a permanent obligation to buy down future taxes, how are we going to pay for it when there isn’t a massive surplus?”

Great question.

Although Johnson agrees that residents are in need of a break in property taxes, he thinks the package — all things considered — is “reckless” and “unconservative.”

Johnson told the Observer on Friday that he believes in “honest conversations and sincere politics.” But he feels that at times, politics tends to lean toward populism rather than sustainable, responsible policies.

To some extent, the tax cut deal may have relieved lawmakers of the burden of having to decide how to invest in the state’s physical and social infrastructure, Johnson said. He cited a lack of “sincere political process” as motivation for writing the op-ed.

Looking ahead, we shouldn’t anticipate a gargantuan surplus like the one we saw this year, Johnson said. For instance, much of the $32 billion surplus came from pandemic-era COVID-19 funds — a (hopefully) one-time deal.

Texas shouldn’t expect the state to benefit from a similar federal infusion in future sessions.

“I felt like we were making a commitment that is more popular than it is wise,” Johnson told the Observer of the package. “Not because of what we were doing, but because of the scale at which we were doing it.”

The way Johnson sees it, lawmakers could have delivered a smaller-yet-still-handsome property tax cut for homeowners and still have had billions left to invest in areas like public education, water, healthcare, affordable housing and prison system upgrades — investments that would generate untold returns both economically and socially.

Oh, well.

The $18 billion amount that state leaders came up with was based on a campaign promise, not sound economic analysis, Johnson said. Prioritizing politics over policy can lead to unsavory consequences.

“[O]ne day, maybe because of and maybe irrespective of our politics, instead of a surplus we will face a deficit,” Johnson wrote in his op-ed. “What then? Will we fire school teachers to pay for property tax reductions for homeowners?”

“I felt like we were making a commitment that is more popular than it is wise.” – State Sen. Nathan Johnson

Luckily, lawmakers can pull from the state’s rainy day fund when needed, Johnson said — something that they typically try to avoid. “But I would pull money out of the rainy day fund before I’d fire a teacher,” he told the Observer.

But even that well may eventually dry up.

“What if we pulled money out of the rainy day fund and then two years later we have a deficit?” he said. “At that point, you're looking at two possibilities: cuts to state services, which are already cut pretty close to the bone, or new taxes, which everyone abhors.”

The property tax cut deal didn’t include relief for renters, something that a Democratic-proposed plan would have done.

The Texas Democrats’ proposal was spearheaded by Dallas state Rep. John Bryant. In addition to helping renters and homeowners, it would have boosted teacher pay.

Speaking with the Observer in July, Bryant said that he thinks the property tax deal will prompt Texans to “be angry at the Legislature, that they didn't really address the problem of people being taxed out of their homes. Because they gave away so much money to ... corporations that are not faced with the same pressure that homeowners and renters are faced with."

Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson is “supportive of any and all ways to lower property taxes,” a spokesperson for his office told the Observer on Monday. Johnson and City Council member Cara Mendelsohn wrote the governor in July urging him to sign the property tax legislation into law.

In June, during the city's inauguration ceremony, the mayor announced that property tax relief would be among his top three priorities. He wants Big D to be the city with the lowest tax rate in the region.

Mayor Johnson also noted in a newsletter on Sunday that the City Council had rejected an effort to lower residents’ property taxes. Instead, he wrote, members passed a tax rate ceiling that would potentially cost people more in city property taxes.

The mayor brought out a colorful toy boat during last Wednesday’s council meeting to illustrate that the city is “headed toward a fiscal iceberg.”

He’s urging Dallas residents to contact their city representative: “Together, we can turn this ship around and put Dallas on a path toward fiscal responsibility.”

DOJ threatening to sue Texas over Gov. Greg Abbott deploying controversial buoys at the border

BY Paige Hubbard

PUBLISHED Fri, July 21st 2023, 10:44 PM CDT

CBS Austin

AUSTIN, Texas — The U.S. and Mexico border is once again in the spotlight over border security. The Texas Department of Public Safety tells our sister station in San Antonio, floating barriers in the Rio Grande aren't completely operational as they're still being anchored down.

The barrier is being put up in Eagle Pass and is the latest attempt by Governor Greg Abbott to secure the border. DPS lieutenant Chris Olivarez says the buoys aren't to keep people out of the U.S., they're intended to steer people away from dangerous waters and toward the ports of entry.

Since Governor Greg Abbott announced the buoys would be deployed back in June, there's been growing backlash from Texas lawmakers and human rights organizations like LULAC. Now the federal government is getting involved. The Justice Department is threatening to sue the state of Texas over those floating barriers and is giving Governor Abbott until 1:00 p.m. Monday to remove the barriers to avoid a lawsuit.

The DOJ says the fencing was placed in the Rio Grande without authorization from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. In a letter to Greg Abbott, the DOJ says, “The State of Texas’s actions violate federal law, raise humanitarian concerns, present serious risks to public safety and the environment, and may interfere with the federal government’s ability to carry out its official duties.”

After the DOJ notified Governor Abbott that they plan to take legal action over his actions to deter migrants at the border, he took to Twitter. In one tweet Abbott said Texas has the authority to defend the border under the U.S constitution adding, “We’ll see you in court, Mr. President.”

Andy Hogue is with the Travis County Republican Party. He believes the governor is taking appropriate steps to protect the southern border.

“It's just the Biden administration versus Greg Abbott, democratic versus Republican. Not entirely unexpected. Now keep in mind this is a pilot program. It's not the entirety of the Rio Grande being full of border buoys. This is a small section of the Rio Grande so this is a test balloon to try and see whether this will float,” he said.

In recent weeks there have been allegations of the barrier causing injuries. It’s claimed that a pregnant woman suffered a miscarriage after getting caught in the wire. The Texas DPS tells CBS Austin the office of the inspector general is investigating the allegations.

“If our personnel are doing anything that violates policy, they will be held accountable. There are no orders from the top that prohibit Troopers from giving water to women and children or attending to migrants who need medical attention. Additionally, we can confirm that we do not set “barrel traps” in the river. There are barrels on land wrapped in concertina wire as part of deterrent fortifications. Here is a helpful tweet, and the emails you need are attached,” Texas DPS said.

State Sen. Roland Gutierrez, D-San Antonio is now joining a list of democrats calling for the barriers to be removed. “Greg Abbott, pull these buoys out of the water now. Children are dying. People are getting hurt. By no means should these strategies be considered immigration policy or even border security. We are endangering the lives of not only migrants but law enforcement. This is reckless and cruel, plain and simple,” said Senator Roland Gutierrez.

“This is a dumb policy and we're lying to ourselves to think it’s going to control immigration,” said State Sen. Nathan Johnson.

State Sen. Nathan Johnson, D- Dallas doesn’t agree with recent laws signed by Governor Abbott to strengthen border security. He feels the crisis at the border is one that’s a deeper problem that deserves a smarter and kinder approach. He believes the state should be working to complement work already being done to address the crisis.

“There need to be employment regulations, guest worker programs, possibly an E verify. There needs to be a better system for processing asylum and better relationships with other nations. All of these things, I think, when combined, just a much more realistic humane approach is going to get us better results,” he said.

Immigration attorney Kate Lincon Goldfinch wants to remind people that the migrants at the border are human beings looking for a better life.

“These are the people who are running away from the criminals. And our laws say that we will give them an orderly way to seek asylum, not that we will drown them in the river with razor wire. That is not in line with what the laws of the United States say. It’s extremely clear that border enforcement is a federal jurisdictional issue. “It’s not acceptable on any front. Humanitarian or legal,” said Lincon Goldfinch.

The Office of the Governor issued a joint statement from Texas Border Czar Mike Banks, Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) Director Steve McCraw, and Texas Adjutant General Major General Thomas Suelzer. You can find that here.