Former Mayor Mike Rawlings Enters City Hall Fight With Relocation Campaign
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A campaign spearheaded by former mayor Mike Rawlings to build support for relocating City Hall from 1500 Marilla St. launched Thursday, with a website and advertising promoting redevelopment of the area.
“Say Yes to Downtown” bills itself as an advocacy group of residents, business owners, and other stakeholders who see relocating the decades-old I.M. Pei building as a way to jumpstart redevelopment in downtown’s southern sector. Rawlings, who served as mayor from 2011-2019, is funding the campaign himself, according to The Dallas Morning News.
While the former mayor and other local figures have expressed their position in op-eds and at public hearings, this new campaign marks the first organized effort to build public support for relocation.
Rawlings argues that the fate of downtown is at stake.
“Our city manager is putting together a budget right now, and in that budget, she has got to determine whether we’re going to put maintenance in for City Hall,” he told DMN. “That is a big pivot point on a lot of fronts.”
A full-page ad outlining arguments against repairing 1500 Marilla St. ran in Thursday’s edition, paid for by Say Yes to Downtown LLC.
“I will just say that this is very typical Dallas — when the People‘s voice becomes loud and clear, the special interest [put] money into creating their own narrative,” Council Member Adam Bazaldua (District 7) told CandysDirt.com.
“This won’t make giving up on our People‘s House any more popular with the residents of our city, but instead it just perpetuates the notion that this is all about special interest and making rich people richer. So much so, they are willing to use their own money and campaign for it,” he said.
Council Member Paul Ridley (District 14) said he concurred with Bazaldua, describing the effort as a “transparent attempt to subvert the will of Dallas residents in favor of special interests.”
Bazaldua, Ridley, and a handful of other council members (not a majority) have been firmly in the Save City Hall camp. On Wednesday, ahead of a budget workshop, Ridley proposed amending the HUD Consolidated Plan Budget to include a $1.2 million allocation to bring 1500 Marilla St. into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Getting City Hall ADA compliant was one of the items factored into the controversial city-commissioned property condition assessment of the building, which put the total at around $1 billion across 20 years. Critics of the report claim the deficiencies were exaggerated and the scope of repair work outlined was meant to encourage officials to abandon the building. Zaida Basora, a former city official and the current director of AIA Dallas, has said the work could be done for a fraction of the price.
Ridley’s proposal was voted down 9-6, with only himself, Bazaldua, and Council Members Laura Cadena (District 6), Paula Blackmon (District 9), Bill Roth (District 11), and Cara Mendelsohn (District 12) supporting it.
“My amendment offered a practical and responsible way to address these accessibility issues without drawing from the general fund or relying on additional bond funding,” Ridley said in a statement. “The rejection of this amendment is not only disappointing, it is a clear signal that investment in this building will continue to be deferred.”
As previously reported by CandysDirt.com, budget season is shaping up to be a challenging one, with significant cuts to staff and programming on the table to offset the delta between projected revenues and spending priorities. The City Hall maintenance issue wasn’t really brought up during Wednesday’s budget workshop, but the price tag for repairs — whatever it really is — was no doubt weighing on officials’ minds.
Say Yes to Downtown’s website outlines several economic benefits the group says relocation could yield. The campaign claims moving Dallas City Hall elsewhere in downtown would cost $100 million less in capital expenditures after acquisition and renovations. It also asserts that leasing the Marilla site and its surrounding acreage could bring in another $100 million.
The Dallas Mavericks have expressed interest in the site for a potential new arena and entertainment district, with team CEO Rick Welts previously saying they’d like to announce a new arena location by July. That doesn’t leave much time for the city council to make a decision.
It remains unclear what any deal with the NBA franchise would look like, but a recent survey polled Dallas-area residents on support for a new hotel and car rental tax to fund a sports arena — though both the Mavericks and the City of Dallas denied commissioning the survey. The “Clear Insights” poll asked for opinions on city and county leadership, downtown crime, and private-public partnership to build a new arena.
As requested by the city council, city staff are working on relocation options and a funding strategy to execute a move. Phased repair proposals are also supposed to be delivered for council consideration, per a resolution calling for more due diligence ahead of a final decision on what to do with the building. Council members will get those briefings in late May.
“Dallas can pour up to a billion dollars into patching a building that will never meet a modern city’s needs, or it can put those dollars to work rebuilding the downtown core that pays for police, parks, libraries, and the streets in every neighborhood from Oak Cliff to West Dallas to Lake Highlands. It cannot do both,” reads Say Yes to Downtown’s website.
Alternative visions for how downtown can be revitalized have been gaining grassroots support, but it’s unclear whether that will have much sway with council members who are not already in the Save City Hall camp. Money will be tight, and the Say Yes to Downtown campaign hopes to keep the nine other council members open-minded about the issue.
“Let our Mayor and City Council Members know that you appreciate their leadership in evaluating all the options by emailing them at these links,” reads the website, linking to the emails of Mayor Eric Johnson and Council Members Chad West (District 1), Jesse Moreno (District 2), Zarin Gracey (District 3), Maxie Johnson (District 4), Jaime Resendez (District 5), Lori Blair (District 8), Kathy Stewart (District 10), and Gay Donnell Willis (District 13).
“Somebody needs to say thank you to them publicly [for having] the courage to stand up for the taxpayers,” Rawlings told DMN.
A public Say Yes to Downtown happy hour is scheduled for Monday, according to a social media post from the campaign, with a host list that includes several familiar Dallas business and civic names. Tré Black, president and CEO of Dallas-based On-Target Supplies & Logistics, is also listed on the Say Yes to Downtown website as one of the campaign’s three ambassador co-chairs. Other listed hosts include Connie Kleinert Babikian, president and majority owner of The Pillow Bar and granddaughter of Ray Hunt; George Billingsley, a partner at Billingsley Company and grandson of Dallas developer Trammell Crow; Michael A. Horne, president and CEO of Parkland Health Foundation; Steve Idoux, CEO of Lockton Denning; and Nolan Knight, an appellate and environmental attorney with Munsch Hardt Kopf & Harr.
UPDATE: This article was updated at 2:43 p.m. on May 8, 2026, to include additional comment from Paul Ridley.
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Why does any former mayor who failed to maintain city hall feel like they have a voice here? The hypocrisy is astounding.
They picked the wrong face for this campaign. Mike Rawlings is one of the worst mayors in Dallas history. Unreal
oligarch playground
I completely agree with you here Karen. Rawlings needs to pipe down. He had his chance. But so has Ridley. He voted to contribute NOTHING to the 2024 bond for city hall & deferred maintenance to it (which sets the agenda). Once more, the $6m HUD money for ADA is for CITYWIDE facilities and Ridley knew that. That is NOT much money for what the city needs and to make a motion to devote 20% to city hall alone….at a time of volatility with the maintenance issue unanswered to satisfaction is just petty politics.
The existing CIty Hall should be turned into an upscale high roller casino for the Las Vegas Sands Hotel Corporation!
Absolutely SPOT ON Delores!
The people of Dallas are watching — and many of us have reached the breaking point.
A majority of this City Council no longer appears to represent the citizens who elected them. Instead of defending the public interest, they are lining up behind billionaires, developers, and the Mavericks organization while preparing to hand over one of the most important public assets in Dallas history: City Hall.
Let’s call this exactly what it is.
Dallas taxpayers paid for City Hall. Dallas families built this city. Dallas residents preserved it, maintained it, and lived with the consequences of every decision made inside it.
And now, with stunning arrogance, elected officials appear ready to sacrifice our civic landmark to satisfy private interests and backroom ambitions.
This is not progress.
This is political surrender.
They are asking the people of Dallas to believe that our internationally recognized City Hall — designed by I. M. Pei and known around the world — is somehow expendable, while luxury developments and billionaire deals are treated as untouchable.
The message from City Hall has become painfully clear:
The public comes second.
Powerful interests come first.
Well, voters are paying attention now.
If these council members move forward with giving away Dallas City Hall, they should expect political consequences. Many of us will spend the next election cycle supporting challengers, organizing neighborhoods, informing voters, and holding every elected official accountable for this decision.
This fight is no longer just about a building.
It is about who governs Dallas:
the people — or the powerful.
And the people are waking up.
I am so encouraged to hear that Rep. Bazaldua is supportive of moments “when the People’s voice becomes loud and clear.”
Turn it into an upscale homeless shelter!
Luther you are hysterical. That’s obviously not an option.: )