For the first time Beth Ann Blackwood and Mayor Laura Miller shared a stage defending the strong mayor proposal in a debate hosted by SMU’s Student Bar Association.

The two faced off against Councilman Bill Blaydes and lawyer Darrell Jordan in a session that lasted two hours inside the Umphrey Lee Ballroom.

Blackwood opened the session saying that, “Dallas is in crisis and you have to come to the conclusion that something is wrong.” She said that Dallas is operating in an experimental form of government, because 14-1 with a city manager system is the only one in the nation.

Blaydes stated in his opening that, “We are being asked to give up a form of government that is democratic and replace it with something more like a dictatorship.” He said that there are no checks and balances and that people would lose their voices in their districts because the mayor would have all the power.

Miller reinforced throughout the evening that the lack of accountability with city employees and the bureaucracy of city hall prevented anything from getting done.

“The mindset and attitude weighs down and blocks anyone with new ideas and energy from getting to work.”

When asked about possible challenges to the legality of the proposal, Blackwood said that it was a non-issue and that “there are no voting rights implications.”

Jordan disagreed, saying that 50 separate parts of the proposal were in direct violation of federal law, and if it did pass the city would be in legal fights for “years to come.”

Additionally, “there are citizens in Dallas who will file suit to stop this form of government from happening.”

Miller responded, saying “minorities are most affected by the status quo.” High crime and drug dealers in neighborhoods affect them, and a change in accountability needs to be put into the system.

Jordan mentioned the city council plan that had been introduced on Wednesday that was their alternative to the Blackwood plan. He said that was a reasonable alternative and hopefully it could be voted on in November. He also said that the council would have the plan available for public reading sometime before the election in May.

Miller quickly said that the citizens of Dallas had better be careful, because “you only have one chance of getting a strong mayor – and it’s with this proposal on May 7. Their alternative gives the council more authority and that’s not a stronger mayor.”

Blackwood agreed, saying “there is no guarantee of change if this fails. I don’t see the opportunity to fix things under an alternate proposal.”

Miller closed the debate with a story about the recent trouble in the city’s code enforcement agency. She told of how there was finally a competent person in charge who had created workplace standards, and accordingly fired or disciplined one-third of the employees. All of them appealed their firings and were either rehired by the city manager – the same person who fired them – or were rehired by a city review board.

“Every inspector who was fired has been put back to work. This is a microcosm of how the city works.”

Jordan closed by listing the 14 council members and numerous chamber commerce’s and citizens councils that wanted the proposal defeated. He said that he had never seen such a coalition of groups and that meant the effort to defeat the proposal was strong.

The proposal goes before voters on May 7 and early voting begins April 20 and runs through May 3.