David Kunkle
The candidates: David Kunkle, Ron Natinsky, Edward Okpa, Mike Rawlings
David Kunkle has been a public servant and leader in law enforcement and municipal government for nearly 40 years. He started as a beat patrolman with Dallas Police Department in 1972 and became the youngest Captain in the history of the department.
During Kunkle’s tenure at the Dallas Police Department as cheif of police, Dallas saw six consecutive years of crime reduction, and crime went down a total of 36 percent. In 2010, the City of Dallas reached its lowest crime rate in 40 years and had its lowest murder rate in 42 years. Homicides went from 248 to 148.
In addition to his extensive experience as a major city police chief, Kunkle took on a primary leadership role in the creation and funding of the Caruth Police Institute at the University of North Texas at Dallas. Kunkle was instrumental in raising over $18 million for the Dallas Police Department from foundation and private donations. Kunkle led the effort to secure the largest grant ever given by a private foundation to an American police department.
Kunkle received his Bachelor’s Degree and his Master’s of Public Administration from the University of Texas at Arlington. He has taught at the Police Executive Research Forum’s Senior Management Institute in Boston. David Kunkle and his wife, Sarah Dodd, live in a conservation district in East Dallas.
Ron Natinksy has served on Dallas City Council for District 12 since 2005. In that time, he served as chair of Dallas City Council’s Economic Development Committee and as a member of the Dallas City Council’s Budget, Finance & Audit Committee; Dallas City Council’s Legislative Committee; Dallas City Council’s Public Safety Committee; and Dallas City Council’s Transportation & Environment Committee.
As chair of the Dallas City Council’s Economic Development Committee, Ron helped attract the world headquarters of AT&T and Comerica Bank to Dallas. He has also helped persuade over 30 international companies to site new offices and operations in Dallas. He is confident that once the economy improves, those conversations will absolutely pay off for the Inland Port and the City of Dallas.
For two years in a row, Ron led the council in adopting a “no-tax-increase” city budget. In the most recent tax increase vote, he heeded the voice of the majority of citizens citywide who told him they did not want their taxes raised.
A long-time resident of Dallas, Ron attended Hillcrest High School and the University of North Texas (at the time, North Texas State University). He and his wife Nancy have been married for 41 years and they are the parents of two sons.
Edward Okpa is a real estate consultant who serves on the Dallas Development Fund.
He graduated from Harvard’s School of Design, and has been called the smartest candidate in the race by Tim Rogers of D Magazine.
He is no stranger to mayoral races; this will be his third time running to be mayor of Dallas and has served as a representative for numerous international trade missions with former Mayor Ron Kirk of Dallas. He serves as a board member on such organizations as the Dallas World Affairs Council, Dallas County Appraisal Review and the Dallas Permit and License Appeal Board.
He is also vice-chair of Dallas Black Chamber of Commerce, one of Dallas’ oldest chambers of commerce, and chair of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center. Okpa is a graduate of both the Dallas FBI Citizen’s Academy and the Dallas Police Citizens Academy.
Okpa comes from a family of leaders, as his father served as Traditional Chief of Ihe in the Eastern Region of Nigeria before becoming a member of the Eastern Nigeria House of Chiefs. Okpa is married to an electrical engineer who is president and owner of a Management Consulting company in Dallas.
Over the past three decades Mike Rawlings has served as the chief executive of three companies, the largest being Pizza Hut. Under his leadership the company had a major upturn in business, resulting in the highest weekly store sales in Pizza Hut history.
Rawlings’ focus as chair of the Dallas Convention and Visitors Bureau (OVB) was to bring in new revenue by promoting our city. Under his leadership, the CVB brought in events that generated $400 million in direct economic impact to Dallas.
While serving as president of the Dallas Park & Recreation Board, he used public-private partnerships to protect our parks and recreation centers, raising more than $1 million in private funding to save these basic services from drastic budget cuts.
As Dallas’ Homeless Czar for four years, Rawlings oversaw the construction and opening of The Bridge. Under Rawlings’ leadership Dallas reduced its number of chronically homeless by nearly 57 percent. Rawlings has been awarded the Dallas Historical Society’s Award for Excellence in Humanities, the 2010 Anti-Defamation League’s Humanitarian of the Year Award and 2011 St. Philip’s School and Community Center’s Destiny Award.
Mike and his wife, Micki, have two children: Michelle (30) and Gunnar (22). The Rawlings live in North Dallas and attend First Presbyterian Church in downtown.
Ron Natinksy
Edward Okpa
Mike Rawlings
