The Real Cost of Obstruction: Why the Southern Sector of Dallas Can No Longer Afford The John Wiley Price of Progress

• Price’s Obstruction: John Wiley Price’s history of blocking projects, like the Inland Port, has cost The Southern Sectors of Dallas thousands of jobs, leaving the community with crumbling infrastructure and rising crime. It’s time for real progress—Vote FOR Propositions S, T, and U for accountability and growth.

By Adekoye Adams, President of Dallas Justice Now

John Wiley Price has long branded himself as a fighter for the Southern Sector of Dallas—a warrior against gentrification and corporate exploitation. Yes, he has helped some by standing up to certain injustices. But let’s ask the hard question: What has Price’s leadership really done for the whole of South Dallas?

When you look around When you look around the Southern Sector of Dallas today(South Dallas, Pleasant Grove, Oak Cliff, South Oak Cliff, Lancaster, DeSoto, Wilmer, Hutchins, Cedar Hill)—at the poverty, the crumbling infrastructure, the rising crime rates—it’s impossible to ignore that these aren’t just the results of systemic neglect. They are the consequences of Price’s obstructionism. The lives lost to violent crime, the jobs never created, and the roads left broken—these are not inevitable. These are choices, and choices have been made under Price’s leadership to block progress, not to advance it.

It’s time to ask ourselves: What does John Wiley Price get out of operating this way?

Proposition S: Why Does Price Fear Accountability?

Price says that Proposition S would allow corporations to sue the city and undo hard-won equity programs. But let’s remember his role in the Inland Port project—an opportunity to bring what could have been 65,000 jobs to the Southern Sector, which Price derailed through bureaucratic delays and political maneuvering. Allegations have surfaced that he was influenced by the Perot family, who had competing interests. Why would Price block jobs that could have lifted South Dallas out of poverty? Who does this obstruction serve, if not the community?

Proposition S would have allowed citizens and businesses to challenge these harmful decisions. Price’s fear of accountability isn’t about protecting equity—it’s about protecting his own power. It’s time to ask: What does Price gain by keeping South Dallas and the surrounding areas stagnant while other parts of Dallas thrive?

Proposition T: Holding Leaders Responsible for Failure

We’ve all heard Price’s argument that Proposition T threatens single-member districts. But this isn’t about protecting representation; it’s about protecting entrenched political power. Southern areas of Dallas has been neglected and underserved for years, left with deteriorating streets, failing schools, and a lack of economic opportunity. All the while, Price maintains his political stronghold by ensuring no real accountability for city leadership.

The public safety pension crisis, which drove away 800 police officers, is a glaring example of this failure. The officers who walked away—and the citizens left to deal with the resulting crime surge—deserved better leadership. Proposition T would give 1,400 residents the power to hold the City Manager accountable for mismanagement like this. But ask yourself: Who benefits from protecting an unaccountable system? Price, certainly—not the families who are left to fend for themselves in unsafe neighborhoods.

Proposition U: The Price of Public Safety Failure

The death of Officer Darron Burks and the greivous wounding of Senior Corporal Clarissa Davids weren’t just tragedies—they were avoidable. They are the result of a police department stretched too thin, forced to do too much with too little. Yet, Price opposes Proposition U, which would bring 900 additional officers to Dallas.

The stakes are high: Crime is rising, and people are dying. Dishaye Stevenson, a 32-year-old mother, was recently murdered in Dallas—another name added to a growing list of victims of violence. These lives matter. But how often do politicians like Price show up for these families after they’ve lost everything?

Every victim of violent crime deserves better local leadership. And the families of these officers and civilians deserve to know why Price continues to oppose the safety measures that could have saved their loved ones. Ask yourself: What power does Price gain by keeping this region unsafe?

What Does Price Gain, and What Does the Southern Sector today(South Dallas, Pleasant Grove, Oak Cliff, South Oak Cliff, Lancaster, DeSoto, Wilmer, Hutchins, Cedar Hill)Lose?

Brace yourself—because Price will defend his obstructionism with fiery rhetoric and emotional appeals. He will tell you that he’s fighting for your future, your protection, your dignity. But then ask: Where has that fight gotten this sector?

Look at the rest of Dallas. **Look at the roads**, the schools, the job opportunities, the safer streets. **Compare that this region**, where businesses hesitate to invest, where violence reigns, and where families are left to wonder why things never change. The gap between the Southern Sectors of Dallas and the rest of the city is obscene, and it’s grown wider under Price’s so-called leadership.

It’s time to recognize that John Wiley Price’s brand of “progress” comes at a terrible cost. His obstructionist tactics don’t empower South Dallas—they keep it stuck in the past, deprived of investment, safety, and hope. And for what? His political power? The status quo? The only people who benefit from this are the ones who already have power, the ones who contract themselves to this entrenched power—not the people struggling every day in South Dallas and the surrounding areas.

The Path Forward: Vote FOR Propositions S, T, and U

It’s time to break free from the past. Proposition S will give us the tools to challenge harmful decisions like the Inland Port debacle. Proposition T will hold leaders accountable when they fail us, and Proposition U will put more officers on our streets to prevent more lives from being lost to senseless violence.

This isn’t just about moving South Dallas forward—it’s about stopping the cycle of obstruction that has kept us all down for too long. Vote FOR Propositions S, T, and U, and let’s rebuild a South Dallas where opportunity, safety, and accountability aren’t just pipe dreams—they’re reality.

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Sources:

- [https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/dishaye-stevenson-dallas-tx-killed/287-68bbfb77-4cdf-4a6c-94bb-b53516a996db](https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/dishaye-stevenson-dallas-tx-killed/287-68bbfb77-4cdf-4a6c-94bb-b53516a996db)

-https://www.dallasobserver.com/news/congresswoman-calls-out-john-wiley-price-for-shaking-down-development-deal-6373054

-https://www.cbsnews.com/texas/news/fallen-dallas-officer-darron-burks-remembered-as-dedicated-teacher-and-servant-leader/