Getting more environmental advocacy inside City Hall and what to do over a decades-old shingle factory were top of mind for some West Dallas residents during a Thursday evening panel with candidates vying to represent them.

The event was hosted by Singleton United/Unidos, a group fighting for environmental justice and clean air in the West Dallas area.

Whoever ends up winning the open seat to represent West Dallas will have to contend with what residents living in the area call one of the largest environmental issues facing the city today: The decades-old shingle factory within eyesight of their homes.

Residents have tried for years to gain City Hall support to close down the factory. They say its emissions are harming their health — and the health of the next generation of West Dallas residents.

A health study conducted last year by researchers at Texas A&M University found some residents living along the Singleton Corridor in West Dallas — including some who are near a decades-old shingle factory — appear to have a higher exposure to harmful air pollution and increased risks of respiratory illness.

Every candidate running in District 6 was invited to attend the Thursday evening event, according to Singleton United/Unidos leaders. But not every candidate showed up.

Tony Carrillo, David Marshall Blewett, Monica R. Alonzo, Machelle Elizabeth Wells, Linus Spiller-Craft, and Nicolas Quintanilla participated in the question and answer panel.

Notably missing was Laura Cadena, who formerly served as chief of staff for District 6 Council Member Omar Narvaez.

She told the event organizers she had a previously scheduled engagement on Thursday evening, according to emails reviewed by KERA.

The candidates answered a variety of questions — but most centered on how the candidates would show up for residents fighting for a cleaner environment.

That includes how they would handle some resident’s campaign to see the decades-old GAF shingle plant along Singleton Boulevard shut down.

“I’m not scared of GAF, I’m not scared of the big corporations…I don’t need their money, so you don’t need to worry that I’m going to sell out,” 19-year-old candidate Nicholas Quintanilla said during the event.

Yfat Yossifor

/

KERA

Machelle Wells, another candidate running for District 6, said she would support the de-industrialization of West Dallas if elected in May — and likened herself to Erin Brockovich, the paralegal and whistleblower who spoke out against an energy company that polluted the groundwater in a small Californian town.

A movie about the case was released in 2000 starring Julia Roberts as Brockovich.

“If you haven’t seen [Erin Brockovich] I am the [Eric Brockovich] of West Dallas,” Wells said. “I will stop at nothing to bring justice and righteousness and healing and just whatever it is that we need here.”

Yfat Yossifor

/

KERA

Other candidates — some with previous City Hall experience — had a different take.

Former Dallas City Council Member David Blewett said it’s all about who votes for your issues — and “if you can’t count to eight, you can’t get policy put through.”

Yfat Yossifor

/

KERA

“It’s really important that you’re communicating with other council members, find allies, find people who maybe you don’t agree with on everything, but maybe on issues that matter, this specific issue, you can get your eight [votes] here,” Blewett said.

Monica Alonzo, another former Dallas City Council Member, agreed with Blewett’s argument — especially when it comes to environmental issues.

“You’ve got to have the necessary votes to make it happen,” Alonzo said. “When you have a leader that understands…the way it should be and its followed by the law and the rules, then that is something that you can be able to move forward.”

Recently, the Dallas City Council voted to remove a residents right to file for a scheduled closure of certain land uses across the city. The process is called amortization and, until 2023, was open for anyone to use.

City officials say that changed when the Texas Legislature passed SB 929 — which changed when a municipality needs to pay money to an amortized operation.

But the bill said nothing about who can use the process. City officials called the legislation a “poison pill” and said the decision whether to move forward with an amortization case should be made by the city council.

Yfat Yossifor

/

KERA

Yfat Yossifor

/

KERA

Alonzo said on Thursday evening she would have brought the issue of amortizing the GAF factory already.

“It is unfortunate that we have lack of leadership that doesn’t have the nerve to be able to step up and be able to bring that forth,” Alonzo said.

Linus Spiller, who’s also run to represent parts of Dallas on the city council before, said he would support amortizing the operation — but with a caveat.

“If the city, and that is the magic word, if, the city has to do it, then yes I would definitely support it,” Spiller said and added there is federal money for “brownfields” — a topic unrelated to the currently operating GAF shingle factory.

Yfat Yossifor

/

KERA

When asked about possibly compensating residents for health damage due to the industry in West Dallas, District 6 candidate Tony Carillo said he would sign onto that policy.

“I was here back when that lead smelter was down here…and [the residents] were compensated,” Carillo said.

Yfat Yossifor

/

KERA

The candidates will face much more than West Dallas resident’s fight against GAF. In addition public safety, infrastructure and restoring trust inside City Hall will be responsibilities of whoever ends up around the horseshoe.

Got a tip? Email Nathan Collins at ncollins@kera.org. You can follow Nathan on Twitter @nathannotforyou.

KERA News is made possible through the generosity of our members. If you find this reporting valuable, consider making a tax-deductible gift today. Thank you.