Nice guys finish last (and first)

Early voting starts today for the runoff election for the mayor's race, and voters have a choice between two nice guys, Mike Rawlings and David Kunkle (who has earned Real Dallas' endorsement). Over the weekend, Gromer Jeffers of Dallas Morning News wrote that the election was a "dud" because the candidates are so friendly to each other in debates, but we think the decorum of the debates is a model for the country. The two candidates have differences of opinion on the direction of the city, but they've been able to express those differences with intelligence and humor, without resorting to the ugliness we've seen at the national level.

At one point in a debate at Cathedral of Hope, for instance, the debate was about to turn nasty over an audience question to Mike Rawlings, asking why the gay community has issued a warning about his stand on civil rights. According to reports, Rawlings seemed "unbalanced" by the question. Most candidates we've seen at the national level would smell blood in the water and go in for the kill if an opponent faltered on such a question, but not David Kunkle:

At that point, Kunkle asked to respond and defended his opponent as a decent man.

"I've had the opportunity to be with Mr. Rawlings 60 to 70 times and one of the venues we went to was at the Stewpot. There wasn't single vote to be had in that room. We each did it because we thought it was the noble thing to do...I think Mr. Rawlings is a very noble, honorable man," he said.

The cathedral broke out in applause.

When it quieted down, Rawlings joked, "I'm voting for Kunkle."

That demonstrates one of the qualities we like about David Kunkle, his ability to smooth over differences and build a consensus among opposing sides.

Over the weekend, the two candidates worked the crowd at a "beer poll" designed to get younger voters interested in casting actual votes on Election Day. At Real Dallas, we don't think that kind of candidate interaction is dull, we find it as refreshing as a Blue Moon (Kunkle's favorite beer) on a hot summer day!

On Saturday, Linda's letter endorsing David Kunkle was published:

Whenever a mayoral candidate claims to be "pro-business," I think of all my friends who've started businesses in Dallas and have had to jump through hoops to follow the city's conflicting Certificate of Occupancy requirements, vague parking ordinances and rules that do not apply to their particular business.

A chocolatier in Oak Cliff, for instance, was told she would have to install a grease trap in her kitchen to make chocolate on site, even though no grease is produced in the process of making chocolate. She ended up renting an off-site commercial kitchen just to satisfy the city, even though her on-site kitchen is perfectly suitable.

David Kunkle gets my vote, because he's actually been a customer of many of Dallas' small businesses close to residential areas. Kunkle seems more likely than his opponent to be friendly to all of the city's businesses, not just the ones with the deepest pockets.

The business Linda referred to is Cocoandre on Davis Street; we talked to the owner shortly after the business opened and she told us all about commercial kitchens, grease traps, and the making of chocolate. The same night, we talked to the owner of From the Ends of the Earth about her problems getting the city to approve her move to a larger space two doors down from her first location. She had to go through the parking ordinance paperwork all over again, even though she was moving to a different location in the same strip shopping center!

Small businesses create jobs, when they're allowed to flourish, and we want a mayor who understands that and will take time to hear from everybody, not just the richest corporations wanting to relocate headquarters to Dallas.

In our opinion, David Kunkle is best suited for the job. But they're both nice guys, so whoever you like best, get out and cast your vote!

Early voting runs Monday, June 6 through Tuesday, June 14. For a list of early voting dates, times and locations, go to Dallas County Elections.

Election Day is Saturday, June 18. For a list of Election Day polling locations, go to this link: Dallas County Elections--Election Day polling locations.