Michael Hinojosa at a press conference outside Dallas City Hall following the announcement of his run for mayor in the 2027 election on Tuesday, July 14. Photo by Victoria Hernandez.
Oak Cliff-raised Michael Hinojosa is planning to use his experience as a two-time Dallas ISD superintendent to help him become the next Dallas mayor.
Hinojosa’s background has remained in education throughout his career. He first started as a teacher and coach, and later led Dallas ISD as superintendent from 2005 to 2011 and from 2015 to 2022. He also worked as the superintendent in Spring, Texas, and led the public school district in Cobb County, Georgia.
Dallas is facing a $30 million budget shortfall for the current fiscal year, with citywide furloughs announced last month as a means to address the deficit. Hinojosa said that people have a right to be worried about those.
At a press conference Tuesday morning outside of City Hall, Hinojosa specifically highlighted how his past experiences leading Dallas ISD will guide him as mayor.
“In 2008, when I was superintendent, we only had $32 million in reserve, and we had a $64 million hole,” he said. “Because we made some good decisions and courageous decisions, when I left Dallas, we had almost a billion dollars in reserve. That’s why Dallas ISD is not having to lay off anybody. They’re able to continue to generate success.”
Additionally, decisions regarding the I.M. Pei-designed City Hall have come up within the current council as a means to address the budget deficit. The City Council voted to explore next steps to possibly relocate operations and deny plans to repair the current building.
Hinojosa said that while the decision to stay or leave City Hall will be made before the next mayoral election, he believes the City should honor the past with the decision made.
“There are a lot of vacant buildings here. Is this efficient? It wasn’t efficient when I walked in (back) in 2005. And they haven’t put much money in it, and you can’t talk your way out of things,” Hinojosa said of City Hall.
He specifically highlighted the repurposed use of the former Dallas ISD building location on Ross Avenue that has been transformed into a multifamily apartment complex known as The Academic. He also added that regardless of the city hall location, he is going to be “out in the field.”
“And I’m going to be accessible,” he said.
Over the next 15 months, Hinojosa said plans to visit every City Council district, starting with where he grew up in District 1, to learn from the community what they want in their next mayor.
One style of leadership argued for the next administration is the potential for a strong mayor system, meaning a rebalance of power in the council to give the mayor more executive power.
While Hinojosa said he agrees with the change and would vote on it, the concept would not be central to his race.
“I’m not going to campaign for it because that would be self-serving,” he said. “And if it’s proposed and it fails, I’m not going to whine about it.”
Overall, Hinojosa said that his top issue is public safety.
“You need to take care of people’s basic needs. Affordability and housing is also important,” he said.
He also shared the importance of growth in Dallas, like in the Central Business District, and addressing underserved communities like La Bajada in West Dallas.
“People want to live in the city, but they can’t afford it,” Hinojosa said. “And so we gotta help that, make that happen. There’s no pride in being the tale of two cities.”
