Dallas City Council Clears Way for Ex-cons With Two Or More Felonies to Serve on City Boards and Commissions

The Dallas City Council came up with a new way to punish twice-convicted felons.The ex-cons can now serve on city boards and commissions.No kidding. The council, in a nearly unanimous vote, amended the city code to "delete the disqualification for a person convicted of two or more felony offenses" ever being appointed to a city panel.This doesn't mean an ex-convict is a shoo-in if nominated. Council members made clear that they still want to carefully review anyone with a criminal record, including misdemeanors other than traffic violations. But now, at least, we won't have an embarrassing repeat of what happened to Marlon Rollins, a real estate investor who was kicked off the Dallas Park and Recreation Board last fall after The Dallas Morning News unearthed two quarter-century-old felony convictions that Rollins failed to disclose.The News also raised a question about whether Rollins actually lived in the District 3 council district from which he was appointed, or in a neighboring city where voting records showed he'd cast a ballot before.  Continue reading...