Dwaine Caraway Ready to get Back to Work After Two Years Away

There is a dry-erase board in Dwaine Caraway's office that simply says "the real work starts now."

A month away from being sworn in as District 4 city councilman, Caraway is already lining up appointments to various boards and commissions.

"I've already started working," Caraway said, with a large smile.

This will be Caraway's fifth term on the council. In order to run this year he had to step away for two years after being termed-out in 2015.

Caraway said he came back to fix the mistake he made when he endorsed Carolyn King Arnold in 2015.

"When you put a person in a position, you allow them to do the job. It's just like when you own a store, if you hire the manager and the manager fails to do the job then you have no choice but to come back and replace the manager," he said.

When asked if the city of Dallas was better off than when he left the council in 2015 Caraway said the city "is poised to be better. I think it has somewhat come to a standstill."

Caraway said city leaders have failed to execute and keep their promises. He points to the ongoing Dallas police and fire pension crises as an example.

Caraway supports the fix working its way through the legislature but he wants the city council to have a say in who sits on the pension system board, not just the mayor.

Caraway said the dwindling resources at the Dallas Police Department has reached a crises level.

"I do believe that once this pension (crises) is solved then we will begin to recreate the morale and rebuild the morale of the of the Dallas police and the trust in our citizens," he said.

Those same citizens are hoping that Caraway can finally bring a grocery store to southern Dallas. They're also hoping Caraway can work to keep the issues of gentrification and homelessness from creeping into their community.

Caraway said his constituent also want him to fight tooth-and-nail to build a deck park over I-35E near the zoo.

"The deck park is going to happen. We have to go out and find the money. It's something that is positive for southern Dallas. It's going to benefit and bring jobs. It's going to bring restaurants and family outings," he said.

The last time Caraway was in the public eye he was literally fighting with John Wiley Price for the third district Dallas County Commission seat. Despite any criticism stemming from that race, Caraway said he will not change his leadership style because it has helped him get things done.

"I'm probably the most independent-thinking (councilman)," he said. "I would suggest as a bridge builder that we as the city council and mayor always keep the citizens first."