West Dallas 1 coalition selects new leaders for community advocacy

The grassroots coalition West Dallas 1 has elected new leaders to advocate for affordable housing, equitable education and environmental justice in the 75212 zip code.

The coalition is a democratically elected organization of about nine neighborhood associations, community groups and resident leaders. Notably, the coalition was spearheaded by the late Raul Reyes Jr. —  a West Dallas leader who fought tirelessly for housing rights on behalf of his community.

Founded in 2013, residents banded together to protect their community’s identity and quality of life through organized advocacy and collaboration with officials and allies. The umbrella group represents West Dallas neighborhood associations who have applied to be part of the coalition.

Previous Dallas Free Press reporting highlighted efforts the coalition, and specifically Reyes Jr.’s work in their community:

“Reyes Jr. points to the reexamination of zoning for cement batch plants, the city’s new racial equity policy, Dallas Accountability for Housing Equity, and the West Dallas Community Vision Plan’s contribution to the in-progress Forward Dallas city planning document as examples of how the coalition managed to put pressure on the City of Dallas and lobby on behalf of West Dallas neighborhoods.”

Roughly a year after the death of their founding president, the coalition came together to elect new leaders, with votes cast by a quorum of five of the nine voting members. 

The members are neighborhood associations located in West Dallas with more than three residents actively involved. Individual neighborhoods are able to join the coalition and choose a voting member to represent them by reaching out to one of the elected members via email to begin the membership process.

The nine neighborhoods who currently are members of West Dallas 1 are:

• La Bajada
• Greenleaf Village
• Los Altos
• Bickers Park
• Ledbetter
• Gilbert-Emory
• Homestead
• Victory Gardens
• Westmoreland Heights

Organizations or individuals interested in joining the West Dallas 1 Coalition are able to join their meetings but cannot cast votes as they do not reside in the 75212 area.

Representatives from the first five neighborhoods elected West Dallas 1’s new elected leaders, who must reside in West Dallas and serve their term for two years:

• Jeffrey Howard, president (Victory Gardens)
• Emmanuel Glover, vice president (Gilbert-Emory)
• Erica Solís, secretary (Ledbetter)

Coalition members volunteered to chair three subcommittees: Community Health & Wellness, Neighborhood Stabilization/Zoning, and Education & Economic Opportunity. These subcommittees meet during the coalition’s off months to address concerns and develop action plans and will be overseen by:

Community Health & Wellness

• Dr. Sarah Ashitey (Gilbert-Emory)
• Erica Solís (Ledbetter)
• Esther Villareal (Victory Gardens)

Neighborhood Stabilization/Zoning

• Stephanie Champion (Victory Gardens)
• Emmanuel Glover (Gilbert-Emory)

Education & Economic Opportunity

• Ronnie Mestas (Los Altos)
• Starlet Ramirez (Ledbetter)
• Devron Armstrong (West Commerce)

West Dallas residents interested in joining the West Dallas 1 coalition can attend their upcoming meeting on Monday, May 12 at 6 p.m. inside of Vecinos Unidos. 

To stay connected with the coalition, neighbors can sign up for their email list by reaching out to westdallas1coalition@gmail.com or follow them on social media.

“One of the things we’re going to start doing is recertifying the neighborhood associations so we can figure out when, where, and at what time they are hosting their meetings,” Howard says. “That way we can all be in a steady line of communication with each other and the residents who may not know about their neighborhood association.”