Recent election results should keep Bachman Lake Park in focus
- Friends of Bachman Lake
- Jun 10
- 2 min read
Updated: Jun 10
Elections have consequences. That mantra emerges regularly when one constituency either celebrates or laments recent leadership changes. For the communities surrounding Bachman Lake Park, the May election results for City Council can best be described with the term "stay the course."
The biggest change was the election of Laura Cadena as Council Member for District 6. Laura has been Chief of Staff in charge of all engagement with commuity and City department leadership within outgoing Council Member Omar Narvaez's office and she shares a similar passion for the success of the communities in her District. This should bode well for the consideration of the Bachman Lake residents when it comes to City policies and initiatives, especially now that Dallas Love Field has landed in Laura Cadena's District 6.
District 2, which includes the areas surrounding Love Field not part of District 6, will continue to be represented by Jesse Moreno, and District 13, which incorporates the communities north of Bachman Lake Park and Love Field, will retain the familiar representation of Gay Donnell Willis.
City Council votes can affect our lives around Bachman Lake Park, so staying in close touch and engaging our representatives is the best way to ensure that our voices continue to be heard. We've become accustomed to the responsiveness and presence of our current Council Members when addressing concerns, some even responding directly with texts and calls, so knowing that our allies will still be in place is comforting. But we can't let our guard down.
Whatever their reasons for running, the multitude of candidates vying for City Council this year, especially for District 6 where some candidates were barely aware of the work that groups like Friends of Bachman Lake and others had done recently, had us wondering if there might have been interests at play beyond the community at large. As we've seen across the country in local elections, low turnout can lead to major, unwelcome changes with little effort or money. Our concern over the partnerships and communication channels we had opened with our City leaders, the Aviation Department, Parks and others was real.
We helped stop an airport north entrance initiative, while encouraging Aviation's efforts to complete a new Lemmon Avenue Trail to the Bachman Lake Trail. We now have an Aquatic Center and water park to be proud of. We have a new dam and trail coming. We have a new Skate Park that just opened up. Heck, our presence just weeks after forming our group guided Council to support a dredging plan for the lake instead of one that would have drained the lake to a trickle. None of that happens without coordination, communication with, and support from our leaders and the strong voices from our communities.
We are launching into greater things for our area, so forward we must move together. Get to know your representatives. Stay in touch. Ask questions. Show up. Vote.
A list of all Council Members and contacts can be found here.
