The City of Dallas hired legal firm Carter Arnett to represent its interests in the appeals case that City Council member Carolyn King Arnold filed.
DALLAS — Dallas Councilwoman Carolyn King Arnold has thrown in the towel on a last-ditch effort to get on the May ballot and endorsed a candidate to succeed her in office following a legal fight that, records show, cost city taxpayers $50,000.
Arnold challenged the city secretary’s decision that she was ineligible to run again under the newly approved city charter, which limited council members to serving a maximum of four two-year terms.
Previously, council members could serve a maximum of four consecutive terms but return to office if they sat out at least one election cycle.
Arnold has served four terms representing East Oak Cliff for District 4 – one between 2015 and 2017 and three consecutive since she was re-elected in 2019, 2021 and 2023.
Following the denial of her appeal, Arnold posted to Facebook, asking her supporters to vote for one of her would-be challengers, Kebran Alexander, in the May election.
In her legal petition, denied by a court earlier this month, Arnold argued the charter amendment that imposed this rule didn’t “expressly say that it applied to past service as a member of the City Council.”
Justice Tina Clinton of the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Judicial District of Texas in Dallas said Arnold filed her petition too close to the deadline for the county to begin printing ballots on March 10.
“[Arnold] has failed to show that she could not have challenged the City Secretary’s determination—which was rendered on January 24, 2025—well before the ballot printing deadline,” Clinton concluded.
The City of Dallas hired legal firm Carter Arnett to represent its interests in the appeals case, presumably to avoid the conflict of interest of staff attorneys arguing against one of the City’s own councilmembers.
The City paid $50,000 for legal representation “in the Carolyn King Arnold matter,” according to a contract obtained by WFAA through a public records request.
Arnold did not respond to a request for comment.
Arnold is among five candidates who filed to run for the District 4 seat. The others include Maxie Johnson, Avis Hardaman, Kebran Alexander and Landers Isom III, who was also deemed ineligible. For a full list of Dallas City Council candidates running, click here.
Early voting for the May 3 election begins on April 22.
