Homelessness and Property Rights

Property owners in District 2 are left dealing with the consequences when their elected representative fights against making it easier to remove illegal squatters from their own property.

Instead of supporting practical, bipartisan reforms that would help homeowners and businesses protect their property, the incumbent has chosen to throw good money after bad on homelessness programs — even when those programs have failed to deliver real results for neighborhoods.

Source: Dallas Morning News, March 12, 2025

The incumbent has proposed raising the fee landlords must pay to hire a constable to carry out an eviction from $70 to $400 — a 470% increase.

He has suggested that the extra revenue generated by this higher fee should be used to help fund deflection centers for the homeless.

In effect, the incumbent wants private property owners to subsidize a government social program by making it significantly more expensive for them to exercise their legal right to remove non-paying tenants.

Property owners already bear the costs of lost rent, vacancies, legal fees, and property damage. Raising the constable fee turns the basic process of enforcing property rights into a revenue stream for unrelated social services.

Source:  Commissioner speaking to Richardson Area Democrats, October 28, 2025 – Landlord Fee Proposal clip (YouTube)

In March–May 2025, the incumbent traveled to Austin and testified against House Bill 32, a bipartisan bill that would have made it easier and faster for property owners to remove illegal squatters from their properties.

Rather than supporting stronger enforcement tools for property owners, he opposed the bill and argued that it would burden Dallas County taxpayers. In his official newsletter, he stated:

        “I agree that landlords should not have the burden, but this bill is not 

         addressing the squatter issue, instead it will be a burden on Dallas 

         County and its taxpayers.”

Source: Dallas County Commissioner District 2 Newsletter, March–May 2025

In his March–May 2025 official newsletter, the incumbent highlighted his testimony against House Bill 32 and linked to coverage of his opposition to the bipartisan squatter reform bill.

Source: Dallas County Commissioner District 2 Official Newsletter, March–May 2025

The incumbent has promoted deflection centers as a key solution.

Real world data from similar programs shows limited effectiveness. In Multnomah County, Oregon — one of the most frequently cited models — only 16% to 29% of people referred to the deflection program completed it and engaged with services. Even fewer moved into treatment or stable housing.

Sources:

• Multnomah County Deflection Program data (official quarterly and annual reports)  
• OregonLive reporting on Multnomah County results  
• Commissioner speaking to Richardson Area Democrats, October 28, 2025 – Deflection Centers clip (YouTube)

A broader meta-analysis of day-reporting and deflection-style programs found no overall reduction in recidivism compared with standard supervision. Many of these programs suffer from low participation, high dropout rates, and limited long-term impact because participation is voluntary and treatment capacity is often insufficient.

Using higher fees extracted from property owners to fund a model with such ineffective results is poor stewardship of both private property rights and public resources.

Sources: 

• Meta-analysis published in the Journal of Offender Rehabilitation  
• Commissioner speaking to Richardson Area Democrats, October 28, 2025 – Deflection Centers clip (YouTube)

In the same remarks, the incumbent described plans to develop the Esperanza Center into a comprehensive “womb to tomb” facility offering prenatal care, childcare, dental services, mental health support, and senior services in one location.

While comprehensive services can sound appealing, concentrating support for every stage of life in a single government-funded hub risks creating a permanent dependency system. Rather than helping lower-income residents move toward self-sufficiency, this approach can incentivize long-term reliance on government services — funded in part by higher fees imposed on property owners.

Sources: Commissioner speaking to Richardson Area Democrats, October 28, 2025 – Esperanza “Womb to Tomb” clip (YouTube)

A good county commissioner should demand results and a clear return on investment for every dollar spent. Instead, the incumbent has supported expanding spending on homelessness programs without requiring strong accountability or measurable outcomes. 

Dallas County continues to spend heavily on homelessness-related services — including roughly $20 million per month operating the jail and $5 million per month at Parkland on care for unhoused individuals.  Because District 2 carries a disproportionate share of the county’s tax burden, our district alone is shouldering about $8 million per month of the jail costs and $2 million per month of the Parkland costs.  That works out to approximately $38 per month from every District 2 taxpayer for the jail alone — more than $450 per year.

While the incumbent continues to oppose practical reforms that would actually protect property owners, visible encampments and illegal squatting continue to affect neighborhoods across our district.  

This approach has failed to reduce the problem while continuing to cost District 2 taxpayers millions every month.

Source: KERA News, May 12, 2026

The incumbent voted to advance a new permanent property tax increase designed to raise approximately $150 million for homeless services and place it on the November ballot.

Because District 2 already shoulders about 40% of the county’s tax burden, our residents alone would be on the hook for roughly $60 million of this new annual cost.

Rather than demanding measurable results or supporting practical reforms that protect property owners from encampments and illegal squatting, the incumbent continues to push higher taxes as the primary response.

District 2 can’t afford commissioners like the incumbent.

See also: Full details on the $150 million tax increase and its impact on District 2 taxpayers on the Fiscal Irresponsibility page.

Source: Dallas Morning News, August 5, 2026 – “Homeless aid vote advances” by Tracey McManus

In September 2025, the incumbent refused to support the proposed county budget unless it included an additional $5 million for Housing Forward and $1.5 million for the Dallas Eviction Advocacy Center.  

District 2’s share of those extra demands is roughly $2 million and $600,000 respectively.  

Budget officials noted that the money was already available in another allocation, yet the incumbent still held up the budget process to direct more taxpayer funds toward his preferred programs.

Source: KERA News, September 5, 2025

Property owners in District 2 continue to absorb the costs and consequences of weak enforcement. Illegal encampments and squatting have continued to affect neighborhoods, businesses, and quality of life, while the incumbent has shown little urgency in pushing for stronger local solutions or better coordination with law enforcement.

These failures reflect the same structural problem seen across multiple areas. Because the incumbent is part of a 5–0 One-Party Commissioners Court with no real opposition or independent oversight, there has been little pressure to demand results or push for solutions that actually protect property owners and taxpayer dollars.

The lack of accountability has allowed the pattern of throwing good money after bad — while opposing practical reforms — to continue without consequence.