WASHINGTON – Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson on Friday made his first visit to the White House since taking municipal office last year, using the occasion to discuss economic development opportunities with officials in President Donald Trump’s administration.
He said much of the conversation focused on the “opportunity zone” program, an investment tool created as part of the sweeping tax overhaul that Trump signed into law in late 2017.
“I’m not going to ever forgo an opportunity to help my city,” Johnson said in an interview, explaining that he was able to get the White House’s interest in a potential opportunity zone project connected to Hensley Field in southwestern Dallas.
The mayor had also hoped he might get a chance at the White House to pitch Trump in-person on the need for a presidential disaster declaration to cover the devastating October tornadoes that ripped through Dallas County.
Such a designation, which has been formally requested by Gov. Greg Abbott, is necessary for millions of dollars in federal relief to start flowing toward the area.
A face-to-face encounter with Trump didn’t materialize. But Johnson said he was pleased that he got to make his case earlier in the week to Federal Emergency Management Agency administrator Peter Gaynor, whose department is responsible for validating disaster damage estimates.
“They are on board with moving as quickly as humanly possible,” he said, adding that FEMA just needs to work through some issues on how to calculate the uninsured damages at the multiple Dallas Independent School District sites that were hit by the storm.
The mayor is in Washington this week to attend the winter meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors. It’s one of his first visits to the nation’s capital since being elected mayor, providing him the opportunity to build relationships with officials in the Trump administration and beyond.
Looking good, Mayor! Put in a good word for your little brother in Dallas while you’re at it!
— Mayor Eric Johnson (@Johnson4Dallas) January 24, 2020
While the position of mayor in Dallas is nonpartisan, Johnson is a former Democratic state representative. Trump is a Republican, who’s currently the subject of a contentious Senate impeachment trial that began after the Democrat-run House forced the issue.
But Johnson said he was impressed that administration officials “really tried to emphasize that there was an opportunity to work across the aisle” on issues like economic growth.
“I don’t view it as an endorsement of anybody’s partisan agenda,” he said. “I view it as a wholehearted endorsement of Dallas, Dallas, Dallas.”
The ongoing debate over a disaster recovery has added some urgency to Johnson’s efforts in Washington, particularly since a 75% FEMA reimbursement hangs in the balance.
At issue is the threshold to qualify for a disaster designation. North Texas needs to have sustained $38.5 million in uninsured losses to public infrastructure for FEMA to recommend a designation. The agency has so far validated just under $33 million.
State and local officials have insisted that the tornado damage in the Dallas area far exceeds that total.
The formal disaster declaration request from Abbott, a Republican, estimated public infrastructure damage in Dallas County at nearly $190 million, with more than half of that total relating to the wrath the storms inflicted on the multiple DISD campuses.
North Texas has also had backup from its congressional delegation, which Johnson said has “done an amazing job of putting partisan politics to the side and working together.”
Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz last week wrote to Trump in support of the disaster declaration request. Ditto this week for a bipartisan group of House members, including Rep. Colin Allred, D-Dallas, Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Dallas, and Rep. Van Taylor, R-Plano.
The disaster relief money, if approved, would apply only to public infrastructure.
Overall damages from the tornadoes have been estimated at around $2 billion, according to the Insurance Council of Texas. That would mean the storms were among the costliest in the state’s history, according to Johnson’s office.
