April 16, 2025 • 21 mins
At Let’s Talk Local, we’re working hard to connect you with the people who want to represent you—especially with the upcoming City Council election on May 3. We know how important it is to feel informed and confident when you vote, and that’s why we’re excited to introduce you to one of the candidates for District 7: Jose Rivas.
Jose has already served our country in the military, and now he’s hoping to bring that same dedication to his local community by serving on the City Council. Stay tuned—we’ve got more to share about him and other candidates soon!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (00:00):
Hello. I'm Sara Zubiate Bennett, and
welcome to Let's Talk Local. I'mso excited you're here. Can you
believe it? Early voting forDallas City Council kicks off in
just one week, and my biggesthope that we show up like never
before. Let's make this a recordbreaking year at the polls. This
special series is all abouthelping you feel confident and
(00:20):
informed before you cast yourvote. We're sitting down with
some of the fresh faces steppingup to lead our city. And today,
I get introduce you to one ofthem. Jose Rivas is running in
District 7. And let me tell you,his connection to Dallas runs
deep. While even servingoverseas in the military, his
heart was always right here athome. His story is powerful,
(00:42):
passionate, and rooted inservice. I'm so glad you're
tuning in to hear it. If thisepisode speaks to you, please
like, share, and stick around.We've got some more incredible
candidate stories coming yourway.
Jose?
Jose Rivas (01:02):
Yes.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (01:02):
So this is what? The second time I've
met you? I interacted with you,what, just a few minutes the
other day.
Jose Rivas (01:10):
And Yeah. It was really neat to meet you.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (01:11):
Yeah. It was nice to meet you. Because
I've heard so much I've I'veheard so much about you. Oh. And
I've seen some of your podcastvideos. With, various, people.
And and I was like, well, Inever I never got the call. So I
guess, you know, staying lowunder the radar, which is kinda
what I'm used to. I really amkind of a really under the radar
(01:32):
kinda guy. I don't likespotlight. Makes me super
nervous.
Uh-huh.
Jose Rivas (01:38):
Plus, that's just who I am as a as a professional.
I've always been a when you'rein the national security world,
you stay under the radar.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (01:49):
I get it.
Jose Rivas (01:50):
And, yeah, you don't talk to media. So this is this
is like everything that has goneagainst everything I've ever
known for the last thirty, fortyyears of my life.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (01:59):
Yeah. I'm just
Jose Rivas (02:00):
Yeah.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (02:01):
Happy you're here, and I'm grateful to
you for being able to pushthrough that discomfort of,
right, just coming on here andhaving a conversation. Yeah. As
you can see, it's reallyrelaxed. It's easy, breezy, and
just truth. Right? Talking abouttruth. And I don't know if we
disagree or agree on many inmany spaces, but I so look
(02:22):
forward to finding out.
Jose Rivas (02:23):
Well, me too.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (02:26):
Good. And so Jose, you're here
representing a candidacy forcity council position for
District 7.
Jose Rivas (02:33):
Right.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (02:34):
Talk to me first and foremost about your
relation to District 7, howfamiliar familiar you are with
it.
Jose Rivas (02:42):
Sure.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (02:42):
And what has ignited this desire?
Jose Rivas (02:46):
Well, so I was born and raised here in Dallas and
grew up in my district, in myneighborhood of Parkdale. We
moved there in the earlyseventies. My mom and dad did
with my brother and sister andI.
And when I was in high school,we moved to Buckner Terrace
(03:07):
because we were all gettingolder, and we needed our own
rooms. Right? And so and I wentto high school at Skyline, so
and graduated. And once Igraduated, I think my parents
were like, okay. So now we havewe're we have two kids now
because the immediately when Igraduated, I didn't stay home. I
(03:28):
graduated on a Friday night, andon Saturday morning, I was on a
plane to Orlando for boot camp.Oh. So I never spent one moment
as a high school graduate, newadult.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (03:42):
Yes. Right Yes.
Jose Rivas (03:43):
In the city of Dallas. I immediately went to
boot camp and pretty much onlycame home to visit mom and dad
and family. But so I livedthere, and Dallas has always
been my home of record. Forexample, that's kind of a big
deal in the military where youdo your home of record. You can
do it anywhere you want. Mhmm.But Dallas has always been my
(04:05):
home. So if anything everhappened to me, my address was
in my district
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (04:11):
Uh-huh. In at my mom and dad's house.
That was my permanent address.And there were times when, when
I was able to vote in elections.You know, and it was kinda fun
to participate from afar,whether that was in Italy or
Scotland or wherever I was. Butso born and raised in my
district. And so it's hard toanswer that question because
(04:32):
people are like, well, you know,you haven't lived here the whole
time because you spent twentytwo years in the Navy, and and
so you weren't here that wholetime. And I was like, yeah. But
it was. I mean, it it allows forpersonal growth. Right? And and
I'm real big on that, which iswhy this is kind of a big deal
for me. While when I first gotthe invitation, I was I was
(04:56):
super I just got anxious, right,because it's new to me. It's not
something that I do or seek out.And but I was like, you know
what? This whole this wholechapter this lit this whole
little chapter of my life isabout personal growth.
Mhmm.
Jose Rivas (05:13):
And here we are. Yeah. So I love the fact that I
grew up in my district. I knowmy neighborhoods. I've ridden my
bike through all thoseneighborhoods.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (05:25):
Whenever I looked at District 7, it broke
my heart because I saw how muchthese people very much need and
want and are yearning for morepolice. Yeah. I mean, it's
Jose Rivas (05:43):
It should break everyone's heart
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (05:45):
It should.
Jose Rivas (05:45):
What's happening in in District 7 in particular. And
I say this because we've led thecity in murders four out of the
last five years. We currentlylead the city. When I last
looked, I think it was a weekago. And then, you know, there
were some claims about violentcrime being down. And okay. So
(06:10):
maybe it is for the first twomonths of the year. Of this
year, maybe it's down. Okay? SoI'm gonna give them that. But
when you pull the year to yearnumbers, District 7 leads in
violent crime.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (06:26):
That's right.
Jose Rivas (06:28):
Has led the city for the last five years
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (06:33):
That's right.
Jose Rivas (06:34):
That impacts our families. That impacts our
business, what we can do. Itimpacts our city as a whole
because we we're not gonna beable to, it affects our tax
base. That you know, that'skinda what I'm getting at. You
know? So when we've got majorissues like the police and fire
(06:56):
pension, From what taxes inDistrict 7? Have we, you know,
have we you know, how much isDistrict 7 contributing to that
solution? So and so it's notjust, you know, personal safety.
(07:19):
You know, I was at a communitymeeting recently where there was
a business owner who says, I'mI've been broken into so many
times. And he's not, like, on alittle side street somewhere.
He's on MLK Boulevard
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (07:34):
Yep.
Jose Rivas (07:35):
Right by Fair Park, and the police aren't able to
respond. You know? And, so it'snot just affecting families.
It's affecting businesses.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (07:44):
That's right.
Jose Rivas (07:45):
That affects that, that affects investment in our
community, whether that's tosupport residential, you know,
increased people moving in,affordable housing, that kind of
thing, or whether that's jobs,which is what a lot of the
folks, you know, in in our inour part of the district where I
live near Parkdale and FairPark, they want jobs, and we
(08:08):
need to bring it to them. And sohow do we do that? We've gotta
wrap up that public safetyproblem.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (08:13):
That's right. That's and it's so
simple, but the message becomesdistorted, unfortunately. Sure.
Jose Rivas (08:20):
It gets politicized.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (08:21):
It gets so politicized. And I'm like,
it's so basic. It's so basic.Yeah. How do you think your
experience in the navy willparlay and translate to your
leadership, specifically as itrelates to these operational
plans?
Jose Rivas (08:37):
Yeah. So when you you develop an operational plan
based on, you know, at least ourdepartment should probably be
doing that. I'm sure they are. Idon't know of I don't know of
any department that doesn't relyon, their their data, their
intelligence assets on on theground, whether it's vice, you
(08:58):
know, those kind of guys, ortheir intelligence analysts in
the building to paint thatpicture of where they need to be
and what they need to be doing.
You know, we have a saying inthe in in in military planning
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (09:12):
Mhmm.
Jose Rivas (09:13):
That no plan survives the first round.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (09:15):
Yeah.
Jose Rivas (09:16):
Right? So the importance of that is
recognizing that you're nevergonna have the perfect plan. But
what you need to be able to dois shift on the fly. You know,
and sometimes it's or you giveit a week or two and you decide,
yeah, we're not really seeingthe benefit of what what we
(09:39):
thought would be happening. Solet's adjust. Let's call an
audible. And so then you adjustand do that.
And so I feel like that's whatwe do really, really well in the
Navy. We have a overarching planin the military, but we're able
to and we have the authority.That's the other thing. We have
(10:02):
the authority, at the tacticallevel to be able to adjust those
to be more effective. Whetherthat's protecting our people or
accomplishing whatever that goalof the plan was. So I'd like to
see you know, I'd I'd like toknow I'd like to sit in on those
meetings.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (10:19):
That's right.
Jose Rivas (10:20):
You know what I mean? And just I I don't I'm I'm
not there to offer input, but Iwanna understand what they're
what they're thinking and, whatthe, reasoning, the logic, the
plan itself. What is the plan?
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (10:38):
And what I love, about your experience,
you've worked with a communitypolice oversight board. And you
helped craft policy thatprotected residents during
police transport. Can you speakto that?
Jose Rivas (10:49):
Yeah. So we had this case, soon after I joined the
board. And I was on there forfive years, so I lose track of
time. But, it was it was aDiamond Ross case.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (11:04):
K. And she was a young lady who had was
suffering from some drug inducedkind of, event episode, and she
was out on the street. I'm notsure if she was homeless. She
might not have been. But therewas an event out on the street
in this I believe it was in mydistrict, District 7. And and
(11:26):
the Dallas Fire Rescue wasthere, and they they checked her
out. They, you know, did herblood pressure and all that
stuff. And and but you could seein the video that she wasn't she
wasn't and it's hard to tell. Imean, I'm not a doctor. Right?
And those police officers aren'tdoctors. But, you know, is it is
(11:47):
it a mental health issue, or isit a drug issue? Is it a
combination of both? Could be.So, anyway, DFR cleared her to
be transported in the back of apolice car, and I think they
were taking her to the countyjail. And when they got there,
(12:07):
she was unresponsive. And thething is is that we watched the
video from the time they put herin the car to the time she's
there. She never there's, youknow, there's never anything
untoward that the policeofficers do. It's in the middle
of the night, I think. And sothey're taking her to the jail,
(12:29):
and she gets quiet. So as a Iwould think that somebody fell
asleep in the back of my policecar.
Sure.
Jose Rivas (12:36):
So they get to the jail. She's unresponsive, and
and she ends up passing fromthat. So it was that event I
started thinking, and I talkedto a couple of my colleagues on
the board. And I said, what canwe do to make sure that doesn't
(12:56):
happen again?
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (12:57):
Makes me tear up.
Jose Rivas (12:58):
Right. Yeah. And we've there's something we can
do. And so it just it kinda hitme that why are we transporting
people that we don't know what'sreally going on with them,
whether it's a mental issue orcould it could be drug induced?
Why are we transporting them inthe back of police cars?
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (13:17):
Yeah.
Jose Rivas (13:19):
So I wrote a policy, and I shared it with some of my
colleagues that were interestedin making change. A positive
change because we wanted toprotect our our communities from
unnecessary death because youdon't have those police officers
are not medical professionals.No. Right?
(13:39):
And you have a perfectly goodambulance with two EMTs and a
and a and a truck full of drugsand paddles and all kinds of
lifesaving equipment. And I justhope so, anyway, the the whole
point of the policy was, let'stransport them. If we're not
(13:59):
sure, let's transport them in ina in a medical ambulance to make
sure. And, I mean, like anyplan, nothing goes unchallenged.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (14:13):
Uh-huh.
Jose Rivas (14:13):
Nothing survives the first shot.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (14:15):
Sure.
Jose Rivas (14:16):
But in this case, so fast forward real quick. Chief
Garcia gets hired. I placed myplan before him, my
recommendation to change thegeneral orders. He reads it, and
he goes, this is totallyreasonable and implements it
almost immediately. It wasawesome. It was a great win, and
(14:36):
it showed me that I can havemore impact. At that moment, it
showed me I can have more impactwith our city to make it better
and make it safer. And, it takesthat kind of want and desire to
do that.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (14:49):
It's wise. It's a wise policy. Sure.
And I'm grateful for championssuch as yourself and for chief
Eddie Garcia. Yeah. For workingto help you implement that. And
what are those conversationslike in your block walking and
speaking to the constituents andresidents in District 7?
Jose Rivas (15:09):
I'm gonna tell you right now. I wish I wish they
would ask me about Fair Park. Iwish they would. I wish they
would. But every time they talkto me, it's about crime.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (15:23):
About crime.
Jose Rivas (15:26):
And we're talking about
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (15:28):
We know.
Jose Rivas (15:28):
We're talking about the historic well-to-do
neighborhoods in North Of NorthOf I 30. That is where I am
getting most. And it theword-of-mouth. I am getting
calls from people. I haven'teven block walked their house
yet.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (15:44):
Mhmm.
Jose Rivas (15:44):
Or their block yet. And I'm getting calls from them,
and they're going, I'd like tomeet you, and can you bring a
sign? I'm like, of course. Andthey're like, I'm gonna go talk
to you talk to my neighborsbecause we've all been talking
about this, that, or the other,and it's never about it's never
about Fair Park or, you know,city manager, other other
(16:08):
important issues.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (16:09):
Of course. No. Because that's not
what is affecting them on theday to day.
Jose Rivas (16:12):
Right.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (16:13):
It is not what is allowing their quality
of life to be depleted on thedaily. And for them to lose
businesses and feel unsafe fortheir children. And they're it's
so sad.
Jose Rivas (16:26):
I really wanna work with our state reps to address
the mental health issues in our,community, city. I'm not sure.
So I don't, you know, I don'twanna say that there is or isn't
because I don't know. But Ithought I heard that they were
taking up mental health at thelegislative session this year.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (16:50):
They are, but it's kind of wrapped into
homelessness initiatives
Jose Rivas (16:56):
Okay.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (16:57):
If you will.
Jose Rivas (16:57):
Okay.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (16:58):
At least the the legislation that I'm
familiar with.
Jose Rivas (17:00):
Okay.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (17:01):
It's going to wrap it into something
comparable to Haven for theHope. But locally, they're
calling it Refuge for Renewaland seeking funding from the
state. Yeah. Right? And from thecounty and from other areas just
to meet that type of need
Jose Rivas (17:19):
Right.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (17:19):
In the homelessness community,
particularly. But I'm not I'mnot familiar with anything
additional. I mean, you know,sometimes, you have people that
are suffering from mentalissues, mental health issues
that can be addressed, you know,through treatment Sure. And
whatnot, and they can get backon track and and and get back
into society. Right? Andsometimes you have people who
(17:40):
are, you know, drug addiction,and they need a similar path.
Right? They need to work throughsome of their issues as well and
get back into society. But thereare some, like mental health
cases or in people sufferingfrom mental health, issues that
(18:01):
are a danger. And there's noamount of, first of all, you
can't make them go to treatment.So if you can't make them go to
treatment, then you can't makethem take housing. But they're,
you know, some people, that I'vespoken to and at some of my
(18:23):
community meetings have saidthat, they're dangerous, and
they're terrorizing, you know,already already vulnerable
communities. Immigrantcommunities Very low income
communities. They're terrorizingthose folks. And so I would like
(18:47):
to see our state lead the way incoming up with a fair and just
compassionate policy that dealswith them as well, that is able
to deal with them. Because thereare some people who are not
gonna take the treatment at all,and they're not gonna take the
homelessness, and we need tofigure out how we deal with
(19:09):
that. There are some who arejust flat out dangerous, and
those are the ones that I'm moreconcerned about that, that for
everyone else's safety, thatthey they need to there needs to
be a process by which the statecan intervene. I don't know.
(19:35):
Yeah. You know, I don't I don'tknow if I don't know how many,
you know, people are upset aboutwhat I just said, but to do
nothing is not the answer. So ifyou've got a better idea, I am
welcome to hear it.
Jose, I can't tell you howrefreshing it is to sit with you
today. I do believe that you area person who is genuine, smart,
(20:01):
well experienced. And I justwish you so much luck in this
upcoming race. I look forward toseeing you again at this event
that I'll be moderating.
Jose Rivas (20:14):
Right.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (20:14):
I'm grateful. I'm grateful for the
opportunity.
Jose Rivas (20:17):
I gotta tell you, I was scared to death coming in
here.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (20:20):
I know.
Jose Rivas (20:21):
I really was.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (20:22):
You said that and I was like, why? Why
are you and then I told you, Isaid, you'll see. It's it's just
super easy, just veryconversational. Sure. And it's
not meant to trap or confuse orYeah. It's just to bring a
platform to the voices that havenot yet been heard.
Jose Rivas (20:37):
That's what I love about, what you've done today
here. I tell you what, I neverreally felt nervous, here. I
love the fact that we just had achance to talk.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (20:48):
Of course.
Jose Rivas (20:49):
And there are no right or wrong answers. What we
need to do is get better atsharing our ideas with one
another
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (20:56):
Mhmm.
Jose Rivas (20:57):
And being accepting of those.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (20:58):
That's right.
Jose Rivas (20:59):
It doesn't mean it's gonna be instituted. It doesn't
mean that it's gonna bechampioned. But it's important
to be able to have your voiceheard. And that's all I want our
residents to know is that youhave a voice, and you will have
a representative
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (21:15):
Mhmm.
Jose Rivas (21:16):
That is looking out for you.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (21:19):
Yes. I couldn't be more in agreement
and appreciative.
Jose Rivas (21:24):
Thank you.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (21:24):
And thank you for coming.
Jose Rivas (21:26):
Thank you. I appreciate it.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (21:27):
You're so welcome.
Jose Rivas (21:28):
It was awesome.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (21:28):
Thank you for being here.
Hello. I'm Sara Zubiate Bennett, and
welcome to Let's Talk Local. I'mso excited you're here. Can you
believe it? Early voting forDallas City Council kicks off in
just one week, and my biggesthope that we show up like never
before. Let's make this a recordbreaking year at the polls. This
special series is all abouthelping you feel confident and
(00:20):
informed before you cast yourvote. We're sitting down with
some of the fresh faces steppingup to lead our city. And today,
I get introduce you to one ofthem. Jose Rivas is running in
District 7. And let me tell you,his connection to Dallas runs
deep. While even servingoverseas in the military, his
heart was always right here athome. His story is powerful,
(00:42):
passionate, and rooted inservice. I'm so glad you're
tuning in to hear it. If thisepisode speaks to you, please
like, share, and stick around.We've got some more incredible
candidate stories coming yourway.
Jose?
Jose Rivas (01:02):
Yes.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (01:02):
So this is what? The second time I've
met you? I interacted with you,what, just a few minutes the
other day.
Jose Rivas (01:10):
And Yeah. It was really neat to meet you.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (01:11):
Yeah. It was nice to meet you. Because
I've heard so much I've I'veheard so much about you. Oh. And
I've seen some of your podcastvideos. With, various, people.
And and I was like, well, Inever I never got the call. So I
guess, you know, staying lowunder the radar, which is kinda
what I'm used to. I really amkind of a really under the radar
(01:32):
kinda guy. I don't likespotlight. Makes me super
nervous.
Uh-huh.
Jose Rivas (01:38):
Plus, that's just who I am as a as a professional.
I've always been a when you'rein the national security world,
you stay under the radar.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (01:49):
I get it.
Jose Rivas (01:50):
And, yeah, you don't talk to media. So this is this
is like everything that has goneagainst everything I've ever
known for the last thirty, fortyyears of my life.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (01:59):
Yeah. I'm just
Jose Rivas (02:00):
Yeah.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (02:01):
Happy you're here, and I'm grateful to
you for being able to pushthrough that discomfort of,
right, just coming on here andhaving a conversation. Yeah. As
you can see, it's reallyrelaxed. It's easy, breezy, and
just truth. Right? Talking abouttruth. And I don't know if we
disagree or agree on many inmany spaces, but I so look
(02:22):
forward to finding out.
Jose Rivas (02:23):
Well, me too.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (02:26):
Good. And so Jose, you're here
representing a candidacy forcity council position for
District 7.
Jose Rivas (02:33):
Right.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (02:34):
Talk to me first and foremost about your
relation to District 7, howfamiliar familiar you are with
it.
Jose Rivas (02:42):
Sure.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (02:42):
And what has ignited this desire?
Jose Rivas (02:46):
Well, so I was born and raised here in Dallas and
grew up in my district, in myneighborhood of Parkdale. We
moved there in the earlyseventies. My mom and dad did
with my brother and sister andI.
And when I was in high school,we moved to Buckner Terrace
(03:07):
because we were all gettingolder, and we needed our own
rooms. Right? And so and I wentto high school at Skyline, so
and graduated. And once Igraduated, I think my parents
were like, okay. So now we havewe're we have two kids now
because the immediately when Igraduated, I didn't stay home. I
(03:28):
graduated on a Friday night, andon Saturday morning, I was on a
plane to Orlando for boot camp.Oh. So I never spent one moment
as a high school graduate, newadult.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (03:42):
Yes. Right Yes.
Jose Rivas (03:43):
In the city of Dallas. I immediately went to
boot camp and pretty much onlycame home to visit mom and dad
and family. But so I livedthere, and Dallas has always
been my home of record. Forexample, that's kind of a big
deal in the military where youdo your home of record. You can
do it anywhere you want. Mhmm.But Dallas has always been my
(04:05):
home. So if anything everhappened to me, my address was
in my district
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (04:11):
Uh-huh. In at my mom and dad's house.
That was my permanent address.And there were times when, when
I was able to vote in elections.You know, and it was kinda fun
to participate from afar,whether that was in Italy or
Scotland or wherever I was. Butso born and raised in my
district. And so it's hard toanswer that question because
(04:32):
people are like, well, you know,you haven't lived here the whole
time because you spent twentytwo years in the Navy, and and
so you weren't here that wholetime. And I was like, yeah. But
it was. I mean, it it allows forpersonal growth. Right? And and
I'm real big on that, which iswhy this is kind of a big deal
for me. While when I first gotthe invitation, I was I was
(04:56):
super I just got anxious, right,because it's new to me. It's not
something that I do or seek out.And but I was like, you know
what? This whole this wholechapter this lit this whole
little chapter of my life isabout personal growth.
Mhmm.
Jose Rivas (05:13):
And here we are. Yeah. So I love the fact that I
grew up in my district. I knowmy neighborhoods. I've ridden my
bike through all thoseneighborhoods.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (05:25):
Whenever I looked at District 7, it broke
my heart because I saw how muchthese people very much need and
want and are yearning for morepolice. Yeah. I mean, it's
Jose Rivas (05:43):
It should break everyone's heart
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (05:45):
It should.
Jose Rivas (05:45):
What's happening in in District 7 in particular. And
I say this because we've led thecity in murders four out of the
last five years. We currentlylead the city. When I last
looked, I think it was a weekago. And then, you know, there
were some claims about violentcrime being down. And okay. So
(06:10):
maybe it is for the first twomonths of the year. Of this
year, maybe it's down. Okay? SoI'm gonna give them that. But
when you pull the year to yearnumbers, District 7 leads in
violent crime.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (06:26):
That's right.
Jose Rivas (06:28):
Has led the city for the last five years
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (06:33):
That's right.
Jose Rivas (06:34):
That impacts our families. That impacts our
business, what we can do. Itimpacts our city as a whole
because we we're not gonna beable to, it affects our tax
base. That you know, that'skinda what I'm getting at. You
know? So when we've got majorissues like the police and fire
(06:56):
pension, From what taxes inDistrict 7? Have we, you know,
have we you know, how much isDistrict 7 contributing to that
solution? So and so it's notjust, you know, personal safety.
(07:19):
You know, I was at a communitymeeting recently where there was
a business owner who says, I'mI've been broken into so many
times. And he's not, like, on alittle side street somewhere.
He's on MLK Boulevard
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (07:34):
Yep.
Jose Rivas (07:35):
Right by Fair Park, and the police aren't able to
respond. You know? And, so it'snot just affecting families.
It's affecting businesses.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (07:44):
That's right.
Jose Rivas (07:45):
That affects that, that affects investment in our
community, whether that's tosupport residential, you know,
increased people moving in,affordable housing, that kind of
thing, or whether that's jobs,which is what a lot of the
folks, you know, in in our inour part of the district where I
live near Parkdale and FairPark, they want jobs, and we
(08:08):
need to bring it to them. And sohow do we do that? We've gotta
wrap up that public safetyproblem.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (08:13):
That's right. That's and it's so
simple, but the message becomesdistorted, unfortunately. Sure.
Jose Rivas (08:20):
It gets politicized.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (08:21):
It gets so politicized. And I'm like,
it's so basic. It's so basic.Yeah. How do you think your
experience in the navy willparlay and translate to your
leadership, specifically as itrelates to these operational
plans?
Jose Rivas (08:37):
Yeah. So when you you develop an operational plan
based on, you know, at least ourdepartment should probably be
doing that. I'm sure they are. Idon't know of I don't know of
any department that doesn't relyon, their their data, their
intelligence assets on on theground, whether it's vice, you
(08:58):
know, those kind of guys, ortheir intelligence analysts in
the building to paint thatpicture of where they need to be
and what they need to be doing.
You know, we have a saying inthe in in in military planning
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (09:12):
Mhmm.
Jose Rivas (09:13):
That no plan survives the first round.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (09:15):
Yeah.
Jose Rivas (09:16):
Right? So the importance of that is
recognizing that you're nevergonna have the perfect plan. But
what you need to be able to dois shift on the fly. You know,
and sometimes it's or you giveit a week or two and you decide,
yeah, we're not really seeingthe benefit of what what we
(09:39):
thought would be happening. Solet's adjust. Let's call an
audible. And so then you adjustand do that.
And so I feel like that's whatwe do really, really well in the
Navy. We have a overarching planin the military, but we're able
to and we have the authority.That's the other thing. We have
(10:02):
the authority, at the tacticallevel to be able to adjust those
to be more effective. Whetherthat's protecting our people or
accomplishing whatever that goalof the plan was. So I'd like to
see you know, I'd I'd like toknow I'd like to sit in on those
meetings.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (10:19):
That's right.
Jose Rivas (10:20):
You know what I mean? And just I I don't I'm I'm
not there to offer input, but Iwanna understand what they're
what they're thinking and, whatthe, reasoning, the logic, the
plan itself. What is the plan?
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (10:38):
And what I love, about your experience,
you've worked with a communitypolice oversight board. And you
helped craft policy thatprotected residents during
police transport. Can you speakto that?
Jose Rivas (10:49):
Yeah. So we had this case, soon after I joined the
board. And I was on there forfive years, so I lose track of
time. But, it was it was aDiamond Ross case.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (11:04):
K. And she was a young lady who had was
suffering from some drug inducedkind of, event episode, and she
was out on the street. I'm notsure if she was homeless. She
might not have been. But therewas an event out on the street
in this I believe it was in mydistrict, District 7. And and
(11:26):
the Dallas Fire Rescue wasthere, and they they checked her
out. They, you know, did herblood pressure and all that
stuff. And and but you could seein the video that she wasn't she
wasn't and it's hard to tell. Imean, I'm not a doctor. Right?
And those police officers aren'tdoctors. But, you know, is it is
(11:47):
it a mental health issue, or isit a drug issue? Is it a
combination of both? Could be.So, anyway, DFR cleared her to
be transported in the back of apolice car, and I think they
were taking her to the countyjail. And when they got there,
(12:07):
she was unresponsive. And thething is is that we watched the
video from the time they put herin the car to the time she's
there. She never there's, youknow, there's never anything
untoward that the policeofficers do. It's in the middle
of the night, I think. And sothey're taking her to the jail,
(12:29):
and she gets quiet. So as a Iwould think that somebody fell
asleep in the back of my policecar.
Sure.
Jose Rivas (12:36):
So they get to the jail. She's unresponsive, and
and she ends up passing fromthat. So it was that event I
started thinking, and I talkedto a couple of my colleagues on
the board. And I said, what canwe do to make sure that doesn't
(12:56):
happen again?
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (12:57):
Makes me tear up.
Jose Rivas (12:58):
Right. Yeah. And we've there's something we can
do. And so it just it kinda hitme that why are we transporting
people that we don't know what'sreally going on with them,
whether it's a mental issue orcould it could be drug induced?
Why are we transporting them inthe back of police cars?
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (13:17):
Yeah.
Jose Rivas (13:19):
So I wrote a policy, and I shared it with some of my
colleagues that were interestedin making change. A positive
change because we wanted toprotect our our communities from
unnecessary death because youdon't have those police officers
are not medical professionals.No. Right?
(13:39):
And you have a perfectly goodambulance with two EMTs and a
and a and a truck full of drugsand paddles and all kinds of
lifesaving equipment. And I justhope so, anyway, the the whole
point of the policy was, let'stransport them. If we're not
(13:59):
sure, let's transport them in ina in a medical ambulance to make
sure. And, I mean, like anyplan, nothing goes unchallenged.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (14:13):
Uh-huh.
Jose Rivas (14:13):
Nothing survives the first shot.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (14:15):
Sure.
Jose Rivas (14:16):
But in this case, so fast forward real quick. Chief
Garcia gets hired. I placed myplan before him, my
recommendation to change thegeneral orders. He reads it, and
he goes, this is totallyreasonable and implements it
almost immediately. It wasawesome. It was a great win, and
(14:36):
it showed me that I can havemore impact. At that moment, it
showed me I can have more impactwith our city to make it better
and make it safer. And, it takesthat kind of want and desire to
do that.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (14:49):
It's wise. It's a wise policy. Sure.
And I'm grateful for championssuch as yourself and for chief
Eddie Garcia. Yeah. For workingto help you implement that. And
what are those conversationslike in your block walking and
speaking to the constituents andresidents in District 7?
Jose Rivas (15:09):
I'm gonna tell you right now. I wish I wish they
would ask me about Fair Park. Iwish they would. I wish they
would. But every time they talkto me, it's about crime.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (15:23):
About crime.
Jose Rivas (15:26):
And we're talking about
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (15:28):
We know.
Jose Rivas (15:28):
We're talking about the historic well-to-do
neighborhoods in North Of NorthOf I 30. That is where I am
getting most. And it theword-of-mouth. I am getting
calls from people. I haven'teven block walked their house
yet.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (15:44):
Mhmm.
Jose Rivas (15:44):
Or their block yet. And I'm getting calls from them,
and they're going, I'd like tomeet you, and can you bring a
sign? I'm like, of course. Andthey're like, I'm gonna go talk
to you talk to my neighborsbecause we've all been talking
about this, that, or the other,and it's never about it's never
about Fair Park or, you know,city manager, other other
(16:08):
important issues.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (16:09):
Of course. No. Because that's not
what is affecting them on theday to day.
Jose Rivas (16:12):
Right.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (16:13):
It is not what is allowing their quality
of life to be depleted on thedaily. And for them to lose
businesses and feel unsafe fortheir children. And they're it's
so sad.
Jose Rivas (16:26):
I really wanna work with our state reps to address
the mental health issues in our,community, city. I'm not sure.
So I don't, you know, I don'twanna say that there is or isn't
because I don't know. But Ithought I heard that they were
taking up mental health at thelegislative session this year.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (16:50):
They are, but it's kind of wrapped into
homelessness initiatives
Jose Rivas (16:56):
Okay.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (16:57):
If you will.
Jose Rivas (16:57):
Okay.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (16:58):
At least the the legislation that I'm
familiar with.
Jose Rivas (17:00):
Okay.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (17:01):
It's going to wrap it into something
comparable to Haven for theHope. But locally, they're
calling it Refuge for Renewaland seeking funding from the
state. Yeah. Right? And from thecounty and from other areas just
to meet that type of need
Jose Rivas (17:19):
Right.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (17:19):
In the homelessness community,
particularly. But I'm not I'mnot familiar with anything
additional. I mean, you know,sometimes, you have people that
are suffering from mentalissues, mental health issues
that can be addressed, you know,through treatment Sure. And
whatnot, and they can get backon track and and and get back
into society. Right? Andsometimes you have people who
(17:40):
are, you know, drug addiction,and they need a similar path.
Right? They need to work throughsome of their issues as well and
get back into society. But thereare some, like mental health
cases or in people sufferingfrom mental health, issues that
(18:01):
are a danger. And there's noamount of, first of all, you
can't make them go to treatment.So if you can't make them go to
treatment, then you can't makethem take housing. But they're,
you know, some people, that I'vespoken to and at some of my
(18:23):
community meetings have saidthat, they're dangerous, and
they're terrorizing, you know,already already vulnerable
communities. Immigrantcommunities Very low income
communities. They're terrorizingthose folks. And so I would like
(18:47):
to see our state lead the way incoming up with a fair and just
compassionate policy that dealswith them as well, that is able
to deal with them. Because thereare some people who are not
gonna take the treatment at all,and they're not gonna take the
homelessness, and we need tofigure out how we deal with
(19:09):
that. There are some who arejust flat out dangerous, and
those are the ones that I'm moreconcerned about that, that for
everyone else's safety, thatthey they need to there needs to
be a process by which the statecan intervene. I don't know.
(19:35):
Yeah. You know, I don't I don'tknow if I don't know how many,
you know, people are upset aboutwhat I just said, but to do
nothing is not the answer. So ifyou've got a better idea, I am
welcome to hear it.
Jose, I can't tell you howrefreshing it is to sit with you
today. I do believe that you area person who is genuine, smart,
(20:01):
well experienced. And I justwish you so much luck in this
upcoming race. I look forward toseeing you again at this event
that I'll be moderating.
Jose Rivas (20:14):
Right.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (20:14):
I'm grateful. I'm grateful for the
opportunity.
Jose Rivas (20:17):
I gotta tell you, I was scared to death coming in
here.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (20:20):
I know.
Jose Rivas (20:21):
I really was.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (20:22):
You said that and I was like, why? Why
are you and then I told you, Isaid, you'll see. It's it's just
super easy, just veryconversational. Sure. And it's
not meant to trap or confuse orYeah. It's just to bring a
platform to the voices that havenot yet been heard.
Jose Rivas (20:37):
That's what I love about, what you've done today
here. I tell you what, I neverreally felt nervous, here. I
love the fact that we just had achance to talk.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (20:48):
Of course.
Jose Rivas (20:49):
And there are no right or wrong answers. What we
need to do is get better atsharing our ideas with one
another
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (20:56):
Mhmm.
Jose Rivas (20:57):
And being accepting of those.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (20:58):
That's right.
Jose Rivas (20:59):
It doesn't mean it's gonna be instituted. It doesn't
mean that it's gonna bechampioned. But it's important
to be able to have your voiceheard. And that's all I want our
residents to know is that youhave a voice, and you will have
a representative
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (21:15):
Mhmm.
Jose Rivas (21:16):
That is looking out for you.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (21:19):
Yes. I couldn't be more in agreement
and appreciative.
Jose Rivas (21:24):
Thank you.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (21:24):
And thank you for coming.
Jose Rivas (21:26):
Thank you. I appreciate it.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (21:27):
You're so welcome.
Jose Rivas (21:28):
It was awesome.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (21:28):
Thank you for being here.
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