February 5, 2025 • 36 mins
Dallas is at a crossroads—so is it time for a fresh start at City Hall? Filmmaker and local watchdog Damien LeVeck, better known as Dallas En Fuego, thinks so. He’s been digging deep into the city’s biggest issues, and what he’s uncovered might surprise you. We break it all down in this eye-opening episode.
Plus, looking to impress this Valentine’s Day? Sarah shares a must-try sangria mocktail that’s perfect for your valentine, galentines, or just treating yourself!
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (00:00):
Is Dallas City Hall turning into a swamp
that needs draining? Let's divein. I'm Sara Zubiate Bennett and
on this episode of Let's TalkLocal, I'm sitting down with
Damien LeVeck, better known asDallas En Fuego, on Twitter and
YouTube. You might know Damienfor his work in the horror film
world, but lately, he's beenmaking waves in Dallas politics.
So what's behind this shift?We'll get into all of it later.
(00:23):
And stick around after my chatwith Dallas En Fuego. I've got a
mocktail recipe that'll add somefire to your Valentine's night
menu. Thanks for tuning in, anddon't forget to hit like and
subscribe so you never miss anepisode.
(00:44):
Okay, Damien.
Damien LeVeck (00:46):
Here we are.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (00:47):
Here we are. And I felt like a little
bit of a stalker last night. Iwas diving as deep as I possibly
could with all of the medicinein my body trying to make me
feel better, and I was flat outshocked that you professionally
are a director and an editor ofhorror films and successful
(01:08):
horror films. Yeah. I mean, canyou tell me a little bit about
that first before we get intoany of the other reasons that I
initially wanted to have you onthe show?
I mean, you're Yeah. You'requite the man with I mean,
seriously, it's I I'minterested.
Damien LeVeck (01:23):
I mean, I got into entertainment. I moved to
LA from Central Illinois when Iwas 18 years old. Went to USC
film school.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (01:31):
Uh-huh.
Damien LeVeck (01:31):
And got involved in after USC, got involved in
the entertainment industrythrough post-production. I
interned all throughout schoolof production companies and
studios, but, really found myfooting in post-production. I
started by making a documentarydocumentaries. I made a
documentary with Ethan Hawke.
I, then started working at TMZ.I worked at TMZ briefly and then
(01:52):
went to E! News and cutentertainment news for three and
a half years. And then wentfreelance after that, editing
development sizzles forproduction companies that you
know, to get TV shows sold. Andalong the way, I did a couple
feature films, couple of otherfeature scripted films, writing,
trying to get to a place where Ihad a script that I felt like I
could put three and a half yearsbehind to get made. And that's
(02:15):
what I did with my first featurefilm, The Cleansing Hour, which
started as a short film.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (02:19):
Mhmm.
Damien LeVeck (02:19):
And after that, we made, A Creature Was Stirring
starring Chrissy Metz, whichcame out last year Or November
2023.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (02:26):
Now you have an Amish film.
Damien LeVeck (02:27):
And now we have an Amish horror film.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (02:29):
When does that launch?
Damien LeVeck (02:31):
Well, hopefully, this year. We are we're working
on the financing of that rightnow. And we, we've made several
offers, but things are alwayschanging. It's always
fluctuating, but the hope isthat we'll make it this year.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (02:42):
That's incredible. And so you started
this Skubalon Entertainment.Right?
Damien LeVeck (02:46):
That's right.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (02:47):
And I guess with that, I never even
knew that horror films wereusually the most profitable
films. They are the mostprofitable films, and they have
been for decades. Crazy. I'mdrawn to horror not just because
of my interest in thesupernatural and you know, I
really enjoy scaring people. Ilove the entertainment aspect of
it. But, also, the financialaspect of it is great,
(03:09):
obviously, but horror is theonly genre where original
stories are being told.Everything else is a remake or a
reboot or based on IP.
Truly unique.
Damien LeVeck (03:17):
Horror is where people can come in and with a
low budget, make a unique,really cool story that scares
people and makes a lot of moneyat the same time, so I'm down.
That's my preference.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (03:26):
That's so neat. This is incredible. So how
on earth, Damien LeVeck, someonewith your background, your skill
set, how in the world do you getinvolved in the civic local
political space? What kind ofprompted that fire within you?
Damien LeVeck (03:44):
Well, I had no intention of getting involved.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (03:46):
Honestly, I didn't either.
Damien LeVeck (03:47):
I really didn't. I'm I'm very busy with my work,
you know, screenwriting andproducing movies and developing
movies and editing shows. Ireally had no intention, and it
was I think it was March 8thlast year. My in laws who have
lived in Dallas for 40 yearssaid, hey, I want you to go to
this meeting hosted by JaynieSchultz who is our council
(04:08):
member. It's about thisdevelopment, Pepper Square. They
wanna renovate Pepper Square.They wanna build these big
apartment buildings there, andwe want you to see, you know,
what's going on. So I didn'tknow who Jaynie Schultz was, and
I showed up.
And I was just appalled by theway that she spoke to people.
She was up there like a schoolmom talking to her class,
(04:31):
telling them to settle down. AndI was very frustrated because
this whole meeting, I was toldahead of time, this is gonna be
a dog and pony show where shemarches the police and the fire
up there, and she marches theNorth Texas Council of
Governments up there, and she'sgonna explain to us why
everything is good for PepperSquare, why we should be
building this, and why everyoneshould go along with it. So I
(04:53):
stood up, and I said, hey.Listen. We have questions.
Everyone here has questions, andyou're deliberately not asking
them. In fact, she made a pointof saying that she she wasn't
gonna take open questions. Youcould write your questions on a
card, and if she liked it, shewould read it. So I was just
really I was really appalled bythis.
After the crowd got pretty riledup after I did that, she tried
(05:14):
to have a very successful andwell respected dentist in town
escorted out by the police. Itwas crazy. So then I really
started paying attention to thePepper Square issue, and I
started paying attention to whatshe was doing and what her
record was like. And I startedmaking videos about her
specifically in relation to thisissue of, developing for for
Pepper Square. I came at it withkind of a snarky, jokey tone
(05:39):
where, you know, I, you know, Ipunch down a little bit. That's
that's my personality. I don'twanna be as stiff. You know? I
like I like to have fun. So thatcame across in my videos, and,
you know, I intercut with, like,memes and pop culture references
and that sort of thing.
And I also while I was doingthis, initiated a recall effort
(06:00):
against her. And this issomething that doesn't happen
very often in Dallas. And, youknow, recall efforts can succeed
or fail for better or for worse.The thing that did her in was a
video that I did where I caughther on hidden camera talking
about how how she has adifferent worldview about
density and apartments than herconstituents.
(06:26):
And what the people of NorthDallas said to her in this
meeting, private meeting, wasthat, look. We were coming to
you for help because you're ourcouncilwoman, and it seems like
you wanna support the developerand not the people who live
there. And she said, well, Ijust have a different world
worldview about density. I havea different worldview about
apartments. And I made a videoabout that, and everybody saw
(06:49):
it. And then, coincidentally, afew weeks later, she said, I'm
not gonna run again. So Iconsidered that a huge win for
me because, finally, everyonewas waking up to what this
person is doing. And that's whenI started to really red pill on
Dallas politics. And I reallystarted to look at, oh, this
isn't just Jaynie Schultz. Thisis the entire city council.
This is the city manager. Thisis everything in Dallas, and all
(07:11):
the problems that we're facingin Dallas are are stem from the
are are systemic. It's a problemwith the entire edifice of our
municipal government.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (07:22):
And, I mean, this is this is just mind
blowing to me because mostpeople are absolutely unaware
and unengaged. Yes. They'redisengaged.
Damien LeVeck (07:32):
Yeah.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (07:32):
And it breaks my heart because for the
as long as I can remember, Ihave genuinely cared about the
efforts within the city.
Damien LeVeck (07:44):
This is what this has kind of evolved into.
Because I am so frustrated. I'venever been one to back down from
a fight, and I've also neverbeen one to let other people be
walked on.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (07:54):
Same.
Damien LeVeck (07:54):
And let other people be taken advantage of.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (07:56):
Same here.
Damien LeVeck (07:57):
And what I see when I look at Dallas politics
is I see a great city wherepeople are they're actually
being taken advantage of becausethe city council is taking
advantage of their ignorance.They're taking advantage of the
fact that they aren't payingattention.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (08:09):
That's right.
Damien LeVeck (08:09):
So, admittedly, mostly, these these elections,
the voter turnout is very, verylow. Right? And that's because
most of the people who vote areolder people. They're older
generation. They're probablyretired, and They have more time
to devote to paying attention.And I'm I'm a dad. I've got 3
little kids.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (08:29):
Oh, you are?
Damien LeVeck (08:30):
I've got 3 kids, 8, 6, and 4.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (08:32):
Oh my gosh.
Damien LeVeck (08:32):
So, you know, I'm very busy with my family, and I
totally understand between wifeand kids and school and sports
and all the extracurricularactivities that it's hard to pay
attention to this stuff. It'shard to open up a newspaper and
read what's going on. I getthat. So what my approach has
been with as I've developed thisx account, @DallasEnFuego Has
(08:54):
been not just to make jokes ormake funny videos that are
entertaining to watch, butactually make them infotainment.
Make them edutainment. Createstuff that's gonna be what the
soccer mom can share with herfriends and, you know, 60,
90 second video that educatesthem about an issue that does
relate to them, that ispertinent to their life. Because
(09:15):
our city council every week ismaking decisions that directly
affect your life. And if only wecould all pay attention, we
could actually get theirattention by saying, hey. Look.
We care about this. Hey. We'reactually gonna take time out of
our busy schedule to go to CityHall, and we're going to make
our voices heard. And I thinkthere's a lot of ways that you
can make your voices heard, butmy objective is to create long
(09:38):
term, a way for people toeducate themselves on city
issues using video content thatisn't, that's easily digestible.
And, you know, I think that'sthat is also catering to a
younger demographic as well. I'm43. Right? I want people who are
(09:58):
30 to 50 to that's my targetaudience.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (10:02):
Same.
Damien LeVeck (10:02):
That those are the people who I want to be
paying attention to this stuff.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (10:05):
Yes.
Damien LeVeck (10:05):
And it's working. I've got a weekly breakfast with
a friend, and this was beforethe election.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (10:11):
Mhmm.
Damien LeVeck (10:12):
And I did a voter guide on all the props. I it was
a Dallas voter guide, and I hadit pinned to my X.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (10:18):
I saw it. Yeah. Yes. I saw it.
Damien LeVeck (10:20):
And I showed it I texted it to him and or I showed
it to him at lunch, and I textedto him. And he said the next
week, he said, hey. I showedyour voter guide to a friend at
work. He works in finance. Hesaid, I showed it to a friend at
work, and he goes, oh, I'vealready seen that. My dad showed
that to me. And that made mefeel so good. I was like, wow.
This is gettingaround, you know? So it's
(10:41):
encouraging. I feel veryencouraged and very empowered
because I know the power ofmedia because it's the business
that I work with.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (10:47):
Correct.
Damien LeVeck (10:48):
I know how to edit and make in compelling,
really good looking videos thatlook like there's a lot of money
behind them because that's whatI've been doing for the last 20
years. And I know that we canactually get the get a new base
of voters fired up so that theywill start paying attention to
these issues. And when they goto the ballot, start voting in a
way that's going to help theircity instead of hurt them.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (11:08):
Well, I I love it. Your videos are are
really incredible, but what areyou hoping to do? So I
understand your mission. Iunderstand your target audience.
I know the type of impact you'vehad even at this point. What do
you hope to do next withDallasEnFuego with this voice
that you've built?
Damien LeVeck (11:29):
Look. I never I never intended to get into any
of this. Right? And if I coulddevote myself full time to this,
there's a lot of things I woulddo. You know?
Just for example, for all theballot propositions, I would
have made a 30-60 second videoon each of them explaining why
you should or should not votefor them. Now, of course, with
my that's my
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (11:49):
That's your background.
Damien LeVeck (11:50):
My opinion. But, I would spend time making that
kind of content. But the truthis is that I'm a filmmaker. You
know? I I'm a creative at heart,and I wanna keep making movies,
and I wanna develop TV shows.And that's really where my heart
lies. But if there were a way togrow this into a larger business
(12:10):
or into a larger organizationthat focuses just on that, I
would absolutely be a part ofit. And I'm I'm still gonna keep
making videos as much as I canon issues that are important to
me. You know, I'm focusing onspecific council members now
because it's an election year.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (12:26):
Mhmm.
Damien LeVeck (12:27):
And I want people to see, like, who represents
them. I mean, I've got a videocoming out soon about Adam
Bazaldua. Here are three reasonswhy we cannot reelect district
7's Adam Bazaldua The Fry Cook.Wrong priorities. The fry cook's
signature issues include a ceasefire in Gaza. Who's been a
disaster for district 7. Andlook, we can't let these people
(12:49):
keep working this job. They workfor us. And if they're not
delivering on promises and ifthey're if you're seeing their
district go down the toilet,then you gotta hold them
accountable. District 7 had themost most murders of any
district in 2024. 35 murders indistrict 7.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (13:05):
That's right.
Damien LeVeck (13:05):
That's insane. That that's that's an f grade in
my opinion.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (13:09):
Well, most of these are these council
members are Receiving f grades.Maybe with the with the
exception of, like, Cara. Right.You know, like, there's there's
a few.
Damien LeVeck (13:17):
There are a couple of common sense voices on
the city council. For sure. Andthat's really what the city
council needs is common sense.Partisanship doesn't belong at
city council.
I don't care what party you are.I don't care what letters next
to your name.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (13:31):
Same.
Damien LeVeck (13:32):
Just give us more cops.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (13:34):
Don't let the city go to hell.
Damien LeVeck (13:36):
Right.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (13:37):
So you recently posted your city of
Dallas leaders hate you. Citizenpass prop you, a referendum on
public safety, begging cityleaders to hire the 900 police
we need, and yet they're stilldragging their feet. With
attrition, the city will onlygain at best 256 cops this year.
And then you put exactly whatthe pay was as of, I guess, as
of very recent. And you saidthis gaslighting is egregious.
(13:59):
Where are you gathering all ofyour statistics? Because we have
them. Right? And they'republicly available. Yeah. How
much time does this take you?
Damien LeVeck (14:06):
It takes a lot of time.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (14:07):
It does. Doesn't it?
Damien LeVeck (14:08):
It takes a lot of time. I get them I I gather them
myself. I, you know, my wifehelps me dig up stuff. You know?
The more people you have doingit, the better.
Of course.
Then sometimes I have, like,primary sources that are
actually giving giving them tome saying, like, hey. You might
wanna look at this because thisis what the numbers actually
are. You know, as far as thepolice thing is concerned, it's
(14:29):
it's a very important issue forme. I lived in LA for 22 years.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (14:33):
Yes.
Damien LeVeck (14:34):
Police staffing is a big issue there.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett: Talk to me about this. (14:36):
undefined
Damien LeVeck (14:36):
Well, there's a there's a so a lot of the
passion that I have comesdirectly from having lived in
that city for 22 years. And Isay, I don't want Dallas to
become this. Because LA isfacing a housing crisis.
It has a homeless crisis. Idon't know actually where LA is
on cops, but there was a periodof time about 4 years ago where
(14:58):
they were talking about slashingthe LAPD budget.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (15:01):
They did.
Damien LeVeck (15:02):
So when I look at what the police in in Dallas are
being paid compared tosurrounding cities, it's crazy.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (15:10):
It's infuriating.
Damien LeVeck (15:11):
If you're a young man and you wanna be a police
officer, why would you choose toput your life at higher risk in
Dallas when you could get paid10, $15,000 more go working in
Plano and, you know, or Garlandor something like that? It
doesn't make any sense. So,again, common sense. But does
(15:32):
the city council want toallocate the the funding that's
required to raise starting payand raise the pay for the
existing officers? And that'sthe question.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (15:42):
They have to now because it's law.
Damien LeVeck (15:44):
I think they they're gonna get sued if they
don't.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (15:47):
Well, that's right.
Damien LeVeck (15:48):
Right.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (15:48):
That's right. Now thanks to proposition
S
Damien LeVeck (15:50):
Right.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (15:51):
They will get sued. Yeah. And,
unfortunately, I mean, they areblunt instruments. I mean, I get
that. And when Tom sat here and,you know, I know Eric, the mayor
has very much referenced them asblunt instruments.
Damien LeVeck (16:06):
Mhmm.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (16:07):
But that's what was needed. Yeah.
Because nothing else wasworking.
Damien LeVeck (16:12):
Exactly so I I think the last election was
extremely important that I'mreferring to the local election.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (16:17):
Of course.
Damien LeVeck (16:18):
Because it took a ballot proposition for the
people to get, you know, getthrough the city's thick skulls
that, hey. Look. This is themost important thing to us, and
you aren't listening to us. AndI think this is the big problem
with with the with the city ofDallas is that the people who
run the city are completelydisconnected from what the
people who live in the citywant.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (16:39):
That's right.
Damien LeVeck (16:39):
And I don't I haven't quite figured out. I
have some theories. I think itis either because they're
ignorant or they don't care orthey're just drunk on power and
they're completely corrupted andthey don't their their ideology
is all that matters. They don'tcare about representing the
people. It might be acombination of 3. I'm not sure.
(17:00):
But that is the issue. And thatis the reason why whenever
people ask me about, like, well,how can I get involved? What can
I do?
I said, start paying attentionto who represents you because
everything stems from thecouncil. And, unfortunately, we
don't have at large councilmembers, which we need. We
actually need a strong mayor ofgovernment, but that's another
discussion. But start payingattention to who represents you
(17:20):
and what they're doing, and thenstart looking at how can I,
who's running against them, andhow can I, get involved?
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (17:28):
I hope that with these 2 with
particularly s, in place, thatwith the ability to sue the city
structure as it exists today,that there may be some
improvement.
Damien LeVeck (17:40):
But it's So I I would agree with you. I think
that, you know, removingsovereign immunity is actually a
very good thing for the city. Ithink that Dallas is this is one
way that Dallas is leading theway for the rest of the country.
Right?
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (17:51):
That's right.
Damien LeVeck (17:51):
The only city in the country that
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (17:52):
has it.
Damien LeVeck (17:53):
That's fantastic.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (17:53):
It's huge.
Damien LeVeck (17:54):
And I had mixed feelings about Prop S because I
was like, you know, I hear thepeople on the other side being,
like, lots of frivolouslawsuits. I totally get that.
You know, we don't wanna wastemoney on this stuff. But, look,
even after the passage of propU, even after the passage of
prop S, we have C K Arnoldcoming out saying that she's
(18:14):
gonna run for a 5th term indefiance of prop E.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (18:17):
That's right.
Damien LeVeck (18:17):
The the the cognitive dissonance or the lack
of self awareness is justunbelievable. Yep. And without
prop S, we wouldn't be able tohold people like her
accountable, and she is going toget sued. I'm almost sure of it.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (18:28):
So talk to me about your stance on term
limits.
Damien LeVeck (18:32):
Well, I've been a fan of term limits in general
for for all of politics because,you know, if you know anything
about our founding fathers, theynever intended to, run for
politics and make it a career.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (18:44):
That's right.
Damien LeVeck (18:44):
It was supposed to be be an act of service that
you give back to your country,and then you return to your job
and your home. Well, I think thecareer politicians are a problem
in our country. And I don't carewhat side of the aisle you're
on. They're a problem
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (18:56):
They are.
Damien LeVeck (18:57):
On both. So, this idea of you need to have an
experienced leader... Please. Imean, I think that having a
strong business acumen could begood for running a city. But
look. You can you can learn theRobert's Rules of Order, and and
that that's easy enough to pickup. It doesn't it takes common
sense to run a city. It doesn'ttake, somebody who's been in
(19:19):
politics for 10 years to do it.
So I respect the people thatwork in government that run our
city. I don't think that itshould be a requirement for,
someone to sit on city council,for example. So, I'm actually
more encouraged by the peoplewho are running for city council
who don't have a career inpolitics than those who have in
the past. You know, who thosewho've run on the park board,
(19:41):
for example, that, somehowbecause they're on the park
board and they know more citymore more people in the city and
they're more well connected thatthey're gonna do a better job.
No. Actually, I think that theperson who's been running a
business for 30 years and knowshow to manage money and
understand zoning anddevelopment, those are the
people who I want running ourcity.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (19:57):
Yeah. And same. Here. Yeah.
I'm hopping over to DART now.Because, I mean, so many of my
questions you just answer inyour in your conversation. So,
DART. Shanon over here, she shesaid something interesting not
long ago. She was at a party, Ithink, talking about DART,
because we like talking aboutthese sexy things when we're at
(20:20):
parties. But she said that,there was this guy there that
said, you know what? We wouldlose less money as a city if we
bought everyone a ToyotaCorolla. Everyone right now as
it exists today who rides aDART, a Toyota Corolla. And I
thought that can't be right. Iwent back. I did the math.
(20:42):
That's correct. That's accurate.
Damien LeVeck (20:44):
Everyone in the the entire population or just
the 2% of people that ride?
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (20:48):
Yeah. The the people that utilize it.
Damien LeVeck (20:49):
Yeah. It's extremely small.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (20:50):
It's so small. Yeah. And so that for me
is something that must beaddressed.
Damien LeVeck (20:58):
Yep.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (20:58):
And how to do it? I mean, I have several
ideas, but I'm not sure thatanyone would be willing to
entertain it. Where have you, Iguess, landed with your opinions
as it relates to DART?
Damien LeVeck (21:14):
I think that it's an it's a a budget boondoggle. I
think it's, incredibly wasteful.The fact that less than 2% of
Dallas residents use it isindicative not of the quality of
the service, but rather of theusefulness or necessity of it. I
like I said, I lived in LA for22 years. You know, the bus
(21:35):
system in LA is fairly robust.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (21:37):
Yep. It is.
Damien LeVeck (21:38):
They have spent years building rail lines from
downtown to Santa Monica andfrom the South Bay to downtown
and to Hollywood, You know? Andthey've got it, you know, the
most expensive subway in theworld, just because of the
seismic conditions there. But, Ithink that the buses in LA are
actually utilized quite a bit. Ithink LA is maybe a bit more
(22:01):
dense, but, Dallas is similar toLA in its sprawl, but, I think
that's a big part of the it maybe not as dense. I think that's
a big part of the reason why sofew people use it. If this city
were designed, like Manhattan,for example, where the subway
(22:21):
was an integral part of theoriginal creation of the city,
people would use it. Because youcould take a subway anywhere in
the city, get off, and maybewalk a few blocks and you're at
your destination. That's how itworks in Manhattan. But Dallas
is a car city. It was alwaysbuilt as a car city.
It was designed as a car city. Idon't think there's any point in
investing any more money inDART. There's a reason why
(22:44):
surrounding cities are trying topull out the money that they're
contributing to DART. And here'swhat my solution is. My solution
is eliminate it entirely. Youdon't need it. No one rides it.
In fact, it's dangerous to rideit. It's become a place for
people who are dealing drugs andwho are homeless, and people get
injured on them. Like, it's it'sa waste of money. We are on the
(23:08):
we are on the brink ofautonomous vehicles being
everywhere.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (23:11):
Mhmm.
Damien LeVeck (23:11):
In 10 years, cars are gonna be completely driving
themselves, and people aren'teven gonna be buying cars
because Uber is gonna come andpick you up in whatever car you
want, take you wherever youwant, and that's how you're
gonna get around.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (23:22):
I agree.
Damien LeVeck (23:23):
Public transportation is gonna
completely die after that. Andif you wanna ride a bike, that's
fine. Most of those cars areprobably gonna be electric. And
Dallas is just there's we've gotfreeways that take us
everywhere.
That should be an indication toyou that coming up with, you
know, using 18th centurytechnology to get everybody from
a to b is just not the answer.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (23:42):
Yep. And it's really interesting because
I've heard so many people tellme, Sarah, we attracted
companies like AT and T to comeor not AT and T. Who Who was it?
Was it Goldman Sachs? I forgetexactly who it was. BofA, Bank
of America. Someone large. Someprominent company. And they said
what we used as a selling pointwas the fact that their
(24:04):
employees could live in all ofthese wonderful surrounding
suburbs, of course, becauseDallas has s**t schools, and
send their kids to these theseplaces with DART.
And I'm like, yeah. But do youalso disclose to them that it's
dangerous to ride DART? Do youalso disclose to them that they
will have to carry a gun? Theywill have to I mean, protect
their children?
Damien LeVeck (24:24):
Where they can really live, too...
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (24:26):
Exactly.
Damien LeVeck (24:27):
To live next to a rail line...
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (24:28):
Exactly.
Damien LeVeck (24:28):
There's a DART station. It's on Arapaho
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (24:33):
And Closer to Plano?
Damien LeVeck (24:34):
Yeah. Yeah. They didn't even build a parking lot
at the DART station, so youcan't you can't even park there.
It's so like, what's the point?
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (24:42):
I know. It is literally it's soaked up
1,000,000,000 Yeah. Of dollars,the 100 of 1,000,000 of dollars
that it just keeps pouring intothat when that could be
otherwise directed towards ourpolice. The pension, our who
whatever. But, again, the thebudgetary concerns. I mean, I
feel like I'm I've been beatingmy head against the wall for
(25:03):
over a decade at this point.
Damien LeVeck (25:04):
Right.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (25:05):
And I like, a lot of these people
individually. But as far as whatthey are trying to institute,
what they have been instituting,it does not make sense at all.
Damien LeVeck (25:21):
Do you have an opinion on the on the rail line
between Dallas and Fort Worth?
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (25:27):
I do. But as far as it being a good or a
bad idea
Damien LeVeck (25:30):
Yeah.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (25:32):
Again, it just depends on the technology
that's used. But right now, asit's presented today, I just
don't think it's I don't thinkit's worth it.
Damien LeVeck (25:39):
Right.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (25:40):
Yeah. I don't.
Damien LeVeck (25:40):
Yeah. Yeah. The thing that the thing that gives
me pause about it, because Ilove it. I love the idea.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (25:45):
Me too.
Damien LeVeck (25:47):
Is, again, my LA experience They tried to do
this. And if you get off of atrain in downtown LA, Then what?
Unless you're going to a meetingin downtown LA, you're either
getting in an Uber or someone'spicking you up or you're getting
a car. Because the way thecity's laid out, you ain't
(26:08):
walking. You aren't taking abike either.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (26:09):
Yep.
Damien LeVeck (26:09):
So I don't know if it really solves a problem.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (26:13):
Well, that's my whole thing. Is it
what's the opportunity costhere? 1, do we have to look at
exactly what we'll be giving upto get it, and is it worth it?
Because there are so many otherpriorities like the
homelessness, like the police.
Damien LeVeck (26:25):
Right.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (26:25):
These these issues must be solved in
order to make our city great.
Damien LeVeck (26:30):
Yeah.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (26:30):
And right now, Dallas is in Fuego! So city
council. You've been known tosay that city council doesn't
care about their constituents,really
Damien LeVeck (26:38):
Mhmm.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (26:38):
And needs a wake up call. What is the most
blatant example of thisdisconnect?
Damien LeVeck (26:43):
The most blatant example of the city council
needing a wake up call was propU, frankly.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (26:50):
Mhmm.
Damien LeVeck (26:50):
Because you had current and former city leaders
band together to say this is abad idea for the city. And then
you've got I think it was a170,000 signatures that were
needed to get it on the ballot.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (27:05):
That's right.
Damien LeVeck (27:07):
You have all these people who are telling you
right now, this is this is soimportant to us that we actually
need to get it on our ballot tomake you to force your hand. And
that was the biggest disconnectbecause, I mean, you had former
mayors and former council peopleand former city managers all
getting together and havingpress conferences and talking
about this. It's like, how densecan you guys be? And that was
(27:30):
the big thing for me that it waslike I was I was really having a
hard time trying to figure thisout. Why would people who led
our city be against hiring morepolice?
This just doesn't I don'tsomething doesn't add up about
this. And I finally, over time,put it together. I said, this is
the cabal, and they're not gonnabe told what to do. They don't
(27:52):
want their power relinquished.And there's nothing scarier to a
politician than a pissed offpopulation.
And, you know, make tar andfeathering great again. But you
know what? Something that Imean, that's a good segue into
what you know, I have sort ofthis idea of a call to arms on
(28:13):
my on my DallasEnFuego Xchannel. And I don't know if
you've seen the movie Network
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (28:18):
Oh, yeah.
Damien LeVeck (28:19):
With, Peter Finch plays this, you know, this TV
network anchor. And he has avery famous line. He says,
first, you've gotta get mad. Youhave to and then then later on
says, I'm mad as hell. I'm notgonna take anymore. But I really
think that until you're payingattention to what's happening,
get upset about what'shappening, you're not gonna have
(28:41):
the fire in your belly to tryand fix what's happening. So
what everyone needs to do iseducate themselves, which I'm
trying to help with. And thenfigure out what you can do to
fix it. And my number one thingthat I would tell people to do
is you have to flip the citycouncil. All those boards of
commissions, the CPC that I toldyou so problematic, that is all
(29:03):
because of who sits on the citycouncil. So until that city
council gets a group of peoplewho can align, they don't have
to agree on everything, butalign on the issues that are
most important to, the Dallasresidents, public safety,
homelessness, potholes andinfrastructure, and property
taxes, you're not going to seeanything change. It's always
gonna be divisive. So my call toaction is start paying
(29:25):
attention. Follow me on X. I'lldo the best I can. But, take
just take 30 seconds out of yourday just to scan through the
newspaper and see, like, what'swhat's being talked about.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett: Absolutely. Yeah. But I just (29:36):
undefined
can't thank you enough for beinghere. I was
Damien LeVeck (29:39):
pleasure.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (29:39):
Yeah. I was thrilled to have you on. And
last night, I just hit, like, awhole a whole new high Even
despite my sickness, realizingjust how varied your expertise
is, your life experience. It'sjust unique.
I mean, I'm sitting here with ahorror filmmaker, producer,
editor, writer, and also a civicpassionate being. Yeah. Right?
(30:03):
Well, thanks. I appreciate that.I wanna empower everyone to to
get involved because I had nointention of doing this, and
then I just started making acouple of videos doing something
that frankly comes pretty easilyto me. It just shows you and
that started to move the needle.It It just shows you how little
you have little effort you haveto put toward put forward to
make a difference. If everyonejust put a little bit of effort
(30:26):
in, that would make a hugedifference. It would make a huge
impact. Well, thank you forbeing here today. I look forward
to, yeah, just to seeing more ofyou. Let's go ahead and wrap
this up, but I appreciate youall being here listening and
reviewing, to this wonderfulinterview with Damien LeVeck,
also known as DallasEnFuego hishandle on Twitter and YouTube.
(30:50):
Thank you so much.
Damien LeVeck (30:51):
Thank you.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett: Appreciate it. Damien's passion (30:51):
undefined
for making our city better isthe kind of passion we all hope
to bring to Valentine's Day.Right? And if you're like me,
maybe skipping the booze butstill craving something really
delicious, I've got just thething. I've discovered a
homemade sangria mocktail that'snot only refreshing, but pairs
perfectly with one of myfavorite nonalcoholic mixers.
(31:12):
Stick around, and I'll show youexactly how to make it. Thanks
for hanging out with us.
Alright. So we are gonna bemaking a nonalcoholic sangria. I
know that we're winding down onthe dry January space, but in
case you're looking for ways toadd in different types of
alcohol replacements, I figuredthat I'll just make a non
(31:33):
alcoholic recipe and then youcan consider possibly adding one
of these, like, Yeah.
Non alcohol alternatives. Sononalcoholic sangria. I love it.
It's a Spanish cocktail,normally, and instead of, I
(31:54):
guess, instead of using the winethat's traditionally used in the
Spanish recipe, the tannins fromtea are gonna be what kind of
create that acidic flavor. Solet's start.
We start by layering in thesebeautiful pieces of fruit.
(32:25):
Alright, so now we're going tostart with this hot tea. We have
2 bags of tea, and we allow itto steep for about 5 minutes.
(32:47):
This is boiling hot water. Let'ssteep for 5 minutes.
Okay. This is looking beautiful.We put this in a clear container
to start before I'm transferringit into my non clear container,
(33:09):
my pitcher. It's an ice bucket,but it's functioning as both. So
I'm gonna layer in the rest ofthe fruit in this larger base.
And now I'm going to add in thissince it's been steeping for 5
minutes. Now, we have to add thesugar. Now that that's in there,
(33:42):
we're going to start thecranberry juice. Now this is a
sparkling red grape addition.Orange juice, no pulp.
(34:07):
Stir it, of course. And now weplace it in the refrigerator and
we let it chill for about 24hours. Okay. Now, you can do
different alternatives wheneveryou wanna sugar your rim or salt
(34:29):
it. The one that we decided touse was this Barrel Roll pink
lemonade essentials because Iprobably would get bored with
maybe just some regular sugar.
Or if you're wanting to offer ahealthier addition, you can do
some monk fruit sweetener. ButI'm just gonna do it by dipping
it in some simple syrup. I likethis brand. Simple syrup. There
(34:55):
we are.
And however you're pouring itfor yourself, we're gonna ladle
it since it's coming out of thislarge vessel. Cinnamon stick as
(35:25):
a garnish. Okay. So if youwanted to go an extra step and
add something to kind of takethe edge off, nonalcoholic,
still adhering to that fullmodel, you can use, like, a
Nowadays. These are really funtravel easily.
(35:46):
I love them. Or you can justleave it as a regular mocktail.
Let's see how it tastes. It'sdelicious. It's delicious.
Is Dallas City Hall turning into a swamp
that needs draining? Let's divein. I'm Sara Zubiate Bennett and
on this episode of Let's TalkLocal, I'm sitting down with
Damien LeVeck, better known asDallas En Fuego, on Twitter and
YouTube. You might know Damienfor his work in the horror film
world, but lately, he's beenmaking waves in Dallas politics.
So what's behind this shift?We'll get into all of it later.
(00:23):
And stick around after my chatwith Dallas En Fuego. I've got a
mocktail recipe that'll add somefire to your Valentine's night
menu. Thanks for tuning in, anddon't forget to hit like and
subscribe so you never miss anepisode.
(00:44):
Okay, Damien.
Damien LeVeck (00:46):
Here we are.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (00:47):
Here we are. And I felt like a little
bit of a stalker last night. Iwas diving as deep as I possibly
could with all of the medicinein my body trying to make me
feel better, and I was flat outshocked that you professionally
are a director and an editor ofhorror films and successful
(01:08):
horror films. Yeah. I mean, canyou tell me a little bit about
that first before we get intoany of the other reasons that I
initially wanted to have you onthe show?
I mean, you're Yeah. You'requite the man with I mean,
seriously, it's I I'minterested.
Damien LeVeck (01:23):
I mean, I got into entertainment. I moved to
LA from Central Illinois when Iwas 18 years old. Went to USC
film school.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (01:31):
Uh-huh.
Damien LeVeck (01:31):
And got involved in after USC, got involved in
the entertainment industrythrough post-production. I
interned all throughout schoolof production companies and
studios, but, really found myfooting in post-production. I
started by making a documentarydocumentaries. I made a
documentary with Ethan Hawke.
I, then started working at TMZ.I worked at TMZ briefly and then
(01:52):
went to E! News and cutentertainment news for three and
a half years. And then wentfreelance after that, editing
development sizzles forproduction companies that you
know, to get TV shows sold. Andalong the way, I did a couple
feature films, couple of otherfeature scripted films, writing,
trying to get to a place where Ihad a script that I felt like I
could put three and a half yearsbehind to get made. And that's
(02:15):
what I did with my first featurefilm, The Cleansing Hour, which
started as a short film.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (02:19):
Mhmm.
Damien LeVeck (02:19):
And after that, we made, A Creature Was Stirring
starring Chrissy Metz, whichcame out last year Or November
2023.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (02:26):
Now you have an Amish film.
Damien LeVeck (02:27):
And now we have an Amish horror film.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (02:29):
When does that launch?
Damien LeVeck (02:31):
Well, hopefully, this year. We are we're working
on the financing of that rightnow. And we, we've made several
offers, but things are alwayschanging. It's always
fluctuating, but the hope isthat we'll make it this year.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (02:42):
That's incredible. And so you started
this Skubalon Entertainment.Right?
Damien LeVeck (02:46):
That's right.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (02:47):
And I guess with that, I never even
knew that horror films wereusually the most profitable
films. They are the mostprofitable films, and they have
been for decades. Crazy. I'mdrawn to horror not just because
of my interest in thesupernatural and you know, I
really enjoy scaring people. Ilove the entertainment aspect of
it. But, also, the financialaspect of it is great,
(03:09):
obviously, but horror is theonly genre where original
stories are being told.Everything else is a remake or a
reboot or based on IP.
Truly unique.
Damien LeVeck (03:17):
Horror is where people can come in and with a
low budget, make a unique,really cool story that scares
people and makes a lot of moneyat the same time, so I'm down.
That's my preference.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (03:26):
That's so neat. This is incredible. So how
on earth, Damien LeVeck, someonewith your background, your skill
set, how in the world do you getinvolved in the civic local
political space? What kind ofprompted that fire within you?
Damien LeVeck (03:44):
Well, I had no intention of getting involved.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (03:46):
Honestly, I didn't either.
Damien LeVeck (03:47):
I really didn't. I'm I'm very busy with my work,
you know, screenwriting andproducing movies and developing
movies and editing shows. Ireally had no intention, and it
was I think it was March 8thlast year. My in laws who have
lived in Dallas for 40 yearssaid, hey, I want you to go to
this meeting hosted by JaynieSchultz who is our council
(04:08):
member. It's about thisdevelopment, Pepper Square. They
wanna renovate Pepper Square.They wanna build these big
apartment buildings there, andwe want you to see, you know,
what's going on. So I didn'tknow who Jaynie Schultz was, and
I showed up.
And I was just appalled by theway that she spoke to people.
She was up there like a schoolmom talking to her class,
(04:31):
telling them to settle down. AndI was very frustrated because
this whole meeting, I was toldahead of time, this is gonna be
a dog and pony show where shemarches the police and the fire
up there, and she marches theNorth Texas Council of
Governments up there, and she'sgonna explain to us why
everything is good for PepperSquare, why we should be
building this, and why everyoneshould go along with it. So I
(04:53):
stood up, and I said, hey.Listen. We have questions.
Everyone here has questions, andyou're deliberately not asking
them. In fact, she made a pointof saying that she she wasn't
gonna take open questions. Youcould write your questions on a
card, and if she liked it, shewould read it. So I was just
really I was really appalled bythis.
After the crowd got pretty riledup after I did that, she tried
(05:14):
to have a very successful andwell respected dentist in town
escorted out by the police. Itwas crazy. So then I really
started paying attention to thePepper Square issue, and I
started paying attention to whatshe was doing and what her
record was like. And I startedmaking videos about her
specifically in relation to thisissue of, developing for for
Pepper Square. I came at it withkind of a snarky, jokey tone
(05:39):
where, you know, I, you know, Ipunch down a little bit. That's
that's my personality. I don'twanna be as stiff. You know? I
like I like to have fun. So thatcame across in my videos, and,
you know, I intercut with, like,memes and pop culture references
and that sort of thing.
And I also while I was doingthis, initiated a recall effort
(06:00):
against her. And this issomething that doesn't happen
very often in Dallas. And, youknow, recall efforts can succeed
or fail for better or for worse.The thing that did her in was a
video that I did where I caughther on hidden camera talking
about how how she has adifferent worldview about
density and apartments than herconstituents.
(06:26):
And what the people of NorthDallas said to her in this
meeting, private meeting, wasthat, look. We were coming to
you for help because you're ourcouncilwoman, and it seems like
you wanna support the developerand not the people who live
there. And she said, well, Ijust have a different world
worldview about density. I havea different worldview about
apartments. And I made a videoabout that, and everybody saw
(06:49):
it. And then, coincidentally, afew weeks later, she said, I'm
not gonna run again. So Iconsidered that a huge win for
me because, finally, everyonewas waking up to what this
person is doing. And that's whenI started to really red pill on
Dallas politics. And I reallystarted to look at, oh, this
isn't just Jaynie Schultz. Thisis the entire city council.
This is the city manager. Thisis everything in Dallas, and all
(07:11):
the problems that we're facingin Dallas are are stem from the
are are systemic. It's a problemwith the entire edifice of our
municipal government.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (07:22):
And, I mean, this is this is just mind
blowing to me because mostpeople are absolutely unaware
and unengaged. Yes. They'redisengaged.
Damien LeVeck (07:32):
Yeah.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (07:32):
And it breaks my heart because for the
as long as I can remember, Ihave genuinely cared about the
efforts within the city.
Damien LeVeck (07:44):
This is what this has kind of evolved into.
Because I am so frustrated. I'venever been one to back down from
a fight, and I've also neverbeen one to let other people be
walked on.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (07:54):
Same.
Damien LeVeck (07:54):
And let other people be taken advantage of.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (07:56):
Same here.
Damien LeVeck (07:57):
And what I see when I look at Dallas politics
is I see a great city wherepeople are they're actually
being taken advantage of becausethe city council is taking
advantage of their ignorance.They're taking advantage of the
fact that they aren't payingattention.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (08:09):
That's right.
Damien LeVeck (08:09):
So, admittedly, mostly, these these elections,
the voter turnout is very, verylow. Right? And that's because
most of the people who vote areolder people. They're older
generation. They're probablyretired, and They have more time
to devote to paying attention.And I'm I'm a dad. I've got 3
little kids.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (08:29):
Oh, you are?
Damien LeVeck (08:30):
I've got 3 kids, 8, 6, and 4.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (08:32):
Oh my gosh.
Damien LeVeck (08:32):
So, you know, I'm very busy with my family, and I
totally understand between wifeand kids and school and sports
and all the extracurricularactivities that it's hard to pay
attention to this stuff. It'shard to open up a newspaper and
read what's going on. I getthat. So what my approach has
been with as I've developed thisx account, @DallasEnFuego Has
(08:54):
been not just to make jokes ormake funny videos that are
entertaining to watch, butactually make them infotainment.
Make them edutainment. Createstuff that's gonna be what the
soccer mom can share with herfriends and, you know, 60,
90 second video that educatesthem about an issue that does
relate to them, that ispertinent to their life. Because
(09:15):
our city council every week ismaking decisions that directly
affect your life. And if only wecould all pay attention, we
could actually get theirattention by saying, hey. Look.
We care about this. Hey. We'reactually gonna take time out of
our busy schedule to go to CityHall, and we're going to make
our voices heard. And I thinkthere's a lot of ways that you
can make your voices heard, butmy objective is to create long
(09:38):
term, a way for people toeducate themselves on city
issues using video content thatisn't, that's easily digestible.
And, you know, I think that'sthat is also catering to a
younger demographic as well. I'm43. Right? I want people who are
(09:58):
30 to 50 to that's my targetaudience.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (10:02):
Same.
Damien LeVeck (10:02):
That those are the people who I want to be
paying attention to this stuff.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (10:05):
Yes.
Damien LeVeck (10:05):
And it's working. I've got a weekly breakfast with
a friend, and this was beforethe election.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (10:11):
Mhmm.
Damien LeVeck (10:12):
And I did a voter guide on all the props. I it was
a Dallas voter guide, and I hadit pinned to my X.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (10:18):
I saw it. Yeah. Yes. I saw it.
Damien LeVeck (10:20):
And I showed it I texted it to him and or I showed
it to him at lunch, and I textedto him. And he said the next
week, he said, hey. I showedyour voter guide to a friend at
work. He works in finance. Hesaid, I showed it to a friend at
work, and he goes, oh, I'vealready seen that. My dad showed
that to me. And that made mefeel so good. I was like, wow.
This is gettingaround, you know? So it's
(10:41):
encouraging. I feel veryencouraged and very empowered
because I know the power ofmedia because it's the business
that I work with.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (10:47):
Correct.
Damien LeVeck (10:48):
I know how to edit and make in compelling,
really good looking videos thatlook like there's a lot of money
behind them because that's whatI've been doing for the last 20
years. And I know that we canactually get the get a new base
of voters fired up so that theywill start paying attention to
these issues. And when they goto the ballot, start voting in a
way that's going to help theircity instead of hurt them.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (11:08):
Well, I I love it. Your videos are are
really incredible, but what areyou hoping to do? So I
understand your mission. Iunderstand your target audience.
I know the type of impact you'vehad even at this point. What do
you hope to do next withDallasEnFuego with this voice
that you've built?
Damien LeVeck (11:29):
Look. I never I never intended to get into any
of this. Right? And if I coulddevote myself full time to this,
there's a lot of things I woulddo. You know?
Just for example, for all theballot propositions, I would
have made a 30-60 second videoon each of them explaining why
you should or should not votefor them. Now, of course, with
my that's my
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (11:49):
That's your background.
Damien LeVeck (11:50):
My opinion. But, I would spend time making that
kind of content. But the truthis is that I'm a filmmaker. You
know? I I'm a creative at heart,and I wanna keep making movies,
and I wanna develop TV shows.And that's really where my heart
lies. But if there were a way togrow this into a larger business
(12:10):
or into a larger organizationthat focuses just on that, I
would absolutely be a part ofit. And I'm I'm still gonna keep
making videos as much as I canon issues that are important to
me. You know, I'm focusing onspecific council members now
because it's an election year.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (12:26):
Mhmm.
Damien LeVeck (12:27):
And I want people to see, like, who represents
them. I mean, I've got a videocoming out soon about Adam
Bazaldua. Here are three reasonswhy we cannot reelect district
7's Adam Bazaldua The Fry Cook.Wrong priorities. The fry cook's
signature issues include a ceasefire in Gaza. Who's been a
disaster for district 7. Andlook, we can't let these people
(12:49):
keep working this job. They workfor us. And if they're not
delivering on promises and ifthey're if you're seeing their
district go down the toilet,then you gotta hold them
accountable. District 7 had themost most murders of any
district in 2024. 35 murders indistrict 7.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (13:05):
That's right.
Damien LeVeck (13:05):
That's insane. That that's that's an f grade in
my opinion.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (13:09):
Well, most of these are these council
members are Receiving f grades.Maybe with the with the
exception of, like, Cara. Right.You know, like, there's there's
a few.
Damien LeVeck (13:17):
There are a couple of common sense voices on
the city council. For sure. Andthat's really what the city
council needs is common sense.Partisanship doesn't belong at
city council.
I don't care what party you are.I don't care what letters next
to your name.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (13:31):
Same.
Damien LeVeck (13:32):
Just give us more cops.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (13:34):
Don't let the city go to hell.
Damien LeVeck (13:36):
Right.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (13:37):
So you recently posted your city of
Dallas leaders hate you. Citizenpass prop you, a referendum on
public safety, begging cityleaders to hire the 900 police
we need, and yet they're stilldragging their feet. With
attrition, the city will onlygain at best 256 cops this year.
And then you put exactly whatthe pay was as of, I guess, as
of very recent. And you saidthis gaslighting is egregious.
(13:59):
Where are you gathering all ofyour statistics? Because we have
them. Right? And they'republicly available. Yeah. How
much time does this take you?
Damien LeVeck (14:06):
It takes a lot of time.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (14:07):
It does. Doesn't it?
Damien LeVeck (14:08):
It takes a lot of time. I get them I I gather them
myself. I, you know, my wifehelps me dig up stuff. You know?
The more people you have doingit, the better.
Of course.
Then sometimes I have, like,primary sources that are
actually giving giving them tome saying, like, hey. You might
wanna look at this because thisis what the numbers actually
are. You know, as far as thepolice thing is concerned, it's
(14:29):
it's a very important issue forme. I lived in LA for 22 years.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (14:33):
Yes.
Damien LeVeck (14:34):
Police staffing is a big issue there.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett: Talk to me about this. (14:36):
undefined
Damien LeVeck (14:36):
Well, there's a there's a so a lot of the
passion that I have comesdirectly from having lived in
that city for 22 years. And Isay, I don't want Dallas to
become this. Because LA isfacing a housing crisis.
It has a homeless crisis. Idon't know actually where LA is
on cops, but there was a periodof time about 4 years ago where
(14:58):
they were talking about slashingthe LAPD budget.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (15:01):
They did.
Damien LeVeck (15:02):
So when I look at what the police in in Dallas are
being paid compared tosurrounding cities, it's crazy.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (15:10):
It's infuriating.
Damien LeVeck (15:11):
If you're a young man and you wanna be a police
officer, why would you choose toput your life at higher risk in
Dallas when you could get paid10, $15,000 more go working in
Plano and, you know, or Garlandor something like that? It
doesn't make any sense. So,again, common sense. But does
(15:32):
the city council want toallocate the the funding that's
required to raise starting payand raise the pay for the
existing officers? And that'sthe question.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (15:42):
They have to now because it's law.
Damien LeVeck (15:44):
I think they they're gonna get sued if they
don't.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (15:47):
Well, that's right.
Damien LeVeck (15:48):
Right.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (15:48):
That's right. Now thanks to proposition
S
Damien LeVeck (15:50):
Right.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (15:51):
They will get sued. Yeah. And,
unfortunately, I mean, they areblunt instruments. I mean, I get
that. And when Tom sat here and,you know, I know Eric, the mayor
has very much referenced them asblunt instruments.
Damien LeVeck (16:06):
Mhmm.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (16:07):
But that's what was needed. Yeah.
Because nothing else wasworking.
Damien LeVeck (16:12):
Exactly so I I think the last election was
extremely important that I'mreferring to the local election.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (16:17):
Of course.
Damien LeVeck (16:18):
Because it took a ballot proposition for the
people to get, you know, getthrough the city's thick skulls
that, hey. Look. This is themost important thing to us, and
you aren't listening to us. AndI think this is the big problem
with with the with the city ofDallas is that the people who
run the city are completelydisconnected from what the
people who live in the citywant.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (16:39):
That's right.
Damien LeVeck (16:39):
And I don't I haven't quite figured out. I
have some theories. I think itis either because they're
ignorant or they don't care orthey're just drunk on power and
they're completely corrupted andthey don't their their ideology
is all that matters. They don'tcare about representing the
people. It might be acombination of 3. I'm not sure.
(17:00):
But that is the issue. And thatis the reason why whenever
people ask me about, like, well,how can I get involved? What can
I do?
I said, start paying attentionto who represents you because
everything stems from thecouncil. And, unfortunately, we
don't have at large councilmembers, which we need. We
actually need a strong mayor ofgovernment, but that's another
discussion. But start payingattention to who represents you
(17:20):
and what they're doing, and thenstart looking at how can I,
who's running against them, andhow can I, get involved?
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (17:28):
I hope that with these 2 with
particularly s, in place, thatwith the ability to sue the city
structure as it exists today,that there may be some
improvement.
Damien LeVeck (17:40):
But it's So I I would agree with you. I think
that, you know, removingsovereign immunity is actually a
very good thing for the city. Ithink that Dallas is this is one
way that Dallas is leading theway for the rest of the country.
Right?
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (17:51):
That's right.
Damien LeVeck (17:51):
The only city in the country that
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (17:52):
has it.
Damien LeVeck (17:53):
That's fantastic.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (17:53):
It's huge.
Damien LeVeck (17:54):
And I had mixed feelings about Prop S because I
was like, you know, I hear thepeople on the other side being,
like, lots of frivolouslawsuits. I totally get that.
You know, we don't wanna wastemoney on this stuff. But, look,
even after the passage of propU, even after the passage of
prop S, we have C K Arnoldcoming out saying that she's
(18:14):
gonna run for a 5th term indefiance of prop E.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (18:17):
That's right.
Damien LeVeck (18:17):
The the the cognitive dissonance or the lack
of self awareness is justunbelievable. Yep. And without
prop S, we wouldn't be able tohold people like her
accountable, and she is going toget sued. I'm almost sure of it.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (18:28):
So talk to me about your stance on term
limits.
Damien LeVeck (18:32):
Well, I've been a fan of term limits in general
for for all of politics because,you know, if you know anything
about our founding fathers, theynever intended to, run for
politics and make it a career.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (18:44):
That's right.
Damien LeVeck (18:44):
It was supposed to be be an act of service that
you give back to your country,and then you return to your job
and your home. Well, I think thecareer politicians are a problem
in our country. And I don't carewhat side of the aisle you're
on. They're a problem
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (18:56):
They are.
Damien LeVeck (18:57):
On both. So, this idea of you need to have an
experienced leader... Please. Imean, I think that having a
strong business acumen could begood for running a city. But
look. You can you can learn theRobert's Rules of Order, and and
that that's easy enough to pickup. It doesn't it takes common
sense to run a city. It doesn'ttake, somebody who's been in
(19:19):
politics for 10 years to do it.
So I respect the people thatwork in government that run our
city. I don't think that itshould be a requirement for,
someone to sit on city council,for example. So, I'm actually
more encouraged by the peoplewho are running for city council
who don't have a career inpolitics than those who have in
the past. You know, who thosewho've run on the park board,
(19:41):
for example, that, somehowbecause they're on the park
board and they know more citymore more people in the city and
they're more well connected thatthey're gonna do a better job.
No. Actually, I think that theperson who's been running a
business for 30 years and knowshow to manage money and
understand zoning anddevelopment, those are the
people who I want running ourcity.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (19:57):
Yeah. And same. Here. Yeah.
I'm hopping over to DART now.Because, I mean, so many of my
questions you just answer inyour in your conversation. So,
DART. Shanon over here, she shesaid something interesting not
long ago. She was at a party, Ithink, talking about DART,
because we like talking aboutthese sexy things when we're at
(20:20):
parties. But she said that,there was this guy there that
said, you know what? We wouldlose less money as a city if we
bought everyone a ToyotaCorolla. Everyone right now as
it exists today who rides aDART, a Toyota Corolla. And I
thought that can't be right. Iwent back. I did the math.
(20:42):
That's correct. That's accurate.
Damien LeVeck (20:44):
Everyone in the the entire population or just
the 2% of people that ride?
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (20:48):
Yeah. The the people that utilize it.
Damien LeVeck (20:49):
Yeah. It's extremely small.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (20:50):
It's so small. Yeah. And so that for me
is something that must beaddressed.
Damien LeVeck (20:58):
Yep.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (20:58):
And how to do it? I mean, I have several
ideas, but I'm not sure thatanyone would be willing to
entertain it. Where have you, Iguess, landed with your opinions
as it relates to DART?
Damien LeVeck (21:14):
I think that it's an it's a a budget boondoggle. I
think it's, incredibly wasteful.The fact that less than 2% of
Dallas residents use it isindicative not of the quality of
the service, but rather of theusefulness or necessity of it. I
like I said, I lived in LA for22 years. You know, the bus
(21:35):
system in LA is fairly robust.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (21:37):
Yep. It is.
Damien LeVeck (21:38):
They have spent years building rail lines from
downtown to Santa Monica andfrom the South Bay to downtown
and to Hollywood, You know? Andthey've got it, you know, the
most expensive subway in theworld, just because of the
seismic conditions there. But, Ithink that the buses in LA are
actually utilized quite a bit. Ithink LA is maybe a bit more
(22:01):
dense, but, Dallas is similar toLA in its sprawl, but, I think
that's a big part of the it maybe not as dense. I think that's
a big part of the reason why sofew people use it. If this city
were designed, like Manhattan,for example, where the subway
(22:21):
was an integral part of theoriginal creation of the city,
people would use it. Because youcould take a subway anywhere in
the city, get off, and maybewalk a few blocks and you're at
your destination. That's how itworks in Manhattan. But Dallas
is a car city. It was alwaysbuilt as a car city.
It was designed as a car city. Idon't think there's any point in
investing any more money inDART. There's a reason why
(22:44):
surrounding cities are trying topull out the money that they're
contributing to DART. And here'swhat my solution is. My solution
is eliminate it entirely. Youdon't need it. No one rides it.
In fact, it's dangerous to rideit. It's become a place for
people who are dealing drugs andwho are homeless, and people get
injured on them. Like, it's it'sa waste of money. We are on the
(23:08):
we are on the brink ofautonomous vehicles being
everywhere.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (23:11):
Mhmm.
Damien LeVeck (23:11):
In 10 years, cars are gonna be completely driving
themselves, and people aren'teven gonna be buying cars
because Uber is gonna come andpick you up in whatever car you
want, take you wherever youwant, and that's how you're
gonna get around.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (23:22):
I agree.
Damien LeVeck (23:23):
Public transportation is gonna
completely die after that. Andif you wanna ride a bike, that's
fine. Most of those cars areprobably gonna be electric. And
Dallas is just there's we've gotfreeways that take us
everywhere.
That should be an indication toyou that coming up with, you
know, using 18th centurytechnology to get everybody from
a to b is just not the answer.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (23:42):
Yep. And it's really interesting because
I've heard so many people tellme, Sarah, we attracted
companies like AT and T to comeor not AT and T. Who Who was it?
Was it Goldman Sachs? I forgetexactly who it was. BofA, Bank
of America. Someone large. Someprominent company. And they said
what we used as a selling pointwas the fact that their
(24:04):
employees could live in all ofthese wonderful surrounding
suburbs, of course, becauseDallas has s**t schools, and
send their kids to these theseplaces with DART.
And I'm like, yeah. But do youalso disclose to them that it's
dangerous to ride DART? Do youalso disclose to them that they
will have to carry a gun? Theywill have to I mean, protect
their children?
Damien LeVeck (24:24):
Where they can really live, too...
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (24:26):
Exactly.
Damien LeVeck (24:27):
To live next to a rail line...
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (24:28):
Exactly.
Damien LeVeck (24:28):
There's a DART station. It's on Arapaho
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (24:33):
And Closer to Plano?
Damien LeVeck (24:34):
Yeah. Yeah. They didn't even build a parking lot
at the DART station, so youcan't you can't even park there.
It's so like, what's the point?
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (24:42):
I know. It is literally it's soaked up
1,000,000,000 Yeah. Of dollars,the 100 of 1,000,000 of dollars
that it just keeps pouring intothat when that could be
otherwise directed towards ourpolice. The pension, our who
whatever. But, again, the thebudgetary concerns. I mean, I
feel like I'm I've been beatingmy head against the wall for
(25:03):
over a decade at this point.
Damien LeVeck (25:04):
Right.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (25:05):
And I like, a lot of these people
individually. But as far as whatthey are trying to institute,
what they have been instituting,it does not make sense at all.
Damien LeVeck (25:21):
Do you have an opinion on the on the rail line
between Dallas and Fort Worth?
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (25:27):
I do. But as far as it being a good or a
bad idea
Damien LeVeck (25:30):
Yeah.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (25:32):
Again, it just depends on the technology
that's used. But right now, asit's presented today, I just
don't think it's I don't thinkit's worth it.
Damien LeVeck (25:39):
Right.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (25:40):
Yeah. I don't.
Damien LeVeck (25:40):
Yeah. Yeah. The thing that the thing that gives
me pause about it, because Ilove it. I love the idea.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (25:45):
Me too.
Damien LeVeck (25:47):
Is, again, my LA experience They tried to do
this. And if you get off of atrain in downtown LA, Then what?
Unless you're going to a meetingin downtown LA, you're either
getting in an Uber or someone'spicking you up or you're getting
a car. Because the way thecity's laid out, you ain't
(26:08):
walking. You aren't taking abike either.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (26:09):
Yep.
Damien LeVeck (26:09):
So I don't know if it really solves a problem.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (26:13):
Well, that's my whole thing. Is it
what's the opportunity costhere? 1, do we have to look at
exactly what we'll be giving upto get it, and is it worth it?
Because there are so many otherpriorities like the
homelessness, like the police.
Damien LeVeck (26:25):
Right.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (26:25):
These these issues must be solved in
order to make our city great.
Damien LeVeck (26:30):
Yeah.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (26:30):
And right now, Dallas is in Fuego! So city
council. You've been known tosay that city council doesn't
care about their constituents,really
Damien LeVeck (26:38):
Mhmm.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (26:38):
And needs a wake up call. What is the most
blatant example of thisdisconnect?
Damien LeVeck (26:43):
The most blatant example of the city council
needing a wake up call was propU, frankly.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (26:50):
Mhmm.
Damien LeVeck (26:50):
Because you had current and former city leaders
band together to say this is abad idea for the city. And then
you've got I think it was a170,000 signatures that were
needed to get it on the ballot.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (27:05):
That's right.
Damien LeVeck (27:07):
You have all these people who are telling you
right now, this is this is soimportant to us that we actually
need to get it on our ballot tomake you to force your hand. And
that was the biggest disconnectbecause, I mean, you had former
mayors and former council peopleand former city managers all
getting together and havingpress conferences and talking
about this. It's like, how densecan you guys be? And that was
(27:30):
the big thing for me that it waslike I was I was really having a
hard time trying to figure thisout. Why would people who led
our city be against hiring morepolice?
This just doesn't I don'tsomething doesn't add up about
this. And I finally, over time,put it together. I said, this is
the cabal, and they're not gonnabe told what to do. They don't
(27:52):
want their power relinquished.And there's nothing scarier to a
politician than a pissed offpopulation.
And, you know, make tar andfeathering great again. But you
know what? Something that Imean, that's a good segue into
what you know, I have sort ofthis idea of a call to arms on
(28:13):
my on my DallasEnFuego Xchannel. And I don't know if
you've seen the movie Network
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (28:18):
Oh, yeah.
Damien LeVeck (28:19):
With, Peter Finch plays this, you know, this TV
network anchor. And he has avery famous line. He says,
first, you've gotta get mad. Youhave to and then then later on
says, I'm mad as hell. I'm notgonna take anymore. But I really
think that until you're payingattention to what's happening,
get upset about what'shappening, you're not gonna have
(28:41):
the fire in your belly to tryand fix what's happening. So
what everyone needs to do iseducate themselves, which I'm
trying to help with. And thenfigure out what you can do to
fix it. And my number one thingthat I would tell people to do
is you have to flip the citycouncil. All those boards of
commissions, the CPC that I toldyou so problematic, that is all
(29:03):
because of who sits on the citycouncil. So until that city
council gets a group of peoplewho can align, they don't have
to agree on everything, butalign on the issues that are
most important to, the Dallasresidents, public safety,
homelessness, potholes andinfrastructure, and property
taxes, you're not going to seeanything change. It's always
gonna be divisive. So my call toaction is start paying
(29:25):
attention. Follow me on X. I'lldo the best I can. But, take
just take 30 seconds out of yourday just to scan through the
newspaper and see, like, what'swhat's being talked about.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett: Absolutely. Yeah. But I just (29:36):
undefined
can't thank you enough for beinghere. I was
Damien LeVeck (29:39):
pleasure.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett (29:39):
Yeah. I was thrilled to have you on. And
last night, I just hit, like, awhole a whole new high Even
despite my sickness, realizingjust how varied your expertise
is, your life experience. It'sjust unique.
I mean, I'm sitting here with ahorror filmmaker, producer,
editor, writer, and also a civicpassionate being. Yeah. Right?
(30:03):
Well, thanks. I appreciate that.I wanna empower everyone to to
get involved because I had nointention of doing this, and
then I just started making acouple of videos doing something
that frankly comes pretty easilyto me. It just shows you and
that started to move the needle.It It just shows you how little
you have little effort you haveto put toward put forward to
make a difference. If everyonejust put a little bit of effort
(30:26):
in, that would make a hugedifference. It would make a huge
impact. Well, thank you forbeing here today. I look forward
to, yeah, just to seeing more ofyou. Let's go ahead and wrap
this up, but I appreciate youall being here listening and
reviewing, to this wonderfulinterview with Damien LeVeck,
also known as DallasEnFuego hishandle on Twitter and YouTube.
(30:50):
Thank you so much.
Damien LeVeck (30:51):
Thank you.
Sarah Zubiate Bennett: Appreciate it. Damien's passion (30:51):
undefined
for making our city better isthe kind of passion we all hope
to bring to Valentine's Day.Right? And if you're like me,
maybe skipping the booze butstill craving something really
delicious, I've got just thething. I've discovered a
homemade sangria mocktail that'snot only refreshing, but pairs
perfectly with one of myfavorite nonalcoholic mixers.
(31:12):
Stick around, and I'll show youexactly how to make it. Thanks
for hanging out with us.
Alright. So we are gonna bemaking a nonalcoholic sangria. I
know that we're winding down onthe dry January space, but in
case you're looking for ways toadd in different types of
alcohol replacements, I figuredthat I'll just make a non
(31:33):
alcoholic recipe and then youcan consider possibly adding one
of these, like, Yeah.
Non alcohol alternatives. Sononalcoholic sangria. I love it.
It's a Spanish cocktail,normally, and instead of, I
(31:54):
guess, instead of using the winethat's traditionally used in the
Spanish recipe, the tannins fromtea are gonna be what kind of
create that acidic flavor. Solet's start.
We start by layering in thesebeautiful pieces of fruit.
(32:25):
Alright, so now we're going tostart with this hot tea. We have
2 bags of tea, and we allow itto steep for about 5 minutes.
(32:47):
This is boiling hot water. Let'ssteep for 5 minutes.
Okay. This is looking beautiful.We put this in a clear container
to start before I'm transferringit into my non clear container,
(33:09):
my pitcher. It's an ice bucket,but it's functioning as both. So
I'm gonna layer in the rest ofthe fruit in this larger base.
And now I'm going to add in thissince it's been steeping for 5
minutes. Now, we have to add thesugar. Now that that's in there,
(33:42):
we're going to start thecranberry juice. Now this is a
sparkling red grape addition.Orange juice, no pulp.
(34:07):
Stir it, of course. And now weplace it in the refrigerator and
we let it chill for about 24hours. Okay. Now, you can do
different alternatives wheneveryou wanna sugar your rim or salt
(34:29):
it. The one that we decided touse was this Barrel Roll pink
lemonade essentials because Iprobably would get bored with
maybe just some regular sugar.
Or if you're wanting to offer ahealthier addition, you can do
some monk fruit sweetener. ButI'm just gonna do it by dipping
it in some simple syrup. I likethis brand. Simple syrup. There
(34:55):
we are.
And however you're pouring itfor yourself, we're gonna ladle
it since it's coming out of thislarge vessel. Cinnamon stick as
(35:25):
a garnish. Okay. So if youwanted to go an extra step and
add something to kind of takethe edge off, nonalcoholic,
still adhering to that fullmodel, you can use, like, a
Nowadays. These are really funtravel easily.
(35:46):
I love them. Or you can justleave it as a regular mocktail.
Let's see how it tastes. It'sdelicious. It's delicious.
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