The Dallas City Council voted this week to allow a couple of former felons to serve on city boards and commissions.
The city council didn’t want a person’s past to prevent him or her from running for office or trying to serve the community. As an act of good faith, they voted unanimously to throw out the “disqualification for a person convicted of two or more felony offenses” in the city code.
“We as a council, and we as a society, cannot continue to penalize people who’ve paid their debt to society,” said council member Kevin Felder. “We have to do better than this.”
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The vote was nearly unanimous, with only one council member dissenting.
“Going to work is one thing vs. being on a city board. I just believe there’s a higher bar for people given the public’s trust. I realize we all make mistakes … but I’m just real concerned with what kind of message that sends to the city and the rest of the world about the direction we’re going,” said Council member Rickey Callahan.
The case of Marlon Rollins
While the city council didn’t specifically mention Marlon Rollins, it’s clear that his case was likely on their minds when they came to this decision.
Rollins was kicked off of the Dallas Park and Recreation Board last fall after it was discovered that he had two previous convictions according to The Dallas Morning News.
Both felony convictions happened when he was a teenager: one for robbery and one for forgery. Rollins came under fire for not disclosing his criminal history, but he told the News that the convictions had been so long ago that no one had ever asked him about it. He claims to have only been asked about his felony history over the last seven years.
“I’ve never had to deal with a 25-year history,” he said. “The question wasn’t asked of me. When you ask why I didn’t disclose, it was never asked of me.”
The council’s decision will ensure that people like Rollins going forward won’t be barred from service for youthful mistakes. There is however still the uphill battle to win over the public’s opinion and find ways to secure votes.