Dwaine Caraway
Dwaine Caraway was a member of the Dallas City Council in Texas, representing District 4. He first served in this position from 2007 to 2015, and then won a new term in the general election on May 6, 2017.[1] He resigned from office on August 9, 2018, after pleading guilty to federal corruption charges.[2]
Caraway briefly served as the interim-mayor of Dallas from February 2011 to June 2011, following the resignation of former Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert, who left office to run as a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate. Caraway's tenure ended after Mayor Mike Rawlings took office in June 2011.[3] Caraway also served as deputy mayor pro tempore from 2007 to 2009 and mayor pro tempore from 2009 to 2011.[1]
Biography
Caraway was born in Dallas. He graduated from Roosevelt High School. Prior to serving on the Dallas City Council, his professional experience included owning an advertising and consulting company called The Profile Group.[1]
Elections
2017
The city of Dallas, Texas, held elections for all 14 seats of the city council on May 6, 2017. A runoff election, if necessary, was held on June 10, 2017. The filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was February 17, 2017.[4]
Dwaine Caraway defeated incumbent Carolyn King Arnold in the general election for District 4 of the Dallas City Council.[5]
| Dallas City Council, District 4 General Election, 2017 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Dwaine Caraway |
53.12% | 1,760 |
| Carolyn King Arnold Incumbent | 46.88% | 1,553 |
| Total Votes | 3,313 | |
| Source: City of Dallas, "May 2017 Final Election Results," accessed May 8, 2017 | ||
Noteworthy events
Federal corruption plea and resignation (2018)
On August 9, 2018, Caraway resigned from office after pleading guilty to federal corruption and conspiracy charges. In a court filing, Caraway admitted to accepting $450,000 in bribes and kickback money from Bob Leonard, the owner of a stop-arm company that did business with the Dallas County Schools school bus agency, and Slater Smartwood, a Louisiana businessman and associate of Leonard's. In his resignation letter, Caraway said, "Over the past several weeks, through a lot of prayer and soul searching, I have decided that I must take responsibility for my actions. I have dedicated much of my life to serving others, but have never claimed to be without sin. I am truly sorry that I must end my career as an elected official because I betrayed the public's trust that I worked so very hard to earn." United States Attorney Erin Nealy Cox described these developments as a "major victory in the battle against public corruption," saying, "Today is a day of both reckoning and reconciliation for the city of Dallas and its citizens." Mayor Mike Rawlings said, "Mr. Caraway championed much good in his time in public service, particularly for the youth of our city. I appreciate that he is admitted his crimes and sparing the city what could have been a drawn out legal battle." Should the court accept Caraway's plea agreement, he will be liable for a six-figure fine and approximately $69,000 owed to the Internal Revenue Service.[2]
On April 5, 2019, Caraway was sentenced to 56 months in prison and ordered to pay $500,000 in restitution. He began serving his prison sentence on May 7, 2019.[6]
On January 26, 2018, The Dallas Morning News reported that Caraway had received payments totaling at least $25,000 from a company managed by Smartwood, who pleaded guilty in December 2017 to federal charges of conspiring to launder money paid by Force Multiplier Solutions, a company that sold school-bus cameras, to the former top official of the Dallas County Schools (unnamed in federal court documents), which until November 2017 provided bus service to schools in North Texas. One of the companies used by Slaterwood to launder money was Elf Investments, which issued the payments received by Caraway. Caraway denied any wrongdoing in the matter: "I think the right thing to be looking at is I disclosed [these payments]. So I did everything I'm supposed to do legally." Caraway also said that he had no knowledge of Slaterwood's illegal activities Caraway said that he could not remember the precise amount he received from Elf Investments.[7][8]
See also
| Dallas, Texas | Texas | Municipal government | Other local coverage |
|---|---|---|---|
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Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 City of Dallas, "District 4," accessed November 18, 2014
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 The Dallas Morning News, "Dwaine Caraway resigns from Dallas City Council, pleads guilty to federal corruption charges," August 9, 2018
- ↑ WFAA, "First city council meeting for Dallas' interim mayor," March 2, 2011
- ↑ Dallas, Texas, "Upcoming Elections," accessed February 18, 2017
- ↑ City of Dallas, "Candidates for the May 6, 2017 General Election," accessed February 18, 2017
- ↑ NBCDFW, "Former Dallas Councilman Dwaine Caraway Reports to Big Spring Federal Prison Tuesday," May 7, 2019
- ↑ The Dallas Morning News, "Dwaine Caraway accepted thousands of dollars from businessman who pleaded guilty to bribery," January 26, 2018
- ↑ NBC 5, "Feds Allege $3M in Bribes, Kickbacks Paid to Top DCS Official," December 28, 2017
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Carolyn King Arnold |
Dallas City Council, District 4 2017-2018 2007-2015 |
Succeeded by NA |
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State of Texas Austin (capital) |
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