Gay Donnell Willis
Gay Donnell Willis is a member of the Dallas City Council in Texas, representing District 13. She assumed office on June 14, 2021. Her current term ends in 2027.
Donnell Willis ran for re-election to the Dallas City Council to represent District 13 in Texas. She won in the general election on May 3, 2025.
Elections
2025
See also: City elections in Dallas, Texas (2025)
General election
General election for Dallas City Council District 13
Incumbent Gay Donnell Willis defeated Diane Benjamin in the general election for Dallas City Council District 13 on May 3, 2025.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Gay Donnell Willis (Nonpartisan) | 65.2 | 4,871 |
 | Diane Benjamin (Nonpartisan)  | 34.8 | 2,597 | |
| Total votes: 7,468 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Endorsements
Donnell Willis received the following endorsements.
2023
See also: City elections in Dallas, Texas (2023)
General election
General election for Dallas City Council District 13
Incumbent Gay Donnell Willis defeated Priscilla Shacklett in the general election for Dallas City Council District 13 on May 6, 2023.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Gay Donnell Willis (Nonpartisan) | 67.1 | 5,228 |
| Priscilla Shacklett (Nonpartisan) | 32.9 | 2,562 | ||
| Total votes: 7,790 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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2021
See also: City elections in Dallas, Texas (2021)
General runoff election
General runoff election for Dallas City Council District 13
Gay Donnell Willis defeated Leland Burk in the general runoff election for Dallas City Council District 13 on June 5, 2021.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Gay Donnell Willis (Nonpartisan) | 53.5 | 5,248 |
 | Leland Burk (Nonpartisan) | 46.5 | 4,560 | |
| Total votes: 9,808 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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General election
General election for Dallas City Council District 13
Leland Burk and Gay Donnell Willis advanced to a runoff. They defeated Mac Smith, Ryan Moore, and Da'On Boulanger‐Chatman in the general election for Dallas City Council District 13 on May 1, 2021.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Leland Burk (Nonpartisan) | 43.0 | 4,147 |
| ✔ | | Gay Donnell Willis (Nonpartisan) | 41.9 | 4,039 |
 | Mac Smith (Nonpartisan) | 7.5 | 723 | |
 | Ryan Moore (Nonpartisan) | 4.2 | 407 | |
 | Da'On Boulanger‐Chatman (Nonpartisan) | 3.4 | 325 | |
| Total votes: 9,641 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Campaign themes
2025
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Gay Donnell Willis did not complete Ballotpedia's 2025 Candidate Connection survey.
2023
Gay Donnell Willis did not complete Ballotpedia's 2023 Candidate Connection survey.
2021
Gay Donnell Willis did not complete Ballotpedia's 2021 Candidate Connection survey.
Campaign website
Willis' campaign website stated the following:
| “ |
Even in a bustling city like Dallas, residents want peace-of-mind when it comes to their everyday life. After all, at the end of the day, we return to the core of our lives, our family, our homes, and our neighborhoods—and it should be safe and clean, and our City a place to be proud of. That’s why I start with… Neighborhoods First!
Public safety and security is the cornerstone of our quality of life. I helped launch the Schreiber Extended Patrol in 2019, and value the service of those who protect us. Building our police and fire departments to where they should be and giving them the tools and training to keep us all safe is my top priority. Keeping officer pay in line with suburban counterparts, ensuring timely roll out of staffing recommendations to get more sworn officers into the community, and community policing practices that reduce violent crime are practices I’ll fight for.
Streets, alleys, and sidewalks that meet the expectation of what you and I as taxpayers deserve—and I have the follow-through to make it happen. Our 2017 bond rollout for these improvements had fallen behind even before COVID-19. I’ll keep my foot on the gas to get these enhancements on track. There are inequities that exist from street-to-street and neighborhood-to-neighborhood in our district, and I am already gauging how to sensibly resolve this.
Growing our tax base by accelerating the overdue improvements needed to unclog our commercial and residential permitting processes is a top issue for me. I will work tenaciously to resolve the backlog and technology issues that hamper smart development. Slowing down Dallas’ entrepreneurial spirit deprives us all of revenue generation that funds city programs and services we want and need. It is not how the 9th largest city in America should operate, and I will absolutely focus on resolving these critical needs.
Smart development that looks beyond property boundaries to know the impact of a project on those who live around it, and factors in the needs of our city with regard to landscape, mobility and our overall environment is development I can support. Neighbors want to be heard, and should be heard—with timely notifications of when and where they can share their perspective. I will champion communications between neighbors, the city and developers to ensure smart progress.
Liveable cities support the quality of life of its’ citizens. I am dedicated to improving and expanding our parks and urban spaces, transportation networks including DART rail and buses, but also bike and walking trails, and equitable access to recreational, cultural, and community facilities. As a Friends of the Dallas Public Library Board member, I saw first-hand the critical role libraries play in so many lives. I am committed to these goals and will continue to improve the quality of life for all our citizens.
Besides the humanity of this issue, the resources required to address it are staggering. Collaboration to solve this concern requires representation from health and mental health, housing, education, workforce, and law enforcement. As a volunteer counselor at Interfaith Housing Coalition, I worked with single parents transitioning to stable employment and housing from homelessness. Through my appointment by Council member Gates to the Community Development Commission, I have seen how the HUD grants the city receives can assist in securing housing for low to moderate-income citizens. I support the work of the Continuum of Care Council of non-profits and will work to ensure meaningful collaboration with the City’s Office of Homeless Solutions.
Our community has shown great fortitude and came together during the COVID pandemic and the bitter cold snowstorm. Neighbors drove elderly neighbors to get their shots or went to the store to get critical supplies of food and water. That’s what a great community does! But our city and county governments need to be equally prepared and they could have done a better job. I will work with my fellow council members to review and update emergency preparedness for the new kinds of disasters we may face, so we can take immediate action in a crisis. [1] |
” |
| —Gay Donnell Willis' campaign website (2021)[2] | ||
See also
2025 Elections
External links
|
Candidate Dallas City Council District 13 |
Officeholder Dallas City Council District 13 |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Gay Donnell Willis' campaign website, “Issues,” accessed April 21, 2021
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Jennifer Staubach Gates |
Dallas City Council District 13 2021-Present |
Succeeded by - |
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