It was a standing ovation for about thirty seconds at the Dallas State of the City, Tuesday, as Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings opened up his speech with a highly anticipated announcement.
"I want to share with you the news that I will be seeking re-election for a second term," Rawlings told the audience which interrupted him with applause.
Rawlings is looking to promote his second-term agenda, if he wins, much like his agenda for his existing term.
"We need to grow southern Dallas, we need to have the best urban education in America, we need to be a place where great creative people come and live because the arts and culture we have in this city," the Mayor told reporters after his speech at the downtown Dallas Sheraton.
He touched on national issues in his speech including the ongoing protests in Ferguson, Missouri. Rawlings looks at that in a similar way he looks at how Ebola affected Dallas.
"I never thought we would have Ebola. It just showed up one day. And, I'm sure that's what happened with the folks in St. Louis. They never thought this could happen in one of their suburbs," Rawlings said.
The Mayor did not touch much, if at all, on one hot topic in his State of the City Address. Immigration. After his speech, he told a group of reporters that he supports President Barack Obama's executive action allowing between four and five million immigrants living in the United States illegally to avoid deportation under certain qualifications.
The big question now is will the Mayor see any tough competition from a challenger.
Rawlings continues to get overwhelming support from business leaders, some City Council members and community leaders from all points of the city.
Eric Bushman