About

Meet Barbara

A West Texas native and small business owner, Barbara Mallory Caraway is a distinguished public servant and community advocate. Barbara has won 7 elections to local and state office, representing Texas Legislative District 110 from 2007 – 2013 and 8 years on Dallas City Council until she was term-limited in 2001. In that time she served in numerous leadership positions including chair of the Transportation Committee, Co-Chair of the Business and Commerce Committee, and the Trinity River Citizens Corridor. Barbara also gained notoriety as the co-host for the morning show on Dallas’ KHVN Heaven 97.

Barbara’s bold advocacy for kids and education reform, her commitment to small business growth and local jobs, and her unwavering dedication to underserved and disadvantaged communities have earned her a broad base of support. Her impressive record includes:

• Barbara is a proven leader with a strong track record in the State Legislature, on Dallas City Council and as a community leader. Barbara served as a Member of the National Association of Black Elected Officials, National League of Cities, North Central Texas Council of Governments, the Texas Municipal League, and Cedar Crest Neighborhood Association, among others. Through these leadership roles she successfully initiated capital and local infrastructure improvements, public works projects, renovated and built new recreation centers, and reduced energy costs for residents

• Barbara is a staunch defender of women and minority communities: From 2000 – 2012, the poor population in Dallas County grew by 41% and median incomes have been in sharp decline. This has disproportionately affected women and families in African American and Latino communities. Barbara has been a powerful advocate for these communities through her work on education (see below), fighting for comprehensive immigration reform, as a member of the Texas Legislative Black Caucus, the National Foundation of Women Legislator, and the Dallas NAACP.  The National Council of Negro Women recognized Barbara with the Civic and Social Service Award

Barbara is a bold advocate for Texas’ children and has been an innovative leader in education reform: Among the 9 cities in America with populations more than 1M, Dallas ranked worst in its levels of children living in poverty (38% in 2012). While on the Texas legislature, Barbara created the Career Futures Initiative that worked in public & private partnerships to hire high school juniors and seniors for paid summer internships and works in collaboration with the local universities to provide free college preparatory classes for high school students. She also created the Dallas Youth Commission, a program that engages young community advocacy, and the Dallas Teen Court System, an alternative to the juvenile detention system. In Congress, Barbara will cut costs for higher education, support community colleges, and fight for more access to Pell Grants

• Barbara is a small business champion with a plan to create jobs: Poverty and wage disparity plague Dallas County and represent a national challenge. Small businesses are the key to reversing this trend as small businesses make up 54% of all new jobs in the US. Barbara has demonstrated a proven commitment to a small business as a business owner and Co-chair of the Business and Commerce Committee on City Council. In Congress, Barbara will promote small business growth and stimulate hiring on a local level by appointing a liaison to the Small Business Administration, and other agencies, to create partnerships that support new businesses and business ownership

• Barbara is committed to our Veterans: Barbara supports veterans’ resources that help transition our men and women in the military from active duty to civilian life. In Congress, Barbara will fight for surviving spouse benefits; low-interest loans for veterans who want to start businesses, college attendance opportunities, and transitional housing programs.

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