Dan Barrios does not work in a typical office.
Tucked in the back corner of a shared office space, flanked on one side by a moat of vibrantly colored pamphlets and a large bottle of Tajín on the other, Dan Barrios — the retiring City of Richardson council member — leaned back to look up at an entirely white wall.
Like most local elections, Barrios’ office is scrappy and temporary. Except he’s not running for a local office: Barrios is trying to earn a ticket to the District of Columbia’s House of Representatives.
On July 13, Barrios announced his resignation from Richardson’s city council. He’s served since May 2023 and his political instincts are largely based on that solely local campaign resume.
“The honor of serving the people of Richardson will be one of the biggest honors of my life, and I mean that from the bottom of my heart,” Barrios said. “I’m a big, big proponent of local government. Even as a person who’s running for a federal seat, I will tell you: local government is where it’s at.”
Barrios is running in a frankly uphill race: political analysts Steven Rosenbaum and Jack Fink wrote in March that, due to the seat’s recent redistricting, “whoever emerges from the GOP primary is all but assured to win in November.” It’s a seat that President Donald Trump would have won with 58%.
“Obviously this district was part of the lawsuit that went all the way to the Supreme Court because this was a district that was made pretty ugly from its shape — gerrymandered,” Barrios said.
Despite it all, the almost unwinnable odds did not shake Barrios once during his 93-minute interview.
“I think I’m the right candidate in the right place at the right time,” Barrios said. “10 years ago or 10 years from now: no. At this very time, I am the person. I think what this district needs is somebody like me, who is from here, who is willing to meet people where they’re at from the approach of listening.”
Taking it in, on the chin
As Barrios walked around the atrium of his shared work space, searching for a place open enough to capture a nice photo, it struck me that he would not be posing for his image: he had been holding pretty much the same smile for quite some time.
Crivella:
“What got you into that city council position to begin with in 2023?”
Barrios:
“The first time I ran was in 2019. I ended up in a three-way race, in a runoff, and lost by — I believe it was — 82 votes.
Running for a city council or any office was never my plan. Never in a million years would I have dreamt that I did that. I was a dad of a young child who was super involved in PTA and local YMCA coaching.
I had a couple of moms on the PTA kind of come and say, ‘hey, have you ever thought about running for office?’ I was like, ‘no.’ And then a few days later I had some other moms, so I thought… ‘OK, in a month I had maybe five people kind of say, “have you ever thought about running for city council?”’
Like most people, I voted, but I didn’t really know what the city council did. I mean, I knew they made votes, and the reality is people are always complaining about something we didn’t like but I didn’t watch it carefully.
But after a handful of people kind of asked me about it, I thought, well, maybe the universe is trying to tell me something here. Maybe I should look into it.
And the more I looked into the current council, the more I thought, you know, there’s an opportunity to bring the voice of somebody who’s, kind of on the younger side, a parent of young children, somebody who’s still in the workforce versus all the retirees: somebody who brings a different background to the table.
I looked at the people on the council, and — nothing against people on the council — I didn’t have any ax to grind with anybody on the council at the time; however, it was more that our city council didn’t reflect our city in age, in professional background.
I think only one member of the council at the time had ever even had an opposition. Then I looked at their financials and I realized they all had big checks because Richardson doesn’t have a max to give to where that you can give to a candidate. Without opposition, they were just sitting on the money.
I thought that’s not the city that I live in.
I said, ‘we could do better.’”
Barrios possesses a hope stronger than statistics. It’s a belief that powerful change can be born from careful compromise. The plant Barrios wants to uproot most? Money in politics.
“I know how hard it is to sway seven people on a council,” Barrios said. “That’s nothing compared to the House, but most people who are in Congress are people who have either a bunch of personal wealth or have access to personal wealth. It shuts down politics.”
His perseverance in political life, then, might be based in his awareness that people can — at least at a local level — commit to benevolence.
“I’ve been a longtime Democrat and I’m a proud Democrat,” Barrios said. “Some people didn’t like that. That’s OK, but I will say in four years, I’ve never seen a single vote from the thousands we’ve taken to have ever gone down party lines. Why? Because in local politics, we don’t play the D/R game. We focus on people and policy, and when we focus on that, stuff gets done.”
In four years, I’ve never seen a single vote [go] down party lines. Why? Because in local politics, we don’t play the D/R game. We focus on people.
— Dan Barrios, candidate for U.S. House of Representatives
Even as the lens was removed from my camera, Barrios stayed beaming.
Resigned to serve
Since announcing his intent to resign, Barrios has continued to serve the city council in its search for a replacement. On Aug. 17, the council whittled down applications to Barrios’ seat from 13 to eight.
For some, like local writer Mark Steger, the newly written appointment process is reason for complaint. Steger initially wanted Barrios to immediately resign after announcing his run for Congress.
City council meetings have spent hours debating the timeline and process of finding Barrios’ successor. Ironically, Barrios saw the timing as perfect.
His son is starting college and he didn’t want to leave complex budget discussions, scheduled for spring 2026, to an inexperienced newcomer, he said.
Rather than provide another chance to his grasp on power, Barrios said he simply wants to pass it on to someone worthy.
When Richardson voters considered Proposition XX, an amendment to the City Charter that would require council members to “resign-to-run,” Barrios voted for the effort. City councilman Curtis Dorian further credited him with suggesting the amendment.
Steger has since said that he is “with Dan Barrios” over his push to discuss candidates in an open, transparent setting as opposed to in executive session.
Crivella:
“What did you uniquely provide to the people of Richardson during your time on city council?”
Barrios:
“Every council member has the way in which they serve. I have been one of the most accessible people.
I go to every event. I do over 40 hours a week on the council. I am everywhere.
I am one of the few that puts my cell phone on every one of my business cards. People all over the city have my cell phone. I created an event called Breakfast with Barrios where we’re out in the front yards, cooking breakfast, meeting with people at 8:00 in the morning.
Why? To increase accessibility. I’m kind of intense when it comes to making sure I connect with people and make sure that I’m in front of people, not because it’s a strategy, but because that’s who I am. That’s the whole purpose of serving.
When you lose that ear to the ground or that connection with the people, then you kind of lose why you were elected.”
Win or lose
For months now, a man named Dan Barrios has woken up to sit in a small, white room and call people to ask for money and their support.
Politics is a way of life for Barrios. One that he walks day in and out with insurmountable hope. Even if he doesn’t win, he plans on supporting his community all the same.
“Win or lose, I’ll tell you where to find me: back pew, center aisle, First Methodist Church at 8:45 a.m.,” Barrios said. “That’s where I am every Sunday. I’m not going anywhere.”
Jace Yarbrough, opponent of Dan Barrios, did not respond to request for comments. The Retrograde will continue its coverage of the TX-32 race.