I haven’t done intensive research on TX, yet (I’m currently up through to Ohio), but I know that despite the non-partisan label, it’s baloney, as the Democrats continued to almost completely dominate all city mayoral elections in the state. I don’t have any info on several of the mayors during the ‘70s from Dallas, but made the assumption they were Democrats. It was only Bartlett that I knew was definitively was a Republican (how come he served just the one term ?). The Mayor you’re referring to is apparently Jon Eric Jonsson, who served from 1964-71, and died at the age of 94 in 1995.
I don’t have any specific details about Mayor Jonsson beyond the fact that he succeeded Democrat Earle Cabell after Cabell defeated the-then longest serving Republican in state history, 10-year incumbent Bruce Alger (who still lives today and turns 89 a week from tomorrow), when the TX Democrats made a total and complete sweep of the House delegation (leaving only John Tower as the long Republican). Supposedly the claim that the defeat of Alger was Dallas County’s “penance” for JFK’s assassination.
DJ, I believe that I read that the late Mayor Jonsson was a northern industrialist transferred in to Dallas.