Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson paid campaign money to firm tied to his new Republican group • Everton Bailey Jr. The Dallas Morning News (TNS) Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson won reelection by a landslide in May then started paying a consulting firm run by his form

Everton Bailey Jr. The Dallas Morning News (TNS) Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson won reelection by a landslide in May then started paying a consulting firm run by his former chief of staff thousands of dollars a month in campaign funds, records show. Adept Strategies, which was registered with the state on the same day the mayor reported making his first payment to it, is also tied to a group created by Johnson to promote Republican mayors. Johnson said in campaign finance reports he paid the firm more than $110,000 for “strategic consulting services” from May 15 to Dec. 20. The series of seven payments, which ranged from $4,000 to more than $21,000, started soon after Johnson was reelected May 6. State records show Adept Strategies was founded by Mary Elbanna. She left Johnson’s office as chief of staff in February 2022, according to city payroll records. Johnson’s campaign finance reports list Adept Strategies’ mailing address as a Dallas post office box. The Republican Mayors Association uses the same box as its mailing address, and Elbanna is one of five national board members listed for the organization. Johnson launched the mayors’ group last fall after he announced he was switching party...