City Council District 1
Biography: Councilmember Scott Griggs
Scott Griggs was elected to the Dallas City Council in May 2011 to represent District 3 and the residents of West Dallas, Oak Cliff, and Mountain Creek/The Woods. In May 2013, Scott was reelected to represent residents in North Oak Cliff in the redrawn District 1.
In his first term in office, Scott was voted as the 2012 Best Politician by D Magazine and the Dallas Observer. D Magazine noted, “Scott has proven himself as a voice of reason.” While the Dallas Observer joked that, “He has a bizarre tendency to show up at council meetings giving off the distinct impression that he's done the reading and knows something about the issues he's supposed to decide… we're still grateful to have Griggs sitting at the horseshoe.”
On the Dallas City Council, Scott is a member of the Public Safety Committee, Economic Development Committee, Housing Committee, where he serves as Vice-Chair, and Ad Hoc Judicial Committee, where he serves as Chair. He spearheaded the crafting of an ordinance ensuring better regulation and higher standards for boarding homes earning him the 2012 Carmen Miller Michael Mental Health Advocate Award presented by Mental Health America of Greater Dallas. Scott has also fought against gas drilling within city limits; led the push for the first buffered bike lanes and a fully realized bike lane system in the city; and challenged the fuzzy math supporters of a toll road - built in the floodplain - tout as justification for a much needed reliever route to reduce traffic congestion. Scott advocates for an alternate plan that achieves the same results.
Rather than push for a toll road in a park, Scott has focused his efforts on realizing the Trinity River Project’s amenities by bringing “life between the levees” with a Trinity Trails System and recreational elements. Scott has also intensely examined the Dallas Floodway System to ensure mandated improvements to the city’s levee system are successful in protecting lives and billions of dollars in property values. He is also working to ensure that Sharrock Cabin, an intact early settlers cabin and barn dating back to around 1847 and located in Southwest Oak Cliff, is preserved and protected for future generations.
Prior to joining the City Council, Scott was the two-term president of the Fort Worth Avenue Development Group from 2007 to 2010, where he successfully created a Tax Increment Finance (TIF) District, implemented crime and code compliance programs, and advocated for more New Urbanism-based transportation planning and zoning. He has also served on the executive committees of his neighborhood association in Stevens Park Estates, the Oak Cliff Chamber of Commerce, and Oak Cliff Transit Authority. An early advocate of complete streets and bringing the modern streetcar to Oak Cliff, Scott was part of the TIGER I team and $23 million grant for the streetcar.
Scott, 38, grew up in Dallas, attended Texas A&M University and graduated with a degree in chemistry before attending law school at the University of Texas. After obtaining his law degree, Scott returned to Dallas to practice intellectual property law.
Scott is a second generation intellectual property attorney and partner at Griggs Bergen LLP. Scott specializes in patent and trademark preparation and prosecution before the United States Patent & Trademark Office. He provides counsel on evaluating and protecting intellectual property assets and developing portfolio management strategies to help companies – from startups to multinationals – protect core technologies and enhance overall intellectual property positions.
Council District Economic Development Profile