Few formulas spark as much debate in Dallas as 14-1, the system in which the city elects its council and the mayor.

The debate is almost as contentious today as it was 20 years ago when activists Marvin Crenshaw and Roy Williams filed the landmark federal lawsuit that changed the city's political landscape by injecting more blacks and Hispanics on the council.

Under the system, only the mayor is elected citywide, and 14 council members come from single-member districts.

Supporters say it's given minorities a greater voice in local government.

"It accomplished what the Voting Rights Act was supposed to do," said Mike Daniel, one of the lawyers for the plaintiffs. "It eliminated the ability of the white vote to completely control the election process."

Others contend that it has created 14 individual fiefdoms, with no council members, other than the mayor, who think of the city as a whole. That has led, they say, to public corruption and sent the city into decline.

"It's useless," said Dallas political consultant Lorlee Bartos, who opposed the lawsuit. Individual council members "are all set up as kings and queens."

Mr. Daniel and supporters of the system vouch for its fairness, but not the leaders it produces.

"It certainly didn't result in a regime of saints and heroes, but that was never part of the Voting Rights Act," Mr. Daniel said. "And that certainly wasn't anything we had before the Voting Rights Act."

When Mr. Crenshaw and Mr. Williams filed their lawsuit on May 18, 1988, few leaders in Dallas wanted the federal court to decide the matter.

U.S. District Judge Jerry Buchmeyer watched as an election on a 14-1 proposal was narrowly defeated by voters in 1990.

MILTON HINNANT / DMN

Political activist Roy Williams (left) and Marvin Crenshaw stand in front of Dallas City Hall on Sunday.

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A year earlier, Dallas voters had approved a system that called for 10 single-member districts, four regional seats and one at-large seat, but it failed to pass federal muster.

Some city leaders attacked the federal government for rejecting that plan. Others complained that the Dallas political establishment wanted to dilute the minority vote at any cost.

"It was very intense and it was very vicious," Mr. Williams said.

In March 1990, Judge Buchmeyer struck down Dallas' 8-3 system, ruling that three citywide seats watered down minority voting strength.

After the City Council developed a 14-1 plan designed to increase the number of minorities on the council, it was approved by the Justice Department.

A special election under the new 14-1 boundaries was held on Nov. 5, 1991. Four blacks and two Hispanics were elected to the council. Only two of the minorities elected had previously served on the council.

Watershed events followed.

Ron Kirk was elected the city's first black mayor in 1995. And in 2000, six blacks and two Hispanics sat on the city's first majority minority council.

Today, there are four black and three Hispanic members of the council.

But the debate over whether 14-1 is a good system continues.

Fueling that debate is the public corruption case of former Mayor Pro Tem Don Hill, who last year was indicted on bribery charges.

And earlier this year, former council member James Fantroy was convicted of stealing money from Paul Quinn College.

What's more, nagging issues such as improvements to the southern sector remain unresolved.

Ms. Bartos said corrupt people can be found in any system, but "it's a lot harder to bribe 14 persons in an at-large system of government" because their peers are involved in all of their decisions.

Mr. Williams says he doesn't like the corruption either, but he doesn't blame the system.

"Corruption here in Dallas did not start with 14-1," he said. "Simply because we have made bad choices in elections does not mean the system is not set up correctly."

Tom Pauken, the former Texas Republican Party chairman who opposed 14-1, said the system is not a good fit for Dallas.

"These were basically racially gerrymandered districts," he said. "The idea of a mixed system was a good one. It's still a good idea. It's helpful in building a broader base instead of totally being tied into your district."

But former council member Larry Duncan, who beat Mr. Crenshaw in a District 4 race in the first 14-1 election, said the system works fine.

"The sky didn't fall as predicted," he said. "For the first time the southern part of the city is getting its share of resources. The object of 14-1 is not to limit choices, but to give the voters inside a district their own choice."

The victory Mr. Crenshaw and Mr. Williams enjoyed in their 14-1 lawsuit has been a lonely one.

They both lost council races in the first election under the new boundaries – and have been defeated numerous times in the years since.

Firmly outside of the Dallas political establishment, their prospects for being elected to the council are poor.

"Initially it was somewhat hard," Mr. Williams said of losing council races. "But I have since grown from a spiritual perspective. An activist sometimes does not reap the benefits of their efforts."

Mr. Crenshaw said he is proud of his effort and the result.

"For the first stage of it, everything is OK," he said. "I might not agree with a lot of the council people who emerged from it, but the system is the correct system."

1988 –Roy Williams and Marvin Crenshaw file a federal voting rights lawsuit, contending that the city's election system dilutes minority voting strength. The Ledbetter Neighborhood Association, representing Hispanic residents, joins the plaintiffs. Since 1975, the city had used an 8-3 system under which the mayor and two City Council members ran citywide and eight others ran in single-member districts.

1989 –Voters approve a 10-4-1 election system, which provides for 10 single-member districts and four regional seats, with the mayor elected at large. Most minorities oppose it, and the U.S. Justice Department does not approve the plan. Elections are not held under it.

1990 –Federal Judge Jerry Buchmeyer strikes down the city's 8-3 election system. Voters narrowly defeat a 14-1 plan.

1991 –Both sides agree to settle the lawsuit, and elections are held under a 14-1 plan, in which only the mayor is elected citywide and 14 council members come from single-member districts. Since then, the 14-1 system has elected more minority council members in each election than were ever elected under the 8-3 system.

SOURCE: Dallas Morning News research