By Gromer Jeffers Jr.

Dallas civic and business leaders are beginning to choose sides on the potential referendum that would create a strong-mayor form of government.

City Council candidate Beth Ann Blackwood, who brought forth the petition to change the city charter to give the mayor more power, won't name her backers.

We do know that real estate executive Vance Miller helped fund the petition drive.

And after initially criticizing the plan, Mayor Laura Miller said she probably would support it after Ms. Blackwood's petitions were certified.

If the city clerk, Shirley Acy, certifies the petitions, it's also likely that political consultant Rob Allyn, who orchestrated Ms. Miller's two successful mayoral campaigns, will lead the drive for the referendum.

Mr. Allyn, who helped set up Ms. Blackwood's District 14 council campaign, said there have been ongoing discussions with Ms. Miller about the strong-mayor proposal.

"If we are asked, we would like to help the campaign," Mr. Allyn said.

Opponents of Ms. Blackwood's petition are also rolling out some big names.

Dallas political consultant Pat Cotton, a former ally of Ms. Miller's, is helping the opposition. She says Dallas lawyer and former mayoral candidate Darrell Jordan is joining her.

Dallas political consultant Carol Reed says she has talked with opponents about managing the campaign. Ms. Reed was the architect of the successful mayoral campaigns of Ron Kirk and the Dallas arena and Trinity River project referendums.

The issue of a strong mayor vs. city manager has created peculiar political alliances.

For instance, Ms. Cotton and her allies in northwest Dallas were ardent supporters of Ms. Miller and tended to oppose Mr. Kirk.

That put them in conflict with voters in southern Dallas, who strongly supported Mr. Kirk and had problems with Ms. Miller.

At a recent debate on the issue in northwest Dallas, City Council member Don Hill got more cheers than Ms. Miller, though the audience was sprinkled with City Hall employees looking to heckle the mayor.

"Things are still up for grabs. The coalition against strong mayor will probably look like an Annette Strauss alliance, with the business community partnering with the minority community," said Dallas political consultant Lisa LeMaster, referring to the former mayor.

Ms. LeMaster said Ms. Miller's coalition would include frequent voters who feel City Hall needs radical change.

If Ms. Miller can put together the same coalition she has during her mayoral bids, the proposal could be tough to beat.

She won every council district in North Dallas and carried the Hispanic vote in the southern sector.

Some say Ms. Miller may be the most effective at-large politician in Dallas, though her mayoral record of endorsing in-district candidates is a dismal 0-3.

Whatever the case, Mr. Allyn agreed that the upcoming campaigns on changing the city charter could result in strange coalitions.

"In city politics, I don't know if there are any natural alliances," he said.

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