John Wiley Price was born on April 24, 1950 in San Augustine County, Texas, Price spent his formative years in Forney in Kaufman County with his brothers and sisters Holman Earl, Shotzie, Vanessa, Renee as well as Kelvin. Price’s father, Reverend Holman Colman Price made ends meet as a truck driver and at the same time earned a supplemental livelihood as a part-time Baptist vicar. In doing so, Prices mother Willie Faye McCoy Price was afforded a homemaker’s existence. John Wiley Price, the first African American elected to the Dallas County Commissioners Court, has served for more than 30 years and remains as passionate and popular as he was when he first took office on January 1, 1985 (Price n.
pag).
After high school graduation, Price relocated to Dallas, Texas where he attended El Centro College in downtown Dallas majoring in computer programming. It was during this time in 1970 that Price met Vivian Pauline Salinas n?e Salinas, who was part Italian and part Hispanic ancestry.
Nine months after they met, Prices father married them at his church in Forney on Valentines Day 1970 (Miller n. pag). Later that same year, Price and his wife had a son, John Paul Chandler Wiley Price. Subsequently, the couple divorced in 1981. Although Price never remarried, he later adopted two children, John Nicholas and Angelina Monique.
The early 1970s was an era when black students were flexing their political muscle on college campuses, and Price got elected to a seat in student government. At the time, he was working at Sanger-Harris department store while residing in a predominantly Caucasian, blue-collar district near Interstate 30 and Dolphin Road. In a candid story conducted by Dallas News, reporter Scott K. Parks states: Prices first venture into party politics came in 1972 when he ran for precinct chairman and won. He supported progressive U.S. Senator George McGovern for president. Most of the other delegates in his precinct were white and pledged to Alabama Govenor George Wallace, who had fought throughout the 1960s to preserve segregation (Parks n. pag). Price got his first opportunity in county government when he aroused the interest of Dallas County Commissioner Mel Price. Shortly, Price obtained an office job in the county public works department. No relation exists between John and Mel Price.
At present, Price chairs The Public Health Advisory Committee which is composed of representatives from metropolitan health departments and civilian affiliates. The group makes another study of community requirements in the regions of ecological wellbeing, precautionary health, contagious illnesses, municipal health vigilance/Bioterrorism attentiveness that have impact upon the general health of the community; make available management in establishing precedence for the an assortment of health topics facing the nation; and persuade the harmonization and collaboration of all units aiming to recover the health of county citizens (Price n. pag).
Unfortunately, Prices career has been rifled with scandal since July 2011 when he along with a barrage of associates were presented with search warrants by the FBI on so-called public fraud. Authorities sequestered Price on July 25, 2014. John Wiley Price entered a plea of not culpable on February 23, 2017. The trial commenced on February 27, 2017 and ended April 28, 2017 with a not guilty verdict of bribery and six other charges related to conspiracy; a mistrial was declared on four charges related to income tax evasion where the jury was unable to render a verdict (Frank n. pag). On May 19, 2017, the United States Attorney’s Office declared it would not go on with the tribunal of Price as it pertained to the remaining four charges.