(NewsNation) — Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson announced he was switching party allegiance from Democrat to Republican, writing in an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal that American cities need Republican politicians.

Johnson was elected as a Democrat in 2019. He described himself as someone who was never a favorite of the party, citing his efforts to work across the aisle on issues like policing and education.

He wrote that during his time as mayor, Dallas has brought violent crime down, reduced property taxes and taken a pro-business stance while also pushing back against priorities pushed by some on the left, like defunding the police.

Johnson called on American mayors to “champion law and practice fiscal conservatism,” issues that have been part of the GOP platform for some time. He called out American cities for being in disarray, accusing Democrats of using them as “laboratories for liberalism.”

“Too often, local tax dollars are spent on policies that exacerbate homelessness, coddle criminals and make it harder for ordinary people to make a living. And too many local Democrats insist on virtue signaling—proposing half-baked government programs that aim to solve every single societal ill—and on finding new ways to thumb their noses at Republicans at the state or federal level. Enough. This makes for good headlines, but not for safer, stronger, more vibrant cities,” Johnson wrote.

The affiliation makes him the only Republican mayor leading one of the nation’s ten largest cities.