Michael Scott Rawlings (born August 25, 1954) is an American businessman and politician who served as the 61st Mayor of Dallas, Texas. A member of the Democratic Party, he won the 2011 Dallas mayoral election defeating former Dallas Police Chief David Kunkle, running as nonpartisan candidates. He was reelected in 2015 defeating Dallas lawyer Marcos Ronquillo. Rawlings served as CEO of Pizza Hut from 1997 to 2002 and was also a former chief executive of the Tracy-Locke ad agency. In addition to his work in the city, Rawlings is also a prominent opponent of domestic violence, speaking at many events, including a Ring The Bell event at the United Nations alongside actor Patrick Stewart.On the question of Confederate Statue Removal, Rawlings stated in August 2017 that Confederate statues in Dallas city parks are "monuments of propaganda" and called for a task force to decide what should be done with them.At the 2018 Conference of Mayors, Rawlings received the 2018 National Award for Local Arts from the United States Conference of Mayors and Americans for the Arts in Washington, DC.