When Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson announced to the world last September that he was switching political parties from Democratic to Republican, there was considerable shock in the blue-hued city. Currently, Dallas activist and former City Council candidate Davante Peters is circulating a petition calling for the mayor's removal from office.
Johnson's party change was not the only factor that prompted the petition. Peters said the mayor's absence from City Council meetings in recent years prompted him to submit the petition to the city commissioner. According to KERA, Johnson has missed more than 130 hours of city council meetings since 2019, something Peters said he takes seriously.
“Obviously there's more to his attention than the role at hand,” Peters said. “That's what made me jump on this.” Johnson's office did not respond to a request for comment on the recall effort.
Peters is the owner of a health and wellness business called Tha Alkaline Hour. He is asking people to come to the Dallas location (4414 S. Marsalis Ave.) and sign the petition.
Recalling elected officials in Dallas is a multi-step process. First, you must submit a notice to the city secretary that you are distributing the petition. That's what Peters did on January 5th. The petition must be signed within 60 days by at least 15% of eligible voters in the previous election.
Davante Peters has run for City Council twice and is currently the owner of a health and wellness business called Tha Alkaline Hour.
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After gathering signatures, the petition will be sent to the city secretary for certification within 30 days. If approved, the petition will be submitted to the City Council, which will seek a recall election. The election will be held on the next election day that occurs within 60 days of the petition's approval.
The recall election will be held as if the mayor's office were vacant. Mayors are automatically eligible for the vote unless they resign or decide not to run. The remaining candidates must follow the normal requirements for a general election in the city. Winners must take the oath of office within 10 days of campaigning. Otherwise, the seat will be declared vacant.
Mr. Peters was aware of the interest in recalling the mayor, but no one took the step of filing a petition to begin the process. Although he is not affiliated with either political party, he said Johnson's party change from Democrat to Republican forced him to file the petition.
“This is just like him.” [Mayor Johnson] “I've been thinking about it for a while, but I didn't have the confidence to do it until a majority of Democrats supported him,” Peters said.
“That’s not who the voters voted for.” – Davante Peters, activist
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Peters said he understands Dallas' city council elections will be bipartisan. “But the people still felt in their hearts that they felt a certain political allegiance to him, even if they didn't vote Democrat,” he said. “The trust that the public had in him is what pushed him there.”
Peters said he would have had more respect for the mayor if he had announced the party change before he was re-elected. But he didn't. Peters called the move a “slap in the face.”
“I don't feel it's solid,” he said. “That's not who the voters voted for.”
Mr Peters said the majority of people who filed the petition supported it. “So far, I have not found anyone who is not very enthusiastic and excited about signing our petition,” Peters said. He said he collected about 100 signatures on the first day he distributed the petition. He currently has around 150 signatures and needs 103,595 signatures. The deadline for signatures is March 5, Dallas City Commissioner Billiella Johnson said. observer on mail.
Mr Peters said people were supporting him mainly because they did not agree with Mr Johnson's change of party. “There's been overwhelming support. We're hoping we can get some people who want to take a leadership role in this process and get out there and collect signatures,” he said.
For now, he said, the effort is largely limited to himself and he could use some help. “It’s really grassroots right now,” he says. But he thinks his own petition could have some effect as he gets more organized.
He knows his petition is just the beginning of the process, but he thinks it will give Dallas residents more of a sense that they are in control. “It would really give momentum to the city and the citizens and make them feel like they're actually part of the political process,” Peters said. “This shows that no matter what, north or south, different class levels, different political interests, we can come together and come together as one and make the changes we want in our city. Masu.”
“I think this petition moving forward in the process will give the citizens of Dallas the momentum that the mayor hasn't given us.”
