4 OctOber 5–11, 2023 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents How To Recall a Dallas Mayor Some residents are interested in kick- ing Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson to the curb. BY JACOB VAUGHN O n Sept. 22, Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson announced that he was a Republican. The news of his switch has some people wondering what it would take to recall the mayor. Someone has al- ready put together a website toward the ef- fort: recallmayorericjohnson.com. We reached out to the Instagram page sharing the site, but didn’t get a response. The site also does not list who is responsible for starting the petition. However, text on the site reads: “Join the recall of the Mayor of Dallas, where we’re dedicated to restoring trust in local government by holding our mayor accountable for his party switch. We believe in transparency, accountability, and consistent representation, and we’re ac- tively seeking volunteers to join our cause. Together, we can demand the accountability the city deserves.” The site also lays out the recall process. According to the city charter, any mem- ber of the Dallas City Council may be re- called and removed from office by qualified voters. But there is a procedure that must be followed. First, a petition demanding the recall of the City Council member must be filed with the city secretary. It must be signed by at least 15% of voters who were qualified to vote in the last election. That’s a tall order given the perennial lack of interest in city elections. The petition must contain a general statement about the grounds for removal. On the day the petition is first circulated, the city secretary must be given notice in writ- ing by five registered voters in the council district the member represents. From there, the signatures must be gathered within 60 days. Then the petition must be sent to the city secretary to be certified within 30 days. If the petition is certified, it will be submit- ted to the City Council, which will then call for a recall election. The recall election should take place on the next available elec- tion date no less than 60 days after the certi- fication of the petition. If the next available date is the general election, the recall elec- tion will be held then, even if it’s within 60 days of the petition’s certification. The election will be held as if the council position is vacant. The member voters are seeking to recall will automatically be placed on the ballot unless they resign or de- cide not to run. All other candidates must comply with regular requirements for a gen- eral election in the city. Whoever is elected must take the oath of office within 10 days after the canvassing of the election or the seat will be vacant. There have been efforts to recall Dallas mayors in the past. According to the Hous- ton Chronicle, a group of 60 Black ministers called the Clergy for Recall, attempted to recall former mayor Laura Miller three years in a row. In 2003 and 2004, the group failed to obtain the required signatures. But in 2005, the group claimed it got more than enough signatures to recall Miller. In the end however, the group withdrew its effort, saying it did so out of a sense of Christian values. The mayor did not respond to a request for comment. However, he said in the op-ed for The Wall Street Journal when he an- nounced his party switch that he’ll be voting as a Republican next spring and that when he leaves office, he will do so as a Republi- can. “Mayors and other local elected officials have failed to make public safety a priority or to exercise fiscal restraint,” Johnson wrote in the op-ed. “Most of these local leaders are proud Democrats who view cit- ies as laboratories for liberalism rather than as havens for opportunity and free enter- prise.” Some groups, such as the Democratic Mayors Association, spoke out against Johnson’s party switch. “It is a shame that Mayor Johnson has forgotten the true im- pact Democrats have had on our country over the past few years, especially in his city,” the group said in a statement. We asked if the group would support recalling Johnson. They didn’t say yes, but they didn’t say no either. The group said in an emailed statement: “The Democratic Mayors Association re- mains disappointed by Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson’s decision to switch his party affili- ation from Democrat to Republican. This decision is a disservice to the people of Dal- las, who reelected him under the Demo- cratic party’s values just four months ago, and they are right to feel betrayed by his ac- tions. Ultimately, the final decision lies in Dallas residents’ hands to take any steps they feel necessary, given Mayor Johnson’s announcement last week.” ▼ POLITICS MAKE DALLAS GREAT AGAIN DOES DALLAS MAYOR ERIC JOHNSON OWN A RED MAGA HAT? BY SIMONE CARTER AND PATRICK WILLIAMS D allas Mayor Eric Johnson dropped some elephantine news when he re- vealed he is no longer a Democrat. Some of you, dear readers, may be think- ing to yourselves, “It’s about dang time the mayor admits that he’s a Republican.” He’s rejected certain liberal-led movements. He’s gotten chummy with Texas’ GOP senators. He keeps appearing on FOX. Johnson has also promoted conservative talking points like boosting law and order and slashing property taxes. “Our cities desperately need the genuine commitment to these principles (as opposed to the inconsistent, poll-driven commitment of many Democrats) that has long been a de- fining characteristic of the GOP,” the mayor wrote in The Wall Street Journal. “In other words, American cities need Republicans — and Republicans need Amer- ican cities,” he continued. American metropolises largely operate under liberal leadership. Only 25% of may- ors from the 100 largest U.S. cities count themselves as Republicans. Johnson is now the only GOP mayor among the nation’s top 10 most populous cities. Of course, conservatives were quick to applaud him for the switcheroo. Democrats? Not so much. The Texas Democratic Party didn’t mince words when news broke of Johnson’s political shift. “[T]he voters of Dallas deserved to know where he stood before he ran for reelection as Mayor,” TDP’s chair and vice-chair said in a statement. “He wasn’t honest with his constituents, and knew he would lose to a Democrat if he flipped before the election.” After some of the excitement died down surrounding Johnson’s big announcement, the Observer started to get curious. “He says that he’s a Republican,” we wondered, “but just how far to the right does he lean?” The GOP has successfully ignited a na- tionwide panic about schoolbooks, managed to ban abortion in Texas and introduced a mountain of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation. Be- yond Johnson’s hardline positions on taxes and crime, though, not much is known about how he views other mainstream conserva- tive values. Where does the mayor stand, man? The Observer editorial team whipped up and sent out some questions for Johnson’s office, but we have yet to receive a response to these highly topical, burning questions we posed: 1. Did Donald Trump win the last presi- dential election? 2. Does he support Trump’s re-election bid? 3. Should the rioters who received long prison sentences for Jan. 6 be pardoned or have their sentences commuted? 4. What sort of restrictions on health support for trans kids does he like? 5. Book bans: Yea or nay? 6. Phelan or Patrick: Who does he love? 7. Border barriers and shipping off mi- grants to other cities ... yeah, let’s do that? 8. Abortion, abortion, abortion? 9. Medicaid expansion? 10. Gay marriage? Gay rights in general? Why should a gay person in Texas support a Republican ever? 11. DEI and boosting minority enrollment in state colleges — too much or too little? 12. Does he own or have plans to buy a MAGA hat? 13. Who does he like in the GOP presi- dential primary? 14. Ken Paxton: How great an attorney general is he, exactly? 15. ... and finally: school vouchers? We hope to get answers soon, particu- larly to No. 12. ▼ EDUCATION EDUCATIONAL INJUSTICE DALLAS ISD JOINS LAWSUIT AGAINST THE TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY BY SIMONE CARTER D allas ISD is doubling down in the mounting legal battle against the state’s education agency. Last month, DISD joined dozens of other Texas districts in suing the Texas Education Agency. At the center of the legal skir- Brian Maschino Dallas residents are trying to hold Mayor Johnson accountable for his party switch. | UNFAIR PARK | >> p6
