A local leftist activist and three-time former Dallas City Council candidate has filed a petition to recall Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson.
The effort to recall Johnson stems from the mayor switching his political party affiliation in late September from Democrat to Republican.
Davante Peters has until March 5 to obtain more than 103,000 signatures from registered Dallas voters in order to send the request to the City Council, who will then decide whether there should be a recall election.
Peters told The Dallas Morning News that he filed the petition with the city secretary’s office on Friday and has received more than 1,000 signatures in favor of removing Johnson as of Tuesday.
“I feel like this is a process of reminding the community that whether it’s the mayor or a city councilperson, we’re their boss,” said Peters. “We should be able to reward our officials for great work and reprimand them for things that they’re not doing for us, and many people believe the mayor should be held accountable.”
Peters claims that Johnson has missed multiple city council meetings.
The Dallas city charter explains that a recall election for a council member or the mayor requires a petition filed with the city’s secretary and signed by at least 15 percent of registered voters within the district. The petition must be turned in to the secretary’s office within 60 days of the written notice of the petition’s circulation.
The secretary then has 30 days to verify the signatures. If valid, the petition would be given to the city council, which could then decide to put a recall election on the ballot.
Since Johnson’s party switch, he has faced other demands to resign.
The Dallas County Democrat Party Chair Kardal Coleman started an online petition demanding Johnson resign, saying, “Mayor Eric Johnson’s switch to the Republican Party is nothing short of an insult to Dallas voters.” The petition has only garnered about 2,600 signatures as of Wednesday.
Despite the demands, Johnson has said he plans to remain mayor until his term ends in June 2027. In his re-election campaign in May 2023, he garnered 93 percent of the vote while being challenged by a declared write-in candidate.
He will be unable to run for another term due to term limits.
Republican Party of Texas Chairman Matt Rinaldi told Texas Scorecard that the effort to recall Johnson will fail.
“It’s no surprise Mayor Johnson was re-elected with over 90 percent of the vote. He fights for lower taxes, smart spending, and a strong and well-funded police force,” said Rinaldi. “This recall petition is a fringe effort that will fail.”
Texas Scorecard reached out to Johnson for comment but did not receive a response before publication.
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