DALLAS — They are collectively known as the Dallas HERO amendments, propositions S, T and U on the Nov. 5 ballot in Dallas.
And those three letters have created quite an uproar in the city.
Dozens of former Dallas city leaders have joined together to fight the proposed charter amendments they argue would cripple the city for years if not decades.
But Pete Marocco, the executive director of Dallas HERO and one of the masterminds behind the propositions, says those former city leaders have it all wrong and haven’t even discussed what his movement is truly about.
“This is about the people’s will to put propositions S, T, and U, 170,000 Dallas residents, to get that measure on the ballot for better security in Dallas, better accountability in law enforcement,” Marocco told us on Inside Texas Politics.
Propositions S, T and U would, among other things, force the city of Dallas to hire more police officers and open city leaders up to citizen-led lawsuits.
Marocco argues his group, and the citizens who signed the petition to get the propositions on the ballot in the first place, are only asking for the standard, nothing more, nothing less.
He says the fact that city leaders can’t hire more police officers is a reflection on them, not the job and how it may be viewed by job seekers.
“Try, try, try. I mean, that’s all we’ve been hearing. At the end of the day, they have a $5 billion budget. This is not a police problem. This is a societal problem. We have leaders who need to address these issues,” said the executive director.
Marocco says recruitment and attrition are issues that need to be addressed, and Proposition U will help with both.
And he tells us the opposition has done nothing to articulate how they plan to actually address the problems.
“They don’t have a solution. They don’t have an alternative,” Marocco explained. “They haven’t brought forth any substance. All they brought forward is name-calling. It’s just really kind of alarmist language.”