DALLAS — The activist behind an effort to recall Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson has until March 5 to gather signatures from at least 15 percent of all voters who were eligible to vote in the district in the last election -- or about 103,595 valid signatures -- in order to reach the next step in the process, as laid out by the city's charter.
If Davante Peters, a local activist who runs a health food store in Oak Cliff who started circulating the petition, can hit that high mark, the city secretary would then have 30 days to verify the signatures. And, if deemed valid, the petition would be submitted to the city council, which could then use Peters' petition to call for a recall election.
Just under a month out, Peters has a long way to go in his effort to oust Mayor Eric Johnson from office.
As of Feb. 8., a month into his effort, Peters says he's collected about 6,000 signatures -- meaning he has a mere 97,000-plus signatures to go.
But Peters is undeterred.
"Looks like it will take a few tries to gather enough support for this process," Peters said when WFAA reached out to check in on his effort's progress this week.
Already, his effort has doubled that of the Dallas County Democratic Party, which launched an online petition calling for Johnson to resign shortly after Johnson announced his switched his political affiliation and joined the Republican party this past fall. That effort -- which Peters has slammed as halfhearted -- still hasn't passed the 3,000-signature mark.
If the Dallas County Democratic Party were serious about its calls for Johnson to leave office, Peters says, they'd support his effort. Alas, he said, they have not. Nor have any other mainstream political players.
"We are unable to get response from any organizations to support," said Peters, who has a long history of being a political outsider.
Peters is an activist who counts himself among the self-proclaimed “Dallas 9” who were arrested and spent three days in jail for protesting the Botham Jean shooting by blocking an AT&T Stadium parking lot entrance on a game day. He also helped lead the movement to rename a portion of Lamar Street to Botham Jean Boulevard.
He's also come up short in three separate campaigns for a seat on Dallas City Council -- twice in District 3, and once in District 8.
Recalling Johnson from office, however, might be the most ambitious effort he's yet attempted.
While there were reportedly attempts to recall former Mayor Laura Miller in the early 2000s, Dallas City Secretary Bilirae Johnson said there's never been a successful attempt to recall a Dallas mayor in the city's history.
That's at least in part because the city charter has such a high bar for kickstarting the process. Getting signatures from 15% of all eligible voters in the district in the most recent election as required (a figure that amounts to 103,595) means getting more than twice as many people who voted in the previous election (46,255) to get on board.
No worries, Peters said. If he can't get enough signatures by March 5, he'll start the process over again.
"It may take us a few tries," he said. "But we are determined to file again March 6 if we come up short this go round."
