Scoop: Save Dallas City Hall petition crosses threshold
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Illustration: Allie Carl/Axios
A petition to give voters a say on the future of the Dallas City Hall building has crossed the 20,000 vote threshold required to put the question on the ballot, organizers tell Axios.
Why it matters: If placed on the ballot in May — and approved by voters — the charter amendment would make the current Dallas City Hall the seat of government, unless voters decide otherwise.
Catch up quick: Organizers of Save Dallas City Hall Coalition began gathering signatures less than a month ago.
Friction point: The petition comes after a year of debate among City Council members about whether to address years of deferred maintenance in the building, or move elsewhere.
- The council received repair estimates ranging in the hundreds of millions of dollars to repair the current building — but critics think the actual costs could be lower.
- The building, designed by internationally renowned architect I.M. Pei, is less than 50 years old.
What they're saying: Preserving history is one objective behind the effort, but it's not the main issue, says petition organizer Aaron Harris who runs the political consulting firm LMK Strategies.
- "I think most people support it because they don't trust the City Council," Harris said.
- "I hope it's sending a message that they should recalibrate, and they should come off of their ridiculous baked numbers that no reputable preservation architect or preservation engineer would ever endorse," Bruce Richardson, president of Save Dallas City Hall Coalition, tells Axios.
What's next: The deadline to submit the petition is in early December. The Dallas City Secretary's Office must verify that at least 20,000 signers are registered voters living in Dallas.
- Harris says his team is verifying all signatures as they come in but that they're aiming for 26,000 signatures for some leeway.