Early voting for the 2024 election kicks off on Monday, and in Dallas, voters will decide on 18 proposed amendments to the city charter, outlining the structure of the municipal government.
Three of the amendments are called HERO amendments. They were added to the ballot after Dallas HERO, a bipartisan group, collected more than 169,000 signatures to do so. The amendments are on the ballot as Proposition S, Proposition T and Proposition U and have been hotly contested among current and former Dallas city leaders.
Council members sought to add three other amendments aimed at nullifying the HERO-supported additions, but the Texas Supreme Court sided with the group , stating the council’s amendments would “confuse and mislead voters” if they were included on the ballot.
What are the HERO amendments?
The three proposed initiatives would increase the total number of Dallas police officers and guarantee a competitive starting salary for DPD employees. They would also subject the Dallas city manager to a performance-based pay and allow citizens to sue government officials who don’t follow the law.
- Proposition S would remove governmental immunity and allow any resident to sue the City of Dallas if it doesn’t comply with charter amendments and local ordinances.
- Proposition T would mandate an annual quality-of-life survey. With as few as 1,400 responses, the city manager could receive a performance bonus equal to a year’s salary or be fired.
- Proposition U would force the city to maintain a minimum police force of 4,000 officers, which is almost 900 more than the city has right now. The charter amendment would also mandate that at least 50% of any additional revenue the city receives from any source would be directed to the police and fire pension fund and higher salaries for police.
Who has spoken out against the HERO amendments?
Earlier this month, several current and former political leaders gathered to kick off their campaign against the amendments , including county Democrats. Among them were former Dallas mayors Ronald Kirk, Tom Leppert, Mike Rawlings and Laura Miller, along with former Dallas Police Chief David Brown…