Earlier this month, the petition website Change.org named Dallas as one of the nation’s top 10 change-making cities of last year. Of all U.S. metros, we came in ninth place for the most petitions launched in 2023.
Other cities to grace Change.org’s list include New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, which came in first, second and third, respectively. Another Texas standout, Houston, nabbed No. 4.
Now, just a couple of weeks into 2024, Dallas residents haven’t rested. Go-getters have kicked off petitions to recall Mayor Eric Johnson, to not extend Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott’s contract and to dismiss that team’s head coach. (Clearly, folks are still reeling from Sunday’s disastrous playoff loss.)
We dove into some of last year’s North Texas petitions, which illustrate how advocacy on the local level can help mold the broader community. Here are Dallas’ top 10 petitions from 2023, according to Change.org.
Dallas' Top 8 Change.org Petitions 2023
- Nearly 19,600 folks signed an August petition pressing for a change to the “discriminatory policy against male hair length” in Peaster ISD, around 70 miles west of Dallas. Parent Kristan Lucas argued that the policy hampers the well-being of her young son, who had never received a haircut and faced in-school suspension because of his long locks.
One commenter from Florida wrote in support of the effort: “I feel everybody has the right to make their own choices when it comes to their body. This includes hair. And I also find bullying disgusting and even more so that it's from adults to an innocent child! If there is ever a petition to terminate the bullies, I'd love to sign that one too.”
- Some 12,740 people are pushing to correct the name omissions and errors on the Korean War Veterans Memorial Wall of Remembrance. Petitioner Hal Barker, who runs the Korean War Project online archive with his brother in Dallas, has stated that millions in taxpayer money would be required to remedy the discrepancies.
- An April petition demanding “Justice for Cristian Jesus Gonzalez” had received 11,680 signatures as of late Wednesday morning. Cristian was 11 when he was fatally shot by a 30-year-old man in Dallas. The petitioner, who described Cristian as her little brother, called for the suspect to receive the maximum sentence of murder after news broke that he was expected to plead guilty to manslaughter.
The petitioner described Cristian as a “happy kid” and as the family’s “pride and joy.”
“Nothing is the same and will never be,” she continued. “So please, I ask for you guys to sign so we can have a little peace.”
- A Dallas dog owner started a petition last June seeking to avenge his late pet’s alleged “brutal murder.”
Jason Daniels claims that the death of his Dutch shepherd puppy, Leia, was caused by a local professional training facility. Now, more than 6,040 petitioners have asked the Garland Police Department to pursue additional charges in his dog’s case.
- Texas inmate Ashley Howard started a petition seeking to overturn her conviction and to receive a less severe sentence. In 2016, Howard was sentenced to 35 years behind bars for her involvement in a shoplifting incident-turned-deadly car crash three years prior.
Howard was not driving the getaway vehicle that struck and killed Rosalva Quezada, a mother traveling with her three sons, all of whom sustained injuries. Nevertheless, Howard was found guilty of murder; court documents show that she urged her accomplice to run a red light, which led to the collision.
The petition states that people can write to Howard at the Texas Department of Criminal Justice’s Dallas P.O. Box address.
“We believe in fair punishment but also in second chances and rehabilitation rather than retribution,” continued the petition, which has accrued around 3,770 signatures. “Please sign this petition if you support our quest for justice and believe in a more compassionate legal system.”
- Oak Cliff resident Katrina Whatley started a campaign to prevent certain zoning changes from being made by a big developer. More than 2,150 others supported her May petition, which mentions that an entire block of old homes would be demolished to make way for a seven-story apartment building.
The developer in question has asked the city to nix the provision of retail space required by zoning rules, Whatley wrote on Change.org. But the way she sees it, the introduction of retail to the seven-story building would be the sole redeeming quality to come from the block's destruction.
“Oak Cliff is not going to be the same,” Whatley told the Observer. “People moved here for the charm that it is, and they're just taking it all out, just taking it all away. No one's going to want to live here anymore.”
Whatley lives next to an under-construction apartment complex that sits “right on top of [her] house.” She fears that aside from Oak Cliff losing its charm, many residents are getting priced out.
“I’m kind of hell-bent on watching these developers and making sure they're not asking for stuff that they shouldn't have — that goes against the people who live here already — because we're just tired of it,” she said.
- Laurie Chandlar, who describes herself as a “crime writer turned victim and survivor,” created a petition last February demanding that the Dallas Police Department be held accountable to sexual violence survivors. More than 1,800 signatories have backed her effort.
Chandler wrote that while at a crime writers conference, she was drugged by a man and sexually assaulted. She alleges that Dallas police declined to fully investigate, despite witnesses, evidence and video surveillance.
- Roughly 1,500 people are advocating against the opening of a crematorium in Frisco. Residents are sounding the alarm about the Ridgeview West Crematorium’s proximity to nearby schools, parks, churches and neighborhoods, citing worries about potential exposure to toxic pollutants.
- Following the Texas Rangers’ historic World Series win in November, local high school student Wilson Dorminy spearheaded a campaign asking Dallas-area school districts to let kids have the day off to attend the victory parade. More than 1,460 signatories lent their support to the petition.
Wilson, a tenth-grade student in Richardson ISD, argued that such celebratory events can help ingrain civic values and encourage community-building for young people. He also noted in the petition that “occasional breaks from routine can enhance students' learning capabilities.”
“I really wanted to go; it's a big thing. It's never happened before — the Rangers had never won the World Series,” he told the Observer. “It's a big event for me as a person who's lived in Dallas all my life and cheers heavily for the Rangers.”
Unfortunately for Wilson and many of his Rangers-loving classmates, Richardson ISD neglected to close for the parade. But he was still happy about his team’s success: “I’m glad the Rangers won.”
- Petitioner Jeremy Thompson has had just about enough of hockey’s exorbitant costs. More than 950 others have signed his petition, titled “Stop Pricing Out the DFW Hockey Community,” to object to rising prices imposed by the Dallas Stars and their affiliated facilities, among other concerns.
“We call on them to prioritize the use of available resources to enhance the game and create an inclusive and enriching experience for everyone involved,” Thompson wrote. “Let us come together and preserve the vibrant and tight-knit DFW hockey community for generations to come.”
