The City of Dallas may face a lawsuit from a man alleging the municipality is “unjustly” preventing him from running for mayor.
Jrmar Jefferson announced his intention to file a lawsuit against the City during a press conference attended by The Dallas Express.
He claims that the City is fraudulently blocking him from running for mayor despite submitting more than double the number of signatures needed to gain access to the ballot, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
The Dallas Express asked the City Secretary for clarification on why Jefferson was disqualified.
Secretary Johnson told The Dallas Express that “petitions are verified in accordance with the 141.062 and 141.063 of the Texas Election Code,” but did not comment directly on Jefferson’s case by the time of publication.
His brother, Lamar Jefferson, filed to run for City Council District 7 but was also told by the Office of the City Secretary that he did not qualify.
“We are unjustly being denied access to the ballot,” said Jrmar Jefferson. “We have no choice but to file a lawsuit to obtain the justice that Mayor Johnson, the City Council, and the City Secretary are depriving us of.”
Jrmar emphasized that no one, including Mayor Eric Johnson, should run for office unopposed.
“The mayor should accept the challenge from a young, strapping, constitutional, Jah-fearing man who wants this City to be heavenly-minded, righteous-centered, and … not just for the rich and the few,” he continued. “I’m talking about a better place for all.”
Jefferson claimed the City has already received a letter of intent to sue, and the official lawsuit will be filed within the coming week. However, he said he has struggled to find a law firm that will represent him, as the firms he has approached claim there is a conflict of interest in suing the City of Dallas.
When asked by The Dallas Express why the municipal government would conspire against the Jefferson brothers to keep them off the ballot, Jrmar said the answer boils down to “fear.”
“The corruption is always the same,” he said. “Corruption is all about containing power to make sure that opportunities exist for some and not for all.”
“The corruption that has happened to me and my twin brother … is what’s been happening to all of South Dallas. And now it’s starting to trickle up into North Dallas, and West Dallas, and East Dallas,” he continued. “The corruption is we pay too many taxes. The cost of living is too high. That’s a form of corruption.”
The Dallas Express reached out to the City for comment but did not receive an explanation on why the Jeffersons did not qualify.