The Citizens Against the Taxpayer Owned Hotel are really mustering all their force to see the decision to build overturned.
In October, they went to City Hall with 13 cases containing 60,000 signatures on a petition to hold a public referendum on the hotel. After examining the signatures, more than 27,000 were proved to be valid Dallas taxpayers, far more than the necessary 20,000 required by law to move for a referendum.
That vote will take place on May 9.
Campaigning and attempts to sway the public will only intensify as the date draws near, as seen already with a searing letter Anne Raymond, director of Citizens Against the Taxpayer Owned Hotel, sent to Mayor Tom Leppert. In the letter, she accuses the mayor of villainizing private citizens and asks him to keep his campaign issue-based.
One of the more provocative parts of the letter is when she challenges him to a debate, which he has accepted. The Stemmons Corridor Business Association has confirmed that both sides have agreed to a public debate on April 28 at noon, although the location is still TBD.
Holly LaFon is a journalist who has written and worked for various local publications including D Magazine and Examiner.
