D13 Together Announces ‘Recall Gay Willis’ Campaign
D13 TOGETHER ANNOUNCES PETITION DRIVE TO SEEK RECALL ELECTION FOR DALLAS COUNCILMEMBER GAY DONNELL WILLIS
Residents cite controversial zoning and her repeated refusal to listen to neighborhoods
Petition effort intended to place recall before voters in May 2027
DALLAS — Sept. 22, 2026 — D13 Together, a coalition of residents and neighborhood leaders across Dallas City Council District 13, today announced plans to launch a formal petition drive seeking a recall election for Council Representative Gay Donnell Willis.
The coalition intends to follow the recall process established in the Dallas City Charter with the goal of placing the measure before District 13 voters next May. The announcement follows years of escalating disputes between Rep. Willis and residents over major zoning proposals. D13 Together says three recent cases affecting families in the Preston Road/Royal Lane, Walnut Hill Lane/Betty Jane Lane, and Melshire Park neighborhoods show a broader, systemic breakdown in trust between Rep. Willis and the neighborhoods she represents.
“This is no longer about one zoning case or one neighborhood,” said Doug Hazelbaker, a spokesperson for D13 Together. “Residents across District 13 have attended meetings, written emails, signed petitions, and spent hours at City Hall trying to make their voices heard. Council Rep. Willis has repeatedly failed to represent those voices. The recall process gives District 13 families the opportunity to decide whether they want her to continue representing them or remove her for a stronger, more principled leader who will truly put our neighborhoods first.”
The recall effort follows three high-profile zoning controversies that have drawn organized neighborhood opposition and significant media attention. Preston & Royal: Developers applied for a zoning change at the southwest quadrant of the retail center at Preston Road and Royal Lane. The property – surrounded by homes and schools – is zoned Community Retail (CR), which limits height to 54 feet (appx. five stories).
The developers’ proposed plan has extraordinary scale and open-ended flexibility. It includes multiple high-rise buildings (a 19-story, 18-story, and a 12-story). This density would completely fill the seven-acre site and loom over existing, modest two-story condominium homes, duplexes, and houses. The developers are seeking the zoning change because it is the only way the city could allow structures up to 240 feet tall, which is comparable to many buildings in the Oak Lawn/Uptown parts of Dallas designated for “Regional Mixed-Use” development under the city’s comprehensive land use policy. More than 5,000 residents have signed a petition opposing the rezoning.
The developer entity is comprised of Gerald Stool, former Dallas City Council Member Mitchell Rasansky, Mitchell Fonberg and Leland Burk. Ironically, Rasansky was opposed to height and density as a council member and Burk and Fonberg have both opposed density and development in their respective neighborhoods.
Walnut Hill/Betty Jane: Residents have also organized against a proposed development of 41 detached, townhome-like homes near Walnut Hill Lane and Betty Jane Lane. Thirty of the proposed homes would be allowed to reach three stories and 36 feet, compared with the strictly one- and two-story residential homes that have long defined the neighborhoods surrounding the property.
A previous version of this proposal by the same developer was rejected by the City Council in November 2025, but Willis allowed it to be refiled less than a month after the council’s denial. According to public records, reported by KERA, 47 of 76 adjacent property owners responded via the city’s legal Reply-Form notification process. All but five of the adjacent owners opposed the development.
The controversy intensified on Aug. 25 when District 13 residents waited approximately five hours at City Hall to address the council, only to have Rep. Willis use a procedural motion to block their testimony. Several of Willis’ council colleagues asked her to retract her motion and allow her constituents to speak, but she refused.
“People gave up time to have their voice heard and they were ignored,” Hazelbaker said. “They sat there for hours, and when fellow councilmembers offered a way to let them speak, their own representative refused. That moment epitomizes the frustration that has been building across District 13.”
Melshire Park: The third controversy involves a planned development approved in 2021 despite overwhelming opposition from nearby Melshire Estates residents, including Preston & Royal Developer – Mitchell Fonberg. The original development included setback and buffer requirements between the 26 townhome-like structures on 3.5 acres and neighboring single-family properties. Willis promised these protections would mitigate increased noise, light and loss of privacy. After construction began, a zoning inspector cried foul on covered patios that violated the 21-foot setback requirement.
Instead of requiring the developer to remove the patios, city staff and Willis allowed the developer to file an amendment reducing the setback requirement from 21 to 5 feet. On Aug. 12, Willis voted to approve the amendment despite nearby families arguing that changing the requirements that she herself approved 5 years ago was a betrayal not only to the neighborhood but the city zoning inspector who had done his job properly by blowing the whistle on the violation.
Coalition members say the disputes reflect a larger concern about whose interests carry the most weight when major development decisions come before City Hall. They point to Rep. Willis’ campaign contributions from development interests, including the maximum individual contribution permitted by law from Leland Burk, and from Gerald Stool and his wife.
“Representative Willis seems more interested in doing the bidding of wealthy developers than standing up for our families,” said Nancy Moore, a D13 Together member.
“If she has her way, the cohesive residential neighborhoods we love will become split apart by high-rise developments and increasingly brutal traffic. We want new development. But we would prefer smart development that brings us new neighbors and family-owned businesses, and not development that overwhelms our local stores where we go for daily necessities,” added Preston Hollow resident Margaret Chabris.
Other residents say their frustration goes beyond zoning and includes what they describe as Rep. Willis’ lack of accessibility and responsiveness to constituents.
“If you’re a resident of District 13 and need help from your council member, good luck getting Gay Willis to talk to you,” said Margaret DiFrancesco, a District 13 resident. “Her actions clearly show that the interests of big developers come before the concerns of residents. That’s particularly disappointing because when she first ran for office, she campaigned on ‘Neighborhoods First.’ Five years later, residents are asking what happened to that promise.”
In a 2021 candidate questionnaire published by People Newspapers, a publication covering District 13, Rep. Willis said, “District 13’s greatest strength is our neighborhoods and the people (and pets!) who bring them to life. This is the bedrock of my Neighborhoods First platform.”
Residents involved with D13 Together have described interactions with Rep. Willis as leaving them feeling “dismissed and marginalized,” and accuse her of giving developers greater influence than residents in major land-use decisions. If Willis is allowed to continue on her current path, the wooded, single-family neighborhoods enjoyed by residents for decades would become unrecognizable.
COALITION SAYS WARNINGS WENT UNHEEDED
D13 Together was formed this summer by residents from neighborhoods including Preston Hollow, Melshire Estates, Wimberley Court and Bluffview.
When the coalition launched in August, it publicly asked Willis to seek a 120-day delay of controversial zoning cases so residents, developers and city officials could work toward compromises. Rep. Willis rejected this request.
D13 Together warned at the time that it would consider initiating the recall process if its concerns were not addressed.
“Councilmember Willis was given every opportunity to rebuild trust with the neighborhoods she represents,” Hazelbaker said. “We asked for time, transparency and meaningful discussion. Instead, the same conflicts have worsened. We believe the time has come to let the voters decide.”
RECALL PROCESS NOW MOVES TO DISTRICT 13 VOTERS
Organizers plan to give formal notice to the Dallas City Secretary on Sept. 25, triggering the recall campaign. They will then have 60 days to collect valid signatures from qualified District 13 voters equal to at least 15 percent of those eligible to vote for the District 13 council seat in the last general municipal election.
If the City Secretary certifies that the petition contains the required number of valid signatures, the City Council must call a recall election on the next available election date permitted under the Charter.
D13 Together has the funding and an organized team of volunteers throughout District 13 to collect signatures and inform residents about the recall process.
“This petition isn’t the election,” Hazelbaker said. “It simply gives District 13 voters the opportunity to make the decision for themselves. After everything that has happened in our neighborhoods, we believe voters deserve that choice. District 13 voters always show up.”
ABOUT D13 TOGETHER
D13 Together is a coalition of neighborhood groups and residents committed to protecting the quality of life, character, and long-term vitality of Dallas City Council District 13. The coalition brings together communities that share a belief that residents deserve a meaningful voice in decisions affecting their neighborhoods.
CONTACT: Meggie Abendschein, 512-423-5888, meggie272@gmail.com
