Keller Citizen Legislature

I’m starting to lean that direction after an email I received tonight.  While some people may think I’m against everything and anything, that isn’t true.  Take a trip down memory lane to 2006 where I came out publicly for the bond.

It will be a very hard sell for me to vote for the stadium, but that is another story.  Tonight I want to share with you an email I received from Deputy Superintendent Mark Youngs:

Hi Doug,

Upon further review KISD has moved the following projects from long term to short term:

Technology – Off site redundant location                        275,000

Technology – SSL VPN Solution for Remote Access      195,000

Technology – Application Security Firewall                     75,000

Technology – Intrusion Prevention/Security                    355,000

Technology – Class Room Projectors                            5,037,000

Security – Upgrade Alarm Panels District Wide               100,000

As far as flooring is concerned VCT Tile lasts 20 years and to the degree that tile is used it will be funded with long term dollars.  When carpet is used it will definitely be financed with short term dollars. We have found more and more campuses want tile because of cleanliness and indoor air quality issues.

You will be contacted by the district next week about the special ed. issues that were of interest to you – specifically the adjustments to be made if the multipurpose building becomes available.

The sum of all the short term projects still remains well within the parameters discussed with our underwriters.  The current market turbulence has us all worried some, but we were not planning on going to market until after the first of the year, so we will “wait and see”.

Thanks for your interest.

Think I’ll sleep on it a couple of days and do some soul searching and maybe give Kenny Smith and Jim Maine a call.  I respect both guys and they seem to be lining up on opposite sides of this issue.  I also have interviews with Bob Dejonge and Jason Wylie and need to get those completed before I make a final decision on how I will vote.

The Positively Keller slate of candidates is backed by the powers that brought you the late night vote that approved a library without the vote of the citizens. Watch this video and be amazed at the names brought up in the Mayor’s remarks on who should be on the steering committee, they are pretty much the “Who’s Who” of Positively Keller dot com.

Also notice at the end who makes the motion to approve the resolution, none other than Steve Trine, one of the directors of the PAC that isn’t a PAC, Positively Keller.

We have made progress since 2005 and today we have a much more open Government at City Hall.

Is it contentious at times? Sure, but there’s a saying that sausage and law making can be messy business. I’d much rather have an open dialog than a bunch of back room deals.

The weather tomorrow is going to be beautiful with a high of 92 degrees. The Keller Sports Park will be full of families watching their kids play baseball and soccer and there is large number of communities in town having their neighborhood garage sales. Keller High Baseball is in the playoffs and will be playing at Jesuit High. Heck, my son’s college team is playing in Lubbock tomorrow in the playoffs. I know you will be busy, but if you have not voted, take the time to stop by Bear Creek Middle School or Shady Grove Elementary School and do so tomorrow. Take the 10 minutes to keep Keller Government on the right track, rather than returning to the days of back room deals and a Council as a Body.

The power brokers in town want you to stay home, they feel that the lower the turnout, the better chance they have.

Jim Carson, Bob Kirk and Mark Harness need your vote.

I forgot the Citizen doesn’t publish LTTE the week of the election, and have been sitting on this one for a week or two. It’s a version of my Joe’s vs. Schmoes.

I’m going to post it here so at least some of you will be able to read it.

To the Editor:

The way I see it, there are two faces of Keller, the elitists and the working Joe and Jane. The elitists believe that they are the savior of Keller from the likes of Jim Carson, Mark Harness and Bob Kirk. They worry about Art in the Park, while the working Joe’s worry about pot holes. They worry about the feelings of the bureaucrats at City Hall while the working Joe worries about how it feels to be flooded out of their homes because somebody at City Hall wasn’t doing their job.

The elitists worry about the “Council as a Body”, the working Joe wonders why after all these years, and all the promises from past Mayors Tandy and Phillips, that the Town Center TIF is still in the red and will continue to be there for the foreseeable future. They make accusations of ethical lapses, but then their PAC doesn’t think they’re a PAC and won’t file the required forms. What are they hiding?

It’s simple really; if you care more about Art than Pot Holes, vote for the Tandy slate of candidates. If you want middle of the night votes for Town Center Libraries that the public doesn’t want, vote for them. If you want a slate of candidates that feel they can buy the election, have at it, vote for them, because they’ve spent more money this year than ever has been spent in an election in this town.

If you want OPEN government, a Council that will fight to keep every dollar in YOUR pocket, then vote for Carson, Kirk and Harness. Sure, these three men have some stances I don’t agree with, but one thing I know is true, they care about you, the Citizens of this town.

I received this via email from a frequent commenter on this blog, John McNaughton. I’ve met John and his lovely wife Elaine on a couple occasions and think the world of them. John and Elaine aren’t power brokers, ex elected officials, Rotary Club or Chamber Presidents—just honest hardworking tax paying citizens of Keller. I asked for John’s permission to post this here on KCL and he obliged. I think his original intent was just to send it out in an email to a select few, but I feel what he wrote needed to be said.

I am not going to use a blockquote as he has taken the time to highlight certain areas, and that type of formatting doesn’t show up well in the quote function.

I have to admit that when I first read AN OPEN LETTER TO THE CITIZENS OF KELLER(AOL)…I was livid. One reason was because just a few hours before opening Jim Thompson’s AN OPEN LETTER, I had read Jim Carson’s letter to Keller citizens. Just the vast difference in the tone, knowledge of issues, and facts stated was startling to me. I don’t know Jim Thompson, but I felt embarrassed for him. I do know John Baker, and I am perplexed why he signed his name to this letter.

Here is what I mean…
“We come to you as former mayors, council members, board members, employees, and certain concerned citizens.”
Let me see if I understand this, the PKG (Positively Keller Group) got together with a group of non-reelected, fired or laid-off, retired, ex-Tandyites…and this is the exclusive pool they select quotes from? Paalease…For example, Steve Trine says,” The city council is largely a creation of Mr. Carson…The city council should not be one voice and one decision maker.” Meanwhile at the same time the PKG, and especially Jim Thompson, excoriate Carson for being the lone dissenting negative voter more often than anyone in history…Well which is it, guys? In my opinion, the key word in that first sentence is former. My verdict for the first sentence of the AOL-Shamefully disingenuous and misleading.

“We are very concerned about our city and the negative, unprofessional conduct by members of the current city council.”The AOL then goes through cleverly worded examples of the supposed misdeeds of the current City Council.
- The first bullet point mentions the council changing their vote after hearing from the citizens.
-The next bullet point claims the council doesn’t listen to its citizens…this from the Star- Telegram? Come on guys, which is it, do they listen or don’t they? And will the PKG give us the exact article that used the words,” dysfunctional and disrespectful to applicants,” because I have been unable to find it?
- PKG goes on about “intimidation” and “charges of misconduct,” well, the next logical statement should be the results of these charges…was anyone found to be guilty of these charges? Any firings? Any official reprimands?
- Regional rail revolt? Why didn’t the PKG explain why this was such a mistake by the City Council? Is it possible that it was not a good deal for Keller?
-“Inconsistent and unprofessional conduct has resulted in stagnant economic development…the PKG is blaming this City Council for that? I believe the city staff and development boards would be the likely stimulus for economic growth… Perhaps I’m wrong, but does the PKG hold the City Council totally responsible for city expanding the tax base? The PKG insinuates that because of this” unprofessional conduct” the cities tax base will not increase and this will inevitably result in our taxes being raised. It sounds like the PKG is resorting to scare tactics.
And finally, the PKG complains about” lack of cooperation between council and KISD”, I understand that the KISD and City Council met regularly before the Tandy Regime, but not during her regime. One of Pat McGrail’s goals was to begin meeting regularly with the KISD board, and that’s exactly what he has done. My verdict for the second sentence in the AOL-Shamelessly misleading and full of innuendo and iniquitous statements-simply deplorable.

“During the past two years we have lost numerous employees-including 5 key administrators-DUE to an environment of intimidation and mistrust.”
Who are the PKG talking about? Why are we left to guess who they are talking about? Are you talking about Lyle Dresher? Kevin Lahner? Lisa Harper-Wood? Are we supposed to believe that all five ex-employees contacted the PKG and disclosed to them the reason they were leaving Keller? And it was solely because of “an environment of intimidation and mistrust?” That really takes some imagination…

Only history will tell, but if I were running a city, I would not trade one Dan O’Leary for five Lyle’s, ten Kevin’s, or twenty Lisa’s! In other words, I think the council’s hiring of Dan, and the staff he is assembling, is going to benefit the city of Keller for many, many years to come. My verdict for the third sentence in the AOL – it is intentionally misleading and replete with non-truths.

“Morale of current city employees is at an ALL TIME LOW.” OK PKG, you have published this as a fact, prove it! Show us, with or without naming names, how you can make such a fantastic claim! Verdict of the fourth sentence- simply pathetic.

“It is important that you, our fellow citizens, are made aware of this situation.” So, if the PKG did not exist, the citizens would not know what you know? My verdict for the fifth sentence- it is pitiful and sad.

Ladies and gentlemen, this is just the first paragraph! The remainder of the AOL is the same, all leading to the inevitable conclusion-PKG candidates Good, present City Council bad! We are VeryPositive- They are decidedly negative…

I strongly disagree with Thompson, Cawthra, Baker and the rest of the PKG. This present City Council has hired a city manager that I, as I said earlier, believe will be a huge asset to Keller. This new team has been working together to build a needed fire station, they are addressing street and drainage issues head on, and working successfully to keep our taxes low.

I am amazed that Mark Harness, Jim Carson and Bob Kirk have maintained their resolve to ignore the abuse and negativity from the PKG and the Star Telegram, and to continue to run a clean and respectful campaign against their opponents!

My questions to the three PKG candidates are as follows:
-Why did you decide that dealing with issues ‘straight on’ was not enough to get you elected?
-Why not clearly and accurately state an issue, your stance on the issue, and your opponent’s stance on the issue, and then let the voters decide whose views they most want on the council?
-Why not build a strong platform, and convince the electorate to support you from there?
The answer is obvious.

I believe all of Keller would have benefited from an honest and open campaign of the issues. However, that’s not what we got. Hopefully the next election will be different.

I don’t always agree with Carson or Brown, but I trust them with my tax dollars. I also trust them with the non-monetary choices they make as my representative. After attending the LOWV forum, I am convinced that Kirk and Harness are also worthy of my vote.

John McNaughton

The Keller Citizen had a pretty intensive article on websites and the upcoming election, although it was mainly about Positively Keller dot com. The article asks the question if Positively Keller is a PAC but doesn’t answer it, instead leaving it up to their readers to decide.

So, readers of the Citizen, post up a comment on whether or not you believe that Positively Keller is indeed a PAC or not?

Me, I feel that it comes close enough that they should have registered itself as one and they may have a complaint or two filed against them before it’s all said and done. For a slate of candidates claiming how ethically superior they are to the current council, it kind of makes me chuckle.

Also, did anyone else notice that Todd interviewed Steve Trine and not his wife Linda?

[Admin Note: This is being transcribed by the slowest transcriber in Keller. Keep checking back for updates. kthx]

Introductory Remarks by Joe Petersen:

Good Evening! Welcome to the 2008 Keller City Council Candidates’ Forum. My name is Joe Petersen and I’m chairman of the Greater Keller Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber is producing this event this evening along with the League of Women Voters.

First of all I’d like to thank the candidates and the incumbents for their participation this evening, as well as the live audience, for your time and interest in this important election. We truly have a wonderful, wonderful city. Our current population is hitting almost 38,000 strong, and the city is one of the most beautiful in the metroplex. We’re blessed with an outstanding school system, as well as a city staff that’s committed to absolute professionalism and excellence.

We’ve got 51 police officers and 44 fire fighters I’d put next to anyone in their professionalism, their training, and their readiness to help us in a time of need.

In fact this past year Money magazine, as most of you are aware, named Keller one of the best places to live in the country. We’re in the top 100 places to live in the country, simply because of the quality of life here in our great city.

I think Keller can best be defined by its diversity. As an example, our many churches, our many recreational offerings, even our housing offerings are so diverse in nature.

[pause for microphone feedback problem]

There we go. Other than our speaker system, what a great city we have.

Our city offers homes in older neighborhoods, absolutely full of character. In new, master-planned communities with well-manicured lawns and common spaces. And even large parcels that have room—ten acres and even twenty acres—for horses and cattle in the larger, northern part of the city. We have small, more affordable homes, all the way up to multi-million dollar estates, and everything in between. Our city is quite diverse.

Often, during our annual election cycle, candidates as well as incumbents sometimes look at our diversity and our differences, and find negative things in that. Statements are made in a negative way, that really do affect the other candidates, or affect our city in a negative way, or embarrass us. Over the years the political process in Keller has gotten quite ugly. As statements are made for the sole purpose of embarrassing one to show that I’m better.

I hope in this forum this evening, we can celebrate our diversity, and respect our differences. Because it’s our differences that make us strong. It’s not our differences that make us wrong. I hope tonight will be a very informative evening, a very factual evening, and again I hope we’re all going to be respectful of the differences that make this great city that we call home.

With that I’d like to introduce Georgia Kidwell with the League of Women Voters, who will be moderating.
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…that’s how many people showed up to vote today at Town Hall. That’s well short of daily vote totals in 2006 and 2007, but I’m not worried. I’ve heard from plenty of people who are withholding final judgment until they’ve heard from the candidates tonight.

My campaign letter went out in the mail this morning, and will probably arrive for most of you in tomorrow’s mail. Here it is, “below the fold.”

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Reading through the Positively Keller website, this website and the LTTE’s in the Citizen, a certain theme runs through the Anti-Jim candidates’ supporters. The City Staff knows best.

We shouldn’t question their authority or knowledge, lest we disrupt the City. That is the theme of this election.

So, I ask, why even have an election? Let’s just vacate the council positions and all appointed board members and commissioners and let the staff run the city with no oversight from the citizens.

In a joint P&Z/Council worksession I was basically told that I should not use my bias of certain issues to vote for or against projects that come before P&Z. That I should use strictly a technical point of view. If that was the case, then 90% of the projects in Keller would be voted down as they all seem to be asking for variances to the written code. What they actually mean is that I should just vote with whatever the staff recommends.

Hogwash. I will take the recommendation into consideration, but City Staff are not infallible. If we went by the City Staff recommendations, Keller Station would be under construction right now.

Elected officials are the voice of the people—remember that when you vote.

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He’re a fun way to waste some time in our cubicles: Go to www.google.com, type in “positively keller” and then click the “I’m feeling lucky” button. Go ahead. I’ll be here when you get back.

Hidden Lakes has come through again with a very good questionnaire (why can’t the Star-Telegram and League of Women Voters come up with questions that are important to Keller, instead of boring generic queries?)

Anyway, here’s the link to Hidden Lakes’ questionnaire:

http://hlhoa.com/Candidate_Responses.html

I’ll surely have more to say, but you need to know in advance that Tom Cawthra is dead wrong about the Town Center UDC and what’s permissible there. Single Family (attached) does NOT include apartments, no matter how strained the interpretation. Once again, the city manager, after hearing my reasoning, denied Keller Station’s application because it included a multi-family use (apartments,) and multi-family is NOT permitted in the 2002 Town Center UDC.

Former Mayor Dave Phillips came out this time last year in support of Mayor Tandy in her reelection bid. It caused quite a stir because when McGrail and Tandy faced off the first time, he supported McGrail.

His letter to the editor was quite funny actually, he stated that he was supporting Tandy because Pat had failed to stay in the public eye. That Pat wasn’t qualified because he didn’t continue to serve on boards, commissions or be a member of the all powerful Rotary (My words, not his).

Now, Mayor Dave has an article on the Positively Keller Website, and it sounds like he has always been Mayor McGrail’s greatest supporter, rather than actively working against him 12 months ago:

This year is an exciting year for politics. We know that however the November election turns out, it will be historic. As demonstrated by the recent primary election, record voter turnout is expected in November.

The election in May could be a significant one for our community if voters show even a fraction of the interest shown for the national election. Considering local politics affect us more directly than do national politics, you would think that voters would make a reasonable effort to participate in local elections. The fact is that typically only ten to fifteen percent of eligible voters go to the polls in Keller.

This year we have an opportunity to forget about past issues and focus on the future. We have the opportunity to get our city government back on track and move forward. We have a new Mayor and City Manager who know how to make things work. Voters chose Pat McGrail because of his prior Council experience, and experience is what Dan O’Leary brings to the manager’s job as well. Both of them need an effective Council to get things done. We owe them the support they need.

For the last two years the Council, and therefore the City, has been in turmoil. Of the ten top management positions at City Hall, five of those have left their jobs out of frustration over the Council’s inability to set a positive and productive direction for the community. After ten years of stability and accomplishment, the city government hasn’t been able to work together as a team to get things done. Animosity prevails between the elected officials and the city employees, the Council can’t work together effectively, and they have even alienated our regional partners and sister cities.

The Mayor and City Manager are ready to put the turmoil behind us, but they need the voters to support them. We need to turnout and vote to remove the road blocks. We need to elect a Council that is capable of working together with a positive and progressive perspective. We can’t afford to run off anymore capable employees over incompetent leadership from elected officials. We can’t continue to stifle economic development and the commercial tax revenue it generates, and blatantly insult people who come before the Council to present their proposals. We can’t afford to turn off our regional partners any longer. And we can’t continue to be portrayed in the local media as a disrespectful, inept community that has no interest in what goes on around us.

Ten years of effective government helped Keller be recognized as one of the fifty best places to live in the nation, and it’s taken only two years to become a joke regionally. We need to vote to support our Mayor and improve our City’s image. We need new faces on the City Council.

Dave Phillips
Former Keller Mayor

I like Dave—heck I voted for him back in the day. But after his LTTE last year and now this, I’ve lost a lot of respect for the man. What is also funny, is how Dave talks about how united the Council was for the 10 years previous to the last two. If I remember correctly, there was a resolution in front of City Council when Dave served asking for an investigation into his Conflicts of Interest.* There were seated City Councilmembers working behind the scenes to get Mayor Dave thrown off the bench. How united is that?

There was also a City Councilman by the name of Terry Barker who questioned everything that came in front of council, similar to a certain City Councilman we have now.

Heck, just a few years ago McGrail and Tandy faced off in a bitter battle for Mayor. Both were current Council Members. If there was such harmony, this could never have happened, could it?

* I was one of only two people who spoke at the City Council Meeting who said the charges were nonsense and the City had better things to do with their money than investigate the Mayor over the Rapp Road extension. As I said, I was a supporter of Dave Phillips, I just think he has Good Ole’ Days Syndrome, a situation where one remembers how good the good ole’ days were, when in fact they weren’t so great in real life.

If I have time between now and the election, I’ll try to dissect the other articles on the Positively Keller Website.

That title is straight to the point, isn’t it? Most campaign advisors would probably cringe at such language. I’m not an advisor; I’m a supporter.

One of the lessons I learned growing up was that if you didn’t vote, don’t complain. I take it one step further…if you really feel strongly for a candidate, you need to lend support. Whether that be as a volunteer walking the streets, stuffing envelopes or giving a little money. As I have a very hectic schedule these last few years, I’ve drifted towards writing checks.

I make no qualms in my support for Jim Carson in the upcoming election. I hope those who have read this blog over the last 2+ years and have supported Jim in his quest for a more open government will lend their financial support. It costs money to run a campaign.

Please take the time to send Jim a contribution.