For those of you wondering what former mayor Julie Tandy is doing during her political hiatus:
Kelly Hart & Hallman LLP
201 Main Street, Suite 2500
Fort Worth, TX 76102June 22, 2007
City of Keller
Officer for Public Information
1100 Bear Creek Parkway
Keller, TX 76248Re: Open Records Request
Dear Ms. Stephens:
This law firm represents Julie Tandy and makes this request on her behalf.
This letter will serve as a formal Open Records Request for any and all records available under the Public Records Information Act [sic], as follows:1. All communications including but not limited to e-mails, interoffice communications, facsimiles, reports, records, minutes, notes (stenographic, handwritten or typed), messages, memoranda, papers, logs, invoices, bills, telephone messages and any other documents by and between Councilman Jim Carson and Jack Brock.
2. All communications including but not limited to e-mails, interoffice communications, facsimiles, reports, records, minutes, notes (stenographic, handwritten or typed), messages, memoranda, papers, logs, invoices, bills, telephone messages and any other documents by and between Councilman Jim Carson and any employee, agent, representative or assign of Preferred Texas Properties, Inc. and/or Jack Brock Builder, Inc., and/or Gloria Brock Enterprises.
3. All communications including but not limited to e-mails, interoffice communications, facsimiles, reports, records, minutes, notes (stenographic, handwritten or typed), messages, memoranda, papers, logs, invoices, bills, telephone messages and any other documents by and between Councilman Jim Carson and Attorney, Ross T. Foster or any of Ross T. Foster’s partners, associates, employees, agents, representatives or firm members.
This request will specifically include any records and communications received or sent at Keller Town Hall and/or any other location.
Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.
Regards, Shauna J. Wright
The latest draft of my response is:
July 2, 2007
City Secretary Sheila Stephens
1100 Bear Creek Parkway
Keller, TX 76244Re: Open Records Request — Kelly Hart & Hallman LLP
Dear Ms. Stephens:
I have reviewed the documents in my possession in light of the Open Records Request on behalf of Ms. Julie Tandy dated June 22, 2007.
Please inform Ms. Tandy via Ms. Wright that I possess no records under the Public Information Act which conform to the specifications listed.
Though not required by any law, you may also inform Ms. Tandy that communications by and between Jim Carson and Jack Brock or any of his business associates can be generally classified as either 1) Jim Carson listening sympathetically to Jack Brock’s telling or retelling of the real or perceived wrongs perpetrated by the City of Keller—particularly City Manager Lyle Dresher—against Jack Brock, his family, and/or his property, or 2) Jim Carson and Jack Brock discussing (but not always agreeing on) methods to unseat Mayor Julie Tandy and others.
Also not required by law, I wish to inform Ms. Tandy that I have occasionally sought the legal advice of Attorney Ross T. Foster when I was unsure of the advice of Keller’s City Attorney L. Stanton Lowry, or when I considered it unreasonable to question Mr. Lowry on what might potentially be his own failure to note a violation of the City Charter. Mr. Foster’s compensation was paid entirely by Jim Carson personally, and no funds of any kind were expended by the City of Keller for his services.
Any records of aforementioned communications in my possession either 1) do not meet the definition of Public Information as defined in the Texas Government Code, Chapter 552, Section 552.002; 2) are exempt from the Public Information Act under Section 552.109, which prohibits the invasion of privacy of elected officials and those with whom they communicate; 3) are protected under Section 552.107(1) as privileged attorney-client communications; or 4) a combination of these and other laws.
Sincerely,
James H. Carson
Mayor Pro Tem, Council Member Place 4
Jim,
And they say Judge Irby and I are sore losers. Wow, imagine Tandy hiring a lawyer? Isn’t her current husband a lawyer? She could have just hired him.
Guess Tandy thinks people voted against her because you and Mr. Brock had conversations about her.
I like your response—blunt and to the point. If I need a lawyer I’ll hire you!
Thanks Gerry, but if you hired me as your lawyer, the first thing I would do is calculate the present value of the future contingent event of your paying large damages as a direct result of hiring an actuary to be your lawyer.
I’ll probably need to collect my fee in advance.
I wouldn’t have been so nice.
So let me get this straight…in a City of Keller versus Mr. Brock legal issue, Jim Carson, elected City Councilman, privately hires an attorney to provide legal advice because he doesn’t trust or agree with the acting city attorney. Is that what I am hearing? Were you scheming against the City on this issue? Isn’t that a violation of your oath?
Who said I hired an attorney about the Brock issue? You’re reading words that aren’t there, Liz. But for the record, I’m entitled to seek legal counsel for anything I darn well please.
As mentioned, the only “scheming” I did on the legal matter was to listen to Jack’s side of the story. If you expect me to maintain a hostile posture toward a law-abiding citizen who has done no wrong just because we need his land to convey some water, then you might as well get the recall petition going now. If the people of Keller feel as you do, I have no intention of serving such cruel masters anyway.
Maybe she is getting together a defense team!
Anybody pick up on the fact that the lawyer writing the letter is a member of P&Z?
Maybe Brock needs a defense team. Julie should go after him—he slandered her good name in the Keller Citizen calling her a felon, which was so ridiculous it was laughable. Mr. Brock isn’t the nice guy he would have us all believe. Isn’t he the one who blocked families from getting to the Keller sports park several years ago?
As a general legal rule, actions performed in the past by the abused have little bearing on more recent abuses against the abused.
No, Gordon Yates blocked entry to the sports park because the city took and used his land illegally. They made a habit of taking Yates and he knew how to get it back. Yates won 4 or 5 lawsuits against the city. I think he is 5-and-1 in suits against our city. So get half your facts straight.
Jack has some (documentary) ammo stashed—believe me I have seen some of it.
Maybe somebody should go after Julie for impersonating a Mayor for 4 years.
Several emailers have noted the small world of legal score-settling in Keller.
One emailer, noting the title to this post, suggests that Ms. Wright is actually the elusive Willie Landum, “fishing guide to the stars.” (Inside joke for WBAP Friday morning listeners)
So, Liz, you came just up to the line (but not over) of falsely accusing Brock re the Sports Park. Going to publicly apologize here or should we just ignore it?
Apologize for asking a question? I maintain my opinion (I assume I’m allowed to have one) that Mr. Brock isn’t the nice guy he wants us to believe. I will say no more on the matter.
My final response in this matter was just:
I decided that all the other stuff was unnecessary, and I wouldn’t want to be seen as provocative.
In other words you didn’t want a confrontation with a lawyer that is waiving her fees?