|
Darryl Baker
David Tuthill
| |
5/18/9 Is Belo
committing suicide?
Any day now, there will be an editorial in
The Dallas Managed News
asking what the City Manager, the Mayor and the council knew about the real
numbers on the taxpayer owned convention center hotel. It has happened
after each of the big campaigns to convince Stupid Dallas Voters to vote against
their own best interest. The DMN
always tries to point the finger at someone
else, other than the Editorial Board.
During the campaign against the arena sales tax (which killed our convention
business, as we predicted), The DMN
had information about then Mayor Con Jerk (Ron
Kirk, now US Trade Ambassador) and Mrs. Con Jerk owning $750,000 worth of stock
options in a Tom Hicks company (back when they were worth something).
Several months after Con Jerk lied his hiney off to Stupid Dallas Voters,
The DMN
reported on his conflict of interest during the campaign. Not one question
about Kirk's conflict of interest as Mayor negotiating a one-sided contract in
favor of Hicks and Perot, Jr., to the detriment of Dallas taxpayers.
More recently, when news started coming from elsewhere,
The DMN accused
Mayor Tom Leppert of lying to Stupid Dallas Voters to get them to support the
ridiculous plan to put a toll road in a river's flood plain. During the
campaign, The DMN
Editorial Board espoused the same propaganda as the
Mayor, with the same passion and authority. So, it was particularly
hypocritical when the Arizona Hippie started questioning the Mayor's
credibility. What did he say that Belo's minions weren't saying?
Not to be an apologist for the Mayor, but he remained energetic and forceful
during the convention hotel debate while Belo was calling him a liar about the
Trinity Toll Road Project. He must have been feeling very betrayed, but he
never slacked off.
For some reason, the Arizona hippie was quite taken with Tax Expert Brint Ryan
who was soundly defeated by Ann Margolin for the District city council seat.
Despite Ann's incredible civic r?um?and despite Ryan's total disregard for
public safety as evidenced by all of his speeding tickets,
The DMN endorsed
Brint Ryan and were particularly nasty to Ann during the campaign and after, as
I mentioned in
Dallas
Managed News out of touch with Dallas voters.
While District 13 comprises only a small sliver of the city, this high-priced brawl captured Dallas' attention during a council election season that lacked drama and was dominated by incumbents. In a race featuring two smart, well-spoken candidates, Margolin's bare-knuckled barbs were a disappointment, as she willfully misrepresented a tax protest Ryan filed with the IRS.
After serving in high-profile posts on assorted boards and commissions, Margolin could have ? and should have ? just run on her record.
Ryan wasn't steeped in the ways of City Hall, but the CEO showed himself to be the more natural leader and innovative thinker in this contest. He would have offered a fresh perspective on the council, but this northwest Dallas district no doubt will be well served by Margolin, who has immersed herself in the intricacies of City Hall. ...
|
When has
The DMN ever
attacked a newly elected candidate, even before she was sworn in or ever made a
decision as a council member? Obviously, part of the Arizona hippie's
antagonism toward Ann is her endorsement by Councilman Rasansky.
The DMN has
always resented Mitch Rasansky's refusal to go along to get along. They
like team players.
When has The DMN
ever done a puff piece on a council candidate who
lost his election by a wide margin?
Expensive Dallas City Council campaign was worth the cost,
Brint Ryan says
(by Dave Levinthal, DallasNews.com, 5/16/9).
Granted, Brint Ryan got over 6200 votes, which was more than voted in most
districts, and more than most of the winning candidates got. The problem
for Ryan, who spent over a million of his own money for a city council seat, was
he picked District 13 for his base. District 13 has a history of high
voter turnouts and community involvement. District 13 provides a large
percentage of the tax revenue that funds all the rest of Dallas.
Another problem for Ryan, he hasn't got a clue what it means to be part of a
community, much less a community leader.
"I'd consider doing it again if the right conditions present themselves. I'd never say never to it," Ryan said. "By doing this, I learned a ton from the experience. I made hundreds of new friends. I even lost 10 pounds. Most importantly, I went from being a very isolated CEO to a very well-connected local leader."
|
You might be able to buy an
election (Ryan couldn't), but you cannot buy yourself a position of community
leadership. More than his driving 100+ miles per hour on LBJ and other 40
traffic tickets he was able to buy his way out of, that statement from Brint
Ryan reveals is total arrogance and ignorance. He thinks his million
dollar campagin bought him a leadership position. It did not. It got
him face time on TV. It got him an opportunity to debate Ann Margolin
several times, although his canned response to most questions was to claim "I am
a tax expert".
The difference in Ryan's endorsements and those supporting Margolin was not just
that he had a handful of endorsements and she had hundreds and hundreds of true
District 13 community leaders, business leaders and former elected officials
like Mayor Adelene Harrison, Mayor Laura Miller, Councilwoman Donna Blumer and
Councilman Mitch Rasansky.
Why did The DMN
run the story on Ryan and not do a story on Ann
Margolin who got over 8300 votes
although she was outspent 10-1?
 |
|
Their editorial and Levinthal's story are
evidence that it is digging itself a big hole. They are running
off the very people who used to be subscribers. Now, they are
begging Congress for tax relief. See
DMN publisher argues for antitrust exemption
(Chad Eric Watt,
Dallas.BizJournals.com, 5/6/9). |
The DMN
made a decision to turn its back on its subscribers
and readers when it hired the Arizona hippie to head up its editorial board.
They have started all of thos
|
