3/30/07  Here we go ---

Although I intended to write about the mayoral candidates last week, it was a moving target as to who was and who wasn't on the ballot.  Interestingly, Jennifer Gayle was able to get on the ballot, when Zac Crain could not.  Guess more street people are registered to vote than bar regulars.

Here are the candidates in the order they will appear on the ballot:

1	John Cappello		johncappello.com		John Cappello is a Collin County resident.  His business is Cappello Foods and John Cappello Enterprises (food industry) and real estate management for family interests.  He is Chairman of the Board and President of West Dallas Chamber of Commerce.
2	Roger Herrera		rogerherrerafordallasmayor.com		Roger Herrera is a Dallas native.  He is an attorney.  He has served on the Permit & License Appeals Board and the Cultural Affairs Commission.
3	Gary Griffith		garygriffith.com		Gary Griffith is a long-time East Dallas resident.  His business is Jefferson Partners, a public relations firm.  After serving on the Park Board, he was elected to city council replacing Mary Poss in District 9.  Very active in Republican politics.
4	Edward Okpa				Edward Okpa is a Nigerian-born real estate developer.
5	Ed Oakley		edoakley.com		Ed Oakley has lived in Oak Cliff and has had a construction business in Oak Lawn for years.  He served on the City Plan Commission until he resigned to run for District 6 on the City Council before redistricting.  He was drawn out of his district and put into District 3.  He challenged the incumbent for that seat and won.
	Darrell Jordan		darrelljordanformayor.com		Darrell Jordan lives in North Dallas.  He is an attorney with the firm of Godwin Pappas Langley Ronquillo, LLP.  He is a Past President of the Dallas Bar Assn and the State Bar.
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7	Jennifer Gale
8	Tom Leppert		tomleppert.com		Tom Leppert is a Dallas businessman, Turner Construction.
9	Max Wells		maxwellsformayor.com		Max Wells is a retired Dallas banker.  He served on the City Council and Chaired the DFW Board.
10	Don Hill		www.donhillformayor.org		Don Hill is a Dallas lawyer.  He is a current city councilmember.
11	Sam Coats		samcoats.com		Sam Coats is a Dallas lawyer and businessman.  Took Continental Airlines out of bankruptcy.  He was elected as a Democrat State Representative and has served on the DART Board.

I try to write about what I know.  The above information came from the candidates' respective websites, except for the Okpa notes, which came from Okpa gets back into mayor's race; Crain still out  (by Dave Levinthal,  Dallas Morning News 3/29/07).  Below are my comments about the candidates:

1	John Cappello		I don't know John Cappello, and had never heard of him until this campaign.
2	Roger Herrera		I don't know Roger Herrera, and had never heard of him until this campaign.
3	Gary Griffith		If you like someone who lives in the gray zone (not cerebral matter), someone who waits to see how the crowd is moving before making a decision, Gary Griffith is your man.  He is a pleasant fellow who earned his DallasArena.com nick name of Sandra Dee because he's cute, blonde and says absolutely nothing of significance, no matter how long he talks.
4	Edward Okpa		I don't know Edward Okpa, but a mutual friend reports that he has been Chair of the Economic Development Committee of the Dallas Black Chamber of Commerce for many years and serves on the Board of Groundwork Dallas.  At least, he can count to 473.
5	Ed Oakley		Ed Oakley is someone you have to love, even when you hate everything he does.  He is emotional and endearing.  He is also ruthless.  I worked my tail off to help him win his first council race against Dwaine Caraway and have lived to regret it.  Ed has supported every big ticket item down the pike, every tax abatement presented to the council.  He is obsessed with the Trinity Project and refuses to hear any concerns about the danger of building a toll road on top of a levee (as in pre-Katrina New Orleans).
	Darrell Jordan		Darrell Jordan is someone who does the right thing when no one is looking.  He is smart and solid.  He is creative.  Had Ron Kirk not taken us on that wild goose chase for the 2012 Olympics, we likely would have a domed Cotton Bowl right now and would not be losing the Cotton Bowl Classic.  Darrell had organized a group of businessmen and architects to design and raise money to dome the stadium and had several million in pledges and commitments.  He has expressed concerns about the current plans for the Trinity Project.
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7	Jennifer Gale		Jennifer Gale is special.  Again, this candidate can count to 473.
8	Tom Leppert		I don't know Tom Leppert, and had never heard of him until this campaign.  He seems a bit testy and does not suffer fools lightly.  That is not necessarily a bad thing.  He probably would run the council with an iron hand, rather than try to be a consensus builder.  I agree with his commitment to managing our tax dollars more carefully rather than raising our taxes.  Three big problems with him:  1) backed by Ron Kirk/Con Jerk; 2) only lived in Dallas for 3 years; and 3) big Trinity booster.
9	Max Wells		When Max Wells was city councilman, I initially found him responsive to Oak Lawn Committee concerns.  He became a complete ward politics participant.  He could have made a difference, but he just went along to get along.  That's why the likes of Lordi Palmer are supporting him.  He has a terrible temper and does not like to be challenged by lesser beings.  I agree we need to pay our police better, but raising our sales tax rate is not the answer.  We could not offer the Dallas Cowboys any incentive because our sales tax rate was topped out.  Max's time has come and gone.
10	Don Hill		Don Hill is a current city councilman who is termed out.  He is still under the cloud of an FBI investigation.  Unlike other mayoral candidates who think our ethics rules should be tightened, Don Hill thinks they are just fine.  Isn't that a surprise?  He is smart and articulate and extremely unctuous when chairing council meetings as Mayor Pro Tem.  Big believer in ward politics.
11	Sam Coats		I don't know Sam Coats, and was not aware of him until this campaign.  He has an incredible r?um?  The environmentalist tried to make an issue of his serving on the TXU board of directors, but that is ridiculous.  With each birthday, available air conditioning is more and more important to me.  Coats has also expressed reservations about the current Trinity Project plans.

Here are some things that matter to me in this campaign:  integrity, strength, consistency and questions about the Trinity Project.  I don't want another unknown.  I went to the mat for two non-politicians: Laura Miller and Ed Oakley.  Both have been terrible disappointments.  I knew Ed would be a lackey for Our Downtown Betters (the ODB) because he truly wants to be accepted by the big boys.  Still, his excesses surprised me. 

Had Laura Miller stayed true to her base of conservatives and populists who wanted City Hall to get back to the basics, she would have had an army of supporters who would have pressured their own council members to support her agenda.  She dumped on her conservative base almost with her inauguration speech.  Then, she pulled the rug out from under the pay referendum for police and firefighters who had worked so hard for her.  Then, she steadily turned her back on the rabble who had gotten her elected as she tried to endear herself to the ODB, who used her and rejected her.  She forgot one of her mayoral campaign positions -- SIGNATURE SCHOOLS BEFORE SIGNATURE BRIDGES.  See Jim Schutze's column:  Steve Blows (Dallas Observer, 3/29/7).

Darryl Jordan moves in the same circles with the ODB, but he isn't impressed by them.  That doesn't mean he's hostile to them, but he would not sell his soul to curry favor with them.  There's a reason Ron Kirk/Con Jerk and Donna Halstead of the Citizens Council moved heaven and earth to find anyone for a candidate to stop Darryl from being mayor.  They know he will put government basics first and all the frills second.  He will listen to all comers, but in the end he will do what is right for Dallas taxpayers.  That sends a chill down the backbone of Our Downtown Backers and their lackeys like Ron Kirk/Con Jerk.

There will be a runoff in this election with 11 candidates on the ballot.  Some think without a Laura Miller in this race the turnout will be light, but there are 7 council seats up for new representation.  Four new council members will come from the 4 Black council districts.  Many of those voters will vote for Don Hill, but that's all the votes he will get.  It may be enough to get him into the runoff, but don't bet on it.  Ed Oakley thinks he will get a large Black vote, most of the Gay vote and some North Dallas votes, but North Dallas remembers how he forgot us once we gave him a 95% vote which resulted in his first council victory.

Sam Coats has a great r?um? but I just don't see where he has a base to get him into a runoff.  Gary Griffith has no money and a small base, and he will not be in a runoff.  Tom Leppert has no base, but he has a huge war chest of ODB contributions.  That may be enough to get him into a runoff.

Angela Hunt's petition drive to let us reconsider the Trinity Project is going to make the candidates respond to the issue.  If the runoff is Ed Oakley and Tom Leppert, they will be on the same side of the Trinity Project dispute

I think the runoff will be between Darrell Jordan and Tom Leppert.  That will be when everyone really gets excited.

sb