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09/26/07  Targeting Angela Hunt is a Cowardly Campaign

Although everyone in Dallas has reported on the Tuesday night debate in Oak Cliff sponsored by State Rep. Rafael Anchia, I am going to do it again.

There was a crowd of activists like I haven't seen together in years.  Lots of politicians.  Current District 3 Councilman Dave Neumann.  Former District 3 Councilmen Bob Stimson and Ed Oakley were there.  Former Councilman John Loza.  Former Councilwoman Donna Blumer sat with me.  Contrary to what others have written, the crowd was more evenly split than you would think.  The difference in the responses, Angela Hunt and Sandy Greyson gave us Yes voters something to cheer and clap about.  Mayor Leppert and Princess Velveeta Lill left their supporters sitting on their hands.

DallasArena.com has frequently given Princess Velveeta Lill a hard time.  Honestly, I would like to say something good about her.  Here's something -- she's not teasing her hair so much and her makeup wasn't so garish as we've come to expect.  Unfortunately, she can't get away from the pretentious drama queen act.  She was so over the top Tuesday night that I've yet to read any blog or report or response complimenting her.  That Housewife Extraordinare sat up there and pompously talked down to the audience, and the audience did not like her condescension one little bit.

After all the dishonesty on the part of the Trinity Project promoters, from Con Jerk/Ron Kirk to Craig Holcomb, it was shocking to see a newcomer like Mayor Leppert talk about commitment to the voters of 1998.  Got news for the Mayor, almost as many voters rejected the Trinity Project in 1998 as supported it.  Don't forget, there was a lot of mail-in ballot vote harvesting done in 1998, which is not legal in 2007.  Even those who did vote YES in 1998, voted for ballot language that referred to "parkway" not "toll road" or "toll way".

From here until November 6, you will be hearing the 2007 NO campaign claim the Industrial Blvd. reliever route is not an option.  Mayor Leppert says it will delay the project 5-10 years due to eminent domain fights with property owners along Industrial Blvd.  Those Arlington homeowners who had their land stolen by Jerry Jones sure were not able to drag out their fight for 5-10 years.  As former Councilwoman Sandy Greyson pointed out, the Trinity Project is already 10 years in delay -- not because of any eminent domain fights, but because they have been trying to figure a way to fit a toll road in the river.

Greyson and Velveeta got into it over the claimed size of an Industrial Blvd. reliever route.  Greyson pointed out the toll road is only to be 4-6 lanes wide (at first), but Velveeta claims Industrial has to be 10 lanes.  I would bet not one person in the entire auditorium could tell you what Velveeta said in response.  She spouted pedantic nonsense whenever she got the mike.  Reminded me of Lordi Palmer, throwing out statistics and numbers that were based on nothing.  At least Lordi Palmer would lie forcefully.  Velveeta acted like she was afraid someone in the audience was going to catch her in a lie.  Unlike Mayor Leppert, Velveeta recognized the faces of a lot of smart people in that crowd.  She knew they weren't buying her Drama Queen routine Tuesday night.

Ed Oakley sat in the back and had to be having a good time watching the crowd jeer Princess Velveeta and Mayor Leppert.  Ed looked tan and rested, and it was good to see him back in action.

One thing Mayor Leppert said that disturbed me and made others laugh at him was when he told the crowd "I can assure you" that nothing about the Toll Road project would weaken the levees.  Velveeta tried to come to his rescue, but only made matters worse.  Neither he, nor the ODB, nor the Corps of Engineers can assure us of anything about a project that has never been done before -- building a road in a flood plain.

At one point, Velveeta tried to negate the comparison between the Katrina catastrophe in New Orleans and Dallas.  She said the flooding in New Orleans was not caused by levee failure and got off into some other structural failure.  Who cares?  It was the entire system that was flawed and built cheap.  When one part of a poorly designed and conceived system failed, there was a domino effect on the entire levee system that was built so floodplain and swamp land could be used for real estate deals.  That's where the Trinity Project compares to New Orleans and Katrina and disaster.  It's a bad idea totally based on hoped for real estate development.

Another huge gaffe Mayor Leppert made was arguing with Sandy Greyson about the lawsuit where the city successfully argued it was not bound by campaign promises or anything else other than the "ballot language" of the 1998 Trinity Bond vote.  THIS WAS THE CITY'S OWN ARGUMENT.  It was not bound by pretty campaign pictures of sail boats.  The judge agreed that only the ballot language mattered.  Unfortunately for the Mayor's side, the ballot language specifically calls for a "parkway"  not a toll way.  I like him, but Mayor Leppert is deficient in Dallas history, even fairly recent major events.

I bet Mayor Leppert doesn't remember cars floating down Swiss Avenue in the early 90's -- not 1890's, but 1990's. 

As others have noted, Leppert/Velveeta kept asking for Angela's alternative to a toll road in the flood plain.  They asked once too often, and she turned it on them with "Where is your alternative to the park?"

It was a good line and the room erupted in applause, but it's really not Angela's place to find an alternative to a bad idea.  If you see someone about to throw a bomb into a building, you don't stop and consider a better place to throw the bomb.  A toll road or any other road in the floodplain is a bomb that will explode -- sooner or later.

There was talk about an Industrial reliever hurting development and dividing Oak Cliff from the rest of the city.  The North Dallas Toll Road goes through some very ritzy neighborhoods, retail and residential.  Those areas have only gotten more prosperous next to the toll road.  I would like for someone to please tell me what's there to save or conserve on Industrial.

Velveeta and the Mayor pointed out that 14 of 15 council members support the Trinity Toll Road, as well as both senators from Texas and a slew of other politicians.  Later, a NO campaign plant (someone says he used to manage the Kennedy Exhibit) asked Angela from the floor how she could ignore all those politicians who are against her -- her, a mere female elected official with no rich husband or rich daddy.  I wish both times, Angela Hunt or Sandy Greyson had asked the Mayor and Princess Velveeta how they could ignore 53,000 registered voters.

The suits are worried.  They go to each other's chamber meetings and pass resolutions condemning Angela Hunt and supporting a NO vote in November.  That's the only place most will get to vote on the Trinity Toll Road because only a handful of chamber types actually live in our city limits.

There was one thing I haven't seen any bloggers or reporters mention.  After the initial debate, State Rep. Anchia and his co-moderator Victor Loe Hicks (former DMN editorial writer) each asked the panel a question.  I had warned several reporters that Hicks was not neutral on the Trinity Project.  As a DMN propagandist, she wrote very biased editorials favoring the Trinity Project.  For the League of Women Voters to consider her as neutral was either disingenuous or stupid.  When Hicks asked her question, it was a statement about Laura Miller bringing in experts to try to get the road out of the river and failing, and how the current project was the product of great work by lots of politicians, and how if it all falls apart because the VoteTrinity campaign prevails in November, IT WILL ALL BE ANGELA's FAULT.

I'm not sure Angela even responded to Hicks.  Instead she read the e-mails from Miller's experts condemning the toll road plans.

Velveeta and Mayor Leppert talked about private donations drying up over the VoteTrinity referendum.  Velveeta must have said "indeed" a hundred times.  Like most of the other projects in this city, half funded by artsy fartsy donations of trust fund babies, Dallas taxpayers wind up with staggering operation and maintenance costs that go on in perpetuity.  (Velveeta's not the only one who knows a few multi-syllabic words.) 

I'm glad the bloggers and reporters gave such long reports on the debate, because I have to admit to zoning out whenever Velveeta went into her act. 

Sam Merten:  Trinity Debate in Oak Cliff Draws Crowd (DallasBlog.com)
Matt Pulle:  On the Road Again, Leppert Stumbles (UnFairPark, DallasObserver.com)
Bruce Tomaso: Leppert, Hunt debate merits of Trinity plan  (DallasNews.com)

Basically, the NO campaign's position is that rich and important suits know better what is good for the city than the unwashed masses who sign petitions and pay property taxes. 

sb