CBS/KTVT 11 Reports
                             

01/19/05  Belo and Council know we are on to something.

When a Dallas Managed News (aka Belo Corp.) editorial using the phrase "Park Cities Cabal", you know they are reading us because the phrase came straight from DallasArena.com.  Then in CBS 11'S Ace Reporter Sarah Dodd's Tuesday night interview, Councilwoman Veletta Lill talked about a Park Cities power grab.  Well, being human and all, it pleased me to no end.

Knock, Knock: Closed doors will close minds to mayor plan 6:20 PM CST on Tuesday, January 18, 2005

For decades the symbol of Dallas city government might as well have been the closed door. Today, thanks to the dedicated agitation of ordinary citizens, City Hall has become much more open and more representative of people in every corner of the city.    This editorial board would like to see the strong-mayor proposal that will be on the ballot May 7 as another step in the direction of greater responsiveness. Fundamentally, we're inclined to believe that it would give the people who choose to live in Dallas a greater say in how their government functions.    That's why it's distressing that the architects of the proposal, the most visible of whom is lawyer and City Council candidate Beth Ann Blackwood, are behaving in a way that can be portrayed as less than open. ...Such missteps may be more style than substance, but they're costly ? especially when your opponents are trying to paint you as a Park Cities cabal bent on subverting Dallas City Hall for some nefarious end. Why make their job easy? ...This strong-mayor proposal is worthy of serious, substantive discussion, but we'll never get there if its proponents provide ammunition to its detractors. ...

Wonder where they picked up "Park Cities cabal"?  Oh, I know, it was right here on DallasArena.com.

If it were not for the great e-mails and voice mails I get from different readers, sometimes I wonder about the effectiveness of all the work it takes to keep DallasArena.com going.  Now, with friend and foe using DallasArena.com stuff, I'm all charged up for at least a year -- probably the last thing the DMN Editorial Board wanted to hear.

Lots of people are organizing to oppose Bah! Bah! Blackwood's plan, people who don't like each other and hardly ever agree on the time of day.  You have to give Our Mayor credit for uniting this city like it has not been for many a year.  She must know this is a loser because she's been very quiet for the past several days.  After previously announcing she would raise money and organize her own campaign to support Blackwood's plan, Our Mayor has been very quiet.  Do you think she's done a poll?  Or, maybe she has reviewed the City's Ethics Rules (which she helped write), rules that prohibit elected officials from raising money or soliciting money for campaigns (other than their own) or issue campaigns.

The Ethics Code says:

Pretty explicit.  Probably someone called it to Our Mayor's attention.  Certainly puts a big hole in her bubble.  She at least seems to have the good sense to drop her bragging, but time will tell.

Speaking of bubbles.  This past week has been devastating for Bah! Bah! and her Park Cities Cabal.  They have been revealed to be a bunch of major goofballs.  With all their screw ups, it's hard to think of that crowd as smart.  It's even harder to think of what could happen to this city if those arrogant bubble brains actually get control of our City Hall.

I'm very confident that on May 7th the voters of Dallas, from South Dallas to North Dallas from East Dallas to West Dallas, will turn down this Park Cities coup d'?at.

There are several groups opposing this mess.  Some may work together, some may do their own thing, but the goal is to send Bah! Bah!'s Cabal back to the Park Cities.  We are not going to become their serfs.

One group whose membership includes several public relations consultants and representatives designated by "Coalition for Open Government".  I will be working with that group, but other organizations and groups are stepping out, too.  Several chambers of commerce will be opposing this plan.  Even some ODB groups that usually are big rah! rah!'s have made it known they will be fighting Bah! Bah's plan.

Since we know Belo and Bah! Bah! are reading DallasArena.com, we would like to suggest that they just give up all this foolishness and go back to what they do best respectively, sell overpriced advertisements and practice law.

sb