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Metroplex Animal Coalition
Michael Davis
Mary Lou Reports
Mary Lou Reports II
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03/14/05 The Bad Guys
are bankrolling the Bad Guy!
Sometimes, the weirdest explanation is the right one.
Old Al Lipscomb is being backed by the people behind the Blackwood power grab
for strong mayor. They know that every time that old crooked pimp/drug
pusher opens his mouth, hundreds of North Dallas voters either decide to support
the strong mayor cabal or start leaning that way.
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The second worst council member elected to the city council under 14-1 was Old
Al's prot?? Sandra Crenshaw. She was more brazen than Old Al.
People stopped dropping by those lovely envelopes, and the catch phrase of the
day was "At least with Al, he stayed bought." Old Al did to Crenshaw what
he is trying to do to Councilman James Fantroy. Old Al let Crenshaw keep
his seat warm for him the requisite two years, and then he ran against her and
kicked her large hiney back to the private sector. |
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Officer K:
Al is a Man of Convictions.
I ask: "will someone at the DMN tell the citizens of Dallas that Al
Lipscomb is a twice-convicted felon?"... and, I'm not talking about some
"overturned" conviction either.
Have you read Allen Gwinn's story "Lemna:
A Heroin Dealer's Story" at
http://www.dallas.org/content/view/15/2/?
When I took my oath as a
Dallas Police Officer, I swore to uphold the law and the rules of my
department which prohibit me from association with felons. If a convicted
felon, like Al Lipscomb, sits upon our city's police review board (of all
things!) -- much less, upon the city council -- then how can the thousands
of law abiding citizens and Dallas Police Officers avoid associating
(unwittingly) with this felon in the halls of government?
That is a valid question if they
are unaware of his felony convictions in California, would you not agree?
When will the DMN tell the public the whole
truth instead of simply re-stating the oft-repeated "federal
bribery conviction that later was overturned" line?
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There's a big difference between Crenshaw and Fantroy. It's called
financial resources.
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No Shame At long last, Al, have you no sense of decency?
By Patrick Williams
Published
March
10, 2005 |
... Now, you
might think that Buzz, who derives great pleasure from sordid,
stupid politics, would welcome the return of Lipscomb, the former
city councilman and convicted bribe-taker whose conviction was
overturned on a technicality. (Lipscomb's defense: Yes, I secretly took
envelopes of cash from a local taxi cab company owner and voted his way, but
they weren't bribes, just gifts from a pal.)
Folks in the anti-strong-mayor effort
have been spinning a theory that Lipscomb's return to politics is part of a
conspiracy. Community activist Sharon Boyd and
other strong-mayor opponents suggest that those in favor of the strong-mayor
proposal are secretly behind Lipscomb's campaign and his work against the
City Charter amendment. Having this black, Southern Dallas sleaze working
against the initiative, the theory goes, will stir up white North Dallas
voters, who are inclined to be in favor of a stronger mayor, and get them to
the polls. Call it the With Friends Like That, Who Needs Enemies?
Theory.
Frankly, we doubt their theory,
simply because we subscribe to Occam's Razor, the notion that the
simplest explanation is probably correct. Why would Lipscomb run for city
council again? The simple answer: Why shouldn't he? He betrayed his office
and took cash under the table, and the community rallied around him,
defended him, supported him, called him a hero and champion of civil rights.
... He was released from home confinement
after his conviction was overturned, and council member James Fantroy,
who helped feed Lipscomb's family during his trial, appointed him to the
Police Citizens Review Board. ... laugher of
a quote from Fantroy in the Morning News: "Al looked me straight in
the face, eye to eye, and told me he was not going to run. If you can't take
a person's word, what can you trust about him?"
... Here's a better question: Why is anyone
surprised?
... In Lipscomb's case, he won beaucoup bucks and
admiration as a seedy political fixer.
... So, why isn't Buzz happy about all this?
Apparently--and this surprises even us--there are limits to how much
tawdriness we can stomach with a smile.
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There is no way that Old Al
did this on his own.
He may be an idiot and a crook and a drug pusher and a pimp, but he would
only turn on a financial benefactor if someone else was offering more
assistance. It is hard to believe Mr. Fantroy could have
ever trusted someone like Old Al, but when you believe someone is your friend
you can get blindsided. What everyone else sees about your friend is
completely lost on you.
With all of my rantings about James Fantroy, I am in the awkward spot of being
in his corner. Not only do I understand his hurt at Lipscomb's betrayal
after all that he did to help that old crook, but I empathize with his surprise
and shock. |
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3/24 Jerry Blake:
What about the "Dallas Code of Ethics"? I was there
when they voted on the "Dallas Code of Ethics". I don't remember with the
code of ethics allowing felons, pimps, drug pushers, convicts,
etc. to serve on the
council.
I don't remember it all,
but it seems the things covered in that (ethics) meeting were petty.
No real ethics were
mentioned. They were worded with loop holes and
weak promises.
No real commitments to do no
wrong. I don't remember much, except I wanted
to yell some profanity and walk out...
I didn't see any meat in the
"Dallas Code of Ethics". Oh yes, Al cast a vote when we voted for
the "Dallas Code of Ethics". The theme of the day was "CYA".
A Boy Scout
troop could have come up with a better list for
the "Dallas Code of Ethics" than what our council
delivered.
No need to go figure. We need to GO
VOTE! |
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| Some are asking me how I can support James Fantroy now after taking him to task
so often on DallasArena.com. It's very simple. You have to balance
things. |
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Eric K:
I agree. An old saying comes to mind, ?The enemy of my enemy is my
friend.? I almost feel like sending Fantroy a campaign contribution. |
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Nothing that Councilman Fantroy may have done (or not) could
compare to what Old Al has been convicted of doing. Old Al Lipscomb ran a
string of prostitutes in California and pushed heroin in California. He
may or may not have pushed drugs once he returned to Dallas (after a stint in
California jails for his evil ways), but Old Al was a major pimp Downtown for a
long time. That would be enough to throw my support to James Fantroy over
Old Al.
I would support the Devil himself for public office over Old Al Lipscomb because
he sold out my neighborhood for a pitifully small amount of money. The
impact of his evil act and his greed caused many legitimate businesses to fail
and encouraged slime to move into the area.
Some of the people most directly impacted by Old Al's greed are poor,
hardworking homeowners in the Bachman area who could not escape the results of
his evil act.
Yeah, I'm ready to phone bank and walk-door-to-door to get the vote out for
James Fantroy.
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Lipscomb, Fantroy ready to rumble
07:25 AM CST on Tuesday, March 8, 2005
By
MARK WROLSTAD, DAVE LEVINTHAL and GROMER JEFFERS
Jr. / The Dallas Morning News |
... A promoter might bill the coming campaign Rumble in District 8.
Maybe even Malice in Southern Dallas.
Al Lipscomb, the veteran Dallas council member forced out by a many-count
federal bribery conviction that eventually was overturned, will try after
all to wrest his old job from longtime ally and acolyte James Fantroy. He
has held the seat since Mr. Lipscomb resigned in 2000.
... "Al looked me straight in face, eye to eye, and told me he was not going
to run," Mr. Fantroy said Monday. "If you can't take a person's word, what
can you trust about him?
"But it won't matter. I'm going to beat him like an old country mule."
For his part, Mr. Lipscomb chose to remain nearly mute Monday as he and
an entourage pushed through a swarm of TV cameras and reporters at the city
secretary's office.
... "This is a democracy," he said. "This is my right."
... Sandra Crenshaw, who succeeded Mr. Lipscomb when term limits pushed him
off the council for one term in 1993, accompanied him to City Hall along
with southern sector civic leaders such as Marvin Crenshaw and Roy Williams.
Ms. Crenshaw ...
said he didn't have to answer to anyone about why he's running.
... His filing sets up a potential comeback that seems unprecedented in
Dallas politics and would have been inconceivable five years ago when Mr.
Lipscomb was accused of taking money from Yellow Cab executive Floyd
Richards in exchange for favorable council votes.
... Mr. Lipscomb admitted he had been wrong to accept cash-stuffed
envelopes but insisted they weren't bribes. He was convicted on all 65
charges and ended up serving 27 months of home confinement,
partly because
of ill health cited by his attorneys.
... The elder, dethroned politician blessed Mr. Fantroy as his successor ?
rather than Ms. Crenshaw ? before the 2000 special election to fill the
seat. After Mr. Lipscomb's conviction was overturned in July 2002 on grounds
that his trial was improperly moved to Amarillo, he made rumblings about
challenging Mr. Fantroy in the 2003 election.
Instead, Mr. Fantroy appointed Mr. Lipscomb to the city's 15-member
Police Citizens Review Board ? a move viewed as payback by some.
... "It was a
controversial appointment. I had other council members asking me to withdraw
his name."
During Mr. Lipscomb's bribery trial in Amarillo, Mr. Fantroy paid many of
his expenses, including leaving an open tab at a restaurant for the Lipscomb
family.
... "He's saying, 'I'm Al Lipscomb and I'm going to run for this seat no
matter who is in it,' " said Dallas political commentator Rufus Shaw Jr. "He
thinks the seat belongs to him."
... Carol Brandon, vice chairman of the City Plan Commission
... "It has hurt a lot of people who have respect for both men," she said.
"They still remember how Mr. Fantroy supported Mr. Lipscomb in Amarillo."
... Mike Uhl, a former assistant United States attorney who was the lead
prosecutor on the bribery case, ... "Well, you know, times change, and with the way the case has progressed
through the courts, I guess nothing is inconceivable anymore," Mr. Uhl said.
"It certainly is an interesting turn of events, I'll give you that."
... "He appears to be in very good health and very active," Mr. Uhl said,
possibly referring to Mr. Lipscomb's previous mentions of failing health.
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I still can't believe anyone
bought Old Al's Fred Sanford act of ill health and fainting spells. This
man is the biggest con artist most of us will ever encounter in our lifetimes.
He's not loveable. He's not harmless. Old Al is evil.
It's not surprising that North Dallas resident Roy Williams would stand with Old
Al. They are a couple of frauds who understand each other. It is
disappointing that Marvin Crenshaw would join Old Al's freak show. Marvin
Crenshaw has always been "out there", but I truly believed he was "pure".
Back to the conspiracy thing! Old Al promised to keep a low profile after
that fiasco at City Hall where he read from PREPARED, DOUBLE-SPACED, TYPED copy
and compared Laura Miller to Hitler. He told several African-American
leaders who met with him that he just wanted to kill the Blackwood proposal, and
understood that he was a negative and would be quiet. I laughed when I
heard that report because they truly believed he would keep his word.
As Patrick Williams says "Yeah, right!".
If we know that Old Al hurts our campaign against the Blackwood proposal, the
Park Cities proponents know it, too. We didn't want Old Al anywhere near
the Coalition for Open Government, so his Park Cities benefactors decided to go
a different route to keep him in the public eye.
A very smart friend of mine sent this comment today:
I was thinking about Al Lipscomb
and I think he is the poster boy for why the Strong Mayor Initiative is a good
idea.
That's exactly what the Park
Cities Cabal hope will be the prevailing response to their putting Old Al up to
running against someone to whom he owes a lot. You have to remember, Old
Al comes cheap. They can get a lot more bang for their campaign bucks by
pushing Old Al out there than by spending thousands on citywide mailings.
Hopefully, we wake up on May 8th with Blackwood down in flames and Fantroy has
indeed beat Old Al like a country mule.
sb
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