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Casie Pierce
Ruth Morgan
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04/26/04 Was Laura Miller ever
Sincere?
When Our Mayor began her morph from muckraking
journalist to city politician, she joined Donna Blumer, Dave Capps and me in our
1995 war against former Mayor Ron Kirk (Con Jerk), Tommy Hicks and Ross Perot,
Jr.
The 1995 Laura Miller had all the numbers. She was a great spokesperson
for us when she finally got involved.
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When we organized "It's a Bad Deal!!", no celebrities were interested in
standing out front of our rag tag group, except former Councilwoman Donna Blumer.
As we got further along and our yard signs started popping up all over town in
people's yards (not city parks like Kirk's signs), Laura Miller came on board,
but not before it looked like we had a chance to win.
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James Northrup:
The state law prohibiting the use of sales tax to finance
sports stadiums in parks is there for a good reason - there's not much
economic incentive to build such a facility if it does not trigger private
development in the immediate vicinity. Fair Park is no exception.
Dallas can ill afford to add "most expensive hotel / rental car tax" to its
other dubious distinctions. |
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We were certainly glad to have her.
We came so close to stopping the arena sales tax travesty. We spent just
under $100,000, and Kirk's gang spent almost $4 Million. We had no
professional political consultants, and Kirk's gang had Carol Reed (Kirk's Large
White Shadow) and Rob Allyn (Miller's Chief Guru) and Kathy Neely's gang of vote
harvesting thugs. We appealed to real voters and had over 400 people
phone-banking from their homes, and Kirk's gang relied on Kathy Neely to harvest
just enough mail-in ballots to squeak by with less than a 51% margin of victory.
For this stadium sales tax fight, we have all the same folks against it, except
for Laura Miller. Kirk's old gang is still in tact, except Ron Kirk will
be replaced by Laura Miller.
| I've had a year to
adjust to the reality of the real Laura Miller vs. the person we thought we were
electing. Actually, I've had 2 years, but I made excuses for what she did
to the police and firefighters after they had worked so hard in her first
campaign. |
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Anonymous Observer:
Some folks had the Mayor figured out as a matter of first
impression.
It's quite simple.
It's all about Laura.
It always
was. |
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Not only did the cops and firefighters work hard individually, several of
their wives phone-banked for Miller's campaign. They built and delivered yard
signs. They gave her large campaign contributions. They let her use
their names. She signed the petition to get their 17% raise on a
referendum ballot in May, and then immediately started campaigning against it
when she was elected Mayor.
| It would have been bad enough had she just said "I have new information, and I
cannot support a 17% raise." That would not have been true, because she
had been on the council for two terms and knew the state of the city's financial
woes as well as anyone. It wasn't enough for Our Mayor to turn her back on
some of her hardest working volunteers. She was the primary spokesperson
for the campaign to defeat the 17%. She lied in that campaign, as well.
She told voters if they turned down the 17% raise, the officers would get 3
annual 5% raises. She knew the 2002 council could not bind future councils
to that promise. Both of the first two installments of the 5% raises were
delayed by months. We are already hearing rumblings about this year's
budget problems. |
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Citizen D:
If you step up to the plate FIRST and admit you were wrong,
it's harder for others to criticize you too
harshly.
In a sense, you are right (as
usual). In this case, you are way TOO HARD on
yourself. I am no friend of Laura Miller.
Even I cannot believe
she could lose her mind to this extent!
Recent events at City Hall
completely defy logic or probability.
You have been consistently fair and
TRUTHFUL. Most other credible websites and media outlets
do not come close your level
of fairness and objectivity you show in every edition
of your newsletter. You print opposing views.
I cannot think of another
information source (and I read and listen to a lot of them)
that goes to the tedious lengths you do to be balanced,
honest and fair.
Laura Miller is lucky
your DallasArena.com
was not around when she was a journalist because
she would have NEVER been able to get a job here!
You are doing just great!
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What she did to the police and firefighters was really awful, but they are
nameless working stiffs to her who should be grateful to have a job and happy to
put themselves between us and the bad guys.
There were individuals who worked hard for her in that first mayoral campaign,
too. Almost none of them are part of her current inner circle. About
the only people she has kept close are her Park Cities benefactors.
She has now turned on one of her biggest supporters, Dave Capps. There's
no point in itemizing how much Dave did for her in both campaigns, but Laura
Miller knows. She knew what the police and firefighters did for her, but
look what she did to them.
A few weeks ago, I asked one of the original "Bad Dealers" if he thought Laura
would support a sales tax on car rentals for the Jones stadium sales tax.
He said "Laura will vote for it in some form."
He was very prophetic because look what the Mayor is saying now:
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Rental tax
illegal for Cowboys stadium site;
County officials: Law may also forbid use of
hotel levy at Fair Park
11:12 AM CDT on We, 4/21/04
By DAVE MICHAELS / The Dallas Morning News |
Dallas County officials think the
proposed tax revenue that would help pay for a new Cowboys stadium would not
be available if the facility is built in Fair Park, potentially delaying the
project and requiring changes in state law, officials said.
... a little-known portion of state law that
forbids using rental-car taxes to finance a sports venue that is part of a
city park and recreation system.
... Dallas' Fair Park has emerged as the
favorite site for a new $650 million stadium, according to public officials
who met with team representatives. But Fair Park, the city's second-oldest
park, is part of the park and recreation network and is administered by the
Dallas Park Board.
... Stadium opponents have seized the issue as an
impediment to tax financing for a professional sports stadium.
"It looks like it would be a very big
obstacle," said Pat Cotton, a Dallas political consultant working with the
group No Jones Tax.
... The team and Dallas County could press forward
with a referendum, and if voters approve the new taxes, ask the Texas
Legislature to validate the election. ... 1991,
when lawmakers passed legislation authorizing a half-cent sales tax for
construction of The Ballpark in Arlington, which voters had already
approved.
... The team also could ask lawmakers for
special legislation that would allow Dallas County to levy hotel and
rental-car taxes for projects at Fair Park. ...
could mean delaying the referendum beyond Nov. 2, ....
Dallas County Commissioner
Jim
Jackson, ... did not think lawmakers would
fit more stadium bills into a special session that is tackling the
controversial subject of school finance.
... Dallas Mayor Laura Miller, who has championed
Fair Park as a site for a stadium, said she thought the team could clear the
hurdle by approaching lawmakers during the session.
"If the Cowboys are serious about
getting this on the November ballot, they'd have to go to the Legislature,"
she said.
... The legal problems appear to be most obvious
in the case of the rental-car tax. The law clearly prevents a local
government from using rental-car taxes to finance "a venue project that is
an area or facility that is part of a municipal parks and recreation
system."
... The law also appears to restrict the use of
hotel occupancy taxes, though the language is somewhat unclear, according to
lawyers hired by Dallas County. ...Staff
writer Dave Levinthal contributed to this report. |
Knowing the history of Laura
Miller the politician still did not prepare me for the actuality of Laura
Miller, chief promoter of Jerry Jones' sales tax to build his stadium on our
public property.
I am totally prepared to support giving Jones land at Fair Park for his stadium
on a permanent lease basis where he pays no rent and no taxes because a stadium
would be great for Fair Park. A stadium at Fair Park would be great for
the Cowboys, too.
I am totally prepared to support letting Grandpa Jones sell bonds to season
ticket holders to finance his stadium.
I am totally prepared to support letting Grandpa Jones tax tickets, tax parking,
tax locker rooms to finance his stadium.
I am totally prepared to fight as hard as I can to keep car rentals and
hotel/motel sales taxes unavailable for Jones' stadium.
Dallas residents have paid enough for a fancy sports facility for a couple of
billionaires. No tourists are paying the arena sales tax on car rentals
because it only hits car rentals in our city limits. DFW car rentals are
outside of Dallas city limits. |
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Bob Smith:
I'm a new citizen of Dallas, so
perhaps I can provide a fresh look at this
Jones stadium problem. The solution
is simple.
Build Jones' stadium in
Highland Park, where Jones and
many season ticket holders live.
The Park Cities crowd can then:
* Pay for the roads to Jones'
stadium
* Provide security for Jones'
stadium
* Provide traffic control for
Jones' stadium
* Tax themselves for Jones'
stadium
I'll vote to
impose these expenses on the citizens of the Park Cities.
I'll vote to use the Dallas Country Club
as the site for Jones' stadium.
The additional car rental and hotel
taxes in the Park Cities alone
will pay for Jones' stadium.
During off-season,
there will be tractor-pulls, dirt bike racing and
rock band concerts.
I love the Cowboys,
but I do not see why this county and city should go
bankrupt for a billionaire.
The prestige brought to an area by an
NFL team does not in itself provide significant
revenue. In the case of Cleveland, OH
(no longer a national joke), it wasn't the
Browns that pulled the City of Cleveland up, but
the city itself. |
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If Laura Miller is successful in getting legislation done during this special
session to void the prohibition against taxing car rentals for sports facilities
on park land, Dallas residents and Dallas County residents will be the only ones
paying Jerry Jones' tax because ALL THE CAR RENTAL FACILITIES AT DFW ARE IN
TARRANT COUNTY.
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It is so
surreal to know a politician who made her bones opposing a sales tax that
only benefited a couple of billionaires and their millionaire jocks is now
going to be a cheer leader for the likes of a creep like Grandpa Jerry
Jones. Compound her new fondness for taxing Dallas citizens with
her preoccupation with the Trinity Project, and you have to wonder who took
her away from us. There is no other explanation than she has been
possessed by aliens. |
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What Mayor Miller is doing is much more evil than anything Ron Kirk ever
did. He never pretended to be more or less than a shill for Our
Downtown Betters (the ODB). Oh, he occasionally played the race card
when people got critical of his heavy-handed ways and all the conflicts of
interest that were part of his tenure. We knew who he was and who made
the decisions for him. |
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Who will take Mayor Miller
seriously when she goes on the campaign trail for Grandpa Jones?
She really does not understand the limits for her popularity. She doesn't
acknowledge the erosion of her base in North Dallas. She does not care
that former friends and supporters are no longer with her and will never trust
or support her again.
So, where will Miller go to promote Jones' sales tax? The suburbs don't
like her anymore than they liked Ron Kirk, maybe less. South Dallas will
not necessarily support anything that Miller is promoting, even if it benefits
their own community. East Dallas and North Dallas and probably Oak Lawn
will not support another sales tax that will be the stake in the heart of our
convention business.
All the opposition will have to do is let Laura Miller debate Laura Miller by
playing tapes of her debates opposing the arena sales tax. That was only 5
years ago. We haven't forgotten.
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