Mary Lou Reports
                             

06/09/03  New Council Gets Sworn In

Well, things are a lot different this June 9th than last year when I finally decided to run for city council and Roxan Staff was considering a council race.  We really thought we could get elected and get to make a difference at City Hall.

With less than 600 of my supporters bothering to vote (when we had over 800 yard signs at homes of voters -- multiple-voter households), I was pretty shocked.  There's always a chance of losing when you run for office, but to lose to apathy is particularly painful.

I didn't have much time to dwell on my loss because Roxan Staff was in a runoff.  It was always more important to me for her to be on the council because she has the time to devote to being a full-time council member and my job workload is increasing on a daily basis.  I was having panic attacks about how to get everything done if I did win.

I thought we would both win.  I thought wrong!

If anything during the campaign hurt my feelings, it was not getting the endorsement of the police and firefighter groups.  I was one a handful of citizens who supported their pay referendum, and DallasArena.com was practically a free campaign advertisement for them from February-May last year.  Particularly the Firefighters!  They didn't even have the courtesy to call and let me know they were not endorsing me.

Their disloyalty certainly will discourage future candidates to stand up for public safety officers.  The directors and members of the various unions blame Laura Miller for their loss in the pay referendum and used their endorsements to slap her by not endorsing me.  Even as dense as those union board members are, it was obvious Laura would continue as Mayor of Dallas.  They did not want to back a loser.

For the umpteenth time, DallasArena.com reminds you.

The DPA Board pulled the rug out from under the "It's a Bad Deal!!" campaign.  

Had 800 votes gone the other way, there would have been no arena hotel/motel and car rental tax to devastate our convention business (as we warned it would), which has a huge impact on our sales tax revenue.  Had 800 votes gone the other way, there would be more money available for salaries for ALL city employees.   There would be an arena anyway because the Robber Barons could tax tickets, parking and players -- user taxes.  The Robber Barons refused to tax the people who use THEIR ARENA.  The Robber Barons wanted to tax the rest of us who can't afford their game tickets.  The DPA helped the Robber Barons and ODB stick it to Dallas taxpayers.  Consequently, all city employees, particularly the sworn officers got "shafted" by the DPA blunder.

Many people I called from my "It's a Bad Deal!!" volunteer list (over 450) blamed the DPA for our loss and refused to support the referendum, much less work to get it passed.  DPA members should look to their own Board to share any blame with Mayor Miller.  It's easy for the DPA Board to try to shift responsibility to the Mayor because she campaigned against their referendum after signing their petition, but DPA's sellout in the arena sales tax election is the real reason Dallas has all but lost our convention business and why we are in such a revenue slump.

Still, the Boards of any of the unions are the politicos of the rank and file.  Most of the men and women who protect us never want to be part of that "leadership" group.  Most of our protectors spend their off duty time with their families.  Some criticize them for not living in Dallas.  How else can they get away from the job?  When you go home at night, you may occasionally get a call from work, but how many of your neighbors ask you to come over and do your job for free for them?  An officer in a neighborhood gets treated like a free security guard.

This past week was the first time I have actually had time to dwell on the election results (general and runoff).  My emotions are very mixed.  As I tell those who say they prayed for me, "You must have asked God to do what is best for Sharon.  You were supposed to pray to let Sharon win."  

I am personally better off as a private citizen than trying to balance two demanding jobs.  I never intended to quit my regular job because it is the perfect employment for me.  My boss was a partner in one of my client law firms.  When he formed his own firm, I kept him as a client, too.  His practice has mushroomed, and my responsibilities increased to where I resigned from all other law firms and only keep a couple of condominium groups as Boyd Management clients.  

Being able to come home and dig in my yard and play with my pets without feeling guilty about not doing some campaign work is a new experience.  I have been doing non-stop campaigns since 1992, when I ran for council against Craig McDaniel.  I didn't suffer enough the first time, so I did it again in 1994.  Then I helped John Loza!  There was the Arena sales tax campaign!  Then Laura ran for council the same time as the Trinity Bond Election!  Then Ed Oakley ran against Dwaine Caraway (who has become my friend - honest to God)!  Then the redistricting mess!  Then Laura running for Mayor!  Then Roxan Staff's and my council races!

I thought and still think Craig McDaniel was a worthless councilman.  He used his position to change the zoning in Junius Heights (Old East Dallas) so his slum apartment buildings would be legal.  

John Loza is a whole chapter in disappointment for me.  Ever so often, he reminds me of the sweet young man I considered a friend -- his support for a stronger financial report, his help in keeping the City Attorney focused on moving Baby Dolls, et al away from Bachman Lake and residential neighborhoods.  I may have had him completely wrong from the start, but I think he has fallen under the spell of his handler's stroking his insecurities.  He may never be his own man again.

No regrets about the arena opposition campaign.  Everything we warned would happen has been as bad or worse than we feared.  We were right!

Laura Miller has not been a disappointment for me.  I have not agreed with her every decision, but she's the right person for a very difficult job in a very difficult time for this city.  We are friends, but not best friends.  We seldom socialize.  We have common goals for the city -- to make our local government more honest and for City Hall to run more efficiently.   Tom Dunning didn't seem to think things were broke, so they didn't need fixing.  That made him unacceptable.  Never figured out what Mary Poss thinks.  We were right to back Laura Miller in all of her elections.

Ed Oakley is a work in progress.  Like most people, I have frequently under-estimated him.  One lady in Oak Cliff says "Ed never met a developer he didn't like."  Some of his votes were just plain wrong -- Palladium for one.  His excuses were pitiful and non-sensible.  I still resent how he distributed the $4 Million "discretionary" bond money for District 6 -- most of it went to his new District 3 and Loza's new District 2.  BUT, there is no one on the council who knows more about zoning than Ed Oakley.  He was the difference in the Greenway Parks conservation district results.  Without him, Lill would have completely ignored the opposition's concerns.  Other council members knew she was doing wrong, but would have gone along without Ed and the Mayor defying "ward politics" as usual.  No regrets about supporting Ed Oakley or being his friend.

If I had it to do over again, I would not have made this council race.  I had nothing to gain.  My time would have been better spent as a volunteer for Roxan Staff.  She got blind-sided by a partisan race against her with two Republican US Congressmen campaigning against her, although one of them claims otherwise now AFTER receiving criticism from previous campaign contributors.

DallasArena.com's forecast for the next two years at City Hall:

Mayor Miller continues to "morph" into her role.  We will see less and less of the feisty broad.

District 1 - Dr. Garcia will continue to do more right than wrong, and adds much to the council.
 
District 2 - John Loza has become the Mayor's ally.  His association with vote harvesters and Joe Thug May makes it impossible to trust or respect him.  Word on the street is Loza intends for Joe Thug May to succeed him on the council.  Guess Joe Thug May intends to quit his federal job!

District 3 - Ed Oakley will do a good job for Oak Cliff.  He loves being on the council.  He has a history of reaching out to his opposition and will work with the Mayor.  He is the perfect choice to head up the Trinity Commission.

District 4 - Maxine Thornton-Reese is hopeless, dumber than a stump.  Dwaine Caraway would have been better.  What fun to have Ed and Dwaine on the same council with Elba and Steve!

District 5 - Don Hill is smart and ruthless.  He may be good for his districts (because he rules 4, 5, 7 and 8), but he does not look out for the city as a whole.
 
District 6 - Steve Salazar is likely to be a better councilman for District 6 than when he represented District 1.  He will have much to prove to Dr. Garcia.  Their rivalry for popularity among Oak Cliff Hispanics will be good for that area.  Hope he doesn't ignore the Northwest part of our district!

District 7 - Leo Chaney is the ultimate "ward" boss and shakedown artist.  

District 8 - James Fantroy is despicable.  He is stupid and rude.  Nothing good will happen in his district until he is gone.  They deserve what they elected.  

District 9 - Gary Griffith will be Mpossible-Lite.  Like Poss, he is a back stabber who joins as many civic groups as there are hours in the day.  Hopefully, he will prove us all wrong and not try to sabotage the Mayor at every opportunity.  After all, Laura Miller not only substantially carried District 9, she even carried Mpossible's home precinct.

District 10 - Bill Blaydes will be great!  He is tough and smart and self-confident.   I hope he puts Greg Holliday on a board or commission.

District 11 - Lois Finkelman will continue to be who she is -- an ally when she wants something.

District 12 - Sandy Greyson more often than not does the right thing.  She catches the waste -- like the 4-tier water billing, $500,000 worth of "art" in the tunnel between the garage and terminal at Love Field.  

District 13 - Mitch Rasansky will continue to read the fine print in the city's contracts and call the problems to the council's attention, which they will continue to ignore.  His deference to "ward politics" in zoning cases is a concern and major disappointment.

District 14 - Veletta Lill is never going to be someone the Mayor can trust.  Nothing Lill does in the next two years can redeem the harm she did to Oak Lawn by forcing through those amendments to PDD 193, and she was equally ruthless in the Greenway Parks case.  She surrounds herself with suck-ups and has a closed mind to anyone beyond her power group.  Totally manipulated by Lordi Palmer.

For once, I agree with the DMN.  The most important thing this council can do is hold the City Manager and Chief of Police accountable for the condition of the city and the Police Department.  They both need to go!  The sooner, the better!

06/09/2003 Editorial Page   Dallas Agenda: Here are issues city must address

Today is special for Dallas Mayor Laura Miller, City Council members and voters who elected them. These officeholders are formally sworn into office, launching what we hope will become a new era of leadership at City Hall.    Mayor Miller has four years, and the 14 council members two years, to right a City Hall that has been adrift by political infighting, management woes and the sluggish economy. It's time to begin anew. . . . Good management    The City Council should hold City Manager Ted Benavides, Police Chief Terrell Bolton and others accountable for performing their jobs at a level commensurate with demands of the nation's eighth-largest city. That includes:    Making all policy and personnel changes necessary to correct the fake drug scandal that wracked the Dallas Police Department and prevent such an abomination from ever occurring again. It also means addressing low morale in the police ranks, which is hurting law enforcement. . . .  Cleaning up Dallas with an effective code enforcement program that assures neighborhoods won't have to put up with waist-high weeds, trash-filled property and dilapidated houses. . . .  We offer our congratulations to Mayor Miller and the City Council. Now, let's get busy.

Mayor Miller has already expressed her dissatisfaction with the City MisManager.  It is time for him and the Chief to go.  Will the rest of the council help her put things in order?

That will be the real test of whether we have two more years of the same thing or a 

NEW CITY COUNCIL!