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| | 07/10/03 Allen Gwinn sets an Example in Citizenship!
As a huge fan of Allen Gwinn, you can imagine how pleased I am this week to have
his perseverance vindicated by the State Ethics Commission's findings against
Mary Poss. Collen McCain Nelson and Chris Heinbaugh did good jobs reporting on the
exposure of the campaign funds deception by Mary Poss.
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Poss
fined $5,000; Ethics
panel says she improperly reported campaign expenses
07/09/2003
By COLLEEN McCAIN NELSON / The Dallas Morning News |
The
Texas Ethics Commission has found that former City Council member Mary
Poss violated the state's election code, and she has paid a $5,000
penalty. . . . comes more than two years after activist Allen Gwinn
filed a complaint accusing Ms. Poss of failing to properly report campaign
expenditures.
Ms. Poss has described Mr. Gwinn as a longtime critic
and had dismissed his complaint as political posturing. But the state's
ethics commission found that she incorrectly reported more than $30,000 in
campaign expenditures over several years.
. . .The $5,000 fine, which Ms. Poss paid last month, is among the highest
that the commission has imposed for such a violation.
"Pure and simple, this is vindication for me," Mr.
Gwinn said. "This is not a little deal. This is a big deal."
. . . the letter from the commission also contradicts statements
that Ms. Poss made during her failed campaign for mayor.
The commission's resolution letter, which assesses the fine,
appears to be 18 months old.
During this year's mayoral campaign, Ms. Poss repeatedly
denied that the ethics commission had found any wrongdoing or had proposed
a resolution. In a televised debate in April, the four-term council member
said the commission planned to schedule a hearing in the future.
"I have not seen any letter of ... resolution," she
said during the debate. "I have seen things people have printed out
for me on some of the rogue Web sites about that, but I have not seen any
such letter." . . . |
The debate where Poss refers to Allen
Gwinn's www.Dallas.org as one of "the
rogue Web sites" was the Ch. 8 debate moderated by Chris Heinbaugh. Some other
reporter might have forgotten her response, but it was his
question and she lied to him.
What was it she kept saying during the campaign, "Mary Poss keeps her
word?"
Some people who were so solidly behind Poss that they supported Gary Griffith
over Roxan Staff must be feeling very foolish this week. Of course, some
people who supported Poss are as shameless as Poss herself. Deliberately
violating election laws is no big deal to them. Lying about the wrong-doing is to
be expected in that crowd.
This was huge news, but the local media dropped it after 48 hours. Poss
has been fined $5,000 -- only the second time the Ethics Commission
has ever assessed such a large fine. $5,000 is chicken feed to
Poss. She spent over $300,000 of her own money trying to unseat Laura
Miller. But then, $30,000 is chicken feed compared to $300,000.
Why would Poss have done something so stupid as to write a $12,000 check to
herself with no documentation? Because she could! Because she's
special! Because only "little people" follow rules. (Or,
is that "only little people pay taxes".)
More interesting than why a self-claimed smart politician would do something so
outrageously stupid is why more people aren't outraged.
Why are there so few Allen
Gwinn's in Dallas?
Poss lumped www.Dallas.org into
"the rogue Web sites". If it hadn't been for Poss and Kirk
trying to shut us down, our "rogue Web sites" might not have gotten so
much attention. Each site had our own group of readers, but
thanks to MPossible and Con Jerk we became really hot locally and even got some
national attention.
We don't compete. Our approaches are completely different. We usually
are on the same side in matters of ethics, good government and many
political campaigns. We despise people who cheat and disregard
regulations put in place to make the political process fair and honest.
Is it too much to ask people to simply follow the rules as stipulated for
elections in the jurisdiction where they are seeking office? Apparently it
is for Mary Poss and her crowd.
It was no accident when several bags of Roxan Staff's campaign mail got way laid
at the Post Office. It was not some misguided Griffith supporter or
homophobe who mailed out that anonymous piece which only went to Republican
primary voters. Both actions were done by the same person, and everyone
knows who did it.
For the cheaters, it's only about winning and one-up-man-ship. It's about
riding in the parade and power. They don't care about good government or
fair play.
The cheaters will never understand someone like Allen Gwinn. They are
afraid of him and resent him. He represents everything they can never be.
Poss bought her way into politics from the get go. Like some others on the
council, she was cheaper for the ODB and Robber Barons to control than Old Al
Lipscomb and Shakedown Leo Chaney. Just invite her to a party or lunch,
and she was on your team. There is not one thing real about the woman
except her size.
There's an old saying I've heard several relatives use to describe a
particularly dishonest person:
She would rather climb a tree to tell a lie than stand
flat-footed and tell the truth.
All this comes down to a series of lies. Poss illegally paid herself
$30,000 from campaign funds because she had not previously indicated personally
expending $30,000 or even $3,000 or even $300 on behalf of the campaign through
receipts or otherwise. When she got caught, she lied about it.
Unfortunately for her, her former Treasurer (Roxan Staff) refused to participate
in the lie. Poss has been lying about this for so long, it comes second
nature to her. After all, $30,000 is such a pitiful amount of money to
Poss.
Why did she take it out of
her campaign funds?
Why did she lie about it?
This little fallacious episode could have all sorts of ramifications. US
Congressman Pete Sessions got right in the middle of the mayoral campaign on
behalf of Mary Poss and was practically the candidate in Gary Griffith's council
race. It was expected Sessions would get Poss some federal appointment,
even if she is a fake Republican.
Will Sessions want to be
tied to a confirmed liar?
Do we want an acknowledged prevaricator in any kind of government position?
Allen Gwinn has been ridiculed
for pursuing his ethics complaint against Poss. The complaint he filed
against city employee Yolanda Lara was just as valid as the Poss
complaint. Gwinn does everything methodically and can drive you crazy with
his caution. Yolanda Lara illegally used the city's computer system to
campaign for Poss. Yolanda Lara illegally used the city's telephone system
to campaign for Poss. Yolanda Lara illegally used internal e-mail
addresses to contact fellow employees on behalf of Poss and also against me (but
that's another story).
You and I pay for the city's computer system, telephone system, e-mail
system. As a candidate, I was very much wronged by Yolanda Lara. As
a taxpayer, so were you!
The differences in the results of the two ethics complaints are the differences
in the caliber of people on the two different Ethics Commission. It was
the State Ethics Commission that hit Poss -- IN 2001!
The City Ethics Commission has already proven itself to be
worthless. But then,
The City Ethics Commission took its lead from our WORTHLESS CITY ATTORNEY!
When Paul Fielding plead guilty to whatever they told him he did and had to
resign from the city council (has it really been over 6 years ago?), Mary Poss
said it was "embarrassing" to have a councilman go prison. That
was about the same time she was siphoning off money from her campaign
contributions. She said nothing when Old Al Lipscomb admitted in Federal
Court to taking bribes. What a hypocrite!
Allen Gwinn is a man of character.
In the 2003 Dallas, character is in short supply. Robber Barons like Ross
Perot, Jr. (a close family friend to Mary Poss) and Tom Hicks are
glorified. Con artists like Ron Kirk are put on powerful boards as
perpetual payoffs for delivering on the arena and the Trinity Bondoogle.
We judge our politicians as the lesser of two evils.
One of the nasty swipes the DALLAS MANAGED NEWS Editorial Board took at
me in their "non-endorsement" was that I opposed the arena and the
Trinity Project. It is never a bad thing to take a stand, even it is not
popular or contrary to the wants of the ODB.
Allen Gwinn takes a
stand. That's what people of character do.
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