Benavides Letter on Bolton
Lico Reyes
LULAC Apologizes
Officer Jim
                             

09/05/03  Racism is a Two-Way Street whether Some Think So or Not.

Speaking of area issues, did you see DallasArena.com's Ralph Goin standing tall alone at City Hall among that mob scene with his sign "Stop the Race Card"?  That's what a good citizen does.  If necessary, a good citizen stands alone.

DCCCD Trustee Diana Flores was very eloquent in denouncing Bolton's protesters who carried signs with racial slurs.  LULAC President Jesse Diaz also made it clear the Hispanic community will no longer cow down and let African-Americans dismiss them and take them for granted.  

Back to Bob Ray Sanders.  He has a great column about former Exec. Asst. Chief Robert Jackson, an African-American, now Police Chief in Killeen.  There was no hue and cry from the John Wiley Price, his preachers and other thugs about Jackson's dismissal.  It was because Jackson had actually worked his way through the ranks and was in his position based on merit and support from fellow officers, and HE OWED NOTHING TO JWP AND HIS PREACHERS.

Several officers' testimonials about Robert Jackson (from UnderGroundCop.com):

A truly smart person might not be the most brilliant intellectually.  An idiot savant may have a world of knowledge and cannot use it effectively.  A truly smart person recognizes his own limitations and surrounds himself with smart people for counsel and guidance.  A truly smart person is not afraid of the talents of others.  

With the rhetoric flying all over, Bob Ray Sanders shows the hypocrisy of Don Hill and Maxine T-Reese.  Where was their outrage over the wrong done to former Exec. Asst. Chief Robert Jackson by African-American Terrell Bolton?  They were glad to see him go.  Jackson was a real cop, who had rapport with and support from rank and file officers.  HE OWED NOTHING TO THEM, JWP OR THE PREACHERS.

Unexpected sympathy for ex-police chief Bob Ray Sanders commentary Posted on Fri, Aug. 29, 2003

If anyone in the world besides Dallas Mayor Laura Miller, that is -- should be happy over the abrupt firing of former Dallas Police Chief Terrell Bolton this week, it would be Robert L. Jackson Jr.    Jackson, the former second-in-command in the Dallas Police Department, has every reason to despise Bolton and wish him ill. . . . Bolton, wanting to rid himself of those who had been loyal to his predecessor, popular Chief Ben Click, immediately demoted six top-ranking officers. And when it came to Jackson, who was executive assistant chief at the time, Bolton opted not to knock him down just a notch or two but to bust him all the way down to sergeant. . . . Jackson's pay would be cut by more than $50,000 a year. . . . Jackson decided to retire rather than take the demotion and the orchestrated humiliation that the new chief was dishing out.    But leaving the department still didn't shield Jackson from Bolton's wrath.    When Jackson applied for the chief's job in Tyler, and for positions with Southern Methodist University and the Dallas Area Rapid Transit System, sources say Bolton was the main force in torpedoing those opportunities. . . .No one would blame him if he had applauded Bolton's dismissal as Dallas' first African-American police chief. . . . "No, I didn't rejoice," he said. "I really didn't." . . . "My first response was, 'I can feel how his family felt,' " Jackson said. . . . Jackson was not surprised by this week's development for he, like many others, felt all along that Bolton had not been the right choice for Dallas at the time he was selected. . . . Most of the complaints about Bolton's job performance had nothing to do with ethnicity, he pointed out.    "We never fought the struggle that said, 'Just because I'm black, don't criticize me,' " he said. . . .  In the 2 1/2 years he has been in Killeen -- a city that has grown from 85,000 to more than 100,000 since he's been there -- Jackson said he has introduced community policing and added patrol officers and detectives to the force each year. . . . It's ironic, but had Jackson, a superb communicator and administrator, remained in his second-in-command position under Bolton four years ago, Bolton might still be chief. . . .  Jackson suggested that the ex-chief realize that the outcry from the community will die down in two or three weeks and then it will be time for him to get his life together and move on.

Last weekend, Bolton compared himself to Jesus Christ, but it is Robert Jackson who conducted himself in a more Christ-like manner when faced with the same humiliation as Bolton.  There were 20 reasons to fire Bolton, but there was only one reason for Bolton to fire Jackson -- he was more qualified than Bolton.

Who would ever think DallasArena.com would defend Ted Benavides?  

This is the wrong time to consider a new City Manager.  The biggest mistakes Benavides has made mostly involved Terrell Bolton.  From hiring him to covering for him, when Benavides knew Bolton was a problem.  It's understandable the Mayor might want to seize the moment to clean house at City Hall, but this is not the time.

Ouster at Dallas City Hall? 07:18 AM CDT on Thursday, September 4, 2003 By GROMER JEFFERS JR. / The Dallas Morning News

Hours after learning that Terrell Bolton had been fired as Dallas police chief, Mayor Laura Miller acknowledges, she tried to rally support to get rid of another of her longtime targets, City Manager Ted Benavides, the man who fired Mr. Bolton.    "She talked to me the very same day Bolton got fired," council member Don Hill said. "She was ready to do it." . . .  after council members reviewed the city manager's performance in a four-hour closed session, Ms. Miller said she now is prepared to keep working with Mr. Benavides.    "After today's performance review of the city manager, there is only one City Council member who I believe is prepared to fire the city manager today, and that's Don Hill ? nobody else," Ms. Miller said. . . . Ms. Miller has said she was not involved in Mr. Bolton's firing but supported the decision. Neither the mayor nor the City Council can fire the police chief or any other department head. It would take a supermajority of 11 out of 15 council members to fire the city manager.     Mr. Benavides said he was aware that Ms. Miller had been planting the seeds for his ouster. He has also talked to most of the minority council members and knows that they have some problems with him. . . . Mr. Hill, the deputy mayor pro tem, said he was still upset with Mr. Benavides. . . . Earlier this year, Ms. Miller said she had enough support on the council to remove Mr. Benavides but decided against it because the city was entering a critical period that included the mayoral and council elections. . . .  Hill said he wouldn't mind seeing the city manager pay a political price for firing Mr. Bolton. . . . "I can't tell you we've moved past it," Mr. Hill said. "Our community is demanding that something be done." . . . Dr. Thornton-Reese said. "If my community says he should go, then I think he should go." . . . Fantroy said he wasn't willing to help Ms. Miller remove Mr. Benavides. . . . Chaney Jr. said Mr. Benavides should not be sacked. . . .  Hill acknowledged that the votes are not there to remove Mr. Benavides,  . . .  "their venom is more focused on the mayor,"  . . .  "The manager did what he had to do," said Elba Garcia, chairwoman of the Public Safety Committee. "He's in charge of hiring and firing." .. . Oakley said reviews were mixed on the Bolton firing.  . . ."I believe Ted handled it in the appropriate manner,". . .

There are several good sides to the City Manager firing Terrell Bolton:

	Bolton out of the DPD is obviously good.
	Just as important, Benavides called the BLUFF of the HUFF and PUFF "we're going to riot" crowd and they POOPED.
	Several Hispanic leaders have stepped out of the shadows to denounce racist comments by Bolton's African-American protestors toward Miller and Benavides.
	Don Hill has proven to be a toothless tiger who is out of tricks.
	Bolton revealed to the metroplex his paranoia and meanness that DPD officers already knew about.

 
The day after Bolton's firing, WBAP's Mark Davis was saying Bolton got screwed and Laura Miller was behind it.  Davis is totally uninformed about Dallas politics.  He apparently thinks only Dallas has the City Manager form of government.  We are one of the largest cities to use it, but it is our form of government.  He lives in Tarrant County, and it's really not his business.  

On top of his lack of knowledge about Dallas (historic and current), Davis does not like Laura Miller.  Like many multi-married men, Davis resents strong women, particularly successful strong women.   

Davis completely showed his rear by ranting before he knew the facts.  At least now he is man enough to admit he was wrong.  He still owes Laura Miller an apology.

In Big D, which rhymes with T, which stands for ? By Mark Davis Special to the Star-Telegram

What we are witnessing to our east is nothing short of a complete meltdown, a disintegration of a once-worthy public servant and of rationality among his flipped-out followers. . . .pathetic chapter in public behavior  . . .We had a particularly topical chat last year, when I asked him how things were really going in the midst of the heat he was under. . . .  We reminisced about his demotion of some deputy chiefs, which attracted lawsuits -- some successful. I said then and I'll say now: A new chief can surround himself with whomever he pleases. When people said he cost the city $6 million in settlements, I argued that the misguided plaintiffs and juries were to blame.    But now Bolton has forgotten the lesson he taught those deputy chiefs: Working for a city means serving at the pleasure of other people. . . .  Bolton attorney Bob Hinton's ravings aside, the city manager can hire -- and fire -- any police chief.    "I took my firing like a man," Bolton sobbed Friday before plummeting into a manic display over the weekend that revealed nothing of the kind.     It culminated in a shameful race-baiting rant Sunday in the pulpit of Antioch Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church. The former chief's "take it like a man" strategy dissolved into a litany of name-calling and delusion.    Mayor Laura Miller -- who, let's face it, has never liked Bolton -- is a "wizard," he said, who has "put this knife in my back."    Hmmm. Wizard. What familiar group has wizards? And grand dragons? . . . he jumped on the insane recall bandwagon . . . Bolton added to the frenzy by daring to invoke Martin Luther King Jr. on the day that the collection plate was passed for his personal use.    "Let freedom ring!" cried the cartoonish ex-chief  . . .Signs carried by incendiary protesters over the Labor Day weekend called Miller a "Child of Satan" and Benavides a "wetback sellout." .  . . . What better way to decry (alleged) racism than by displaying it? . . . Hinton whines that his client is now "unemployable."  . . .  if he turns out to be neither employable nor excusable, it will not be anyone's fault but his own.

It is no secret Laura Miller wanted Bolton gone.  She certainly did not want it to happen the day before city council GUTLESS WONDERS were to vote on board and commission appointments that included Al Lipscomb.  Before Bolton's firing, Lill and Finkelman were opposing Lipscomb's appointment -- as their constituents wanted them to do.  When JWP's thugs and preachers showed up at City Hall to scream and curse and Don Hill appealed to council weaklings to FEEL HIS PAIN, the two Housewife Extraordinares (Lill and Finkelan) cratered and VOTED FOR A CONFESSED & CONVICTED BRIBE-TAKER to serve on the Police Review Board.

Of course, Davis being centered in Tarrant County would be unaware of the significance of that side bar.

Through it all, Ted Benavides is still standing, and standing taller than he has for several years.  He made a huge decision that could have (and may yet) cost him hundreds of thousands of dollars in retirement income, but he did the right thing, even if it was 3-1/2 years too late.

Don Hill put the story out that the Mayor wanted them to replace Ted the day he fired Bolton.  Big surprise!  Our Mayor (who is finally being LAURA MILLER) turned it right back on Hill.  She must have come to realize Don Hill is a back stabber who has never been her friend.  Now, she's giving it back at him hard.  As fast as he lobs her a curve, she's returning the volley with a blast.  

Benavides hangs on as pressure mounts; City manager vows 'to keep going until I'm asked to leave' 10:30 PM CDT on Thursday, September 4, 2003 By GROMER JEFFERS JR. / The Dallas Morning News

City Manager Ted Benavides has weathered storms before, but none so intense.    Black leaders are outraged at his firing of Terrell Bolton as police chief, the city is grappling with budget problems, and Mayor Laura Miller has again talked about getting rid of the city manager.    Mr. Benavides, though, said the experience has been liberating.   "I can't ignore it. It's never out of my mind," Mr. Benavides said. "I've really been getting into my work. There's not much else I can do. I'm going to keep going until I'm asked to leave." . . .  Some said the recent tough times for the city manager go with the job, and that Mr. Benavides' years of experience at City Hall have made him battle-tested. . . . John Loza. "The city manager is going to be put in positions that are tough the deal with. But Ted is tough enough to handle it. He can be very effective." . . . Bolton's dismissal ignited a political storm, partly because it took neighborhood activists and council members by surprise.  . . .Mr. Benavides didn't tell Ms. Miller or council members about Mr. Bolton's firing until after he had done it. . . .  At least two council members ? Mr. Hill and Maxine Thornton-Reese ? said this week that they would consider a vote to remove the manager under certain circumstances, including mandates from their communities. . . . Ms. Miller said she was prepared to work with Mr. Benavides.  . . . "There are things we liked and didn't like about the last couple of weeks," Ms. Miller said.  . . . "He's having a tough time, but it's nothing another $100 million in the budget couldn't take care of," said council member Ed Oakley. "He made the choice to stay. It's a tough period. But the long-range economic problems are tougher than what he's going through now. . . . Bill Blaydes said he thought Mr. Benavides was holding up well throughout the turmoil. . . . Leo Chaney Jr. acknowledged that times were tough but said Mr. Benavides' scorecard would include more than the last two weeks. . . .

Bolton got where he did by playing racial politics, deception and double-dealing.  Once he made Chief, he cost this city millions -- not just to pay off the demoted commanders, but their expertise and experience lost to Dallas taxpayers, even though we paid for their training and field experience.

Bolton fired qualified people so they would not be looking over his shoulder.  He claimed to want diversity among his assistant and deputy chiefs.  All he wanted were inferior suck-ups who would never acknowledge THE EMPEROR WAS NAKED!  

All this is not just about an unqualified and petty man being removed from a powerful position, it's about turning this city around.

Much of our problems have been caused by Our Downtown Betters (the ODB) being terrified of JWP and his thugs and preachers embarrassing the city.  Riot?  Please!

Dallas Observer's Jim Schutze has long said we might have been better off if there had been a blow-up years ago.  Instead, the ODB paid Old Al to keep a lid on things by huffing and puffing in public and squashing the rabble rousers in private.  A riot would have been a horrible thing and caused destruction in some parts of town, but could the results be any worse than what exists in South Dallas today?  The ODB won the battle, but almost lost the war.

Ted Benavides did a bold thing and may have done more good in one move than anything else he has done since Ron Kirk brought him back to Dallas.  

Yes, we are going to talk about Con Jerk and Grandpa Jones in another edition, but it is necessary to mention that bigot in this column on two-way racism.  Kirk played the race card whenever he got in trouble -- like having JWP and his thugs picket in front of his house after Kirk caught flack from his white keepers over his digs at the Dallas Country Club.  That was the most fake picketing you will ever see.  JWP could not even say why they were picketing Kirk.  We knew why -- to show Kirk's white keepers that he was not an African-American like JWP and his thugs and he was their buffer against that sort of riffraff.

Dallas belongs to all of us.  Blacks are not THE COMMUNITY, they are just part of OUR COMMUNITY, and a dwindling percentage.  

Ted Benavides did not want to fire Bolton.  He had to fire Bolton.  He had two big firsts.  Benavides hired and fired the city's first Black Police Chief.  He should fire Charles Daniels next.

City Hall needs time to calm down now and focus on the budget.  As I said in "and he's got a gun...":

Ted may have jeopardized his retirement, but he finally showed Bolton who's boss.

Bolton knows he deserved to be fired.  Bolton used his race to get him where he is, and he tried to play the race card to keep his position.  It didn't work!

There are multiple ethnic groups in this town, and JWP and his thugs community had better realize we are tired of his act. 

Playing the race card is a two-way street, and a large Brown Bulldozer is coming down the road to smooth things out for all of us.