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12/08/03  Sheriff Bowles Deserves Better 

With all the brouhaha surrounding the Sheriff, I want you to know the Jim Bowles my family knows.
 

After my dad's diagnosis of lupus in October, he went downhill fast and dramatically and was dead by the end of the following March.   He must have been sick with it for years when he finally went down, but he got up everyday and went to work at a job he loved.

From mid-January until he passed, my dad was in and out of comas.  Some days we could get a response.  When Sheriff Bowles would come by (almost daily) to see him at the hospital, my dad almost always responded to him.  When the "High Sheriff" would greet him, my dad would open his eyes and try to focus.  He was so embarrassed to be in that state, and Jim Bowles was clearly pained to see him like that, but he did not show it in front of my dad.

So, you can understand why I should have been supportive of Sheriff Jim Bowles during all this ridiculous stuff about him being entertained by a vendor at the County Jail.  Unfortunately, I have been just observing this persecution on behalf of Danny Chandler who  is opposing Sheriff Bowles in the Republican Primary.

Seeing as how DallasArena.com is so big on honest government, it might seem hypocritical for me to side with the Sheriff in this vendor contract mess. 

This is another case of there's no there.

Even Commissioner John Wiley Price made light of the Collin County Prosecutor's publicity stunt last week, and his debates with the Sheriff have been frequent and loud over the years.  As Commissioner Price said, it is very unlikely that Jim Bowles would keep any incriminating evidence in his office if thought he was doing something illegal with being entertained by a potential vendor.

Jim Bowles is a bit rough around the edges for Our Downtown Betters (the ODB), and he doesn't fit the new go-go image the ODB want for Big D.  The real hypocrisy in this matter is how The Dallas Managed News is covering it as compared to how they let councilman James Fantroy off when it was revealed his company had a $200,000+ contract with a developer who needed council support for him to get millions in state funds.

Who sells candy and stuff to county prisoners has nothing to do with me, but using public money to build more apartment buildings in this city is a big issue.  Those who think apartment complexes are a good thing should drive South on Webb Chapel from Walnut Hill.

In the past couple of months, six DPD officers have been shot in apartment complexes, but with Fantroy's urging our council voted to support using state funds to build a future ghetto in South Dallas.  Once Fantroy's contract with the developer was disclosed, he stopped twisting elbows of other council members, but the damage was done.

They knew he had a stake in the deal, and he certainly would know who voted against it.  Fantroy should have resigned from the city council or from the $200,000 contract.  He did neither, and there has been no Ethics probe.

But, what about the way council members are wined and dined on a regular basis by developers and promoters?

Grandpa Jerry Jones has that big stadium campaign coming up.  You might be surprised at how many council members are being entertained in his luxury box at Texas Stadium.  We all know what council member endorsements will be worth in a big campaign to win the hearts of Dallas taxpayers.

The last thing we need in Dallas are more hotel/motel taxes or car rental taxes.  Our tourist taxes already are comparable to San Francisco and New York without all the amenities those cities have to offer convention goers.  More taxes would be suicidal for the city.

We don't need more hotel rooms or another shopping center to drain off redevelopment of Downtown.  Why isn't someone investigating council members being feted to the rarified world of Grandpa Jones' luxury suite?

Two wrongs do not make a right, but Sheriff Bowles has not done anything illegal.

Accepting gifts or meals or even trips from a jail house vendor may not be really smart, but it's not unusual at the county, and it's not illegal.

There's no way what Fantroy did passes the smell test of honesty or legality, but then he's an old Black guy not an old White guy.

Jim Bowles has not done anything to warrant what the Collin County Prosecutor pulled last week.  It was absolutely a publicity stunt and clearly intended to benefit Candidate Chandler.  The press was alerted of the planned raid the day before it happened.

Rather than calling it a raid, it is more appropriate to call the Collin County Prosecutor's excellent adventure a press event for Danny Chandler.

I admit to staying on the sidelines rather than stepping up to support Sheriff Bowles.  That's all over.

If Dallas County Republican voters are taken in by Chandler's publicity stunts and pick him over Jim Bowles, it will be a sad day for Dallas County, and a sadder day for Republicans.  There will be plenty of opportunities for Democrats to embarrass Republicans with information on Chandler.

Some current deputy sheriffs may want a new guy thinking he will get them more money, so they are abandoning their boss.  You can't blame them for wanting better salaries, but the money is not there.  The Commissioner's Court is not going to be any more generous with a new guy than they have been with Sheriff Bowles.

Jim Bowles is a decent man.  Jim Bowles stood by my dad even when he was way past being aware of anything.  I'm going to stand with him.

Jim Bowles has served Dallas County taxpayers and residents well for almost 20 years.