Dear
Mr. Tatum,
You hold Mr. Dunning in high
esteem, having been a friend of his for many years. It is
understandable that you are using your power as a Dallas Morning News
columnist and associate editor to support his campaign for mayor.
Hopefully, your support is personally based and not simply a
reflection of the Belo entanglement with the political machine that
brought us such embarrassments as the (pro) arena, Trinity, and 2012
Olympics campaigns.
I attended the taping at the KERA studios of a McCuistion Program on
voter fraud. The program is nationally syndicated and,
unfortunately, will cast an embarrassing shadow on the integrity of
Dallas elections.
As you well know, the worst of the election "irregularities"
(fraud) is accomplished through the efforts of a handful of
"vote-brokers" well-known to, and well-supported (by some),
local politicians, consultants, journalists, and the Dallas District
Attorney's Office. It is a shame the show will not air in Dallas
in time for the coming election!
I offer an alternative to your contention that Tom Dunning appears
uncomfortable in his debate appearances because he "declines to
promise things to voters when he hasn't figured out how to pay for
them." My hypothesis, assuming Mr. Dunning is the sort of
good guy you believe him to be, is that he must be horrified that his
"handler," Carol Reed, has, among many other unethical and/or
illegal shenanigans, spent tens of thousands of dollars of his campaign
on the likes of Kathy Nealy ($200,000 plus, as of mid-campaign reports).
Ms. Nealy is one of the DA letter-recipient vote-brokers, instrumental
in providing the last-minute South Dallas votes that swung the arena
election, and now enjoying her private box at said arena. She may
not have made out as well as John Ware or Ron Kirk's wife on the arena
deal, but apparently she did OK.
The fact that he let himself become involved with this sort of people in
his campaign must be painfully embarrassing and shameful to him: hence,
his obviously painful discomfort in public appearances.
Had Mr. Dunning shown the personal integrity and spine to fire Carol
Reed and distance himself from the likes of Kathy Nealey when the first
signs of their fouling his reputation emerged, he might have had a shot
at Laura Miller (whose personal integrity and courage are proven beyond
anyone's doubt).
Instead he has allowed himself to be painted as a negative campaigner
who resorts to paying vote brokers to try to win his election.
Mr. Dunning might be a good guy, as you understand him to be, but he has
chosen to let himself be controlled by the sorriest sort of sleazy
operatives.
As an insider journalist of long standing in Dallas, you know exactly
what I am talking about in this letter. You should be ashamed to
have let your longtime friend fall into their hands. Your (and
your paper's) pitifully desperate efforts to resurrect his image at this
point only serve to make him look all the worse.
It is sad that it has come to this in our city, and perhaps sad that
your friend's image and reputation are being corroded away in the
process. I urge you and your paper to help rid our city of these
people and shame those "business leaders" and political movers
and shakers who have supported (created?) them. The time has come
to decide whether to jump aboard or stay on the railroad track and be
run over.
Dr. William Gordon
|
Media
can't capture Dunning, Mayoral
candidate doesn't fit into neat category
01/16/2002
By HENRY
TATUM / The Dallas Morning News
|
