Pay Back?

In this year's special Mayor's race, the DPA took a gutsy move and went with Laura Miller, as did the Firefighters and the Dallas Police Patrolmen's Union. As someone who was deeply involved in the grunt work of Laura Miller's campaign, I can attest to the importance of their assistance, from yard sign building and delivery to phone bank help to election day chores. The rank and file are very bitter that the Mayor opposed their referendum, but they are just as bitter with those ODB outfits and puppets who went against them, too.

This is a new Glenn White whose leading the DPA these days. No more Mr. Nice Guy! Of course, this may be the only way he can hold on to his job as President, but he does not seem to be reluctant to assume this new persona.

There are those who might think this is sour grapes on the part of the DPA -- and it is and they have every right to be mad. Others think it makes the police and firefighters look whiney. I don't think it looks whiney at all -- it is more like a scream of defiance.

Under the title "FOLLOW THE MONEY", the DPA website lists the companies and individuals who donated to the campaign opposing the pay referendum, as well as those who lent their names to the opposition's campaign mailers. They are not saying don't spend money in Dallas. They are just saying don't bank or spend money with these particular businesses.

Real Player:
Yeah! Enough is enough on the cop pay issue! Yes, they deserve a raise, but doesn't anyone understand what's happening to the other city employees???
If the city votes on more layoffs and pay cuts, you citizens of Dallas will suffer.
Morale is at a big time low amongst city employees. There is another thing to ponder -- THOSE EMPLOYEES WHO LIVE IN BIG D ARE GETTING **** BIG TIME!!!!   Not only is their pay getting taken away, but their property taxes are going to go up.
With a 5% pay cut and a 10-25% raise in property taxes YOU ARE GOING TO GET RAKED OVER THE COALS. Come on people, take a stand! Voice yourself to the city, and let them know you've had enough before it's tooooo late!!!!!!
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Rad Field:
Sharon:
That's the way to tell it like it is... !!!
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Donna Blumer:
On DPA Whining -- Since 70% of the voters voted against the pay referendum, why doesn't Glen White advocate DPA officers refuse to respond to 70% of their calls? After all, nobody walked these voters into the polls and held their hands while they voted. The pay referendum was not a popularity contest nor a slap at the public safety personnel. It was a fiscally irresponsible proposal, and the vast majority of voters recognized that.
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Tommy Hines: I would like to suggest that a petition be started on a referendum that would "make it illegal for the City Council or any employee of the City of Dallas , Dallas County, Texas to authorize or issue a tax abatement to anyone for any purpose"!
   Of course, the "legalize" of the referendum would need to be properly styled, but I think you get my drift.
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Citizen D:
Good comments! Even though I did not vote in favor of police and firefighter pay, I am disappointed with the media in their SLANTED reporting of what the DPA did and DID NOT say.
The first day of reporting almost made it sound as if you voted against the referendum, the DFD would not come to put the fire out at your house or that the DPD would not respond to your 911 calls if they really knew how you voted.
   The very idea of that made a lot of us pretty mad! However, the next day, the media had to "tell the WHOLE truth" and it wa then that a more balanced story came out.

They are saying don't bank with Comerica or Max Wells at The Oaks Bank. They are saying where you can, get your telephone or on-line services from some other business than Southwestern Bell. They are saying when you go for groceries, make sure you don't buy Pet, Schepps, Oak Farms or Marie’s products.

Here's what the DPA specifically says to their membership and associates (over 6,000):

Nothing whiney about that statement.

As one among hundreds of Bad Dealers who will never stop challenging the results of the 1998 arena election or the Trinity Bondoogle election, I certainly can't fault White or the DPA for exposing those who went against them in the pay referendum. White and the DPA have been good soldiers for the ODB.

We only lost the arena election by 1700 votes. The Hicks/Perot/Kirk/Nealy mafia got less than 50.1% of the vote even with them spending almost $4 million to our little $100,000. At the last minute, the DPA reversed themselves and came out for the arena sales tax -- after we had done a mailing noting their opposition. I wanted White's head on a spike. It was not until Laura Miller's mayoral campaign that I made peace with him.

However, my anger and resentment toward White and the DPA Brass did not transfer to the rank and file who only pay their dues and hope for the best. Any time I had a conversation with a uniformed officer, I reminded them about White's support for the arena. I was not one bit whiney about it -- I was out for his head and willing to take it a scratch at a time.

I love politics and certainly accept the will of the people when all things are equal, but we have not had an equal playing field in this town for some time. We were up against Nealy's mail-in ballot scam, the millions Hicks and Perot had on the table, all the ODB and ultimately the DPA, and we almost beat them anyway.

What just happened to the police and firefighters was not fair. The mailers and dire warnings of the opposition was inaccurate. The opposition played on the voters' ill will toward Chief Bolton and reminded them that Bolton would get a 17% raise as well as the rank and file. The opposition assured the voters that if the 17% referendum failed, the police and firefighters would get a 15% raise spread over 3 years (5% per year), when no one can make that assurance.

Leo Chaney and Ed Oakley and others are already saying they have a problem giving the uniformed officers a 5% raise when civilian personnel are facing layoffs and pay cuts.

So, stop giving way future tax revenue in tax abatements, you morons!

Our sworn personnel face daily situations that no civilian employee could ever expect to encounter. Granted, once in a while some irate homeowners gets physical with a code enforcement officer, but that's hardly apples and apples.

After all his years of drawing a $50,000+ salary from the DISD with no job description or work to do, you can certainly understand how Shakedown Chaney would have have disdain for people who wear uniforms and have real jobs, like police and firefighters.

The police and firefighters have every right to be mad and go after those who blocked their 17%. The DPA is not telling their members not to protect us and our property or not to put themselves between us and the bad guys. They are advising their members which companies went against them and giving them choices of where to spend their money, since those companies did not think police and firefighters deserved more money to spend..

I prefer Oak Farms milk, but Borden and the store brands will do just fine for me from now on. I doubt I change my phone service from SBC, and my cell is already with AT&T, but I can stop buying Schepps Dairy products. It's a step!

Hey -- the liberals boycotted grapes over farm worker issues. It's time for the police and firefighters to draw a line in the sand over their issue. I have never been part of a mass or mini-boycott, I feel so cool and hip!

Somebody once said -- DON'T GET MAD -- GET EVEN! That's what the DPA is doing!

That $1,000 SBC contribution to the opposition is going to result in a couple of thousand officers and firefighters switching their cell phones to other companies.

CONSEQUENCES!

The pay referendum was not a council race -- it was about compensating our officers fairly. It was not even a political contest -- it was an issue. The opposition funded a successful campaign, and the proponents did not campaign very effectively. The proponents thought the people who signed their petition were with them and would go to the polls for them. They were wrong!

It's all about money.   Leo Chaney and Ed Oakley were happy to give away $43 million in future tax revenue to Hicks and Perot when other taxpayers must wait their turn to see benefits from their tax payments.   Yet, Chaney and Oakley do not see a distinction between the risks and responsibilities of every day duties of police and firefighters as compared to the job of a civilian employee. It's all about money!

It really makes me crazy to hear Send Me Some Money John Loza talk about his opposition to pay and staff cuts for civilian employees. This guy lead the charge for almost $4 million in tax abatements to Yahoo.com, and they not only did not create any new jobs as promised, but laid off scores of employees. If Chaney, Oakley and Loza would stop rolling over for every requested tax abatement, we might have new property tax revenue.

All those voters who went against the pay referendum because they thought it would raise their taxes are going to be plenty mad when their taxes get raised anyway -- raised a lot.

Tim Dickey and Gary Turner and I all said at least if our taxes were raised for police/firefighter salaries we would know where at least $125 of our tax money was going. Your taxes are going up, and the money will go into that big hole at city hall.

Rather than spend the tax increase on salaries, we will hire more consultants at large $$. Rather than benefit police and firefighters, we will find new ways to waste our money.

I'm still mad about the arena election and the Trinity Bondoogle and the pay referendum, and now I have another way of expressing that anger with my pocket book. I and several others have been saving lots of money and trips to the paper bin since canceling the Dallas Managed News. Now, I will be careful to note the manufacturer of products that I buy at the grocery. Sure am glad that Albertson's, et al stayed out of the fray. I may be an activist, but convenience often carries the day over commitment.

I don't know how effective the DPA's boycott will be, but they have sent a message to the ODB that they are taking their business away from those who are not their friends.