Citizen D
Casie Pierce
Frank Stich
AA Victim
                             

06/17/02  Large and Small

Why is it that people smart enough to dress themselves and drive a car can be simultaneously morons?  Like in "Rainman", idiot savants don't normally walk among us.  

	When the city civilian employees were having their demonstration, I had two immediate questions:
1.  Why aren't you working in the middle of the day? and 2.  Why are you blaming the police and firefighters for a problem caused by six years of Ron Kirk and his council puppets making decisions that could only result in our current calamity?

I did not hear one reporter mention a sign saying look what senatorial candidate Ron Kirk did to us.  Every other person there should have been screaming for his head.  But, no, they were all mad at the police and firefighters. 

Why were those employees out there in the middle of the afternoon?  Are their jobs so expendable they can take off a couple of hours and participate in a rally?  That sends a pretty conflicting message to taxpayers.  Don't cut our pay, but we have time to demonstrate.  Who authorized them to be away from their assignments?  This was not a Saturday morning rally -- it was Friday afternoon.   

To add insult to injury, there were Beat that Indictment James Fantroy, Shakedown Leo Chaney and Send Me Some Money Loza out there demonstrating with the demonstrators.  These same sleaze balls were among the gang who voted to give another $46 million of future property tax revenue to Hicks and Perot.  Send Me Some Money Loza was part of the dogs and liars show that promoted the arena sales tax during the 1998 campaign.  That sales tax has had a direct and hard hitting impact on our convention center bookings -- a negative impact -- which has caused us millions in lost sales tax revenue.

Hundreds of city employees rally against possible pay cuts   By VICTORIA LOE HICKS / The Dallas Morning News  6/15/02     3 council members join workers seeking parity with police, firefighters

Dallas City Hall's silent majority – civilian workers faced with a pay cut next year of up to 10 percent – spoke resoundingly Friday, and what they said was: No!   Hoisting placards and accompanied by three City Council members, as many as 500 employees paraded in front of City Hall chanting, "No pay cut!"   Much of their ire was directed toward police officers and firefighters, who wrung a promise from the council this year for a 5 percent pay raise in each of the next three years.

We have had over a $2 Million drop in revenue from traffic tickets -- not because the police are ignoring speeders -- but because the officers are spread too thin and there are not enough of them out there to chase traffic violators.

Friday afternoon, Ch 11 was reporting on the civilians' demonstration and interviewed with Beat that Indictment Fantroy.  This is the crook who got all exercised because Mayor Miller took a clean up crew to an area of his blighted district without his permission -- like she is not the Mayor over his subjects.  He thinks he is the emperor of his district, not the representative.  That's probably because they have not had an honest election in District 8 since we went under the nightmare that 14-1 has proved to be.  BTI Fantroy was not elected, he was anointed by the political machine run by Old Al Lipscomb, who finally had an indictment he couldn't beat.  

Old Al is serving his federal term from his new living room in front of his big size TV while he holds court to all who come seeking of his wisdom and support.

But, back to the Ch 11 report -- BTI Fantroy is calling for an 8% property tax hike.  This same crook (in exchange for who knows what) just voted to exempt Hicks, Perot and Palladium from $43 million in property tax.  Now, he wants to raise your and my property taxes by 8% over the huge increase in value that the DCAD just hit us with.  When the reporter advised the crook that an 8% tax hike would trigger a roll back election, he said the voters would rather pay higher taxes than have their services cut.

What was Fantroy smoking?

Ed Oakley must have gone down to the demonstration when he heard there were cameras rolling.  A Ch 11 reporter asked him about Fantroy's proposed 8% tax hike and Oakley said he might support it, too.

Fantroy and Oakley just voted to give away another $43 million to Hicks, Perot and Palladium, and they now want to hit Dallas property owners for an 8% tax hike?  Our current tax rate is .67%. (which is still a bargain compared to the DISD tax rate), but .75% starts really hitting hard.

What would have been hysterical if it were not so horrible is that that City MisManager Ted Benavides told Ch 11 that an 8% tax hike would only generate about $23 Million, which would not get us anywhere near our $83 million shortfall.

Here's Ed Oakley so concerned with our horrible revenue shortfall out there with his silly campaign "Buy Dallas", when he just gave away $43 million of future property tax revenue.  If you did not read his explanation for his Palladium vote, go back to Oakley & Palladium and read with my responses.  Then read what Casie Pierce has to say about TIF's.  Casie understands the concept much better than does Oakley or Alan Walne or the rest of the crooks who voted for the Palladium give away.  

It is hypocritical of Fantroy, Chaney, Loza and Oakley to be showing sympathy for the civilian employees when they caused the problem that is forcing the layoffs and salary reductions.

Rather than calling for buyers to spend their money in Dallas when it's cheaper to shop elsewhere, they should be calling for the city auditor to determine which recipients of tax abatements are non-complying with the terms of their deal.  We should go after those well-connected property owners who have only been paying a small token of their property tax responsibility and spending the balance on improving their own property, but are not doing what they promised when they asked for the tax abatement.  

Pay up, or we foreclose for back taxes, just like we would do to any little mom and pop grocery in South Dallas for delinquent property taxes.

Worse than Oakley's audacity to launch his "Buy Dallas" campaign is The Dallas Managed News jumping on the band wagon.   Hypocrites, one and all.

Buy Dallas: City needs to reverse fall of sales tax revenue   06/17/02

The "Buy Dallas" campaign is self-centered in a good way.   With plummeting sales tax revenue, Dallas needs to jump-start its retail economy. City Council member Ed Oakley and others have argued correctly that it makes sense for Dallas residents to invest their dollars at home as long as the present slump continues.    The drop in revenue from sales taxes has contributed to an $83 million shortfall in the municipal budget and has forced city officials to discuss employee layoffs and salary reductions.    The decline also convinced the City Council to delay a bond issue, which will include much-needed street improvements, until next year. Dallas residents need to have a way to help themselves out.

The DMN has supported every big ticket item that has come down the pike with happy optimism that the projects would not only pay for themselves but generate economic development and new tax revenue.  Hasn't happened yet!

If just a couple of their happy predictions had come true, we would be awash in tax income.  Seen any development around the arena that wasn't already underway before 1998?  Well, there is that fancy service station on Harry Hines.  

Too bad the hypocrites were not calling for "Buy Dallas" when a certain former mayor went to Plano to buy the family's new Jaguar.  We could have used those sales taxes.

Our sales tax revenue has declined dramatically since the 1998 election where Kathy Nealy (who was a host at Oakley's fundraiser) stole enough votes (1700) for her bosses to barely put the arena sales tax over the 50% line.  The impact of the lost convention bookings is really gigantic.  We warned Dallas voters the arena sales tax would kill the goose that laid our golden eggs -- our convention business.  Con Jerk told the voters something else.

The civilian employees should be mad at Senatorial candidate Ron Kirk  -- not the cops and firefighters.  He's the one who rammed through project after project that did nothing for Dallas taxpayers but gave away the farm to his rich keepers.

Ron Kirk left this city in shambles.  This is the guy who wanted to tax the internet so we would not have to send out "virtual" fire trucks when someone needs help. 

I don't know The Austin Review or who's behind it, but this article has been making the e-mail rounds.  Several people have sent it to me.  I have not heard any disclaimers from Con Jerk's camp, and he is not one to suffer in silence when anyone dares criticize him.

Remember his diatribe against me and Avi Adelman that day at council?

June 7, 2002 Senate Candidate Kirk's Campaign has Links to Terrorism by MARC LEVIN

An Austin Review investigation has revealed that U.S. Senate candidate Ron Kirk is employing an anti-Israel activist who has defended terrorist groups and is friends with American Taliban John Walker Lindh. The Review has also learned that Kirk has received numerous campaign donations from individuals linked with terrorism and anti-Semitism, one of whom also violated U.S. export laws by shipping sensitive technology to Libya and Syria.

It's time to tell these hypocrites we are on to them.