Undergroundcop
W. K. Gordon, III
                             

07/25/02  Reunion goes the way of those Trinity sailboats.

Might as well get this over with -- WE TOLD YOU SO!

Four years ago, Bad Dealers warned Dallas voters that Ron Kirk was lying to them.  Hard to believe, isn't it?  Apparently, 50.01% of the voters got taken in by Con Jerk.  He went right into a new campaign of deception, the Trinity Bond-doogle, with even bigger, more implausible promises -- like sailboats on the Trinity.  Once again, Con Jerk, his Large White Shadow and Kathy Nealy bought enough dead votes to just get over that 50% mark.

Here we are four years later with a big problem called Reunion and more questions about the Trinity Bond-doogle than answers, and Ron Kirk is running for the Senate. 

Do you know what the arena sales tax campaign had in common with the Trinity Bond-doogle, other than Ron Kirk pushing both with his Large White Shadow at his side?  When things started going South, Ron Kirk played the race card.  If you were against a new arena (just because we already had one), you were against the minority business community.  Don't ask me how he made that leap.  I don't think like Ron Kirk.  

The same thing happened with the Trinity Bond-doogle.  When he got caught in a lie, Ron Kirk played the race card and said the only people opposing the Trinity Bond-doogle were racists who wanted to stifle development in the minority community.

That's how Con Jerk operates.  Tell the big lie, and tell it loudly and forcefully.  When you get caught in the big lie, play the race card no matter how implausible.  That's what Con Jerk is doing now in the Senatorial race, playing the race card when he's the only one in the race who has made any reference to the color of his skin.  Things must not be going so well in his race for him to play the race card so early -- or he knew ahead of time that Center Operating (Hicks, Perot and Cuban) was about to toss Reunion back on the city.

Ron Kirk does not want anyone calling attention to the mess he left in this city.  With the current uproar about Tom Hicks and Mark Cuban (aka Center Operating) canceling the agreement to run Reunion Arena, the public is reminded of Ron Kirk's role in it all.  He's the one who told us to trust Ross Perot, Jr. and Tom Hicks.  Kirk was right there with John Ware negotiating that Master Agreement which gave the two Robber Barons our municipal farm and threw in Reunion for nothing.

Remember under the deal Kirk and Ware cut with the Robber Barons, the city gets no revenue from Reunion.  The Robber Barons and their successor Robber Barons get to operate it -- OR NOT OPERATE IT -- and keep all the revenue, but all capital expenses are the responsibility of the city.  We get no tax revenue from the facility, no rent from the facility, no revenue from the facility, but we have to replace the roof if it leaks and pay off the building's debt.  It makes no more sense now than it did in 1998.  

Do you really want Ron Kirk doing to the country what he did to Dallas?

City wants new deal on arenas 07/25/2002 By DAVE MICHAELS / The Dallas Morning News

Miller says AAC operator shouldn't be afraid of Reunion The city of Dallas, saddled with the expense of operating Reunion Arena again, wants to renegotiate its no-compete clause with American Airlines Center, the newer building that has become the city's premier home for entertainment and sports events. .  .  .  Those negotiations probably will prove difficult, because Center Operating Co., which has managed both arenas, said it would not allow them to compete. .  .  .  Center Operating canceled its agreement to run Reunion Arena last week, but its lease agreement with the city gives it a right of first refusal for any event held in Dallas. Center Operating is a partnership of Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and Dallas Stars owner Tom Hicks.   The arena will probably find its better use as a massive annex to the nearby Dallas Convention Center, Ms. Miller and several council members said. That could take years; in the meantime, Ms. Miller said, the arena should compete for events that will cover its cost.   But Center Operating officials resisted that idea, saying the $420 million American Airlines Center deserves first shot at major events. .  .  .  Don Hill, the mayor pro tem who has supported American Airlines Center and its owners, said he wanted to renegotiate the no-compete clause.    "Whether 'renegotiate' means we take it out entirely or there is some other concession," Mr. Hill said. .  .  .  Former Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk, who led the public campaign to build a new arena, said he was not surprised that Reunion proved difficult to keep afloat.   "I'm disappointed, but I'm not surprised," said Mr. Kirk, who is running for U.S. Senate. "Very few cities keep their old arenas because they try to put every event in the new building."

Ron Kirk told the voters Reunion would not be razed.  He promised the voters Reunion would be utilized.   Ron Kirk lied to the voters in 1998.  Bad Dealers argued that Reunion was only 18 years old and still carried a debt.  We said we did not need a new arena, and we certainly did not need to tear down a perfectly good facility.  Ron Kirk ridiculed our concerns.  Now, he says "Very few cities keep their old arenas because they try to put every event in the new building."  That's just what we said in 1998.

Bad Dealers told the voters "Reunion's Fate would be left up to these guys [Hicks & Perot]."  We constantly talked about the non-compete clause in the Master Agreement that gives the Robber Barons (Hicks, Perot and now Cuban) control over any new "covered" entertainment facility the city might want to build or encourage with tax incentives.  The only exemption to their power is the Cotton Bowl.  Thank goodness, Darrell Jordan's group was looking after that facility.

We are in a rock and a hard spot, and Ron Kirk put us here.  

We cannot operate Reunion in any manner that makes it a competitor to the Robber Barons' arena.  Whether Don Hill wants to do it or not, we cannot force the Robber Barons to re-negotiate the Master Agreement or the addendum that relates to Reunion.  Had we not given them $43 Million and that carrot was still on the table, we might have some leverage. 

A deal's a deal, even if it's a Bad Deal!!  Even if it's negotiated by a crook.

Like everything else that went on at City Hall under Ron Kirk's reign of terror, we got out-lawyered.  Don't forget Con Jerk is a high-$$ lawyer and a partner in Gardere, Wynne.  The Master Agreement and the non-compete clause the Robber Barons demanded and got does not speak well of Kirk's lawyering ability.  Of course, that's assuming he ever considered he was supposed to be looking out for the interests of Dallas taxpayers.

Looking out for our interests is the "fiduciary responsibility" of our Mayor.  That's right up there with "integrity".  Both of which were in short supply during the long 6 years of Con Jerk's reign of terror.

Here we are four years after the Arena scam and the Trinity Bond-doogle, and we are just beginning to see our worst fears become reality.  We have a facility that is four years older, that we are contractually forbidden to use to its maximum.  We have a facility that costs money to maintain, but we are contractually forbidden to use it profitably so we can at least break even and cover our debt burden on Reunion.  

We can't afford to keep the doors open.  We can't afford to keep the roof from leaking.  We can't even afford to tear the thing down.  We are in the same place we will be in 26 years, when the Robber Barons dump their Arena on us.  

Ron Kirk got us in this mess, and he is "not surprised".  Why should he be?  He helped negotiate the Master Agreement.  Even though I don't have a law degree and Con Jerk supposedly does, it does not take a lawyer to see the vulnerable spot the city is in regarding Reunion -- thanks to Con Jerk.

We told you there was a big problem.  Ron Kirk told you not to worry.