Letters for Saturday
09/07/2002
I blame Kirk
I want to respond to a comment
attributed to me by Gromer Jeffers in his recent article on senatorial candidate
Ron Kirk's record as Dallas' mayor ("Kirk's Dallas legacy debated in
campaign"). The context in which my comment was used gives the impression
that I absolve Mr. Kirk of blame for the city's current budget troubles. Nothing
could be further from the truth.
My comments to Mr. Jeffers dealt
specifically with the poor budgeting practices of management, which could have
been altered by a mayor more interested in making the city run effectively than
in ingratiating himself with moneyed special interests who could finance his
campaign for higher office when the opportunity rolled around.
I blame Mr. Kirk for self-serving
priorities that led the city down a spending and tax give-away path that now
leaves it with financial obligations for glamour projects that are restricting
the funds available to the council to address basic services.
I am one of a handful of people
who have worked closely as an elected official with Ron Kirk, and have gained a
unique insight into the measure of the man and his fitness for higher office.
That is why I am actively campaigning for his opponent, John Cornyn.
Donna Blumer, former Dallas City Council member, Dallas
|
Neil
Planick:
If Dallas had a $100-million budget SURPLUS now, I wonder if Ron
Kirk would take responsibility for THAT?
You bet he would. And the excuses of "falling sales tax
revenue" and "increased expenses" as the cause of the
current budget mess are totally bogus.
Every organization (every-ONE, actually) has to make
forecasts about the future and adjust their plans accordingly.
Who was in charge last budget year when these forecasts were
made? Ron Kirk and Ted "Bankrupt" Benavides.
Cornyn has just got to hammer away at Kirk's Dallas record
and not let him get away with spinning this fiasco into something good,
or at the least something they were helpless to prevent.
That's the key to Senate, in my opinion. |
