As Frisco heads into Election Day, the questions are no longer about campaign signs or polished mailers. The real story, who is pulling the strings behind the curtain. Every election has an establishment candidate, the one blessed by the insiders, donors, consultants, and political networks that have spent years shaping City Hall. The question voters should ask is simple: who benefits if nothing changes?
Then there is the growing debate over information, polling, and voter perception. Are voters receiving objective facts, or carefully crafted narratives designed to steer them toward a preferred outcome? One factor nobody can ignore is Frisco’s changing demographics. Muslim and Indian voters have become an increasingly significant force in local elections, not because they vote as a monolithic bloc, but because their numbers and civic engagement continue to grow. Candidates who ignore those communities do so at their own peril.
And finally, there is the question many residents continue to discuss: was the FunAsia podcast controversy simply an interview gone sideways, or was it part of a larger political operation to set up a candidate to look like a racist? Let’s jump right in and start spilling the tea.
Mr. Establishment: Mark Hill
As we said, every campaign cycle has an establishment candidate who is blessed by the insiders, donors, consultants, and has already participated in helping shape city hall. In this runoff Mark Hill is 1000% the Establishment (Cheney 2.0) for the City of Frisco.
As President of Frisco ISD Board of Trustees, Mark Hill has had a seat at the table for many of these public private partnership deals which have helped shape Frisco. He is already up to speed on what is in some of those fine details they don’t want residents to see. Next, look at his campaign photos, it is a Who’s Who of Frisco Insiders and Establishment. You see their faces in every campaign online like, Tracie Reveal Shipman, Karen Cunningham, Lisa Kirby, Councilwoman Laura Rummel, Councilwoman Ann Anderson, Former Councilwoman Tammy Meinershagen, Jason Young (Developer), Steve Cone (P&Z), and many more. Then there is the campaign social media team made of the alleged town online bullies such as Sean Merrel (currently on planning & zoning), Jake Petras (now in Real Estate), Lance Taylor and the newly minted Jared Tye (Real Estate).
Jeff and Dana Cheney sitting at the Unite Party with Mark Hill and his wife.
After watching several campaigns, one thing the Establishment knows is they cannot put Cheney out front for Hill, because it will automatically polarize a portion of the audience whose vote they are campaigning for. While Jeff Cheney has kept a low profile, his Cheney Cabal aka “The Establishment” has been hard at work around the clock for Mark Hill. Now, you are asking what proof do I have that Cheney is in full support of Mark Hill? It is posted online! Just this week Mr. & Ms. Prom Queen and King – Dana and Jeff Cheney went to Mark Hill’s Unite Frisco event and sat with them at the same table. The room was full of the same powerful friends I jokingly call the top 100 insiders.
In Frisco, the establishment campaign team works overtime to attack the new candidate on the block. They have done year after year, campaign after campaign and will go to any length to win even if it destroys a good person’s reputation. The Establishment campaign must win – everything, and I mean everything rides on it!
The question voters should ask is simple: who benefits if nothing changes?
Fun Asia Podcast – Set up or Real?
What is FunAsia? It is a podcast that became a topic in the Frisco mayoral race after interviewing both Mark Hill and Rod Vilhauer. The podcast is conducted through the South Asian media network known as FunAsia, which operates multiple radio stations, video programming, and podcasts serving the Dallas–Fort Worth South Asian community.
On June 4, FunAsia Radio posted voters could catch Mark Hill “Live On Air” at 9am – so tune in. On June 5, FunAsia Radio posted the Hill and not to far into the interview the host talks about the negative impact outsiders are having at city hall meetings, and that local South Asians don’t feel welcome who live there. She then looked at Mark Hill and said “as Mayor, when you are Mayor Mark Hill, what will you say to residents to make sure everyone feels welcome. What stood out was how she smiled sounded excited and said “when you are Mayor Mark Hill” clearly showing a preferential bias in her reporting. Then look at both images for the interview – Mark Hill’s true images appear in the marketing for the interview.
Now compare Hills interview to the FunAsia interview with Rod Vilhauer, it was very different. Starting with the advertising, the image of Rod Vilhauer is clearly not Rod Vilhauer. If you google his name, there are a ton of photos of the candidate, and it is clear this is an AI created image used in FunAsia’s marketing. Why was Mark Hill’s perfect and Rod Vilhauer clearly manipulated? Pictures of the Real Rod Vilhauer below.
Next the tone of the interview was a little different, and the host never really seem “excited” like she did with Mark so that showed the next clear difference. When the interview comes out, an immediate reaction about comments that appeared to disparage Hispanics where cut and pasted all over social media by Hill supporters. Then Fun Asia announced they removed the interview and put out an apology. Many people never even caught the full interview. If you look today the only thing out there are bits, clips, posted by Hill supporters and they sound manipulated if you watch Rod in the live box.
It is clear FunAsia manipulated his appearance in early marketing, so is it possible this was a set up or manipulated too? Was Hill’s campaign team involved in the setup? It is a fair question. Frisco Chronicles heard from a campaign insider with the Vilhauer team they were shocked the interview had been pulled as they had not even heard it yet. The public fallout surrounding candidate interview, removal, station apology, and has only fueled speculation. The problem, since FunAsia removed the interview so fast, even if they were to repost it now – you can never prove if it was or was not manipulated to make Rod look racists.
Unite Frisco or Manipulate Frisco?
Unite Frisco is about bringing everyone in Frisco together according to Mark Hill, especially the South Asian community. If Mark Hill is about Uniting Frisco – then why is he surrounding himself with certain people who have clearly showed past poor judgement that some may call “racist” to the same South Asian community Hill is trying to court now.
Example #1: Mr. Jake Petras made the news last year for holding up what he claimed was a picture made by AI of a South Asian woman, wearing a turban that clearly looked similar to a candidate that year in the race. Petras told WFAA, Jobin Paniker that he was sincerely sorry to anyone who took offense to the sign,” then went on to say AI took creative liberties when making it.
While many believe Petras and his apology, Frisco Chronicles wants to know where did he got such a large sign printed to have that day at the polls? Something like that takes time and planning. Frisco Chronicles would like to know how is what he did at well-known South Asian Polling Station on election day, any different than alleged statements made by a campaign candidate. Petras wants forgiveness and for it go away but wants to hold Rod Vilhauer to the cross for statements he has already corrected and apologized for. However just hours after his aired Petras posted on a local social media page that several statements where it sounds like doubles down on his decision being a good idea.
These are not the only questionable decision by Jake Petras. There was the time he put another candidate’s picture on a milk carton – and that candidate happened to be black. Then there was when he wanted to make fun of Jared Elad our Jewish Councilman and use an AI photo with I guess one say enhanced features. They art in interpretive – so do you see a pattern or just some funny art?
Example #2: Tammy Meinershagen
I know a lot of folks criticize the Tammy Tapes and the fact that we took out the second person in the recording to protect their identity, what Tammy said in those tapes still stands. Tammy Meinershagen and only Tammy is responsible for her comments. All the people on the Hill campaign today let her slide by last year after these comments were unveiled and now, she is a huge Mark Hill supporter?
In the recording Tammy Meinershagen can be heard making fun of the number of Indian Festivals, then she goes on to say the Indian Community is living a different world, lastly, she questions if any of the Indians at these events are voters. Listen to Tammy talk about diversity in Frisco by clicking here.
In another video she talks about how she had a conversation with Gopal Ponangi where she told him he failed to get the bonds voted through, failed to balance the budget and how that is kind of an issue. She talks about how she asked him how he would do at city council if he couldn’t handle the Frisco ISD BOD. She then said she told Gopal that the citizens don’t have confidence in FISD leadership at that moment, and how his time of Frisco ISD School Board was a failure. Question for Tammy today, if you could not support Gopal last year then how can you support the FISD Boad of Trustees President Mark Hill this year? Are we just going to overlook that now?
Listen to the tapes for yourself from MAY 2025
Two-Faced Tammy’s HOT TEA on John Keating
Tammy Talks Gopal (Frisco ISD Failure)
To top it off Tammy Meinershagen biggest supporter was caught delivering hateful nasty mailers about South Asian Indian, Burt Thakur running at the time. A local PAC was responsible for them allegedly run by Tracie Reveal Shipman. Both support Mark Hill for Mayor. Read about it by clicking here.
Unite or Manipulate
How can Hill allow certain people to who have displayed South Asian hate be on his team be proud of them as his supporters. For example, at his big Unite Frisco event this week right by his side was disgraced Tammy Tapes Meinershagen. If the community wants to up in arms about what Vilhauer said, then they should hold Meinershagen to the same level of criticism but instead last year they swept it under the run and blamed anyone else they could.
We released the full transcript last year between the two participants to show it was not manipulated. Tammy is responsible for what she said and now she is part of the Mark Hill Unite Team. None of these people in the photo at Mark’s Unite event had any issue with Tammy’s statements last year and blamed us for publishing them, blamed the other participant, but never blamed Tammy Meinershagen a sitting councilwoman.
Honestly, it’s embarrassing how easily the Establishment manipulates our South Asian voters. Oh, this man is bad, he is racist – vote for us, donate to us, all the while the campaign is texting fake numbers by a Muslim Inman showing Mark Hill wining to again manipulate to scare South Asian voters.
has said then they should hold Tammy Meinershagen to the same level of criticism because last year she got a pass claiming Frisco Chronicles manipulated her words which clearly the full transcript published shows we did not.
Rod Vilhauer
Then you have Rod Vilhauer who calls himself a man of the people and wants to put Frisco First. Vilhauer has tripped over a few of his comments and apologized publicly for them. Is he a perfect man? No. Has he claimed to be? No. Has he promised to do his best for all Frisco Residents in every corner of this city? Yes.
Let’s just be honest, Rod is not the best at public speaking, and he probably should not do anymore podcasts. But look at his page and the diversity of supporters on it and tell me the one thing every video has in common. He has been a good friend, supportive of their businesses, a leader, at his core is a sincere human being. Looking at his page, it is full of new faces, a new excitement in this city.
Ask yourself why so many attacks across social media groups and pages by Hill voters to paint Rod Vilhauer as a racist? Hill should take inventory of his own camp. That one word, along with the implication of hate will drive voters to be fearful and end up voting for the establishment. Voters stop asking questions and that allows manipulation and fear voting to take over.
Following Rod’s campaign online you see new people getting involved, new faces getting political, regular residents coming forward and standing up for him. The new faces are not “FRISCO INSIDERS” or part of the “FRISCO ESTABLISHMENT” which is refreshing.
What Frisco Chronicles finds refreshing about him is that 1) he admitted he was wrong, 2) he openly apologized for those comments made early on his campaign and 3) he asked for the South Asian, Hindu Indians to forgive him. I respect a man who will stand up, admit his failures, and do the right thing. No one in Hills camp has taken inventory of their mistakes.
Be Sure At The Polls
It is my opinion and only my opinion that Mark Hill is Cheney 2.0 and I want a different direction for our city. Follow the endorsements, follow the money, follow the consultants, and suddenly the picture becomes much clearer. The battle isn’t just between candidates anymore; it’s between competing visions of who gets to influence Frisco’s future. In the age of social media, podcasts, targeted messaging, and selective data points, campaigns can create an illusion of momentum that may or may not reflect reality. Frisco voters deserve to know whether they are seeing authentic community sentiment or a political marketing campaign.
At the same time, many voters are asking whether certain political organizations, advocacy groups, and community influencers are exercising outsized influence behind the scenes. These questions are part of a larger conversation about representation, political power, and who ultimately gets a seat at the table in one of America’s fastest-growing cities.
The public fallout surrounding candidate interviews, removals, apologies, and subsequent appearances has only fueled speculation. Whether voters see it as media bias, political pressure, damage control, or simply a business decision may depend on their perspective. What is certain is that the episode became one of the defining flashpoints of this election season.
Hill has nothing else to attack Rod Vilhauer on other that being unfit for some comments. His followers and voters have been all over social media doing anything and everything to make Rod Vilhauer look like a racist and hateful person. Talk to him if you see him at the polls – it simply is not true. All I have heard from everyone who talks to him is he has been kind and gracious.
Frisco Chronicles believes voters have the right to make the decision that best suits their home and family but the amount of potential vote manipulation that has gone on in this election is incredible. Let’s see if voters figure it out tomorrow.
Disclaimer For Legal Purposes: This article is written as opinion, commentary, and personal interpretation based on publicly available records, meeting observations, agenda materials, and information I have heard from community sources. Any statements involving motives, intent, conflicts of interest, contracts, relationships, or behind-the-scenes activity should be understood as alleged, suspected, or opinion unless directly supported by cited public records. Readers are encouraged to review the linked materials, attend public meetings, request records, and form their own conclusions. Nothing in this article should be interpreted as a final statement of fact about any person’s legal conduct, criminal behavior, or ethical violations.
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