The conversation around FCFA (Frisco Center for the Performing Arts) is like watching a hockey game. Fans focus on the puck, darting across the ice at breakneck speed, while the real action—the jabs, the shoves, the outright brawls—unfolds around it. In this case, the puck is the FCFA debate, and the players? Several players have come forward offering wisdom and insight like George Purefoy, Shono Sowell, Jared Elad, Jerry Spencer, and Burt Thaker.

Mayor Jeff Cheney has decided to be both the referee and the enforcer, throwing punches at anyone who dares question his grand vision. His online meltdown is documented in his trolling comments of citizens, council candidates, previous city employees, and future mayoral candidates.  We call him the digital reincarnation of American Cult Leader, David Koresh. Cheney views Frisco residents as his personal Branch Davidians, expecting—no, demanding—blind loyalty. He envisions himself as the all-knowing prophet of Frisco’s future, leading his followers toward his Broadway-sized promised land, whether they like it or not.

Just like Koresh, Cheney loves the sound of his own voice. His strategy? Talk incessantly until his opponents are too exhausted to argue. History has shown that when Cheney gets his panties in a wad or feels his grip slipping, he shifts into attack mode, labeling residents “ignorant,” “unaware,” or “misinformed.” It’s almost comical—except for the fact that he genuinely believes he’s the smartest person in the room. As my mother used to say, the proof is in the pudding.

Why the Obsession with FCFA?

Why is Jeff Cheney and his sidekicks Tammy Meinershagen and John Keating fighting so hard for a Frisco Center For The Arts? 

For Meinershagen, it’s personal. She has had a lifelong love affair with the arts (she plays the violin), and she has served on the Frisco Arts Boards and Commissions. One could wonder, has her love for the arts possibly clouded her judgment. Is she advocating for the entire city or just her arts community?

Keating has a twofold motivation: 01: He wants to be mayor, and winning this battle gives him a nice “dog whistle” for his next campaign boost. 02: He owns a house in The Preserve, which Cheney has said is the most exclusive community to ever be built in Frisco, as it sits next to the PGA. A luxurious neighborhood near the proposed arts center —a fancy arts venue next door = only increased property values.

And Cheney? Well, he wins in real estate—again. Let’s be honest, a massive arts venue will drive up property values along the 380 corridors, directly benefiting the real estate that the Cheney Group represents in Fields Residential Developments. Just as he has done in the past, Cheney will say there is no conflict of interest and that he doesn’t use his position as Mayor to benefit his business. Coincidence? We think not.

The Social Media Meltdown

Why is Cheney on a social media overdrive to sell this project to the public? To understand you must look at the comments on the March 8^th post by the Smart Frisco PAC on their Facebook page. Former City Manager, George Purefoy, who is a very respected individual in our city and many value his opinion since he “built Frisco,” openly stated he was against the measures on the ballot relating to the Frisco EDC and did not like the fact that residents were being misled that it would cost nothing.  On the same post, several other well-respected names in our community spoke out.  Political candidates such as Jerry Spencer, Jared Elad, and Burt Thacker have also come out against the measures. 

On March 22, Shona Sowell, who previously served as a city councilwoman for many years, giving her access to the spatial studies and feasibility studies done regarding a performing arts center. She has also been involved in city conversations related to a PAC and published an informed opinion on her Facebook page, Shona Sowell for Frisco Mayor.  That is when Cheney lost it and his performance backfired!  

First, Cheney uses a set of cabal minions to question Purefoy and Sowell.  In this case, that would be Jake Petras and David Bickerstaff.  When that doesn’t work, he dives right into the media fire himself, replying to several comments on Sowell’s page and her post. 

Resident Jeff Jacobs thanked Sowell for her breakdown of the facts. Cheney responds, “this a 50-year decision for Frisco.  Please do your due diligence apart from political alliances and evaluate this project on what it will truly mean for the future of our community.”   How does Cheney know that Jacobs has not done his own due diligence?  Why does he assume his support is solely out of a political alliance with Sowell?  Where does Cheney, OUR MAYOR, get off making those assumptions or talking to a resident like that.  Keep in mind Cheney knows Jacobs is well informed as he is a well-respected Realtor in the Frisco community.

Jacobs commented later on in the comments on Sowells post with a meme about Frisco ISD arts center.  Cheney obviously does not pay attention who he is talking to or he would have realized he already responded to Jacobs once, so he responds again with the same exact copied comment he left for Jacobs the first time around. 

Next Bowers makes a comment thanking Sowell for taking the time to break it down and a short time later Cheney responds, “I count on you to do your homework on this project.  I disagree with all the information presented in this post and hopeful Shona will actually meet with city staff to learn more.”  In response George Purefoy responds to Bowers with his concerns on the project and you can guess that did not go over when Cheney read it.  AGAIN…why does Cheney, OUR MAYOR, assume that Bowers has not done her homework?  Why is Cheney “cut and pasting” his comment that he disagrees with the whole post to Bowers.  Was Bowers on Mayor Cheney’s page asking him for his two cents?  Nope!

Another resident named Annette responds that nothing is free in government and that Frisco needs to focus on infrastructure and stop ignoring the east side which looks sad. Mayoral Candidate Sowell responds that she, too, lives on the east side and understands her pain and wants the whole city to look great for residents.  Minutes later, Cheney responds with the same “cut and paste” comment about how he hopes she does her homework and that he disagrees with all the information presented in Sowell’s post.  HELLO MR. MAYOR – YOU CLAIM TO CARE ABOUT WHAT RESIDENTS WANT, SO DID YOU EVEN READ HER COMMENT?  No!!! You couldn’t care less that a resident feels the east side has been forgotten about in your master plan, and that she expressed a concern.  Nope, you only respond about the performing arts center because THAT IS ALL YOU CARE ABOUT!  Remember, we said proof is in the pudding, stop and listen and respond to residents – NOT WHAT YOU WANT!

Several more residents’ comment in support of Shona’s post and you can bet minutes later Cheney responds (no trolls) again with the same “cut and paste” comment as he did all the others asking her to do her homework on the project and he disagrees with all the info presented. 

Want more proof in the pudding that this is not about Residents but about Cheney and what he wants?   Resident Brewer responds to Shona’s post with “Hmm…our mayor’s explanation differs significantly from this.”  Without hesitation, Cheney and his minion Bickerstaff respond, attacking Shona as “not credible,” and then, when Resident McCarley responds, asking “What’s incorrect in Shona’s explanation? What is she misinformed about?  What facts did she get wrong on this project?”  MAYOR CHENEY and Mr. Bickerstaff – this was your time to answer the question and explain your claims that you posted repeatedly, calling “misinformation” with the facts, but did you?  Nope!!!  Crickets …. Proof again of the pudding, it is not about communication to residents, it is about TELLING THEM what they need to believe.

In another section Cheney is asked if the city is responsible for the cost overruns as Shona stated?   Did Cheney respond?   NOPE!!!

Then David Bickerstaff (who has a political alliance with Cheney – his own words) posts on Sowells page in the comments for people to read Mayor Cheney’s posts with the real facts.  Cheney then responds, “We’ve met with multiple candidates to address questions and concerns, and most have changed their positions after learning more. We invite you to do the same. I would have hoped you would have attended a single public meeting prior to posting such inaccurate information. As a candidate for Mayor the public should expect this, and it is disappointing you have not attended a single informational meeting. I know we would love to meet with any candidate in this race or future to understand the scope and give them the facts to discuss with the public.”  Whistleblower responds to Cheney asking him why the city is fighting their PIRs by sending it to the attorney general on the preforming arts center if they have been trying to be so transparent.  Cheney never responded to that question, because he probably didn’t see it since he blocked us from his Mayoral page which is illegal by the way. 

MR. CHENEY IF YOU READ THIS: What “multiple candidates” have you met with to address their concerns who changed their positions on the project?   How many meetings was Sowell involved in with all the other performing arts centers?   Why are you insinuating a woman CAN’T READ THE CITY’S SLIDES and decipher with intelligence what they mean, especially when that woman has years of council experience?  You said you would love to meet with any candidate in this race to discuss the facts but then why did you try to shut down Burt Thacker at this week’s council meeting when he spoke about the performing arts center?  Is the council supposed to respond to folks at citizens’ input, or better yet, cut them off while speaking?   Nope, I don’t think you can do that, but we all know you make your own rules.

Whistleblowers Opinion on the Social Media Debacle: Mayor Cheney’s antics, trolling another politician’s page, is classless and disgusting.  Going through her posts and commenting on them the way he did not only makes our city look bad, and it makes him look pathetic.  He repeatedly assumes that every person is uneducated and not smart enough to make their own decision.  If they ask a question, he doesn’t answer it and ignores them.  He accuses them of making their decisions based on political alliances when his own political alliances come onto the page to cause disruption.  In one post, the Mayor of Frisco – Jeff Cheney, summed up how he sees most of us residents… as stupid idiots who can’t make informed decisions.  Only the Great Cheney Klan knows what is best for us. As for Ms. Sowell, we don’t know her personally, but we have watched her for years at council meetings, and she came across in her post the same way she did in those meetings with class and professionalism.  She took time to answer anyone’s questions and generally seemed to care about people’s opinions.  We are not supporting anyone for Mayor yet as that race is to far out, but she could be a tough one to beat if she continues to put residents first.

Censorship and Control

Cheney’s next move? A post on his own mayoral page. Unfortunately, we can’t link it—he’s blocked us. (Illegal, by the way, but details, details.) His post sounded like it was written by ChatGPT, filled with self-aggrandizing nonsense like, “I am here to discuss the details that I believe…”

A clinical psychologist will tell you that if you look closer at the context written by a narcissist, it has elements of exaggerated sense of self-importance and a need for admiration. What is Cheney saying? To Cheney, this isn’t just an arts center—it’s his magnum opus. The ambition, the “halo effect,” the relentless drive—it’s all part of his self-made mythology. “Only I, Jeff Cheney, have the courage to take on this challenge, to climb the mountain, to lead Frisco into this bold new era.”

Cheney then lays out the details in his post, which you can read for yourself if you are not blocked.  A few points of concern for us #4 that reads, in the coming weeks, we’ll lock in an LOI with a world-class operator under an “operator-at-risk” model.  That means as of today, as you are reading this, we do not have an LOI with an operator, and we don’t have an operator at risk model. A letter of intent is not a contract, it is a preliminary agreement, generally non-binding.   

He also states that “they will inject upfront capital,” but he does not say how much and in return “we’ve” meaning the City has allocated up to $6 million for startup costs (capped there), with any further deficits falling on the operator annually throughout the contract.”   What that means is if we vote for this and something goes wrong and we can’t get a contract (past the LOI) worked out, who is holding the purse?  The city!  He is asking us to put all our chips in on a “risk” that it will work out.  This is the same man who made promises about Universal, and the night of the final vote changed numerous things in the contract to be more beneficial for NBC Universal than the residents who lived right next to it.  Changing the operating times, height of roller coasters, etc.  He wants us to trust him again.

In #6 Cheney talks about “Halo Effect” and the impact on Frisco.  He has been using the Halo Effect now for years as his talking point as to why we will do things.  When the PGA was approved that project sparked the Halo Effect, then he used it Universal will create a Halo Effect and now the theater.  MAYOR CHENEY, WE HAVE BEEN HEARING THE TERM HALO EFFECT FROM YOU FOR YEARS AND GUESS WHAT WE ARE STILL SHELLING OUT MONEY LEFT AND RIGHT FOR COMPANIES WHO SHOULD WANT TO COME HERE BECAUSE WE ARE ALREADY GREAT!   When does it end?

He closes with every great Frisco project that has come our way has come with risks and unknowns – yes but they had better money backing it.  The PGA, The Cowboys, are billion-dollar operations.  Is this partner a billion-dollar partner?  No! While there was risk it was not as great as this one.  This operator does not have near the same capital as previous ones.

Whistleblower Opinion: Cheney’s post is a direct response to Shona Sowell and George Purefoy.  Why does he block people from his page who may have questions?  Why does he delete comments that don’t align with his agenda?  If you are serious Mr. Mayor, why do you and the rest of the council unblock us and the others you have blocked and allow the same community engagement that Shona Sowell did on her page.  That’s right you don’t care about the opinions of residents which is why you trolled her page in your meltdown, and you didn’t answer any of them.  The ego and self-centered attitude you have, that you are the only who you can make this happen, is the problem here and will ultimately be while residents vote against it. 

The Dallas Morning News Debacle

Do you still want more proof in the pudding?   The DMN is the same paper Mayor Cheney has praised in the past.  Cheney didn’t agree with their opinion and stated the DMN has “written some uneducated stuff in the past but this may be their worst.  It is completely nonsensical.”   Were any of these articles UNEDUCATED AND NONSENSICAL?

Then he immediately talks about how they don’t understand the project.  He admits in the closing that “Of course we only have LOI’s now, but formal agreements will be executed following the election.”   WHAT DID THEY GET WRONG MAYOR?

And so, we’re left with a burning question: Is this the leadership Frisco signed up for? A mayor who spends his time trolling opposing candidates online, throwing tantrums at newspapers that dare to question his grand vision, belittling anyone who doesn’t fall in line, and assuming that anyone who dares question his Broadway dreams just isn’t smart enough to get it?

At what point does passion for a project turn into arrogance? At what point does civic leadership turn into online heckling?  One has to wonder, does Mayor Cheney keep a special alert set up for any slight against his pet project, or does he just have that much free time? Mayor Cheney should spend less time policing Facebook comments and more time listening to the very people he was elected to serve. Because for a guy who’s always questioning everyone else’s intelligence, he sure seems to be struggling with the basic concept of professionalism.  Maybe instead of scolding residents, journalists, and fellow politicians like a frustrated theater director dealing with amateur actors, he could take a step back and consider that disagreement isn’t the same as ignorance.  Either way, watching a sitting mayor spiral into social media meltdowns over dissenting opinions is certainly… a choice.

Or, you know, he could just keep rage-commenting. That’s always a good look. He did have to take a break from commenting to attend the 100th Anniversary of the Music Hall at Fair Park and success with Broadway Dallas. Guess he likes the perks already before we get our theater. Think the city will have us of a box at the new theater too to view all the shows?