Meet The Candidates: Place 4

by | Mar 9, 2025 | Campaign Signs, City Boards and Committees, City Council, Elections, Frisco ISD, Gopal Ponangi, Politics

In Frisco, there is a permission process for running for office.  What do we mean by permission process?  Let us share: if you are interested in running for city council, you need to let Mayor Cheney know, and he will notify his henchwoman, Lorie Medina.  Medina will then let you know if you have permission and if you are qualified enough to run for office.  Suppose you don’t have the support of Cheney and Medina, otherwise known as the leaders of the established Frisco cabal. In that case, they will make it very difficult for you by turning to their developer friends to fund the campaigns of the “Cabal Approved” candidates. 

How do we know this?  It is what we have been told by several previous candidates who ran for office against the Medina Machine!  If you want to run for office in Frisco, you must have their blessing, and they will give you the “pathway” to the dais of the council.  But first, one must pay their dues, of course, or they will be told, “It’s just not your turn yet!”

It makes you wonder why any rational human being would want or try to run for office in Good Ole Frisco!  Maybe they believe in things like community service and making a difference. Maybe they think local government should be more than a rubber stamp for developers. Then again, maybe—just maybe—they’re the rare type of person who enjoys the thrill of fighting voter apathy that plagues our elections.  Either way, this time around Frisco residents have choices, and it is up to them to get off the couch, stop making excuses, and vote for change.   Otherwise, you will once again find yourself asking why your city council makes decisions without your input.  Remember, you had a chance to care. You just didn’t.  Let’s look at who is running for Place 4!  To be fair, we will go in order of their names on the ballot.

First up is Joshua Meek, whose filing application states he is a Real Estate Professional!  According to his website, he is “Your Local Real Estate Expert” – just what we need, another Realtor!  According to another site, Meek Industries, of which he is the Founder and CEO, they are a diversified holding company with a mission to acquire and grow attractive investments that generate sustainable cash flow.  What?  It does not list any partners, investments they are involved in, etc.

According to his political website, he has attended 133 Frisco City Council Meetings.  Have you ever wondered who is that guy who sometimes wears a baseball hat and sits right behind the podium where everyone speaks to the council – that is Meek.  He was appointed to the Frisco Community Development Corporation Board and has been involved in several notable projects.  It touts he is a community leader, who over the last 14 years served in a variety of Frisco organizations and community positions including, Frisco Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, Visit Frisco Board Member, member of the Frisco Rotary Club, Leadership Frisco class graduate, and Citizens Police and Fire Academy graduate.

What is Meeks Platform?  Well, it says he wants “THRIVING PARTNERSHIPS” and touts our success is due to those partnerships with DEVELOPERS, school districts, healthcare systems and higher educational institutions.  He goes on to say these partnerships must be PRIORTIZED as we finalize Frisco’s buildout.  Truth is he is the young Cheney who is all about development and developers from what we can tell.

Next up he wants to “Pioneer Innovation” and somehow relates that to public safety.  He believes that integration of technology and artificial intelligence can further enhance the high-quality performance of Frisco’s first responders.  Personally, I don’t think AI can fight a house fire or stop an armed robbery the way our actual first responders can!

Lastly, he wants to “Leverage Economics” and he will continue to lower the tax rate by leveraging the use of sales tax revenue. That way Frisco CDC and EDC are able to create funding sources to help strategically fund parks, projects and attract employers that many other communities.   What caught our attention was his comment “By continuing to invest in Frisco as a destination location” but do Frisco Residents want to be a destination location or a community.  He also forgot to mention the CDC or EDC will fund a big Performing Arts Center that the cabal wants.

Next up Jared Elad whom we have nicknamed “The Beard” from his yellow signs popping up!  His application lists his occupation as a small business owner.  According to his website, he came from a modest upbringing in Tennessee and Oklahoma and got a bachelor’s degree from Oklahoma State University.

He began his career as a Financial Advisor with Merrill Lynch and later worked at Wells Fargo and BB&T/Truist as a Financial Advisor and Vice President. In 2024, he went independent to better serve his clients. Elad is married to Stephanie Elad (FISD Board Member) and has two daughters.  Jared currently sits on the Board of Directors of the Villages of Stonelake HOA.

Jared Elad’s website goes on to say he wants to Eliminate excess spending, Lower taxes, Accomplish the budget, and be Dependable to the community.  Get it ELAD! He touts we need fiscal responsibility with transparency, and he wants every taxpayer dollar spent efficiently, and wants to cut out wasteful expenses with a focus on projects that bring true value to “FRISCO RESIDENTS.” 

Elad’s site also goes on to say he will support Public Safety, and he is dedicated to partnering with Frisco PD and Fire to ensure they have the resources, training, and equipment needed to serve and protect all Frisco residents effectively.  He is for Community Friendly Development & Growth that supports economic vitality while not forgetting that it needs to align with the needs, concerns and wants of “FRISCO RESIDENTS.” 

Lastly, Jared Elad has some cute pet videos and displays his support for Frisco Pets on his Facebook page.  For the pet lovers, he had declared he is for a new pet shelter to ensure the safety and well-being of Frisco pets.  As soon as he displayed his support for pets, the first comment came from an infamous Cabel supporter, Jake Petras, who stated he would also love a pet shelter and asked how we would fund it.  Funny because we have seen many posts where Petras attacks pet people and the idea of a shelter, so we have to assume the cabal has him at work again being their mouthpiece to put other candidates running on defense or at least try!

Next up we have Jerry Spencer, and his application states he is an investor.  He has lived in Texas for 76 years and over 20 years in Frisco.   We could not find a website for Spencer, but we did find a Facebook page, but it was also limited to information.  We sent a message asking if he had any platform ideas he wanted to share for our article.

Spencer responded that he lives on the east side of the tollway in Plantation.  He would like to see Frisco shift the focus from sports, tourism, and being a destination city and broaden our economic base with a much greater emphasis on attracting emerging technology and 21st century industries such as AI, robotics, drone technology, autonomous driving, medical research, etc.  

Spencer would like to also put a focus on regional cooperation with our regional partners in both Denton and Collin County.  He believes Frisco has a Lone Ranger mentality, and he would like to see us have a regional performing arts center where we pair up with Plano, McKinney and Allen.  There are 235,000 people in Frisco, but more than 750,000 in those four cities. The per capita costs of an arts center drop dramatically when spread over four cities.  He said working together would be a better solution.

Next, we have Gopala Ponangi, whose occupation is listed as a Business Owner.  He has lived in Texas for 24 years and spent 21 of those years in Frisco, Texas.  Gopal is married with two daughters and has a pet Shih Tzu named Coco.  He is a small business owner with an emphasis in Digital Marketing for Financial Services and Real Estate. If Gopal’s name sounds familiar it should, as he has served on the Frisco ISD Board of Trustees, Place one.  His website at the time said, “Education is my passion, and I will strive to give my best to our students and the community.”

According to his website for Place 4 City Council, he says he is proud to be an active member of Frisco, leaving initiatives through nonprofits with a focus on Education, Healthcare and the Fine Arts.  His bio states he is the Past Director of the Frisco Economic Development Corporation. He also was a founding Co-Chair of the Mayors Adhoc Committee for the Frisco Indian Affairs which has now taken the shape of the Multicultural Committee under Frisco Boards and Commissions.  He touts on his website how he has served on several committees through FISD.

As for his Vision for Frisco, he would like to focus on more local jobs through smart, responsible growth.  He would also like to see an improvement in traffic and will work to prioritize smart traffic solutions to keep Frisco moving forward.  He is committed to Public Safety and will prioritize funding to ensure our first responders have the necessary resources to protect citizens.

After reviewing Gopal’s website, we had two questions.  First if he is passionate about education then why is he running for city council?  Second, he states he served on a lot of boards which made us wonder how he had the time?   If you investigate his attendance for some of these boards, he boasts about it appears he was absent at 99% of the meetings.  If he can’t show up for boards/committees/meetings, etc. then why would we think he will show up for city council meetings and all the duties that come with that role.

Lastly, we have Sangita Datta, and her application states her occupation as a financial specialist, having lived in Frisco for the last 6.5 years.  We assume Datta is a Frisco Socialite because we constantly see her at events, and she has helped each of our current council members campaign during election cycles.  According to her website, she is committed to making Frisco a better place to live, work, and grow.  Her service journey began in Mother Teresa’s house in Kolkata, where she learned the meaning of life, compassion, and giving back to the community.

Datta’s platform includes promoting economic growth and fiscal responsibility through attracting quality jobs and supporting local businesses, using city resources wisely to keep taxes low, and fostering an environment where entrepreneurs can thrive.   Secondly, she stands for enhancing a family-friendly community life by investing in parks, playgrounds, and community spaces and supporting initiatives that help working parents maintain Frisco’s reputation as a great city.   Hmmm, we have initiatives that maintain our city’s reputation.  Do tax dollars pay for that?  Datta also wants to ensure safety and preserve Frisco’s unique character.  After reading her site, we are not sure how preserving the city’s character affects safety, but hopefully, we have time to learn during the debates.

She believes her experience serving on the City of Frisco Parks & Recreation Board, Ambassador for the Frisco Chamber of Commerce, as Treasurer for the Indian Association of North Texas, and as an Ambassador for the Frisco Inclusion Committee will help her while serving on City Council.  Datta also graduated from the Leadership Frisco, Citizens Police Academy and completed the City 101 programs.

That rounds out your choices for Place 4!  Meeks reminds us of a young Cheney Real Estate mogul in training.  Elad is a marketing genius with “The Beard” and we are excited to learn more about him in the debates. The pet-friendly Frisco will most likely gravitate to Elad because he has openly said he supports an animal shelter.  Gopal is the obvious Cabel plant as he “supports the arts” meaning a Performing Arts Center.  Proof that Gopal is one of the implants in his kickoff photos with Keating and Pelham. 

We would like Gopal to explain his attendance record for previous positions he has held and tell us how it will be different this time.  In our opinion, Datta should be madder than a wet hen that those she supported for years are not showing her the same respect she has shown them over the years.  We need more clarification regarding her platform, and we are concerned her relationships with the current council means she will stay “inline” with what the Cheney Machine wants.  However, we could be wrong, maybe there has been a clear line drawn in the sand of friendship.  As for Spencer, we just don’t know enough about the person or platform to offer an opinion. The Whistleblowers want change – however that comes!  We want independent individuals who will make their own decisions and not follow the gravy train of the current council members.

There’s no place like home!

by | May 19, 2024 | City Boards and Committees, City Council, Mayor Jeff Cheney, Politics

The other night our grandkids were over, and we thought we should introduce them to the classic movie, The Wizard of Oz.  In The Wizard of Oz, when Dorothy found the man behind the curtain, pretending to be the great Wizard of Oz, the spell of the Wizard was broken. The great and powerful wizard was exposed. He was simply an ordinary man, who was just able to perform some clever tricks. The trouble with fantasy is that, for some, the line between delusion and reality is blurred for those people who simply don’t deal in the truth. I am talking about those people with fantastical perceptions of themselves that are so great, that after a while, their fantasies become their reality.

After the movie was over, we played a game of Jenga.  We told them, you must be careful because the game looks easy, but the truth is you must have patience as you carefully remove pieces of wood while hoping the tower does not topple over.  I told them the game requires observation, strategic thinking, and sometimes a bit of intuition.  Seeing young kids hold their breath while each piece of wood comes out, then mesmerized in the moment to see if the tower will topple is greatness.

As we played, I continued to think about the movie the Wizard of OZ and how it describes our city council.  Mayor Cheney is the man behind the curtain, the great Wizard of Oz.  While people in Frisco put him on a pedal stool, he is really an ordinary man who can pull some clever tricks past the residents.  As you continue to read you will find each council member fits a character’s persona.  As we played Jenga I realized we use the same skills in the game of Jenga every other week as we look over the upcoming agenda for the Frisco City Council meetings.  We often find behind every agenda, there is a “hidden agenda”, but you will not find it unless you delicately navigate through the list of items and understand their implications.  We find ourselves asking what is the underlying motive or objective behind certain proposals, discussions, or agenda items?  Much like in the game of Jenga, if you are not careful you may miss some things that could be very important for the tower to continue to stand.

The next morning, we sat down to look over the upcoming agenda for Frisco City Council meeting.  We first noticed under “Individual Items” that both John Keating and Angelia Pelham will take the Oath of Office for their elected places.  Then we noticed right after that they plan to nominate the new Mayor Pro-Tem and Deputy Mayor Pro-Tem.  In our opinion, the political clique who are like characters in the Wizard of OZ, will probably nominate to keep positions the same.  That means Pelham, or Glinda the Good Witch and Keating, who is obviously the Brain-Seeking Scarecrow, will retain their titles since they are the two top Wizard of Oz Enforcers. 

As to why the others would not be nominated, well that’s easy.  They hate Brian Livingston who they treat like the Wicked Witch of the West, since he supported candidates outside the political clique in the last two elections.  Laura Rummell, or the Cowardly Lion, is known as the go along to get along girl and she won’t fight any nomination for fear of getting on the bad side of the political clique.  Tammy Meinershagen who is the prefect Dorothy, is too busy writing a poem for why we need a $300 million dollar performing arts center.  Lastly, Bill Woodard, the heartless Tin Man, just pulled out all the stops to create a larger divide between the city and the Frisco Firefighters.  Probably would not be a good choice if they wanted to “find healing” as Pelham would say with the rank and file of the Fire Department.  

After the May General Election every year, appointments to the City Council committees are brought to the City Council for review. City Council members may be appointed and reappointed to the various committees at the discretion of the Mayor and City Council.  That is why the regular agenda item 34 stood out which is consider and act upon appointments to City Council Committees.  If you remember last year, Brian Livingston was stripped and removed from every committee he served on by the great Wizard of Oz, Mayor Cheney. It was a punishment for going outside of the political clique we told you about above. 

The current appointments to each committee are:

Budget and Audit Committee: Deputy Mayor Pro-Tem Angelia Pelham & Council Member Laura Rummel.

Dallas Regional Mobility Coalition: Mayor Pro-Tem John Keating.

Frisco Square Management District (FSMD) Board is composed of three (3) City Council members and two (2) representatives from the developer per the Local Government Code. The board members currently serving are Mayor Jeff Cheney, Council Member Bill Woodard, and Mayor Pro-Tem John Keating.

Governance Committee: Council Member Bill Woodard, Council Member Tammy Meinershagen, & Deputy Mayor Pro-Tem Angelia Pelham.

Legislative Committee: Council Member Laura Rummel, Council Member Tammy Meinershagen, & Mayor Pro-Tem John Keating.

North Central Texas Council of Governments Emergency Preparedness Planning Committee: Council Member Tammy Meinershagen with Council Member Laura Rummel as her alternate.

North Central Texas (NCT) 911 Project: Council Member Tammy Meinershagen with Council Member Laura Rummel as her alternate.

North Texas Commission is represented by Mayor Jeff Cheney.

Park and Trail Naming Committee is represented by Council Member Bill Woodard.

Regional Transportation Council is represented by Mayor Pro-Tem John Keating.

Animal Advisory Committee is represented by Council Member Laura Rummel.

Frisco Veterans Advisory Committee: Mayor Pro-Tem John Keating, Council Member Laura Rummel, & Council Member Tammy Meinershagen

On Tuesday, the city council can do one of two things.  First, they could choose not to appoint or reappoint current appointees. Secondly, they can review it and make new nominations to the committees “IF THEY CHOOSE.”  What do you think they will they choose to do?  Will they do the right thing and put Mr. Livingston back on the committees or continue this petty behavior?  Is Brian Livingston still considered the Wicked Witch of the West by his fellow council members for having independent thought? 

If they shun Mr. Livingston again who ran unopposed for his seat in May 2023, then they are essentially telling the 14,282 voters that came out to vote for him “YOUR OPINION DOESN’T MATTER!” Just for a point of reference, that is 2922 more votes than Mayor Cheney received the same year. It is also telling the 41,128 residents who voted for Livingston in 2020 that their opinion doesn’t matter.  In 2020, Livingston faced two opponents, if you add together the votes of those 2 opponents, they still were 11, 192 votes short of Livingston. Now compare that to the other seat on the ballot in 2020 which Laura Rummell ran for. He had 24,773 more votes than her.

Lastly on the agenda we noticed items 23 – 26 which have to do with the Boards and Commissions.  Apparently, they are changing the names of some of the committees. The Bicycle Advisory Committee (BAC) will now be the Hike-and-Bike Advisory Committee.  Bill Woodard, the heartless Tin Man, must be so excited over the change since he is known as the Hike-Trike-&-Bike guy. Then the Frisco Arts Board and Public Arts Program will be renamed to the Frisco Arts and Culture Advisory Committee.  We suspect this may have something to do with the “new performing arts center” the city is trying to sell residents. Item 25 will modify certain provisions governing the Parks & Recreation Board. Lastly, the Urban Forestry Board will be changed to the Frisco Natural Resources Advisory Committee. It’s no big deal they are changing the names we just find it the timing interesting that’s all.

It is time for us to click the heels of our red shoes and chant “There’s no place like home!”  We encourage you to look at the agendas and enjoy the game of Jenga the city plays with us. The city hopes we are not paying attention to the pieces of wood they are moving around but the Whistleblower Team is always paying attention.  It will be interesting to see if Pelham and Keating keep the Mayor Pro-Tem and Deputy Pro-Tem titles. 

It is clear Cheney is setting up the path for Angelia Pelham to be our next Mayor at the end of his term.  I wonder how Dorothy, the Cowardly Lion, the Brain-Seeking Scarecrow, or the Heartless Tin Man feel about that?  We would encourage the other council members (minus Cheney) to think about that fact that Brian Livingston is a pretty popular councilman to his base that elected him.  None of them have come close to the accumulated votes he has received over the years so it will be interesting to see what path they all take on the yellow brick road Tuesday night.