In April of 2021 you would have thought an El Paso dust storm full of tumbleweeds came through Frisco and upset the equilibrium of our city. As we discussed in our earlier blogs Where There Is Smoke PT 1 and There is Fire PT 2, there has been a long standing point of contention between the Frisco Firefighters Association and the city in regards to workers compensation.
In 2021 the city opposed House Bill 2242 brought forward by Jared Patterson, Texas State House Rep for Frisco. In 2023 the FFA and Patterson brought HB 471, and they have been working extremely hard to get it or similar legislation passed in Austin that would protect first responders across Texas. The fight for more protection by the FFA and Jared Paterson has continued into our 2025 Texas Legislative Session.
Even though we knew about the El Paso dust storm, my wife and I were still shocked on May 16, 2023, after tuning into the city council meeting online, like we have done every other Tuesday for years. Mayor Cheney presented a proclamation to Denton County MGMR, for all the work they do each day relating to mental health. Mental Health Awareness Month aims to increase awareness about the vital role mental health plays in our overall health and well-being and provide resources and information to support individuals and communities in need of mental health support.
At that same meeting, during Citizen Input (23:00 minute mark), Frisco Firefighters Association President, Matt Sapp, along with Retired Frisco Fire Chief Mark Piland, and Assistant Fire Chief Cameron Kraemer to address the termination of Kraemer, a 27-year Veteran of the Frisco Fire Department.
What? After 27-years serving our city and its residents without hesitation, Kraemer was terminated BY EMAIL while on medical leave and under medical supervision for PTSD which we go into more detail about in our blog Backdraft which we really encourage you to read.
By the end of the meeting, I wanted to scream like Alanis Morrissette…
Isn’t it ironic? Don’t you think? A little too ironic
Where are we two years later? It is Mental Health Awareness Month again, and the second anniversary of Kraemer’s termination BY EMAIL while on medical leave. The fight is not over, not even close! It’s time to peel back the curtain on a firehouse-sized problem simmering here in Frisco? Buckle up, this one’s got smoke, politics, and no small dose of Texas-sized irony.
Smoke, Stigma & Silenced: Mark Piland
Since then, Retired Fire Chief Mark Piland has had his name wrongfully smeared and his 40-year stellar career in public service wrongfully attacked by City of Frisco leaders for speaking out on behalf of Kraemer and the Frisco Firefighters Association when he attempted to run for Frisco City Council.
The Legislative Lifeline
When your city will not support you, what do you do? The Frisco Firefighters Association has continued the fight and has been in Austin off and on the last several weeks with local State Rep Jared Patterson to fight for more protection for public safety employees in the State of Texas. Just today, HB331 officially headed to the Governor’s desk to be signed into law! The bill marks the final piece of legislation language from last session’s HB471 that our Frisco Firefighters have been advocating for the past three legislative sessions.
A Firefighters Fight: Cameron Kraemer
And Cameron Kraemer, where is he? Kraemer, while still under medical supervision, started the fight of his life against our very own City of Frisco. After a hearing on September 21, 2023, before the Texas Department of Insurance, the DMN reports that the administrative law judge hearing the case ORDERED THE CITY OF FRISCO, which is self-insured, to pay Kraemer benefits and any accrued but unpaid income benefits in a lump sum with interest as provided by law. According to John Riddle, president of the Texas State Association of Fire Fighters, Kraemer’s case is being watched throughout Texas, and it is important to the state’s 18,000 firefighters in 195 communities. Riddle said in the DMN, “For now, Frisco is among the most aggressive cities in fighting its injured employees at City Hall and the Legislature — and because of that, employees like Cameron Kraemer pay a high price.”
The battle continued as Kraemer took his case before the DOJ for them to determine if he was able to sue the city for wrongful termination which we wrote about in our blog Big Time Casino Payout. The DOJ ruled Kraemer could move forward with a lawsuit so in August 2024 Cameron Kraemer filed a lawsuit for wrongful termination against the City of Frisco in Collin County. Based on the research we have done, Kraemer is going to win, and we think he will win big! You can learn more in our December 2024 blog Kraemer vs City of Frisco that we wrote which lays out the details.
Final Thoughts from the Hillside Winery Whistleblower
Ask yourself why. Why is the city spending hundreds of thousands on a private law firm to fight so hard and drag this out for so long, when clearly, they are in the wrong? Why is the city spending tax dollars fighting our public safety employees instead of protecting them and just doing the right thing? What will this cost us, the taxpayers, when he wins? Our guess…. MILLIONS! But that is not all. We are hearing rumors of other lawsuits that have been or will be filed by former employees of the FD against the City of Frisco. We are digging into that now!
They had all the time in the world to prance around asking us to vote to change the use of EDC funds for a Frisco Center For The Arts but they cannot simply make things right with the firefighters. Instead, we have Councilwoman Meinershagen calling them 300lb bullies and complaining that they are fighting for protections that directly affect their life. We have Bicycle Bill Woodard, who wants you to believe the firefighters are lazy (his words during the May 2024 election), and they want to bankrupt the city. You can’t get a paycheck from a bankrupt city, so why would they want to do that? Cheney and Keating want you to believe that our RETIRED Fire Chief was fired after a stellar career with the city and 10 years of perfect performance reviews. Not to mention, in our PIR requests and federal FOIA’s, we found his entire 40-year career was stellar with not one deficient performance review. Lastly, no one is paying attention to the fact that in the last 6 to 8 months, several (rumor is 6 to 8) of our firefighters are saying Hasta La Vista Baby either via retirement or quitting their job. They are going to work for other organizations and cities where they are valued.
Just hope and pray your house does not catch fire because we were already short staffed and now it is getting worse! The city loyalists just turn a blind eye as always, and function as if nothing if wrong. They want you to believe we have nothing to be worried about, but as a taxpayer you can bet, I am worried! Big Time Payouts, the loss of experienced firefighters from our roster puts citizens and businesses in jeopardy.
Gopal Ponangi will be in the runoff against Jared Elad in June. We found Tammy Meinershagen’s comments about Gopal to be very interesting:
1) He failed to balance the ISD budget
2) He failed to communicate to voters “why” they needed the bond aka $1 billion
3) He is responsible for the failures at FISD, and she questions how he can lead the city better.
4) Tammy stated that the citizens don’t have confidence in FISD leadership.
She only left off his absence at most meetings and major votes, which we posted about previously (obtained in a PIR)
We’re curious if Tammy would say she’s responsible for the failure of the residents not understanding Proposition A and B for the Frisco Center For The Arts? Did she fail to communicate well? Does that mean she’s not equipped to help run our city? At the end of the day, that is what she implied about Gopal, right?
It will be interesting in the runoff to see if Tammy aligns herself with Gopal when she thinks he was an absolute failure on Frisco ISD school board? It might be more interesting to see if Gopal has a change of heart and supports Burt Thakur! It would make sense considering Tammy spoke so ill of John Keating and Angelia Pelham, who are huge Gopal supporters.
Oh, where will the yellow brick road take us in June?
Back in the day, Frisco was known as a dormant suburb, north of Dallas, but today Frisco is a community undergoing vast changes and becoming its very own urban Metroplex. Gone are the rural days when everyone knew their neighbors, and a trip to Stonebriar Mall was the excitement for the week. Today, we are at a crossroads of transformation, and the experience of change has been both loved and hated along the way.
The reason my wife and I moved here was because we loved the sense of community, the schools, and the feeling of being safe. The truth is all of that has changed with the massive development that has taken place in the last 10+ years. Yes, we knew Frisco would develop and we looked forward to that at one time. However, that is when you had a city council who engaged and listened to the residents and decisions were made based on what was best for the community.
Frisco has changed, and to be very honest, it is now filled with dirty politics on all sides. Secret deals are happening, and our city council is misleading us to approve projects that are in their best interest, and they are leading with iron fists. Our priorities have shifted, and our sense of community is disappearing every day. Today is election day, and each of us has a chance to vote for change.
We debated on releasing the tape of Tammy Meinershagen when we received it. In the end, we felt voters have the right to know who they are electing. Meinershagen’s statements against the South Asian community are offensive. Calling both South Asian candidates idiots and other names is disgusting and shows a lack of leadership and integrity. She then goes on to talk about how she is not afraid of bullies, even if they are 300lb firefighters or a black woman. Since when are those who protect and serve bullies? Her reference to a black woman being a bully because they disagree on how to do things would be the same as calling her an angry black woman, which I am pretty sure the black community would find an offensive stereotype. Then she references that the Frisco population is only 1% Asian, so she has no base here, and with a laugh, says that means she is white. Frisco’s lack of an Asian population does not make you white, Ms. Meinershagen, but it is clear that you want to be.
Then she goes on about her opponent saying she is “offended and insulted that he would run for city council.” So, she is offended that a citizen who had every right to run, is running? She pointed out at the Chamber Forum and on this tape how her opponent ran for Congress and lost – well Ms. Meinershagen, John Keating ran for higher office as well. In fact, he left his seat early to run and when he lost he came back and took over another seat during a special election so does that make him incompetent to run?
Ms. Meinershagen continues to talk about other local leaders, Scott Johnson, Jared Patterson, and Shona Sowell. Then she talks about residents who are or have taken a chance to run for office, like Mark Piland, Burt Thakur, Jared Elad, and Gopal Ponangi. While many may be upset, we released these tapes. The bigger question is, WHY ARE YOU NOT UPSET ABOUT WHAT TAMMY MEINERSHAGEN SAID?
Today Jamie Heit posted on her FRWC page that we have some shady behavior by certain candidates this cycle including that of a current candidate running for office. Heit ignores all the shady behavior her best friends have done in the past and finds excuses for that but now she sits upon a hill of moral authority accusing this candidate of secretly recording a conversation, questioning her morals and integrity.
Here is the problem with Heit’s statement: how does she know it was secretly recorded? Who told her that? Who told her that the conversation was with this candidate? There are only 3 ways you would have known the who, when, where and if it was secretly recorded:
1) Ms. Heit you were there, and you participated in the conversation and if that is the case why were you not disgusted then with the comments by Meinershagen? We know you were not there so we know this option is not possible.
2) Tammy Meinershagen would have had to tell you who this conversation was with and that she was unaware of it being recorded. If that happened, it means TAMMY IS ADMITTING TO THE CONVERSATION AND WHAT SHE SAID IN IT?
3) The candidate whom you have accused of doing this would have had to tell you they did it. We are pretty sure that did not happen. It would make no sense to be a whistleblower and then yell from a rooftop “It’s me!”
Our guess: Ms. Heit, you know about the conversation because Tammy told you, which means she is admitting to her statements. Secretly recorded or not, nothing illegal was done as Texas is a 1-party state. That means Tammy is admitting to her offensive and objectionable conversation. Someone like that should not be a leader in our city, as her statements clearly show she Tammy has no integrity or ethical morality laying out everyone’s personal business to someone.
Then you have Jake Petrus, otherwise known as the “Town Bully” for the cabal. He posted that this was a private conversation, secretly recorded at xxxx home. The only way Jake would know who the other person was or where it was recorded is if TAMMY TOLD HIM! If he is right, that means he talked to Tammy or someone who had talked to Tammy, to know how and when. THAT PROVES THE CONVERSATION IS LEGIT AND THAT TAMMY IS CONFIRMING HER ROLE AND STATEMENTS.
Either way it doesn’t matter if Tammy knew or didn’t know – what matters is Ms. Heit and Jake Petras would not know “the how, when and with who” without Tammy confirming it. That means she knowingly said nasty, hurtful, demeaning, racist things and spread the personal business of those who had trusted her to others in the community like a game of show and tell. Personally, if I were Johnson, Keating or Pelham, I would be glad to know about this. Clearly it shows they cannot trust Tammy, who they thought was a confidant/or a friend.
I don’t think those who considered her a friend would have ever guessed she is spilling the secrets of their lives and private conversations too others. While we are not the greatest fans of Angelia Pelham and John Keating the fact is they have the right to know their fellow city councilwoman was talking trash about them to others in our community. Simply put, this was probably not the first time Tammy allowed her loose lips to talk trash – it was just the first time she got caught.
If Heit or anyone, for that matter, wants to claim that someone who recorded this is not fit to be a leader, then we want to know why Tammy’s statements and behavior which clearly show a lack of integrity, knowledge or ethical morality is not being called out to be a leader in Frisco? She should resign!
In closing, Tammy kept referring to Frisco as “my city, my city, my voters, my budget, …” – this is not her city, it is our city! She seems to have forgotten that on her quest for Broadway or to be on Broadway. We also want to be clear that we will always protect our sources at Frisco Chronicles. We do want to make it very clear; WE DID NOT RECEIVE Pelham’s text or the Meinershagen conversation directly from the candidate Heit and Petras are currently calling out. We received the text from Source A and the recording from Source B, and neither of them was the candidate Heit and Petras are attacking online.
As for Broadway Frisco – Prop A & B we would ask you to consider this before voting:
Today, we hear “Tourism, Tourism, Tourism,” and most recently, how we need to be more like Nashville. The thing is, Nashville has a deep history back in the 1920s. They had a thriving publishing industry, then came the advent of the Grand Ole Opry in 1925. When WSM began broadcasting live performances from the Grand Ole Opry, it positioned them to become “Music City USA.” By 1945, it was one of the most popular radio programs in America and established Nashville as a hub for country music. They made urban renewal a priority and renovated several landmarks, including the Music Hall of Fame and The Sommet Center. Broadway (similar to 5th Street in Austin) became known for bars and a honky tonk music scene. It was the cornerstone for emerging young artists and a short distance trolley ride from the iconic Music Row. Major record labels headquartered themselves in Nashville, and it became a gathering place for the arts, entertainment and music. They did not simply build a 340-million-dollar Broadway, and become Nashville overnight!
What is the problem with Frisco being more like Nashville? We never implemented our identity as we began to grow and develop into a Nashville. Purefoy took us down the road to being Sports City USA! It worked! Now the city council says we must be more like Nashville to compete, or else! With every development, we have heard Mayor Cheney say this would have a HALO Effect on our city, making us the greatest city in America. Now, all of a sudden, if we don’t spend $160 million or $340 million to get FRISCO BROADWAY, we will lose the economic boom to Nashville? The AMC Awards are happening here, not in Nashville, why? It is being held at a great venue. We didn’t have Frisco Broadway to win over the AMC Awards. We are not Nashville! We will never be Nashville! We are Frisco, Texas!
Please vote no to the propositions in order to protect our community and the residents who live here.
Tammy says, “I don’t like bullies! I don’t care if they are 300lb firefighters or black woman!”
Tammy on Scott Johnson: “He is the weakest leader I have ever seen.”
Tammy continues, and it sounds like she is gloating when she talks about his divorce and his wife potentially spilling the tea if he runs for Mayor.
Tammy on Angelia Pelham: “She also voted Republican for the first time. Why would she do that? She is a staunch democrat.”
Tammy continues to talk about Angelia’s poor leadership, how she doesn’t care if she ever talks to Angelia at an event, how she doesn’t have a lot of respect for Marcia (John Keating’s girl), and how Angelia has not done anything for our city.”
Tammy on Shona Sowell: “She was a nice person at the beginning, I heard, but at the end of the six years, she was a monster.”
Tammy, the reason you gave in this conversation is not the same reason you have previously stated as to why you ran against Shona Sowell. Which one is the truth?
Tammy on John Keating: “He should not get married until after he loses the Mayoral race to see if Marcia sticks around.”
Tammy continues to talk about John, his ex-wife Leslie, his kids, and we are curious why you would ever have a conversation with someone and discuss someone else’s personal life. You are okay spilling others’ secrets and talking about their lives, so let’s see how you like now that it is happening to you.
Gossip is human nature. At some point, we all talk about others or are talked about. Not all gossip is evil. Some of them are mindless chit-chat. But it can hurt someone else and also backfire. Those who are busy discussing your life are probably not happy about theirs. Tammy needs to take a good look in the mirror and re-evaluate her choices. She doesn’t want folks talking about her husband’s Ketchup Caddy, yet she thinks it’s okay to expose anyone and everyone’s secrets.
When I was a young boy, my favorite thing was riding shotgun in the old truck with my dad through the grapevines on our farm. Harvest time was a marvel. I’d watch the workers move row by row, their hands stained purple, their rhythm steady, their laughter honest. One day, watching it all unfold, I looked at my father and said, “You must be the King Grape.”
He chuckled, looked me square in the eye, and said:
“Boy, no kings live here. Only hard-working hands.”
“But you’re important,” I replied. Dad just shook his head.
“If I teach you anything, it’s this — don’t get too big for your britches. Or you’ll find yourself alone.”
Later, Mom explained the phrase. “Too big for your britches” meant someone full of themselves — bloated with self-importance, an exalted ego, floating above the rest of us like a parade balloon.
And when I look at our current Frisco City Council? Let’s just say we’re one helium tank away from liftoff.
The Pelham Pattern
It is time to remind Angelia Pelham where she came from! In our blog In Debt We Trust, we told you back in 1996, she and her husband Dono filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in Florida under the name “Just for You Cosmetics.” According to the Orlando Sentinel(April 1, 1996), their reported assets totaled $1,245, while their debts? A staggering $343,466. Major creditors included:
Community First Bank (Jacksonville) – $140,000
Eric Stern (Carrollton, TX) – $35,000
Schroder Center Management (Dallas, TX) – $35,000
A “learning experience,” Angelia later called it in the Dallas Morning News. Fair enough — who hasn’t fallen and gotten back up? Most of the time, you learn your lesson, but the Pelhams the pattern didn’t stop there. Since then, her Frisco HOA has filed multiple liens:
Nov 2006 – $2,088.90
Oct 2011 – $956.80
June 2013 – $1,335.65
July 2020 – $1,233.70
Wells Fargo filed a civil judgment against Dono in 2014–2015 for $10,375. In 2016, a local business owner placed a lien for unpaid landscaping work: $4,039. Then came a Notice of Lis Pendens in 2020 — the county warned the Pelhams that a lawsuit had been filed over delinquent property taxes. That one appears to have been settled in 2022. (Wait, a city councilwoman, not paying property tax?)
Life has changed for the Pelham Power Couple these days. Angelia is draped in designer threads, seen at every gala and brunch in town, flanked by her friends in the gated communities across Frisco like the Stonebriar elite. Her husband’s church is growing, her influence expanding.
None of that is inherently wrong — if you rise and remember the folks who helped you climb. The issue is when you forget those who supported you and start swinging that shiny new status around like a scepter.
The Luncheon Debacle
Then came the text. A whistleblower sent us a screenshot of Councilwoman Pelham sending a text about a luncheon she coordinated for Frisco Lakes residents during Black History Month. A noble cause — supporting Black-owned businesses — and it took place at Earnest B’s, a public restaurant.
Angelia starts the text message with taking credit for coordinating the luncheon and specifically noted it was not a campaign rally. When Angelia arrived, she was surprised to see a candidate running for office there “campaigning” at an event they were not invited to!
First, this was not a private event! Angelia did not rent out Earnest B’s place of business for this luncheon. Other customers were coming and going because it is A PUBLIC BUSINESS! Angelia lives on MARS if she thinks she can tell any customer in a public business how and what they should do!
Angelia continues, if you were there to get some lunch, you should have done so without campaigning with a group that you were not invited to attend.
Second, how did Angelia know the candidate was “campaigning?” Earnest B’s is not a huge restaurant, so what if they were stopping by for lunch and knew someone there and started talking (like we all do across Frisco) and Angelia happened to walk in on it, now she accuses the candidate of campaigning. Even if they were campaigning, it is a PUBLIC BUSINESS that you have no say over. If the restaurant had an issue with someone “campaigning” on their property then they should have said something – not Angelia a patron of the business who is there to SUPPORT BLACK BUSINESSES.
Angelia continues, “Yes, I called Gopal since you decided to HIJACK MY EVENT and make it into a campaign event. Gopal is MY CANDIDATE, so I absolutely felt that he needed to be there since YOU made it a campaign event.”
I can hear my mom now from the window of our house, “Mannaggia Angelia, Mannaggia!” That is our “Damn” as you Americans would say, and used to express utter frustration with someone, something or a situation. Accusing someone of HIJACKING YOUR EVENT? Newsflash, this was not a private facility or shut down for just you and your glorious presence, Ms. Pelham, it is a PUBLIC BUSINESS! Second to accuse someone of that you better have proof and DAMN good proof! Next, you call Gopal “MY CANDIDATE” – do you own him? Is he your property? That is how you made it sound!
Lastly Angelia says, “it is that kind of self-seeking behavior that you display (meaning the candidate) that causes me concern about you on council. I want to be very clear about my thoughts on your actions yesterday”
Angelia – we want to be very clear on our thoughts as well! You come across as an entitled SELF-SEAKING witch who is “TOO BIG FOR HER OWN BRITCHES.” My Event, My Candidate, My Luncheon! What’s next? My Oxygen? How dare you come into a public business and say hi to anyone at my table – this is my table! Take your food and go, peasant!
Queen of the Dias
It’s campaign season, so is it plausible to say the candidate was out and about wearing a vote for me shirt, stopped in to get lunch from a popular Frisco place, happen to know someone at the table and said hello when you walked in. Last year when you were running Angelia, we saw your shirts all over the city on folks and we also know “your people” attempted to attend an event paid for by a private citizen at the country club until they were asked to leave. The difference in the space, it was rented and paid for by a private citizen who had every right to determine who they wanted at their event vs your public space luncheon. Guess it was okay then when they were supporting you.
Oh, how the mighty Queen of the Dias, Angelia Pelham sees herself today. Gone are the bankruptcy days, today she can cast stones, throw accusations anywhere and everywhere, send demeaning and rude texts to other candidates, and then expect “healing sessions” to fix it when it’s all over. How did that work out with the Fire Department?
Newsflash: You’re not the queen of Earnest B’s. Or Frisco, for that matter. Now it appears Pelham is more concerned with control than compassion. More interested in ownership than stewardship. More inclined to protect her own than to empower others.
Mannaggia Angelia!
Well, Mannaggia, Angelia.
Don’t forget the vineyard. Don’t forget the struggle. And don’t mistake a city council seat for a throne.
Because when you get too big for your britches — Frisco Whistleblower knows how to hem you back down to size.
With local election season in full swing, we examine recent claims about Gopal Ponaji (aka Ponangi) and his ties to the Global Hindu Heritage Foundation (GHHF). When we initially heard these accusations, we thought they were farfetched. As we started to investigate, we found out it is something voters should be aware of and have a general pause of concern or questions about. Our goal: to lay out the facts and context so readers can judge for themselves.
Ponangi’s Links to GHHF
Public records and event reports indicate Ponangi has been associated with GHHF for years. For example, a 2016 Dallas news article on a GHHF-sponsored event explicitly names “Gopal Ponangi, [an] active volunteer who served as Master of Ceremony for the evening”. This gathering was organized by GHHF founder Dr. V.V. Prakasarao Velagapudi. Moreover, internal GHHF documents list Gopal Ponangi among the group’s “core group” members. Ponangi’s name appears alongside Velagapudi’s and other GHHF officers, suggesting he held an ongoing role. We have found no official record of Ponangi renouncing or distancing himself from GHHF over the years.
These references show Ponangi’s involvement goes beyond the current campaign. They do not prove wrongdoing, but they do confirm he has been publicly connected to GHHF activities. Whether this connection should concern voters depends on GHHF’s character and aims – which is why we now turn to that broader context.
Hindutva Ideology and the RSS
Understanding GHHF requires knowing about Hindutva and the ideology that motivates it. Hindutva (literally “Hindu-ness”) is a political-cultural movement formulated in the 1920s that promotes Hindu cultural dominance in India. According to Wikipedia, it “encompasses the cultural justification of Hindu nationalism and the belief in establishing Hindu hegemony within India”.
What does that mean in practice, Hindutva thinkers argue India is fundamentally a Hindu nation. This worldview is closely associated with India’s RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) and the ruling BJP party.
Scholars note that Hindutva goes beyond religious devotion and often rejects India’s secular ideals. According to media and researchers, GHHF explicitly supports this Hindutva vision. Bridge Initiative (a Georgetown University research group) reports that GHHF “supports Hindu nationalist ideology and regularly publishes discriminatory, inflammatory, and intolerant content about Islam and Christianity.” In fact, the organization has even “raised funds to aid the demolition of churches in India and supports the mission of making India a Hindu-only nation.” Bridge further notes that GHHF leaders have advocated India declaring itself a Hindu state.
By contrast, GHHF’s own website frames its mission more benignly. It states the group exists “to protect, preserve, promote, and maintain Hindu culture, Hindu temples”. GiveFreely.com (a nonprofit data site) similarly summarizes GHHF’s focus on temple preservation, but critics point out that these activities overlap with Hindutva goals. The Christian Post notes GHHF “advocates an ideology known as Hindutva, or extremist Hindu supremacism, which holds that India belongs solely to Hindus”. In short, Hindutva is not merely cultural pride – it’s a doctrine that often paints religious minorities as outsiders. That background helps explain why GHHF’s statements and events have become controversial.
The 2022 Frisco Fundraiser Controversy
In November 2022, GHHF held a gala fundraiser in Frisco that drew national attention. Reports revealed the event flyer listed items like “Demolition of Illegal Churches in Tirupati” (a major Hindu pilgrimage site) and “ghar wapsi” (efforts to reconvert Muslims/Christians to Hinduism) as part of the GHHF agenda. These revelations alarmed many local Indian-American Christians and Muslims.
Community members did not remain silent. After learning of the flyer, concerned citizens staged protests in Frisco. By early December, local groups organized formal opposition.
Key Points from the Fundraiser:
The GHHF event was hosted at a Dallas-area venue on Nov 27, 2022. Its public agenda (as shown on Eventbrite) included Hindutva objectives: “Ghar Wapsi – reconversion of Muslims and Christians back to Hinduism” and “Demolition of Illegal Churches in Tirupati”
News reports emphasized these items. The Dallas Morning News wrote: “The dinner’s agenda items included… demolition of ‘illegal’ churches in India and the conversion of Indian Christians and Muslims to Hinduism.” (Both reports cited the actual flyer as evidence.)
These concrete facts – printed and posted online – were the spark for the backlash. Event organizers declined to publicly comment on these agenda items, and no evidence has appeared that the church demolition was ever actually funded. But the documentation of the flyer itself is clear. In response, faith leaders began sounding the alarm.
December 2022: Frisco City Hall Protests
On Dec. 6, 2022, dozens of residents packed a Frisco City Council meeting to air their concerns about GHHF. Local pastors and activists spoke out, warning that what they saw as extremist Hindutva aims had crossed into Frisco.
Local faith leaders and Indian-American residents gathered outside Frisco City Hall to condemn GHHF’s agenda. The Christian Post reported that “several pastors and other Christian leaders joined members of the local Indian Christian community to call for lawmakers to take a closer look at the activities of GHHF.” Independent journalist Pieter Friedrich, contributor to Christian news outlets, addressed the Council directly. He said, “Just last week, right here in Frisco, Texas, we had an American nonprofit organization fundraising to support the demolition of churches in India…Friedrich urged the city to speak out: “I urge the Frisco City Council to have the courage to proclaim that the GHHF’s hateful agenda has no place in Frisco…or in America.”
Of course, GHHF and its supporters dispute this narrative. They argued at the City Council meeting (via emails to local media) that “we have not raised funds to demolish churches” and that the matter involved legal questions of Indian church permits, not GHHF incitement. While GHHF has not been accused of any illegal act in the U.S., but the documented language of its flyer – and its promotion of ghar wapsi – had already concerned many.
Given these divergent accounts, it’s important for readers to weigh the information critically. Voters should look at the actual references.
Key Issues at a Glance:
Gopal Ponaji/Ponangi is explicitly identified as a GHHF volunteer and organizer in official materials.
GHHF professes a mission of temple preservation, but critics document that it endorses Hindutva goals like church demolition and religious conversion.
The leaked fundraiser flyer for Nov 2022 listed “Demolition of Illegal Churches in Tirupati” and “Ghar Wapsi (reconversion)” among its agenda items. This fact was confirmed by multiple news reports.
Bridge Initiative and others urge caution: “The group has raised funds to aid the demolition of Churches in India”
Conclusion: Do Your Research Before Voting
The facts above show that Ponangi has long-standing ties to GHHF and that GHHF has an explicitly Hindutva agenda. Whether one finds that alarming is a matter of judgment. We have provided documentation from multiple sources so readers can decide for themselves: every key claim comes with a link at the end of our blog. Frisco voters should carefully review these materials. In this race, as in all elections, misinformation can spread easily. We urge you to check out our verified sources. FriscoChronicles will continue to follow this story. We hope readers with the published record: examine it, question it, and then cast your vote with confidence.
It’s looking like toxic Tammy is going to be defeated along with the go man! Woohoo!
WOW WOW WOW. Truth is out. No more rumors. Nothing illegal. Thank you for sharing and exposing Toxic Tammy. Time…
Cheney is so full of shyt! He can’t be gone fast enough. Vote Burt, Vote Elad! We need to start…
All of this makes so much sense based on how I’ve seen both myself and so many other city employees…
Thank you for enlightening us! It is about time people see the light.