When I was a kid, my dad used to say “listen to your 5 senses” because they will protect you. As a kid, I had no idea what he meant but as an adult, I understand the information collected by our five primary senses helps detect danger and allows our brains to understand and react to our surroundings. Personally, I always thought it was my bull shit meter, you know the internal gauge for detecting deception, insincerity, or exaggerated claims that made me smart. I think my wife got it right because she tells me the reason, I am such a good detective is due to the marriage of my “spidey senses” and my bull shit meter. She hit the nail on the head!
When we first heard in May 2023 that the City of Frisco fired 27-year veteran, Cameron Kraemer from the Fire Department over a work-related illness, we knew there had to be more to the story. Immediately our team started reaching out to sources within the city and it was a game of silence from all sides. Then we heard Mr. Kraemer might speak at citizens’ input, and we wanted to make sure we watched the meeting. First person to speak was Matt Sapp, President of the Firefighters Assoc and watching it today, it explains so much why our FD is fighting for Prop A & B during this election cycle.
Then we watched Mr. Kraemer speak at the city council meeting and it was enough to break anyone’s heart. A man poured out his soul and admitted to the public he had PTSD, a mental health issue, and the city should be ashamed of how they have treated him and the response from the council…nothing. We have a video with some highlights, but you can see the full video by clicking the link.
At the end of citizens’ input, we were caught off guard when Mr. Wes Pierson, our new city manager leaned forward and announced he had something to say regarding Cameron Kraemer. This is the man who through the whole meeting sits back with a smug look on his face, swaying in his chair with an overall arrogance about him. We listened to him, and his words were so cold, so impersonal, and then we thought how did he have this whole speech prepared and ready to go that night? Had he heard that Kraemer maybe attending the meeting, or did he write it on the fly? Either way, alarm bells were ringing in my head.
My spidey sense bull shit meter went through the roof, and I was sure we were on to something, but what? Time went by and we followed the case. Kraemer and the Fire Association fought the city on whether his illness (PTSD) was work related and he won. Simply put, the city should hire him back or offer him a path back to work. However, the city is choosing to dig in their heels and skirt responsibility so Kraemer will likely end up suing the city which will cost the taxpayers. Because it is under wraps it is hard to follow the case and we thought our research was over.
Then fast forward to election time, where a new PAC is created called Safety Frisco First. We told you about this PAC in our blog The Secret PAC. We quickly noticed that Bill Woodard and City Shady Bunch running the PAC were putting out a lot of details and documents and none of them went to fighting the purpose. This raised our curiosity because the documents seemed more personal in nature and directed at a few specific individuals to malign and attack their character. It felt like the page was being used by the city to say the things they want to say but cannot say.
We filed two PIRs with the City. The first was for copies of any PIR requests and the corresponding documents made from Bill Woodard, Mike Simpson, Dick or Richard Peasley, Safety First Frisco PAC from 1/1/22 to Present. As you can guess the city has sent that to Texas AG in order to delay releasing the documents. What do you think they are hiding?
Then we filed another PIR for any emails, text, or handwritten correspondence between city officials regarding the Frisco Fire Association Prop A & B. Guess what…they sent it to the Texas AG to delay releasing the documents. What do you think they are trying to hide until after the election is over?
The PAC website has a document called “Letter from Weston Fire Chief regarding Asst Chief Kraemer,” but what does that have to do with fighting civil service or collective bargaining? The letter was a clear attack on a 27-year First Responder who worked for the City of Frisco, to discredit him. We kept asking ourselves, what does this letter have to do with the PACs purpose? Time to find some answers.
Our first question is, how did the PAC get these documents? Well of course they would have to go through the formal process like us and file a PIR, right? On 2/26/24 we filed a PIR that reads, “We recently visited the Safety-First Frisco PAC website, and we noticed a section called Resources that has the following documents which we listed out. All of these documents would have to have been obtained through a PIR or a series of PIRs so we would like to see the specific PIR(s) requests for the following information above.”
We got an email back on 3/8/24 and a few things piqued our interest in the city’s response. It said the Presentation to City Council regarding Salary Adjustments was NOT a PIR release. The document was released at the November 21, 2023, Budget and Audit Committee Meeting. Then they said the Letter from Western Fire Chief re Asst Chief Kraemer was NOT a PIR release. Lastly the Report on Residential Fire – 4 on a Truck was NOT a PIR release. HELLO, how did SFF get three documents, one appearing to being related to an HR file without filing a PIR and how would they know such a letter exists like that if it is in an HR file? Councilman Bill Woodard must have known about these documents due to his position which he is now using for political purposes for a PAC that he heads up. Ethical?
Next, we filed PIRs with the City of Weston and asked for a copy of any PIRs, and corresponding documents made by Bill Woodard or representatives from the City of Frisco. The response, “The City of Weston has not received any PIR request from Bill Woodard or any requests from the City of Frisco.” We also did a search of Weston’s agendas for the last few years, and you won’t believe what we found.
Guess who the City Attorney is for the City of Weston? Richard Abernathy (same as the City of Frisco)
Guess who the City of Weston hired as a city manager consultant? George Purefoy (former city manager for the City of Frisco)
Guess who the City of Weston hired as a fire consultant? Mack Borchardt, who CURRENTLY WORKS FOR THE CITY OF FRISCO AS SPECIAL CONSULTANT FOR THE CITY MANAGER. Wait, so we taxpayers are paying Borchardt, and he is allowed to work for other cities and make money at the same time?
Next, we went to Weston Fire and Rescue and filed a PIR and we asked for four things, response from Weston F&R are in bold;
I would like a copy of any PIR request and the corresponding documents returned in the PIR request from the City of Frisco relating to Cameron Kraemer and his time volunteering, serving as Captain, or working in the last three years. The PIR or request could have been done by text, email, or handwritten (formal or informal). WFR has no documentation.
I would like a copy of any PIR or request (formal or informal) from consultants named Mack Borchardt and/or George Purefoy (who are also consultants for The City of Weston) relating to Cameron Kraemer and his time volunteering, consulting, or working with the Weston FD in the last three years. WFR has no documentation.
I would like a copy of the letter from Kevin Deal (Former Fire Chief) supplied to the City of Frisco regarding Cameron Kraemer and the time he spent with Weston FD, and I would like to know if anyone else has requested this letter in the last two years. Attached and only you requested it
We could not believe our eyes! They attached the letter and right there in front of us we started to compare the letter supplied to the City of Frisco. We about fell over because the letters don’t MATCH!
What are the differences:
Weston F&R: No Date vs The Safety-First Frisco PAC: The letter is dated
Weston F&R: To Whom It May Concern vs The Safety-First Frisco PAC: addressed to whom it may concern and Attn: Wes Pierson
Weston F&R: Signature vs The Safety-First Frisco PAC: Signature = TWO TOTALLY DIFFERENT SIGNATURES!
We would love it if the City of Frisco and/or The Safety-First Frisco PAC tell us how we have 2 totally different letters. While the body is the same nothing else is and that is alarming. It very clearly looks like the letter was forged or is a fake. Now we have so much more to this investigation to come but ask yourself, why does the City of Frisco want you to believe former Fire Chief Mark Piland was this horrible Fire Chief but according to his EVAL and his employment history he has NEVER been written up in 40-year career. Yet when he comes to work for Frisco, they want us to believe with perfect EVALS that he was such a bad leader? Now we have the Assistant Fire Chief whom they want us to believe is this horrible person even though he was only written up once in 27 years for bringing a smoker trailer on the property. They provide a letter that looks nothing like the original sent to the city and somehow the PAC gets it to post on their website. This letter just happens to show up to help the city’s case and they have 3 people contracting with the city with ties to The City of Frisco. We would think that this letter would be a part of someone’s personal or HR file, so how did the PAC get it? If you released it to the PAC, then does that mean we can go back to the Texas AG to review previous requests of HR files to reopen where you made a claim, they were confidential?
We have so much more on this to peel apart and will blog again soon. Ask yourself does this look like a targeted campaign to destroy two men’s lives and reputations? It does to us, and the question is for what? It all goes back to Sassy Lauren Safranek the HR DIRECTOR who falsified records. Also ask yourself if The VOTE NO PAC is willing to post a forged letter what else have they lied to you about? Lastly, did any of our current council including the two running for re-election know the letter had been modified before posted to the PAC site? What we do know for sure, is something smells like Shit in Frisco, and we are curious what part Bobblehead Bill Woodard is involved in?
To follow the elections up close, we have visited several of the polling stations this week in both Denton and Collin County. Our goal was to talk to the candidates and those on both sides of the two propositions to get a first-hand response and reaction. We were surprised to learn that many were being paid to be at the polls and when we asked why we should vote for the candidate many couldn’t answer that. We also met some who were very friendly, and they spent time talking to us and explaining the reason for their support of a candidate or proposition on the ballot. Lastly, we talked to some who came across as angry and crass like they had a chip on their shoulder. We sometimes walked away with the feeling that they were pretending to care about people they’d never seen before, all for the sake of getting their vote. Nothing says “genuine concern” like a forced smile and a rehearsed “have a nice day” as they enter the polling station. Truly, democracy at its finest.
It was eye-opening and all done for the sake of research. However, just like any good novel or reality TV show, there must be some drama. First, we wanted to talk to the Vote No group, and upon arrival, the first thing we noticed was that most of them had on Keating candidate shirts. We only saw a few Pelhams holding vote no signs but that was only if there were other Pelham greeters holding Pelham signs with them. We talked to an older man holding a Vote No sign and when we asked why we should vote against the propositions, we were taken aback by his answer. He told us the firefighters were lying to us by saying they needed more staffing and that this was about money, power, and control. He went on to say the men in yellow shirts were not even Frisco Firefighters they were “out of towners” and if this passed it would decimate the city. Honestly, he came across as angry and outright vengeful! We asked about the recent arson fire, and we were shocked when he said with a flippant attitude well, they probably started it to help themselves at the polls. It took everything in me to not whip the man upside the head with my walking cane.
Then we met a woman wearing a “Keating” shirt at another station who repeatedly told us the Firefighters were liars and they should be ashamed of themselves for how they have tarnished the reputation of Frisco and its leaders. She talked about how great our city leadership was and that if we voted for the propositions on the ballot, it would be our greatest regret. She said we need to trust our officials to see that they are doing the right thing. Her disdain for the Firefighters and her arrogant and condescending attitude didn’t help her case at all and it sure didn’t help Keating.
The last man we spoke to at the college came across with the best message. He was calm and reasonable and gave us his side of the facts. He had valid reasons or concerns for the propositions, and it felt as if he was truly concerned. He made no horrible innuendos or nasty remarks about the firefighters and simply said he disagreed with them on this. We asked which candidate he supported and because he did not have a t-shirt on for Pelham or Keating like the other ones did this week and he said they were told not to hold the Vote No signs while wearing the incumbents’ shirts because they felt it was hurting their campaigns.
Then we talked to the firefighters and surprisingly the statements were the same at each visit. We asked why we should vote for the propositions and if it was about a power struggle. Repeatedly we were told no, it was not a power struggle for them it was about safety, transparency, and accountability. Several said they just wanted to make it to the end of each shift so they could go home to their families. We heard over and over that they were very happy with their pay and benefits, and this was not about more money. They talked about the concerns of working off-duty events, with city gear and apparatuses, yet not being covered by city benefits in case they were injured. They talked about the concerns regarding how dismissive the city management and fire leadership is with the rank. They talked about staffing levels and how they currently compare to other cities and how as we build out and up, they feel they take more risk. They are truly concerned there is no plan for more staffing in a city that has grown 10-fold in the last 5 to 10 years. While they expressed concern for recent actions by the city and council, they never once personally attacked anyone calling them names. They were personable, factual, and non-emotional about it and simply said we hope you vote for public safety.
What did we learn from the two interactions? The two groups took very different approaches to the polls. One group came across as unhinged and the other came across as expressing concern for the safety of residents and themselves. The vote-no group needed more guys like the one at the college who appeared rational because all the others we spoke to were angry and hateful. We are not the only ones who felt this way because post after post on social media residents talked about their experience at the polls and how they felt about the vote no and council members came across in a negative way.
What became very clear, is that both Keating and Pelham are rebranding the message to the public. We thought the statement about them being told not to wear the incumbent’s t-shirts while holding a vote no sign was interesting. If Pelham or Keating think it is the vote no sign a poll greeter is holding while wearing their shirt that is hurting their campaign, they are dead wrong. It is how the city has violated its own “CORE VALUES” which might be the reason they are shocked come Saturday, May 4th. Core values, like “Integrity” which reads, “Integrity is honesty, trustworthiness, ethical behavior and always doing the right thing. Integrity matters because we are entrusted with building and maintaining our community. Integrity is the foundation of all other core values.” Better yet, maybe the core value that is called “Our Employees” states we support, develop, and reward the contribution, diversity, and talents of all employees.
As for the candidates, most of the poll greeters on the front line had a passion for whomever they were supporting, from ISD candidates to City Council candidates. It is clear the ISD races are not as contentious as the city council races. All of the candidates in the ISD races took time to answer questions and greeted folks and thanked them for voting. Much more civil across the board.
As for the city council race, two things were quickly apparent when talking to them. At the city council level, one group continually undercut or made negative references about their opponents while the other simply did not acknowledge the opponent and only talked about why their candidate is or was the best choice. Secondly, it was clear some were getting paid because they could not give us one reason as to why we should vote for the candidate. When it came to the ISD races that was very different, as each poll greeter knew their candidate and only talked about how their candidate was the best choice. Some poll greeters could learn something from them.
The one thing we do know is soon the sign wars will be over and life will go back to boring. Recently one candidate filed a police report regarding their sign being stollen and the next day on the same corner appeared a new blue sign. The chance to drive by a fire station with people waving and wearing colorful shirts will be over! Then what happens, we will see!
Driving around our city today, we were very upset to find that Angelia Pelham, John Keating and the Vote NO PAC thought it was okay for them to just break all the rules. We passed our first fire station at Cotten Gin to see political signs out at 9am, then around 10:30 we passed our second fire station at the Denton Government Center, to see more signs displayed. Why is this a problem? The signs according to the rules should not be displayed until 6pm the night before the poles open.
Pelham, Keating and Bill Woodard who runs the Vote No Pac know the rules and they JUST DON’T CARE! It is an absolute slap in the face and show of blatant disrespect for the rules. It is a behavior that happens over and over because our council members feel entitled and special and as if the rules were made for the peons not the elite.
Angelia’s campaign slogan is “YOU KNOW ME!” Yes, Angelia we do! You expect us to follow the rules, but you are exempt from them. Neither you or your campaign team are naive campaigning and the rules around it, which means there is no excuse.
Keating claims “Promises Made, Promises Kept!” If that is true, then he read the campaign booklet you get when running for office which states the rules. He also signed off on that he understood those rules and agreed to adhere to them. After 13 years on our council and multiple elections if Keating does not know the rules by now, then he is A) an idiot, or B) entitled and thinks he is exempt from the following the rules because he is THE JOHN CHEATING KEATING! Well, you made a promise when you signed off you understood the rules and guess what, YOU BROKE YOUR PROMISE, AGAIN!
Now, we would bet money their response would be “oh our sign guy didn’t realize the rules and we are so sorry.” We would believe that but, the sign guy is Fred “The Lawbreaker” Lusk, and he has been doing this for years and been through many elections. HE KNOWS THE RULES INSIDE AND OUT but obviously does not care! The worst part is our council approves of “The Lawbreaker Lusks” ways and methods and use him over and over for the elections.
As we go into tomorrow, the first day of early voting, we hope residents realize that these people who claim credibility, integrity, transparency, and accountability yet they are lying to you right to you. The rules apply to you and me, but let’s be clear they do not apply to Jeff Cheney, Angelia Pelham, and John Keating. They are literally showing you they think they are above the law, so open your eyes and realize enough is enough. It is time to change Frisco!
If you live in Frisco and have not yet heard about the heated debate between the so-called leaders for The City of Frisco and Frisco Firefighters, then you need to come out from under the rock. On the May 4th ballot, we the residents, will see two propositions: Prop A: Civil Service and Prop B: Collective Bargaining and before you vote you need to ask yourself, why would the fire fighters be going for something like this unless they really needed to?
In our previous blog, we told you about “The PAC” formed by active Councilman Bobblehead Bill Woodard, which is being used to disgrace our fire fighters all while they keep a smile and say “we love our first responders.” We also told you how the Frisco Chamber of Commerce used their platform to advocate instead of educate, on behalf of businesses against the fire fighters. Then we told you how city leaders called in their favors with developers who helped the PAC raise over $100,000 which is how the PAC was bought and paid for. All if it could not be shadier!
Now what? Let’s talk about misinformation and how they city plans to use Sheryl Sculley, the former City Manager for the City of San Antonio to scare residents by telling how she successfully fought off the “Association” from “virtually bankrupting the city.” In fact, they are going tell residents she was so successful that she even wrote a book titled “Greedy Bastards” but is that really the truth? Here at whistleblower, we like to dig deeper. We want to introduce you to The Real Sheryl Sculley aka Sherylton.
In an article we found in SA Current, it stated that before arriving in San Antonio, Sculley came from Phoenix, Arizona, where she earned $173,000 per year. While in Phoenix she headed up the effort to expand Phoenix’s convention center in the late 90’s and made some big promises. She stressed the convention center expansion would involve “NO NEW TAXES” and instead could be paid for with existing visitor taxes and a potential $300 million commitment from the state of Arizona.
The article reported that Sculley pitched the expansion herself to the Arizona Legislature in a 2002 presentation that stressed “There is No Status Quo!” At stake were $32 million in annual state tax revenues and 12,000 jobs, which proved to be enough for the state who committed $300 million to the project. Now you can’t have a convention center without a hotel next door. Sculley failed in getting a private developer to build the new hotel, so Phoenix financed it and built it! The article reports that everyone bought into Sculley’s idea the city would be poised to emerge as the next great convention destination. Guess what, that didn’t happen!
The article reports in 2003 that an Earnest & Young study forecasted the new grand center would welcome 375,000 annual convention delegates. Sounds great considering in the past it was around 166,000 in 1996 and 193,000 in 1997. However, at the end of the fiscal year in 2011 the attendees were just about 156,000 and in 2012 about 233,000. With no boom, the new Sheraton hotel the city finananced dubbed the “Sherlyton” by city staffers struggled to pay off its debt and required continuing tax revenue support from the city. In 2017, the City of Phoenix sold off the Sherlyton to a private company and suffered a significant financial loss.
When Sulley became the new City Manager of San Antonio in 2005 it came with a hefty price tag of $265,000 and a large promise to turn San Antonio around. She admitted to inheriting a disorganized mess and in her first year or two she hired a new police chief, a new convention-bureau director, and two deputy city managers. She reshuffled the finance department, had the municipal courts redone, and restructured the management at the convention center and Alamodome. She also overhauled Development Services which had long been the focus of complaints from the local “development” community. By 2016 her base salary was $450,000 and she leveraged a $100,000 bonus making her total compensation $550,000 making her the highest paid city manager in Texas. That is a lot of money for a city whose median household annual income is around $58,829.
SA Current reported at the end of 2006, they were already calling Sculley out for her lack of transparency saying she gives the appearance of citizen participation but it just that appearance. Sound familiar? Sculley proposed the three largest bonds programs in city history in San Antonio totaling over $2 Billion dollars. Under Sculley, the city’s debt burden jumped 78 percent between fiscal years 2005 and 2017, reaching $3 billion. Those borrowings include general obligation bonds, which voters approved, and tax notes and certificates of obligation, for which voters didn’t have a say.
Maybe instead of fighting the Police and Fire Associations for years she should have worked productively with them to fight crime. Did she expect to fight and not have them fight back? In 2018, when Sculley left, several online reports said violent crime was up, calls to 911 were up, and it was reported it would take 341 new officers with no retirements or attrition to be near full staffing.
Sculley announced her retirement in 2018 and within hours San Antonio dropped its lawsuits against the Fire Union according to SA Current. According to media reports, The City of San Antonio has dropped its lawsuit challenging the evergreen clause in the contract of its firefighters’ union, potentially hitting restart for negotiations for a new labor deal. In 2024, the San Antonio Fire Association President said, we are looking forward to city and union leaders working together with a more polite dialogue this time around.” Funny thing, that is exactly what Frisco Firefighters Association Matt Sapp has said, they just want to have a seat at the table and have dialogue.
In the end, the truth is Sculley set the tone for her tenure as City Manager and the associations responded to that tone. Sound familiar? Don’t misunderstand, Sculley did some great things during her tenure in San Antonio to change the city into what is today. We can’t take away her successes but it sure does not mean she didn’t have any failures during the same tenure. She left San Antonio with some positive attributes and like other city has some not-so-great attributes. In the end, Sculley walked away from San Antonio with over $10 million dollars in pay over the years. I guess her salary didn’t hurt the city economics just the needs of the fire fighters and police officers, or at least that is what she wants you to believe. Maybe that is why there is a Facebook page dedicated to her titled Removed City Manager Sheryl Sculley
However, any good left behind does not take away the tone she set with first responders. Remember she sued 5 times and lost 5 times. Think about it, Sculley’s new book is called Greedy Bastards, that alone speaks volumes as to how she sees first responders and public servants. IS THAT WHAT THE CITY OF FRISCO IS PROMOTING HERE? Does the city want us to think our first responders are greedy bastards, I would hope not. While the City of Frisco would like you to believe these propositions would devastate the city, the firefighters are not looking to bankrupt the city, hell they want a paycheck. We have to believe our Firefighters have commonsense, and that means they know you can’t really get a paycheck and benefits from a city with a diluted bank account.
The City of Frisco has set the tone with our Fire and Police Associations, and it is like an abusive relationship. The city has verbally berated them, scolded them, and told them what they don’t deserve, in a nutshell how much of a POS they are. Think of the narrative, just look pretty like a trophy wife, and stand there, don’t talk, or have an opinion. Then we can shout from our pulpit as the city council leaders that we give almost ½ the city budget to public safety so that proves we love our men and woman who serve. Now, please pat us on the back and tell us how amazing we are as a council.
Bobble Head Bill is making the most noise in this, why? He is termed out and cannot run again, so who cares if he burns the house down as he leaves. I truly hope those who are not termed out like Bobble Head Bill, understand that when this is over, you can’t just apologize with a cocktail or some red roses. That will be for Cheney, Meinershagen, Rummel, and the two other folks elected this year to fix. We end this one question for you to answer.
DO YOU THINK OUR PUBLIC SERVANTS / FIRST REPONDERS ARE GREEDY BASTARDS?
Political Affiliation: According to TransparencyUSA.org, since leaving San Antonio, it appears Sculley has become a consultant for Strategic Partnerships and in 2022 she donated $15,000 to Act Blue Texas and Beto O’Rourke.
We have wondered for years how these political endorsements and donations work in the City of Frisco. We have pointed out that council members donate to each other, that they take rather large donations from developers, and that it all gives off the wrong appearance to the public. We have been met with such resistance to the suggestion that this city is bought and paid for, and the victims are the residents, just living their lives paying taxes. All we have wanted is for the residents to have a voice and a right to vote for what they want in this city, something that terrifies our council and city management. So how are things bought and paid for, well grab some popcorn because we are about to tell you.
Let’s start with Safety First Frisco, a PAC, set up to oppose Proposition A & B for Civil Service and Collective Bargaining put forth by the men and women who serve our city in the Fire Department every day. The PAC was set up by members of our city council (Bobblehead Bill Woodard), Former City Manager George Purefoy and Mike Simpson, Dick Peasley, and many more of the Cheney klan. Then add to that our current council members (minus Brian Livingston) who are out block walking, holding community events, and taking to social media to oppose the propositions and take jabs at our firefighters while trying to tell us how to vote. Yes, I know they will say we are crazy!
Well, this morning we pulled down the Safety First Frisco campaign finance report which was filed 3 DAYS LATE. What we saw was chilling, appalling, disturbing, and intimidating. We talked about how the PAC was set up in our earlier blog, The Secret PAC. Today’s campaign finance report shows that from 1/1/2024 to 3/25/2024 the PAC took in $105,201.32 which breaks down to $22,950 in monetary political contributions, $12,251.32 in non-monetary contributions (in-kind), and $70,000 in monetary contributions from CORPORATIONS OR LABOR ORGANIZATIONS. Stop and read that again and let it percolate that in 2 months a PAC took in $105,201.32.
Where, oh where, did the monetary political contributions come from:
Bill Woodard For Frisco: $1000.00
Craig and Kathryn Hall (Hall Group – Developers): $10,000
Jeff Brawner and R.J. Grogan (Law Partners): $500 each
Kyle Wilks – President Wilks Development of Firefly Park Project: $10,000
Where, oh where, did the non-monetary (in-kind) contributions come from:
George Purefoy, former City Manager: $4000 for Polling Expense
Bill For Frisco Campaign: $8000 for Polling Expenses, and $54.92 for Printing Expenses, $39.50 for Website Expenses, $206.22 for Printing Expenses, and $59.53 for Website Expenses.
Where, oh where, did the monetary contributions from a CORPORATION OR LABOR ORGANIZATION come from:
Mario Sinacola & Sons Exc, Inc: $10,000 (they have active contracts with developers & the City of Frisco)
K-N Ventures (aka Fehmi Karahan of Fields Development): $10,000
Columbus Realty Partners (aka, Staubach, Richard Reupke, Robert Shaw & Fields Development): $10,000
Rudco Land, LLC (aka Trey Sibley III or Hillwood Properties – Fields Development): $10,000
Hunt Funding Group (aka Hunt – Fields Development): $10,000
CrossTie Capital (aka Philip Rose – Fields): $10,000 *click the name to read our last blog.
Chief Partners III, LP (aka William Vanderstraaten – Fields): $10,000
It is important to note that any of the names above that are underlined, DON’T LIVE IN FRISCO. Yes, they have a development here, but they are not Frisco Residents.
What does all this money mean? It means Frisco was bought and paid for by DEVELOPERS!!!! These same people who run the same corporations have donated to almost every one of our council members, some more than others (meaning Cheney). Just look at Keating and Pelham’s current campaign finance reports, the same names appear across the board.
Ask yourself, why are current council members so OPPOSED to the Frisco Fire Fighters Association, which has been around since 1997, but they all took ENDORSEMENTS & MONEY OR IN-KIND DONATIONS from them when running for office? The firefighters spent about $10,000 on Bill Woodard and about $8,000 on Laura Rummell. They have paid for signs and billboards for the candidates they have endorsed. Now, they want you to believe the Frisco Fire Fighters and the ASSOCIATION are trying to RUIN AND DESTROY FRISCO?
We have been to a few events now and the message from the Fire Fighters has been consistent at each one. If you don’t like Prop B, then don’t vote for it, but please understand why they are pushing for Prop A and consider voting Yes for Prop A. They also have said that come May 5th when the election is over, they will still show up at your door and be here to service the citizens of Frisco the same way they have all these years. That begs the question, how is our City Council serving the citizens? Wait, they don’t care about what citizens want. Yet when you follow the Safety-First Frisco website or Facebook page all they have done is attack with absolute hate and anger our firefighters, our former Fire Chief, and yet they claim they love them. It feels very personal, to be honest.
They are serving themselves! Bobblehead Bill wants his bikes, trikes, and trails. Tammy wants her performing arts center. Keating stands up for Veterans which we respect but outside of that he is just there for the photo opp and to be a cool kid. Laura Rummell claims to be the pet advocate, yet she has done nothing. Brian maintains his concerns about density and resident welfare. Lastly, for years, rumors have followed Mayor Jeff Cheney or should we say Real Estate Broker Jeff Cheney that he has used his position as Mayor to further his own business and personal wealth. For years, Jeff Cheney has denied over and over any wrongdoing, favoritism, or personal benefits from his relationships. All his loyal subjects fall in line and defend him and say it is just a COINCIDENCE.
In closing, we saw a post from Brian Livingston earlier about how he is not very confident that his discussion regarding lobbying restrictions will pick up any traction, well duh! He is not sure why the transparency of money movement between lobbyists, clients, and politicians is a concern for some people. We assume that “some people” he is referring to is the Frisco City Council and City Management. The same council member who when he endorsed Mark Piland for Mayor in 2022, was later removed from all committees as well as his campaign manager. Revenge or just COINCIDENCE.
Ask yourself one question, who is the real bad guy here?
It is election time in Frisco! Different groups and organizations over the next two months will hold candidate forums which are an excellent way to help voters learn more about the candidates on the ballot. It gives Frisco residents a chance to learn more about key issues and allows us to ask hard questions of those who want our vote. The truth is that democracy works best when we “ENGAGE” with it because it fosters important dialogue about the everyday issues that affect our lives.
The first local forum of the season was the Islamic Center of Frisco (ICF) Candidate Forum. The forum was for both City Council races and ISD races. Our kids are grown, and we don’t pay as much attention as we should to the ISD races so this was the first time we got to hear about ISD issues. We couldn’t watch the debate live because of streaming delay issues so my wife and I caught it the next day when it was uploaded to YouTube. There were some moments worth talking about so if you have not watched it, get some popcorn and buckle up!
Each candidate got an opening statement. John Keating, The Statesmen, started by asking who was in charge of the time because he could go on for 10 minutes right now. Sir John, while we know you like to hear yourself, others don’t. Then he said the most dangerous intersection in Frisco is standing between John Keating and a microphone. While I am sure he practiced his opening icebreaker joke at home in front of the mirror while flexing it was not met with laughter by the audience.
John Keating said his job is to be “available to you” and he has done that time and again for the citizens. We would beg to differ, remember that little Universal Kids Park that came before the council from Jan 2023 to March 2023, we do! The night of the vote, Keating cried and said how emotionally impacted he was by P&Z Commissioner Cone’s words that evening. Wait, what, Commissioner Cone’s words? Where was his emotion for the residents who had stood before him pleading to save their neighborhood, and maintain their quality of life? Oh yeah, he went to the beach on vacation and never met with the residents of Cobb Hill. Aruba, Jamaica, ooh I wanna take ya, Bermuda, Bahama, come on pretty mama, Key Largo, Montego Baby, why don’t we go anywhere other than Cobb Hill? AFTER THE VOTE he asked to meet with residents of Cobb Hill in the cul-de-sac to hear from them, but we are curious how it helps to listen to those you serve “AFTER THE VOTE?”
At one point, the city council candidates were asked about the discussion of unionizing our police and fire departments and where they stand on the issue. John’s response to this question is he served 13 years in the military; we are curious about what job he held the other 25+ years. Oh, that’s right he was a househusband. He said these are the men and women who wear our city’s uniform and go into harm’s way every day and unionizing that oh my God just seems awful. Then he turns to John Redmond who is running against Angelia Pelham and says if you are not sure John, if you are that uninformed then you must reach out to someone, call your Fire Chief. Then he said the reason we have all these problems is because the prior Fire Chief didn’t do his job properly and the unions saw that and said the door is open and we can run into Frisco. He said this push is from outside of Texas, this was not an internal ask, and it happened because of the perceived weakness in our fire department left behind by our former Fire Chief. Then he said the new Fire Chief Lee Glover is amazing.
Where do you begin to break his comments down? Again, I thank Keating for his service to our country and I appreciate all Veterans but that still does not exempt him from being called out. Maybe someone who has been a househusband most of his life served as a member of his kid’s PTA and on his HOA board and spent many of his days working out to build his big-boy muscles, might not be the best person to ask about unionization. While I am sure he liked the single PTA Moms, he has never had to be the breadwinner of his family. Our former Fire Chief whom Keating defamed and ridiculed has spent 40+ years in the Fire Department and has an impeccable record (we know because we filed PIRS), Porter who left to go to Little Elm FD has had a lifetime of service, and Cameron Kraemer who they wrongfully fired spent 27+ years in the fire service. That means they have worked and run into harm’s way and risked their lives a lot longer than John Keating has.
Next, Keating went after John Redmon (Angelia Pelham’s opponent) saying if he is concerned call your Fire Chief. We have done that in the past and we have been told we have to file a PIR for such information and then the city sends it to the AG to delay turning over the documents. Yes, they are very TRANSPARENT as a city! To think any citizen could call the Fire Chief and Police Chief for a meeting and they are going to talk to them about the inner workings and issues within their department is just downright ridiculous.
Lastly, he said the reason the Fire Association is doing this is because of “OUTSIDE FORCES” due to a bad former Fire Chief. Didn’t the Fire Association just endorse that former Fire Chief last week over you? We took Keating’s advice and just asked several firefighters why they were doing this and guess what it has nothing to do with their former Fire Chief. The reason given to us over and over for why they went this route for civil service and collective bargaining, is because the city management and city council hired a new Fire Chief even though that candidate (Lee Glover) had a 90% ‘NO VOTE OF CONFIDENCE” by those he would be managing.
Remember in 2011/12 when the climate survey showed the “CULTURE” of the Fire Department was horrible and the only way to fix it was to get rid of the management and start over with a clean slate. The city council at that time forced George Purefoy, our City Manager, to remove Borchardt. George Purefoy turned in his resignation letter threatening to leave if the city forced him to do that. The consolidation made was to retire Borchardt as Chief of the Fire Department, but then George Purefoy hired his best buddy as a “CONSULTANT” for the city and he is on the payroll making over $200K per year, driving a city vehicle and consulting for other cities making money on the side. I am a taxpayer, and I would love to make $200k after being forced out of a job because I was such a bad leader. As for Lee Glover the Assistant Fire Chief at the time he remained in his position under the new Chief Mark Piland. The city kept him even though the 2011/12 study said he was part of the problem.
Then they promoted Glover in 2022/23 right after the Association had just taken a survey showing Lee Glover had a 90% plus “No Vote of Confidence” from the fire department.
This was not an external force, Mr. Keating, the local fire association pulled the trigger because of the city’s constant slap in their face. It is because of Wes Pierson the City Manager, Lee Glover the new Fire Chief, and the City Council that this is happening. Keating considers himself a man of integrity, a veteran, and a champion for others, but the reality is he had no educated answer to the question, no facts to spew, so to deflect the fact that he doesn’t understand the issue, he attacked two other candidates. The last person who should be hanging someone out to dry or judging someone is John Keating who likes to go in the pool with women who are not his wife.
The next question for the candidates was “National and international politics have had an increasing influence on local elections, how do you address issues outside of your authority but are top of mind and concern for residents of this city.” Keating again stands up and talks about his 13 years in the military and how he has seen firsthand the devastation of warfare. He went on to say he could not be more proud of the young people who have come before the council and shared the emotion in such an articulate fashion of what they are experiencing through their loved ones overseas. The young people he is referring to, are those at the meeting to speak out on behalf of Palestinians and want a proclamation to condemn Israel.
He continues that the best peace treaty and proclamation is prayer. And that the Council could issue a proclamation, but it is not like it is a big deal. Then he says he doesn’t want to belittle the proclamation process; however, he just did. In a nutshell, if you got a proclamation from the city, Councilman John Keating thinks IT’S NO BIG DEAL. Pray on that!
The next question was, with all the development recently focused on tourists, what are we doing to prepare for the traffic and what projects coming up are focused on or for residents? Keating pointed out we had 7 million tourists visit Frisco last year and yes there is a little traffic congestion, but he thinks traffic runs pretty smoothly in Frisco.” He also said we used to be reactive to traffic, and today we are proactive to traffic, with over 200 million dollars going into roads. To point out the obvious, Keating has never worked an 8 to 5 job which means he has not had to spend countless years facing rush hour traffic in Frisco. He does not spend over 30 minutes at DNT/Main or DNT/Eldorado trying to get through the lights so in his mind traffic runs smoothly. I am not sure where Keating has been for the last 5 years, but traffic is horrible in every part of this city, and it gets worse every day. In summary, he listed nothing specifically being developed for residents which means the 7 million tourists are more important than the 230,000 residents who call Frisco home and pay taxes here.
Keating was asked, if you are anti-union, why do you ask for the Fire Association’s endorsement every election? Keating quickly responded he does not ask for the endorsement every election and he is not sure where that notion comes from. He said when talks of collective bargaining and civil service began, he stepped away or stepped back from that. He continued; that he still fills out the questionnaires sent out by the association to keep communication open, but he put on there “THAT HE IS NOT SEEKING THEIR ENDORSEMENT.”
We reached out to the Frisco Fire Association to ask for a copy of the questionnaire and a copy of all the candidate’s responses. The email we received back said the board would have to review that request but we did find a copy of one on Facebook that been posted in 2021. We also asked if Keating clearly stated that he was not seeking their endorsement as he stated at the forum. The association’s email stated Mr. Keating “DID NOT PUT ON HIS QUESTIONNAIRE ANYWHERE THAT HE DID NOT WANT TO BE CONSIDERED FOR AN ENDORSEMENT.” We also asked the association if it is clear to candidates that filling out the form is part of the endorsement process. The association responded, “The email to all candidates regarding the questionnaire is very generic. It says hello our time to gather questionnaires for a potential endorsement and to fill out the questionnaire if you want to be considered.”
Another audience question was related to how many years he has served on the council. The terms are typically three years in duration. Keating served on the Frisco City Council Place 4 from 2010 to 2016 for 2 terms or 6 years. After a short break, he ran and was re-elected in 2017 for an open seat that had one year left on the term. Then in 2018, he ran for Place 1 where he has served since 2017 to the present. Keating is now running for his final 3rd term (3 years). That means by the time Keating is done serving he will have been on the council for 16+ years if he is reelected. He noted he will be the longest-serving council member. No wonder Keating does not want to come right out and say how long he has been on council.
It was finally closing time for the forum and Mark Piland called Keating out and said if they were giving out Pinocchio’s Keating would have a basket right in front of him. Keatings face turned red and was hot to trot to respond to his opponent. He stood up buttoned his jacket, huffed and puffed, and said “You were fired as the former Fire Chief. Two independent investigations, not by the city council, not done by the fire department. This man cannot be trusted, he does nothing but lie, and blame others as you’ve seen him demonstrate tonight. It is absurd and I am going to move past that and say my record speaks for itself.” He talked again about his military time, his 7 years on the PTA and time on the HOA board, and 16 years on council and that politicians don’t last, leaders do. Men and women of their word last, people who lie, cheat, steal, and blame others don’t last.”
We sent a PIR to the Fire Association and asked if they believed Mark Piland, the former Fire Chief, was fired. We also asked if they felt the investigations mentioned by Keating were “Independent’ and fair. Per the email we received, from a representative for the association, “No, I do not believe Piland was fired. I believe clearly he RETIRED.” As for the investigations, the representative for the association said, “I believe the investigation into the Mayday report was independent. I do however they took liberties and investigated many things that were not involved in the complaint. As for the second investigation, I would not call it an investigation, when you only talk to one party and not the person that’s the source of the investigation. In this case Piland!”
As for the “Two Independent Investigations” Keating mentioned, it was the head of HR Lauren Safranek who oversaw those. The same head of HR changed the FD job descriptions and failed to have the department head; Chief Mark Piland sign off on the changes. Instead hoping no one would notice she used his previous 2017 signature on the document. She didn’t expect a firefighter to ask questions which brought to light her and her department’s forgery. To hide her fraud, she used the investigation to find something about the current Fire Chief at the time to use it to fire him or make him retire. However, after she spent over $100k of taxpayer money to fund a false investigation she didn’t like the results too much. If you want to learn more about the whole cover up just read our blog Day 12: Tangled Web of Lies.
Mr. Keating let’s talk about your record. Yes, you served in our military, and we are all grateful for your service to our country. In the same way, we are grateful that Mr. Piland has spent 40+ years serving as a first responder. Your website says Promises Made, Promises Kept, but have you? In an email we received from a pet advocate, you stated if an animal shelter made it to the bond by the citizen’s bond committee, then you would support the residents having an opportunity to vote for it. However, that night you agreed in lockstep with your 4 other council members to remove the animal shelter from the bond. Promise Broken!
Then in 2021, you filled out the questionnaire for the firefighter’s endorsement, which we wrote about in our blog Jammed-Up John Keating, and you said you supported more staff (4 men trucks). You wrote Frisco is growing and we need to plan accordingly. You wrote we must budget for a new 14-day pay cycle, benefits, Fire Station 10, and personnel and equipment. Since being elected in 2021, you have not supported any of the items you wrote about and promised on the questionnaire. You signed your name to this document and turned your back on the first responders you said you supported. You are part of the reason the fire association today is going for collective bargaining and civil service. Promise Broken!
You have a total disregard for rules such as using the City of Frisco logo while campaigning. Do you believe the LEADERS OF ONE OF THE FASTEST GROWING CITIES IN AMERICA (in your own words) should post a picture of himself implying he is naked and holding a sign that reads “Get Naked!” Your judgment on that one sir, was way off for this conservative.
Before you stand at your pulpit and shout, “People who lie, cheat, steal, and blame others don’t last,” you might want to look in the mirror. You lied and cheated on your wife in the most public way possible, at the forum you blamed Redman for being ill-informed. You lied and said Piland was fired when even the city website says he retired. You lied about writing on the 2024 Fire Association questionnaire that you were not seeking their endorsement. You had total disregard for a whole neighborhood concerned about their homes due to a new theme park and felt your time was better spent on a beach somewhere. You continually blamed Piland at the forum when you didn’t have an answer for something to deflect your shortcomings.
Mr. Keating, you were right about one thing, it is time for a leader, and YOU ARE NOT IT!
We saw John Keating today with Mr Nadeem Crook Zaman holding signs supporting Gopal. Gopal has actively funded church burning…
Classic cabal. They so badly want to be modern day mafia. Shame of Jeff Cheney and his cheerleaders.
Ahhhh NO
Doge most all of Denton & Collin county mayors quickly! Help Elon!!!
Not a chance voting for this! The current council, save Brian, are SO OUT OF TOUCH with the normal citizen…