Ah, the City of Frisco elections, where candidates pop up like mischievous moles in a game of whack-a-mole. The battle in the whack-a-mole arena begins and the candidates are ready to take their swing at the other. It starts with the Whack-a-mole Forums, where they take a stance and tightly grip their mallet waiting for the right opportunity to smack down the opposing candidate. To everyone’s surprise, candidates just keep popping up somewhere else. It is a constant battle through the political season as you whack and jostle for position, each promising to fix the potholes, and lower property taxes while dodging the inevitable accusations of shady dealings. As early voting begins, you wonder if you’ve nailed down your opponent enough that they will surrender and retreat to the darkness of their hole. They surprise you and pop back up and are ready to battle to the very end. As election day draws to a close so does the delightful game of whack-a-politician and soon a winner will be given the gold mallet. If only it were that easy!
Now that the recent election is over, we want to look at the “Election Playbook” or tactics used because you may be surprised by some of the underhanded measures that involved active and former city officials. Then again maybe not! The first tool in the election playbook is the power of social media. The Safety-First PAC, run by an ACTIVE SITTING CITY COUNCIL MEMBER BILL WOODARD, took the “take no prisoners” rhetoric approach which means victory or supremacy at all costs without any regard to consequences.
One post talked about how when there’s a fire in the city, they don’t want to see the Frisco Firefighters sitting on the sidelines campaigning and playing politics. “Don’t claim the department is understaffed when 6-7 firefighters are sitting at each of the polls every day doing the Union’s bidding” the post said.
Residents were quick to respond that the post was appalling, arrogant, and ignorant. City Councilman, Brian Livingston responded to the post and said he was pretty sure firefighters get days off and if called upon would have been happy to assist. He specifically pointed out we can disagree on the props without personally attacking them. Sapp, President of the Frisco Firefighters Assoc was also quick to respond. He said, “to insinuate that our OFF-DUTY engagement in exercising our First Amendment rights suggests we don’t care about our department or our brother and sister firefighters facing a fire is GARBAGE! He continued, if the city had called for help, he could guarantee the polls would have been empty and every OFF-DUTY firefighter would have shown up.”
We quickly noticed each time a negative comment was made, the PAC just hid or deleted it, and then they swiftly blocked residents from the page to control negative opposition. These were the actions of councilman, Bill Woodard, and his city sidekicks. Wait, are you telling me the Safety-First Frisco PAC (aka the city) which fought so hard and nasty against the firefighters don’t believe in FREE SPEECH? You know your FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHT! Ultimately the post was removed from the page probably because burning down the house (figure of speech) was not the best idea.
Another post called the firefighters association “soldiers without a war, and they follow a playbook of confusion, fear, and intimidation.” After talking to residents, we are sure the VOTE NO PAC put out the confusion, created fear, and used intimidation tactics with the DEVELOPER MONEY they had in their pockets. Over the next several posts they released several takeaways from Mayor Jeff Cheney’s conversation with Sheryl Sculley regarding the “big bad Unions!”
In the first video Mayor Jeff Cheney called his “BIG AHA MOMENT” related to the playbook of unions and how they operate. The first was that Associations/Unions try to pit citizens against their elected officials, city manager, and city government.
Then he goes on to say they intentionally put out misleading information. For example, the signs across town say Frisco Firefighters “really big,” and the “association” is very small. What we find interesting is that Mayor Cheney had no issue with the Frisco Firefighters’ signs when they endorsed him and put it on a billboard. We found this on social media, that says Frisco Fighters REALLY BIG, and where is the word association? Ouch, it hurts to look like a crybaby!
The next post was about the Cockroach Theory. We must assume since the video was posted that the Safety-First Frisco Vote No PAC agreed or endorsed Sculley’s comments. It starts with her claiming that the San Antonio unions during elections would tell candidates to give them what they want, or they won’t support them and will run someone against you.
What we find humorous is that Bill Woodard, Jeff Cheney, Laura Rummell, Brian Livingston, and John Keating have all WILLING APPLIED AND ACCEPTED the endorsements from the Association (OH SORRY, UNION), over the years. Since they supported another candidate other than the incumbent, we are now we are supposed to believe they are in a power struggle and blackmailing people.
She then goes on to say the machine of the Union has to keep the “PRESSURE ON” the council members, and once they have them under their shoe like a cockroach, they had to apply pressure and change their tactics to keep them reeling until the Union’s goal is achieved.
We see this very differently because it was the city’s Vote No PAC that sent multiple mailers with different messages, multiple text messages with different verbiage, and talked about higher taxes and outsiders. At one point we felt like if we voted FOR the proposition “outsiders” being Aliens might abduct us in our sleep and take us to their leader to brainwash us and intimidate us into voting NO.
The next post was a video of Sculley and Cheney talking about how you can love your firefighters and disagree about having a union in your community. We could not agree more with Mr. Cheney. You can disagree civilly, however, that is not what you, the council, city and former city officials, and the Vote NO PAC funded by your friends choose to do.
Would you like examples? Angelia Pelham personally attacked the Frisco Firefighters Association board members at a forum and threatened to oust the firefighters who spoke to her in private. Then the Chamber did not allow the firefighters to present at an educational community forum. Lorie Medina, your former Chief of Staff, and campaign manager repeatedly shouted that our firefighters were liars at the polls. Mr. Dick Peasley verbally berated them saying they were overpaid and underworked. Friends of the council in a large social media group then accused firefighters of setting the fire in Chappel Creek to help their cause for the propositions. The Vote No PAC constantly attacked the character, integrity, and qualifications of the Frisco Firefighters. It was “NASTY” Mr. Cheney but it was one sided and the choice was yours, the councils and the Vote No PAC on how that played out.
In closing, social media has serious fire power when it comes to getting out a message. Maybe that is why the social media appears to be scrubbed and cleaned up. We could not find any of the previous posts from Safety First Pac who deleted their page, or photos of the council holding the VOTE NO signs at the polls.
While residents were shocked by some of the posts, employees and former employees of the city were not, according to insiders who emailed us. One said, “That type of behavior is standard operating procedure for the city from the departments to the king of the hill better known as City Manager, Wes Pierson.” Another insider email said, “The only difference is now the residents are seeing what happens behind closed doors at all levels of the city.” They concluded by asking us not to use their name for fear of losing our jobs at city hall. Fear of losing their jobs is something we hear often from City of Frisco employees.
If you attend a council meeting, town hall, or local event all you hear is Frisco is the #1 Safest City. It is drilled into us over and over that the city spends 50% of the budget on public safety and that is why we have #1 this and #1 that. The Frisco EDC has an entire list on their website of all the accolades the city has received going back to 2017.
We are curious, IS FRISCO THE SAFEST CITY? Well, it depends on who you ask! According to a study done by SmartAsset we were ranked #1 Safest City In America in 2022 and 2023. Yet the page does not show we are ranked #1 in 2024. According to Safewise in 2024 we are not the safest city. We are not even in the top 10, top 20, top 30, and top 40 of Texas Safest Cities. Drum roll please, according to Safewise, we are NOT IN THE TOP 50 SAFEST CITIES IN TEXAS. The study said all of the top ten cities reported zero murders. Eight of the top 10 cities reported zero robberies.
What North Texas cities made the TOP 50 Safest City List? Well, #1 is Melissa, #5 is Colleyville followed by Fate, Heath, Sachse, and Trophy Club to finish in the top 10. Wylie comes in #12, Murphy #13, Flower Mound #15, Prosper #27, and so on. What you won’t find is Frisco anywhere in that Top 50 list.
Recently we received a campaign mailer by TREPAC for Angelia Pelham and John Keating that states across the top Two No-Nonsense Leaders “Putting Our Safety” First. It also states they have stood with local law enforcement and firefighters, but the Frisco Police Officers Association and the Frisco Fire Fighters Association have endorsed Mark Piland.
Keating continues to advertise the #1 status of Frisco on his Facebook post which says again #1 Safest City in America. Another mailer he sent out says #1 Safest City in America right across the top. Why is the city not publishing our ranking by Safewise? Maybe BECAUSE WE ARE NOT EVEN THE TOP 50!
The Vote No PAC which is bought and paid for by developers tells you on their mailers public safety is always a top priority. Fifty percent of your property taxes go to public safety. If that is true, our city leaders have failed the residents because we are NOT EVEN IN THE TOP 50 SAFEST CITIES IN TEXAS.
Who do you believe our council, SmartAssest, or Safewise?
In an open letter to Frisco citizens on August 3, 2023, the Frisco City Council announced they “firmly oppose” the measures by the Frisco Firefighters Association to seek civil service and collective bargaining. The letter stated the department holds International Accreditation and Class 1 Public Protection Classification (ISO 1) from widely respected third parties, which distinguished the Frisco Fire Department as one of the top departments in the country.
Recently we read an article in the Dallas Morning News regarding Frisco voters and how they will soon decide on civil service and collective bargaining for fire fighters. It questioned if it was ethical for Council Member Bill Woodard, who opposes the measure to lead the PAC. The article points out that by law, Woodard is prohibited from speaking out against the measure that is on the May ballot.
In a recent announcement we obtained from a source, it showed that Woodard was set to speak on March 21st at the Frisco Rotary meeting to give an “explanation of the propositions.” How is he going to speak if it is prohibited by law from him speaking out against the measure? In the DMN article, Woodard said “that he can have both positions from two distinct capacities.” He went on to say, “I am doing this as a citizen, as a member of this PAC, and anything that I say is in no way representative of my position on council.”
Honk, Honk! Did you hear the horn blow? If Bill Woodard wanted to speak on these measures as a resident, then why did he use campaign contributions to help set up the PAC? Campaign contributions generally come from the public to help you fund your election for COUNCIL. Woodard donated $200 to help the PAC from his Campaign Contributions. It is noted as In-Kind Contribution at the UPS store for a PO Box for Safety First Frisco.
Is that all he donated? On the same campaign contribution report, he also shows an expense on 9/5/23 for $216.92 paid to Bluehost for webhosting. Then on 10/10/23 there is an expense to Google for URL registration fees in the amount of $196.91. Woodard terms out next year in 2025, so what type of website would he need to be buying and hosting now? Drum roll please…our guess is the PACs website. We did a search to see who is hosting the website and well, you guessed it, Bluehost and it was created on 10/18/23. That is just days after registering the URL’s.
Remember in the DMN article he said he could speak out as a citizen, so why not fund the PAC with his own personal money? Why not pay for it from his personal bank account? Why did he fund it from his political campaign contributions? How can he say now after funding it from his campaign contributions that he is just a REGULAR JOE citizen speaking out against the measures?
Next, we wondered how does the audience distinguish between Councilman Bill Woodard and resident Bill Woodard? Bill Woodard was elected to the Frisco City Council in June 2016 and his current term expires in May 2025. Bill Woodards name has been in front of residents as Councilman Bill Woodard for 8 years now. If an announcement says Bill Woodard is coming to speak and explain the propositions, as an audience member or a resident you are automatically going to make “the connection” to the Frisco City Council. The only way we could take Bobblehead Bill’s opinions from the perspective of a resident is if he was NOT AN ACTIVE council member or had never served on the council and then we would have never known who was anyways.
This is no different than the concern residents have had for years now with Mayor Jeff Cheney, wait should we call him Jeff Cheney Real Estate Broker, or resident Jeff Cheney. Do you see the confusion? Do you think Real Estate Broker Jeff Cheney would be asked to speak at Chamber events? We have never seen the Chamber invite any other Real Estate Broker to headline an event or win Executive of the Year. Do you think resident Jeff Cheney would be asked to the Dallas Cowboys Christmas Kick Off to speak at the podium? Probably not! When you hear the name Jeff Cheney, you immediately associate him with his position as Mayor of the Frisco City Council. So, resident Jeff Cheney could not speak at the Rotary either and be an independent resident in opposition to the measures. The audience does not make that separation.
We did notice one interesting thing today as we poked around. The Frisco Rotary website now shows two names speaking on the proposed measures. First up, “resident” Bill Woodard, followed by Matt Sapp, President of the Frisco Fire Fighters Association. At least the Rotary Club came to their senses and invited both parties to explain their positions. We wonder if the invitation to the association was extended after the original announcement, which is why they were not listed.
When is ENOUGH, ENOUGH? The city continues to play between the lines. They had published online and several other places where they were opposed to the ballot measures and had to take them down because it was illegal. Backed into a corner it now appears they are using Bobblehead Bill to speak against the measures. It is the “BACKDOOR” plan that teeters on legal vs illegal, or ethical vs unethical. It all comes down to the city, and the city council who think they are above the law, and they don’t have to be accountable to the residents. It is the “FRISCO WAY” they always talk about. When will someone, a reporter, residents, or maybe the district attorney, call them out on the Shady ShXt behavior they continue to display? This is an obvious “F U” to the residents and the fire fighters of Frisco.
In our blog Non-Partisan Politics. we asked if local municipal elections are as “non-partisan” as some want you to believe, and the answer is no. Then in our blog Go Fund Me – Campaign Edition, we asked if you would be upset to learn that a candidate whom you donated to, used their campaign donations to donate to other candidates that do not share the same ideology? We did a deep dive into John Keating, who is currently running for re-eleciton in Place 1 and is a registered Republican. Keating is also the #1 offender of transferring money between candidates both from his political campaign and personal pockets.
We wanted to look at other candidates’ campaign reports to see what stands out. According to Ballotpedia, Mayor Jeff Cheney is a registered Republican. In 2015, as Mayor Deputy Pro Tem, Jeff Cheney endorsed fellow republicans Chad Rudy for Frisco ISD Place 3 and as Mayor in 2018 he endorsed Angela Paxton. In 2021 he endorsed Angelia Pelham, a registered democrat, for city council. Mayor Jeff Cheney campaign reports might look boring at first glance; however, you have to look a little deeper and then you will discover some interesting things. We are guessing his endorsement of a democrat may be the reason Cheney was denied endorsements during his re-election for Mayor in 2023 by the Collin and Denton County Republican parties.
We also noticed from Cheney’s campaign reports that he received at least $4500 in personal contributions from John and Leslie Keating. As for others sitting on council, Cheney received an in-kind donation from Bill Woodard for $109 and Angelia Keating for $400. It begs the question, if an ethics complaint came before the council (which it has in the past) could Cheney be fair and impartial when Keating has given him over $4500?
Another name that appears over and over on his campaign report Lorie Medina. Not in the donations column but in the “expense” column. Medina, otherwise known as Cheney’s political consultant or one time Chief of Staff has been paid somewhere in the range of $191,500 over the last few years for her loyalty. Now, that is a lot of MONEY!
Lastly, as we have pointed out before, the majority of his donations are from developers with ongoing city projects. In 2019 Cheney accepted $15,000 from Phillip Carter which he later returned after public pressure because Carter was convicted of fraud. Another interesting name, Logan Anjaneyulu shows up in 2023 and he appears to be the founder of Alamo Equity, which owned the El Tropicano Riverwalk Hotel in San Antonio. In June of 2023 it was reported that the hotel had gone into foreclosure and was headed to the auction block by The Real Deal. The article stated the Alamo Equity founder and managing partner had been mismanaging the fund to limit his personal financial exposure. Should we be shocked, just a few months after his donation the developer is in the news for questionable business practices? Probably, but it seems to be a repeating pattern when you take money from developers.
Then we looked at Angelia Pelham who is running for re-election for Place 3. Since 2021, the Keatings have personally donated $8000 to the Pelham campaign. That is not chump change! Again, we pose the same question, if an ethics complaint came before the council against Keating (which it has in the past) could Angelia Pelham claim to be impartial when the Keatings have been her BIGGEST donor? Does accepting that kind of money when you sit next to the person on council create a conflict? Next Mayor Jeff Cheney and his wife Dana donated $1556.00 to Angelia Pelham as well as very publicly endorsing Pelham.
We also are curious if John Keatings conservative friends Jared Patterson, Drew Springer and Matt Shaheen (who was just at Keatings re-election kick off) would have a conflict with him donating that much or sending out a political mailer that shows an endorsement for a registered Democrat, who openly admitted on video she voted for Biden?
Pelham has received over $10,000 in contributions from Cheney’s developer friends since 2021. Should we be surprised? Her three largest donations were $3000 from the Williams family associated with LandPlan Development, $8000 from Keatings and $5000 from a Venton Krasniqi. Venton who? Remember that name as it is coming up in its own blog post soon.
Next, we looked at Bill Woodard and he likes to donate from his campaign to other campaigns. First, he donated $500 to Sean Heatley for Frisco ISD, $1000 in two $500 increments to Dynette Davis, a democrat for Frisco ISD and $500 to so called conservative Laura Rummel. Then he donated $1000 to Tracy Shipman, Dustin Paschal and Clint Bledsoe’s campaigns.
As far as taking donations from fellow council members we could only find that he took one donation in the amount of $1000 from John Keatings campaign. Again, we ask if the council members take money from each other, should we believe, they can be impartial when having to judge their co-council members of an ethics complaint?
Like all the other council members he took campaign contributions from the big developers ranging from $15 to $20,000. All in all, one might say his campaign list is pretty standard until we saw a recent donation from his campaign fund for $200 on November 6, 2023, to Safety First Frisco PAC. What is the Safety First Frisco PAC? It is a “Political Action Committee” started to work AGAINST PROP A & B, FOR THE FRISCO FIRE ASSOCIATION for their ballot measures for civil service and collective bargaining. Should a council member be giving to a PAC from his campaign fund (money you may have donated) to oppose our first responders? Bill advocates left and right for his trikes and bikes path and trails, but it is impossible for him to find money in the city budget for staffing and workers compensation. The city forced the Frisco Fire Fighters Association to the point of a ballot measure. I sincerely hope if anything regarding the fire department comes before the council that Bill Woodard recuses himself now that he has funded opposition to the firefighters.
Next up Brian Livingston, who is known as the most conservative of our council members. Most of his donors appear to be registered republicans. It is not a surprise that from 2020 to 2022 he used campaign funds to donate $3000 between House Rep Jared Patterson and Matt Shaheen. It also appears Patterson donated back to Livingston in the amount of $1000 when he was running for re-election. It also appears he donated to the Mark Piland mayoral campaign in early 2023 which is probably why the council removed him from all of his positions on different committees. Livingston also donated to several conservative organizations like the Denton County Republican Party for an event table in the amount of $1391 in 2021, the Frisco Conservatives in the amount of $400 in 2020 and the Republican Woman of Great North Texas in 2017. Lastly, he donated $1450 to the Americas Defender Foundation for the Thin Blue Line Ball in 2023. The interesting thing about Livingston is campaign donations aligned to his conservative values and within his political party lines.
As for council-to-council donations we found an in-kind donation in 2016 to Jeff Cheney for $265 itemized as food. He also has a campaign donation to Laura Rummel, which since being elected has towed the line of being a conservative. The one thing we did learn, is that Brain Livingston likes food, lots of food. He has several food related expenses on his campaign finance report at local restaurants. Like the others he has taken money from developers to the tune of about $5 to $6000.
Tammy Meinershagen, one of our newest council members, had a very short campaign contribution list. Craig Hall donated $2500 which kind of makes sense since he is into the arts and Meinershagen is poet and arts expert. She had three personal donations (not made from political campaigns), the first was $500 from Angelia Pelham. Then we found a $1000 from Dana and Jeff Cheney and a WHOPPING $5000 donation from the Keatings. Again, we ask the question if an ethics complaint came before the council against one of these 3 council members would Tammy recuse herself? Would she claim that she could be impartial?
What did we learn looking at these campaign reports? One, they all love developers, some more than others, which as a resident I will always find questionable. We also believe the constant back and forth between campaign donations and/or accepting personal donations from fellow council members gives the appearance that your vote or decisions could be bought and paid for. It also gives the appearance that you may be compromised should you have to be the judge and jury against your fellow council member if an ethics complaint were to arise. We also learned that John Keating and his ex-wife Leslie were the biggest donors to all the campaigns including his own. We are curious what Keatings conservative friends will think now that it is out that he gave over $13k to registered Democrats.
Here is the truth, we would love to believe local races are non-partisan, but that is simply not true. Who you donate to matters! Who you endorse matters! Who you align with matters! Just scroll through Facebook political pages and you can see the talks of partisan vs non-partisan and it always ends up in two sides bickering.
Ask yourself, if you are a conservative and you believe you are supporting a conservative but find out he has given $10,000 to registered democrats would you want to vote for that person. Same thing if you are a democrat and you believe you are supporting a democrat but find out they gave $10,000 to a conservative would you still support or vote for that person?
If you are a politician who has taken money from someone that you believed aligned with your party values but then learned, they donated to a candidate clearly aligned and registered with an opposing political party would you want to be associated with them? The point – know what you stand for and research your candidates.
Is a logo important to your business? Yes, of course it is! Logos are a point of identification; they are a symbol that helps folks recognize your brand. Any smart business is going to trademark their logo so that it cannot be used without permission from its owner. Trademark Infringement is when someone uses another party’s registered trademark without permission. Using a logo without permission can open you up to being sued by the owner of the trademark.
Recently, after a resident reached out to us, with his concern about political signs and the use of the city logo we did some research. Right on the city website, it says: Political Campaign Sign Summary:
The city website is clear in our opinion about the “City of Frisco Logo” not being used in any way for campaigning. That is why we were surprised when a citizen forwarded us an email this morning after he made a complaint to the city secretary regarding his concerns. The email response from Kristi Morrow reads: The City of Frisco has received your sign/logo complaints. Please see the response below regarding the complaints filed.
The City of Frisco regulation states that Election signs may not be posted 90 days prior to the Election. While the word Election can have many different interpretations/timeframes, the City considers the Election to mean the beginning of early voting. This gives all candidates adequate time to properly advertise and get the word out regarding their candidacy.
The City of Frisco does not own the “Frisco” logo. The BNSF Railway Company owns the rights to the logo and has granted a license to the City for the right to use the logo under certain circumstances. The license agreement does not address use of the logo by candidates in City or other elections. Whether a candidate may use the logo or not is a matter of federal trademark and/or copyright law. The City does not have jurisdiction to enforce federal trademark or copyright law.
Interesting response! When it comes to the political signs maybe the city should clarify in the candidate pack what they determine the meaning to be of the word election, which is the beginning of early voting.
As for the city logo, if the city has no jurisdiction over the right to use the logo, they don’t own the right to the logo, then why do they put it on their website that the use of the logo is not allowed? Why do they repeat saying it inside the candidate pack that is given to every candidate to fill out? Yes the candidate pack read, “that the “City Logo is a licensed product and isNOT LEGALLY AVAILABLE FOR YOUR USE.”
After reading the city’s email response that said, BNSF Railway Company owns the rights to the logo and has granted a license to the City for the right to use the logo under certain circumstances, we are curious what are those circumstances? Did John Keating or Angelia Pelham reach out to BNSF Railway for permitted use of the logo in their campaigns? Don’t worry, we did reach out to BNSF Railway. We also filed a complaint regarding the use of the logo in political campaigns with them along with asking if they are endorsing either candidate and if the candidates requested use of the trademarked logo.
Clearly a sitting city council member, especially one’s holding the title Mayor, Deputy Mayor Pro Tem, and Mayor Pro Tem should know the rules. because playing the “oh I am stupid card” just does not work here. If they seriously don’t know the rules after how long they have served on the city council then maybe they shouldn’t be on council.
Jeff Cheney: Council Member 2007 – 2016 and Mayor from 2017 to Present
John Keating: Council Member 2010 to 2016 in Place 4 and 2017 to Present Place 1
Bill Woodard: Council Member 2016 – Present
Brian Livingston: Council Member 2017 – Present
Angelia Pelham: Council Member 2021 – Present
Tammy Meinershagen: Council Member 2022 to Present
Laura Rummell: Council Member 2022 to Present
What is clear, over, and over is that the RULES FOR ME ARE DIFFERENT THAN THE RULES FOR THEE in the City of Frisco. It is such a blatant disregard and nose up at the rules and the residents they supposedly serve. We would think the city would not want to get in to trouble with BNSF so they would make sure to tell a sitting council member to make the needed corrections. The City of Frisco’s policy is clearly stated on their website and in the candidate pack, but if they have no control or enforcement then why is it listed in either place to begin with? We also know that in the past other individuals, political candidates, and some organizations have been told by the city (not BNSF), to stop using the city logo. Why is it okay now and why now are they saying well we can’t tell them what to do? Well, YOU KNOW THEM…it is the city, John Keating and Angelia Pelham!
Over and over, we hear local municipal elections are nonpartisan, which means candidates do not officially run under “party labels” or political affiliations. While we would like to believe our local races are non-partisan in theory, it is simply not true. Unless you are living under a rock, you understand politics has heated up and taken center stage across the nation and that has caused more voters to ask a candidate their political affiliation at all levels of government.
According to Ballotpedia, the local government has become a testing ground for political movements and policy proposals. Many cities are starting to clash with state and federal governments over issues of immigration to marijuana legalization. They website lists out the 100 Current Mayors of the 100 Largest U.S. Cities by population. As of January 2024, the partisan breakdown of mayors for the 100 largest U.S. cities was 63 Democrats, 25 Republicans, 1 Libertarian, 4 Independents and 5 Non-Partisans. While several Texas cities made the list, the City of Frisco is not one of them.
Just recently worldwide politics took center stage right here in Frisco at the January 18th city council meeting when residents chose to address a very divisive and hot topic current issue. During citizen’s input, several members of the local Muslim community spoke out asking city leaders to pass a resolution on the Israel Gaza Conflict. One resident asked for peace and a “resolution” to condemn the conflict while another resident asked for a cease fire resolution. A young woman spoke and said she carries the weight of displaced Palestinians and talked of her people’s genocide. She called for the city council to call for an immediate cease fire in Gaza, facilitate unhindered aid to the region and put an end to the siege and address the occupation and genocide in Palestine. While I understand the residents’ concerns I am sure we have residents who have a very different opinion that the residents who spoke at council. It is simply false to say in 2024, that local elections are “NON-PARTISAN.” The proof is in citizens input, it shows most voters are not separating local, state and national/worldwide issues.
This week I was sitting at my favorite local coffee shop and a young college student walked in and sat down. We started up a conversation about politics and he repeatedly told me he is a proud Democrat, and that Democrats will take over Texas soon. I asked him if he would ever vote for a conservative, support a conservative, or donate to a conservative. With a stern tone he said, “no way, no that would never happen.”
I then asked him who he is supporting in our local elections for city council, and he told me Angelia Pelham and John Keating. I asked him to give me the reasons why he chose each candidate so I could understand his mindset. When he was done, I chuckled and said you know John Keating is a Republican, right? He looked at me as if I was a stupid old man and said that is not true. I invited him to my table, and I showed him John Keating’s campaign finance report on my iPad. I asked him if that changed his opinion, and he replied who is the Democrat running? I told him local elections are supposed to be “non-partisan” and he responded swiftly “well not for me.” It is further proof that people of all ages are not seeing local elections as non-partisan anymore.
Do you think local politics is non-partisan? If you do, would you be upset if you donated to a local candidate and then found out that candidate was using your money to donate to other candidates in state and national races who are affiliated to a specific party? Local politics has changed in very significant ways and we are diving into where the money goes in our next blog.
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Bill is a tool. I never trusted him the moment I met him. Slimeball.