Tammy Meinershagen speaks of how she loves “governance” and that is her favorite part of the job as a councilwoman. One “best practice” and vital component of good governance is transparency. Why is transparency so important? It boosts public trust, confidence, and citizen participation. Transparency has become a virtue in public management and public policymaking. It is an important democratic value that a trustworthy, high-performing, and responsible government pursues.
WHY IS FRISCO NOT TRANSPARENT?
We have to assume everyone reading our blog is new and may not have read previous blogs. In 2023, when Mayor Cheney was running for re-election against Retired Former Fire Chief, Mark Piland we wrote the blog Tangled Web of Lies (click on the title to read it) which detailed out how acting HR Director Sassy Lauren Safranek set in motion a calculated witch hunt to protect her job and wrongdoing against then Fire Chief, Mark Piland.
Why is that blog so important? In it, we mentioned that on April 4, 2024, the Frisco City Council, after emerging from an executive session, voted on one item from its executive agenda. “In connection with item No. 2A, ii on tonight’s agenda, Bill Woodward made a motion, “I move to authorize the city manager to release the second investigative report, dated Sept. 1, 2022, concerning Mark Piland.” That night, the Frisco City Council, with a 5-0 vote, moved to pass the motion. Mayor Cheney conveniently recused himself. It is important to note that Bill Woodard, Angelia Pelham, John Keating, and Tammy Meinershagen had already endorsed and been helping with Mayor Cheney’s re-election campaign. That night, it was clear the release of this document was designed to be a political hit job. Since that night, Woodard also ran a PAC against our Firefighters and started the Vote Yes for Broadway PAC with Tammy Meinershagen.
CLEARLY, THE COUNCIL MEMBERS WERE COMPROMISED AND SHOULD HAVE ALSO ALL RECUSED THEMSELVES ALONG WITH JEFF CHENEY! BETTER YET, IT SHOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN VOTED ON BY THE COUNCIL MEMBERS – WHY NOT SEND IT TO THE AG INSTEAD?
They didn’t want to wait 45 to 60 days because that would have been “after the election,” and they were worried Mark Piland might win. So, shaking in their boots, they took it upon themselves to vote at the council. The same council that determines ethical complaints against each other!
Fast forward to 2025 and we write our blog City Hall’s Troubled Seas last week that questions why “TOP BRASS” HR Director, Sassy Lauren Safranek and Assistant HR Director, Jacinta Shanks just vanished into the dark night. Missing for weeks, internal sources telling us that they both had been suspended, investigations were ongoing, and their return dates to the office were unknown made us file some PIR’s for more information.
FIRST PIR REQUEST: JACINTA SHANKS
4/1/2025: FWB Filed the Public Information Request
“We would like all documents and information regarding the investigation into, administrative leave of, and outcome of Jacinta Shanks – HR. We would like any and all investigative records, including emails, screenshots, and messages regarding Jacinta Shanks and fellow employees that refer to them making racist remarks/comments to other black subordinates, disparaging employees, and making fun of other employees. We would like to know if Jacinta Shanks received a promotion after this investigation.”
4/16/2025: City of Frisco responds and asks us to “CLAIRFY” our request to the city
4/22/2025: FWB replied to the request
5/7/2025: We assumed in the eye of “GOOD GOVERNANCE” they city would be transparent just like they have been with previous employees, right? No. Absolutely Not!
We received the response that reads, “The City of Frisco has reviewed its files, and has located documents responsive to your request. However, due to issues of confidentiality, the City has chosen to seek a ruling from the Office of the Attorney General regarding the release of the responsive documents. Please see attached for a letter from Abernathy, Roeder, Boyd & Hullett, PC, attorneys for the City of Frisco, informing you of the City’s decision to seek a ruling from the Office of the Attorney General. The Office of the Attorney General has up to 45 business days in which to make a ruling regarding your request.”
SECOND PIR REQUEST INTO JACINTA SHANKS AND JIREH SHOE
4/1/2025: FWB filed a PIR Request
We also filed a second PIR that reads, “Related to the Jacinta Shanks and Jireh Shoe Investigations or any other HR employees. We would like a copy of any NDA signed by a new employee related to their failure during the probation period. We would like to know if any female employee received a payout or payment related to this investigation, was asked to sign an NDA, who was released, terminated, removed, etc for failing their probation period.”
4/11/2025: City of Frisco responds and asks us to “CLAIRFY” our request to the city (sound familiar)
4/22/2025: FWB replied to the request
1. Jacinta Shanks and Jireh Shoe Investigations: We are specifically requesting any investigative reports, findings, HR communications, termination notices, or disciplinary actions related to Jacinta Shanks and Jireh Shoe. If these individuals were involved in internal investigations conducted by HR or Legal, we request all documents reflecting: • The nature of the investigation • Dates of the investigation • Parties interviewed or named • Final outcomes or recommendations • Settlement agreements, if applicable
2. NDAs Signed by New Employees Who Did Not Complete Probation We are requesting copies of any Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) signed between January 1, 2021, and April 1, 2025, by employees of the HR Department who were released, terminated, or resigned before completing their probationary period. If a list of names is required to narrow this down, we ask the City to identify individuals who meet the criteria during that time frame so we can refine accordingly.
3. Female Employees—Payments or NDAs Related to HR Investigations We are seeking records that show whether any female employee involved in an HR investigations between January 1, 2021, and April 1, 2025: • Received a financial payout or settlement (voluntary or involuntary separation) • Was asked or required to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement • Was terminated, released, or otherwise separated during or at the end of probation These may include settlement agreements, NDAs, HR exit memos, or other documents reflecting these outcomes.
We are not asking the City to answer legal questions—only to provide existing documents that meet the above clarified criteria. If there is a more efficient way to identify the documents—such as a keyword search (e.g., “probation,” “settlement,” “NDA,” “termination”) or a specific custodian of records—please advise. We are happy to work with you to facilitate this.
5/7/2025: Guess what, we assumed for a second time that in the eye of “GOOD GOVERNANCE” they city would be transparent. I bet you can guess their response; it was identical to our other PIR. Literally, identical!
We received the exact same response as the first PIR which reads, “The City of Frisco has reviewed its files, and has located documents responsive to your request. However, due to issues of confidentiality, the City has chosen to seek a ruling from the Office of the Attorney General regarding the release of the responsive documents. Please see attached for a letter from Abernathy, Roeder, Boyd & Hullett, PC, attorneys for the City of Frisco, informing you of the City’s decision to seek a ruling from the Office of the Attorney General. The Office of the Attorney General has up to 45 business days in which to make a ruling regarding your request.”
THIRD PIR WE ARE FILING NOW: Lauren Safranek HR
Now we are going to file a PIR for everything related to Sassy Lauren Safranek and what do you want to bet, we are going to get the same response. Using delay tactics to push it out, then send it to the AG to further delay it. Why? What do they not want to come out before you and I vote at the polls? The delay is purposeful and if they truly wanted to show “GOOD GOVERNANCE” – Tammy Meinershagen couldn’t you vote to release the files? Lead the charge for transparency!
GOOD GOVERNANCE: JUST VOTE ON IT!
In our opinion, the city set a precedent with Mark Piland on what is or is not confidential in an employee’s HR file when they went to the council and voted to release his record, especially when that vote was by four members of the council who endorsed and were working on Mayor Cheney’s campaign against that employee. So why can’t they vote again to release the HR file for Safranek, Shanks, and anyone else in the HR investigation? Show the voters you have nothing to hide and that it is consistency of GOOD GOVERNANCE.
WE NEED YOUR HELP!
We think all the citizens of Frisco who want transparent communication should email the city attorney’s office, the entire city council, and the City Manager’s office, demanding the release of all documents from the HR Department investigation, just like they did with Former Fire Chief, Mark Piland. If there is an issue, they should be able to vote on it at a city council meeting. We would expect the same transparency in a 5-0 vote to release it. Because good governance is transparent, right?
To Whom It May Concern:
I am writing as a citizen of Frisco to request full transparency on behalf of the city, to release all HR documents related to the HR investigation into Jacinta Shanks, Lauren Safranek, and any other employee. For us to trust our city government, we need to see transparency, even if that means it has to go to a vote at the city council meeting to be released.
What are they hiding? It should alarm citizens that the city will vote to release one employee’s or a former employee’s records and not release others. One was running against the mayor for office, while the others were not. If you didn’t believe us in 2023 when we called it a political hatchet job, then you should believe us now! Why else would they fight the release of HR records for other employees under investigation?
Wouldn’t the world be such a simple place if someone’s nose really grew when they told a lie? Think about it for a moment, we wouldn’t have to spend so much time trying to determine if someone is telling the truth or a lie. It is much easier in person through verbal and non-verbal ques to tell if someone is lying or withholding the truth from you than it is through filing a Public Information Request. However, PIR’s are all we have here at Frisco Chronicles to get to the truth.
Recently we filed several PIR’s based on leads we received from “whistleblowers” to see if the city would disclose “The Truth” to us through PIR requests. One of the PIR requests read, “We would like the list of the complaints made about political signs to code enforcement or the city secretary for the period of 1/1/2024 to present. We would like a copy of any complaint made about electioneering at the election polls from April 20th to May 5th.” It is a very simple request and after we paid the $6.30 we thought we would get a handful of responses. Instead, we found that the city left a lot of complaints out of our request. We know this because many folks sent us copies of their complaints to the city and they are not in the disclosed information given to us even though it fits the criteria of the request.
The first email we received a copy of was from Councilman John Keating, sent to Kristi Morrow on May 4th, Election Day. It states “poll greeters are playing loud music at FS 8 (they turn it down, then turn it back up). Also, this truck passed through the parking lot several times. Within 30 minutes of receiving the email Kristi Morrow forwarded it to Amy Moore in Code Enforcement who made her way out to Fire Station 8. This is the incident we reported about in our blog Election Playbook: Code Enforcement.
The interesting thing about this email is that John Keating failed to mention to the City Secretary his own team including himself, The Cheney’s, and his friends were electioneering in the parking lot for almost four hours that morning. It is documented with pictures in our blog and proves our point that it is okay for John Keating to break the rules, but others can’t. Just “PAR FOR THE COURSE” in the city council world.
The next email we received in our PIR was about “Illegal Signs” that was sent by Judy Adams on May 3 to City Secretary, Kristi Morrow. It states, “These signs are placed by polling stations all over the city. It is in violation since there are no disclaimers. Very sad that ‘these people’ are claiming to uphold the law and order but are breaking the law by doing the things they accuse others of. I believe they should be removed immediately.” The picture just barely shows the corner of a sign, but we did recognize it.
Why did we recognize the sign? It is a Frisco Chronicles sign! Now to be clear we did not buy these signs, we did not put them out, and we have no clue who did. With that said we do love them, and they gave us a good laugh! We received an anonymous email from a whistleblower that they put them out to spread the word of our site. They did confirm they were all placed on private property and none of them were placed on city property or at any fire station. Lastly, it is not a political action committee, it does not support a candidate, so it does not need a disclaimer.
Judy, think about carpet cleaner signs or we buy ugly houses signs, do they need disclaimers? We suggest Judy Adams focus on what she does best which is blowing people aka blo me! Now get your mind out of the gutter! We are referring to her focusing on her new Blo Bar she just opened for those who need a good blow, or maybe her real estate career, or her closed coffee bar instead of silly illegal signs on private property. Better yet maybe she should make her own BLO ME signs with a phone number to make an appointment, if she does, we will make sure to have readers call them in for being illegal signs.
The third email we received was from April 22 from Jeff Cheney to City Secretary, Kristi Morrow. It is important to note the email was sent from JCheney@friscotexas.gov so clearly, he wrote this as the “Mayor of Frisco” and not as an individual resident. It states, “Pretty clear this is not in compliance with the maximum size of 10×10” referring to the Firefighters tent at Station 7. Kristi Morrow sent the email to Amy Moore in Code Enforcement and Amy replied Justin was on his way to the station. Then Kristi Morrow replied and asked Amy to call her when she gets a chance. Wonder what they talked about?
The next email we received was on April 25th, from Councilman John Keating (JKeating@friscotexas.gov) to City Secretary Kristi Morrow and Assistant City Manager, Henry Hill. He questions if “these are allowed as they are showing up at polling stations. He specifically notes the one at Fire Station 7 in the picture he submitted. He is referring to a Voter Guide Stand that is put out at every election by a political conservative group called Red Wave. You can see at the bottom of the voter guide it says Pol Ad Paid For Red Wave Texas.
Why does Keating not like the voter guide stand? Oh, that is because it has listed for Place 1 Mark Piland and for Place 3 John Redmond. We want to know how often John Keating votes in elections. These have been at polling sites during several election cycles. If he is just now seeing it, then we are curious if he has been doing his civic duty to vote? Maybe he just didn’t like it because it was not his name on the guide!
Lastly, we received an excel spreadsheet of complaints. Not sure what to make of it!
Here is the problem, our request was very simple and straightforward which states, “We would like the list of the complaints made about political signs to code enforcement or the city secretary for the period of 1/1/2024 to present. We would like a copy of any complaint made about electioneering at the election polls from April 20th to May 5th.” We have several emails sent to us which reported about in our blog, Breaking All The Rules related to John Keating, Angelia Pelham and the Safety-First Frisco PAC putting up signs at 9am on Sunday April 21st which was 6 to 9+ hours earlier than they were allowed. We have several emails about the 4 x 4 political signs at Station 7 and questioning if they are on city property that were sent to us.
We also have several emails sent to the city secretary regarding electioneering occurring at the polls, some even documented with videos and pictures.
Yet none of these emails and others we have were given to us in our Public Information Request. They fit the issue, time frame and criteria of the request we made so why don’t we have them from the city. What other emails have they withheld that we don’t know about? Readers and have sent them in but our own city will not be forthcoming and turn them over in a Public Information Request. We have proof the city HAS WITHELD PUBLIC RECORDS…AGAIN! The city claims TRANSPARENCY, yet they can’t even be honest with a public information request and fulfill it as they should. WHY DOES THE CITY LIE AND HIDE INFORMATION FROM TAXPAYERS?
We have a PIR out right now for the body cam footage from the Code Enforcement cameras worn during the election, but they have sent that to the Attorney General. Why do they not want us to hear the conversations they had at the polls with the political candidates or the firefighters regarding code enforcement complaints called in?
Most concerning is how our Mayor and Councilman Keating act like winey children when it is something they don’t like so they use their city emails and position to make complaints which are acted upon immediately by the city. However, the numerous complaints about the signs being put out early at the fire stations by these same folks had no action or fines taken against them for clearly violating the rules. Rules that they should know as they are sitting active council members. Remember John Keating has 16 years on council so if he does not know the rules by now, then he truly is dumber than a bag of rocks. In fact, those complaints are not even documented apparently, or they would have been in our public information request. This is Frisco folks! Rules for thee but not for me!
While the election may be over, the desire to learn more about it, is not. The Safety First Frisco PAC Facebook page has been deleted and the website removed, literally overnight. However our curiosity about a few things has not faded and over 2 months ago we filed two PIR’s that today “have been sent to the AG for a ruling”. We would love to say the City of Frisco surprises us, but truly they don’t.
The first PIR was filed on 2/26/2024 and was very simple in nature. We asked for a copy of any PIR requests and the corresponding documents made from the following: Bill Woodard, Mike Simpson, Dick Peasley, and the Safety-First Frisco PAC from 1/1/2022 to Present.
The second PIR was filed on the same day. We asked for emails, texts, or handwritten correspondence between city officials, including the city manager’s office, assistant city managers, deputy city managers, city council, and department directors regarding the Frisco Fire Association Prop A & B regarding Civil Service and Collective Bargaining. Including emails or communications marked as confidential or with a code name for Prop A & B from 1/1/2022 to Present.
The response to both The City of Frisco has reviewed its files and has located documents responsive to your request. However, due to issues of confidentiality, the City has chosen to seek a ruling from the Office of the Attorney General regarding the release of the responsive documents. You will be receiving a letter from Abernathy, Roeder, Boyd & Hullett, PC, attorneys for the City of Frisco, informing you of the City’s decision to seek a ruling from the Office of the Attorney General. The Office of the Attorney General has up to 45 business days in which to make a ruling regarding your request.
Ask yourself, why would the city be holding this information from the public? If the city had correspondence with the PAC in any way, would that be considered electioneering? It is interesting to us that two separate PIRs are being held back but the Mayor hosted a Sheryl Sculley who spoke against the measure. Councilman Bill Woodard went on the news and did a full interview with Channel 11 as his title in that broadcast was not Bill Woodard (citizen) it reads “Councilman Bill Woodard” and he specifically talked about how the measures could hurt the city. Technically if you ask us, he was speaking on from his experience on the council and using his knowledge acquired as a councilman so therefore he was representing the city talking against measures on the ballot. Is that against the city’s own Code of Conduct?
The city and the council want to claim they are transparent, and residents can trust them, but if they expect us to believe that then they need to release the PIRs sent to the Texas Attorney General. Better yet vote on it at a council meeting to release it like you did a in 2023. We strongly feel something underhanded has happened here and we are considering filing our own complaint with the AG. They can’t use city information to fight propositions then say its confidential later when the citizens ask to see it.
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?
When you get old, your routine becomes familiar which is not a bad thing. Every morning my wife and I have coffee on the back patio with our little TV turned on to the news. We make sure to pull out our TV trays every night before 6:30 and have dinner on our plate so we can sit down for our daily dose of Wheel of Fortune at 6:30. Lastly, the highlight for me is the weekly pilgrimage to the grocery store. While my wife grabs a cart I stroll right on in through those electric doors to my favorite place, the bakery. I like to look at every cake and cookie and if there are samples, well I am on cloud 9. I am a sucker for sweet treats!
When we first heard about the Frisco Firefighters Association’s push for Proposition A & B, my wife and I were coming out of the grocery store. A young lady approached us and asked if we would be interested in signing the petition for the firefighters. We talked and she was very pleasant and thoroughly explained what and why they were trying to get the propositions on the ballot. We asked if she was a firefighter in Frisco and she said yes and we learned she was at the station closest to our house. She humored us old folks and we signed the petition because we felt if this was something they felt that strongly about, then we should at least let them bring it to the voters.
As time played out, we were curious, I wonder what the conversations were like at city hall in regard to this push. We filed a PIR on February 26, 2024, that read “Emails, texts or handwritten correspondence between city officials, including the city manager’s office, assistant city managers, deputy city managers, city council, and department directors regarding the Frisco Fire Association Prop A & B regarding Civil Service and Collective Bargaining.”
On March 12, 2024, we received a reply from Julie Davidson, Deputy City Secretary that, “The City of Frisco has reviewed its files, and has located documents responsive to your request. However, due to issues of confidentiality, the City has chosen to seek a ruling from the Office of the Attorney General regarding the release of the responsive documents. You will be receiving a letter from Abernathy, Roeder, Boyd & Hullett, PC, attorneys for the City of Frisco, informing you of the City’s decision to seek a ruling from the Office of the Attorney General. The Office of the Attorney General has up to 45 business days in which to make a ruling regarding your request.”
Were we surprised to see the city send it to the Attorney General, of course not! We just assumed since they were so against it, they would have no issue sharing the communications they have had regarding the propositions. However when they did say they were sending it to the AG we began to wonder, why didn’t they want to share it. What secret conversations have they had they don’t want us the residents they claim to be so transparent with, to see.
As of now April 21, 2024, we still have no response from the AG. Common sense would tell you if they have nothing to hide they would release the communications because it would only support their vote-no stance. Then again the other half of our common sense says, the only reason to play the Attonrey General game is to delay what you don’t want residents to see. They know whatever we get back will be published and they know they may get caught with their hand in the “cookie jar!”
So we are calling on our elected officials Jeff Cheney, John Keating, and Angelia Pelham who love to claim “Accountability and Transparency” to hold a city council meeting and vote to release the documents just like they did last year on another issue.
Jeff Cheney was quoted in Community Impact back on October 18, 2023, in an article by Alex Reece as saying, “The resolutions were adopted because of council’s belief in transparency and residents’ legal right to call for a vote on their issues.” Mayor Cheney, if you believe in transparency and the right for residents to vote on an issue then we need to know everything before voting which starts in 24 hours. So why not fulfill the PIR?
Then we have John Keating who says right on his website under “The Mission” tab that he has served from a place of transparency and accountability throughout his time on council and that he will continue to uphold those values. Well, Mr. Keating here is your chance to UPHOLD THOSE VALUE and call for a full release of the PIR which ensures every action taken is legal and ethical as you write on your website. Mr. Keating will you take action or are those just words to get re-elected?
Lastly, there is Angelia Pelham who states in her campaign video that three years ago she asked us to take a blind leap of faith and vote for someone we didn’t know. She promised us that she would represent us with “Character and Integrity” as our elected official. Now three years later she says, “You know me!” Well, we searched her campaign website and while it talks about diversity in and out which is great, guess what it doesn’t mention? If you said TRANSPARENCY OR ACCOUNTABILITY, then you would be correct. Angelia we are asking you based on your character and integrity to call for a full release of the PIR requested because if you have nothing to hide and act with character and integrity it should be no problem to release, right?
Truthfully, we don’t expect any of the three to release the PIR’s because their claim of transparency is complete bull shit! Yep, we said it and we stand by it. If this city is as transparent as it claims, then why do you keep delaying and hiding PIRs that could change how we vote? Ask yourself this, what is our city and elected officials hiding when it comes to Prop A & B and how did the PAC get all this information from the city that no one else can get?
Lastly, we were asked will we hold Piland and Redmond to the same standard and the answer is yes. If they get elected, we will hold them to the same damn standard. However, we can’t call on them to be transparent right now because they hold no key to the kingdom of documents. You can bet if they get elected, we will ask them the same questions and hold them to the same standards and expectations that we are asking of our current council.
Where do we stand, we feel the Frisco Fire Fighters are the only ones being honest and transparent, so we are voting For Prop A & B in our household. We hope you make the best decision for your household.
Ah, the riveting world of campaign finance reports – where every local candidate in Frisco must parade their fiscal acumen before the discerning eyes of the public. It’s like Christmas for political sleuths, unwrapping the financial mysteries behind each contender’s bid for office. Because, let’s be honest, nothing screams “transparency” like the stress-induced wrinkles of trying to get those reports done on time. In Frisco, Campaign Finance Reports must be filed by local municipal politicians or political candidates seeking office and they must be filed with the City Secretary, Kristi Morrow.
We give each candidate the benefit of the doubt and assume from time to time there may be a mistake on the reports. If a candidate finds a report has a mistake they can file to correct the report. A candidate must file using a correction affidavit and make sure the pages of the report being corrected are attached. Easy, Peasy!
January of 2024, we download the semi-annual report or the annual report of unexpended contributions for each candidate for the time of July 1, 2023, to December 31, 2023. We were surprised to see on page 4 of Angelia Pelham’s report she had a donation of $1000 dated 12/26/23 that had the name of the Contributor and the address redacted. You cannot redact the field of the contributor as that is a public record. At the time the report was released, we of course saved it and filed it away with all the others.
On March 7th we noticed Angelia Pelham had filed a Correction/Amendment Affidavit for Candidates with the City Secretary. It noted she neglected to include an In-Kind amount in the total contribution. She attached the updated “totals” sheet, and the update changed her total political contributions from $3,630.00 to $8630.00 which is a difference of $5000. We were curious about what the In-Kind donation was and what it was for. We went back to the website and looked at the original report filed, and the contribution dated 11/1/23 was from Scott Ellis for $5000. The description stated it was for web design and hosting.
As we began to scroll back up through the report, we immediately noticed something was different than the first time we reviewed the report. That item from 12/26/23 reporting a donation of $1000 that had been completely redacted now showed the name of the donor. It was the very own Dono and Angelia Pelham who donated to herself. We thought for a minute, are we crazy we were pretty sure when we looked at this report in January that it was completely redacted. Luckily, we saved the report back in January, and thank goodness it confirmed we were not crazy!
Now is this life shattering or ending – no of course not. But when did Pelham or the city “un-redact” the report? Why did they not file a correction or make a note of the change on the report that the redaction was incorrect and updated? What it does do is build mistrust, because now we have no idea when the redaction was corrected. If we file a PIR to find out, they will probably send it to the attorney general to avoid answering our question.
If someone made a mistake (ok, no problem) but now it feels like they tried to change out the reports and hoped no one would notice the mistake. It feels shady that there would not even be a note that it was incorrectly redacted, and the new one was updated. Sound familiar? It should. Remember Sassy Safranek, the City HR Director, who edited a job description for the Fire Department that ultimately affected the pay of firefighters. You can read all about it in our Twelve Days of Christmas stories.
Why was it a big deal what Sassy Safranek did? She lied when caught back in the day and continues to lie today. She said Piland was aware of the change and that she didn’t feel it was a big deal to remove one word and not get an updated signature from the Chief. Based on emails from a PIR it was clear Piland had no clue the change had been made. The City of Frisco requires each department head to sign off on each job description. Sassy Safranek, THE HR DIRECTOR, knows that. If you change anything on a document that requires a signature, you get A NEW SIGNATURE! Imagine Fire Chief Mark Piland’s surprise when one of his firefighters inquired about the change and that is how he found out about the Sassy “Cover Up!”
Our point, if you upload a report to the public and you need to change something like a redaction there should be a note as to why, when, and who made the changes. It is simply a note in the ledger or the report. Are we surprised the city tried to change out documents and withhold the change from the public? No, it is a standard practice apparently for both internal and external documents.
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