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.
In our blog Legal Logo Woes, we told you how the city website clearly states you cannot use the City of Frisco logo in any way for campaigning purposes. Multiple residents complained to the city secretary regarding the obvious infractions by the candidates using the city logo while campaigning, we were shocked the response from the city was it is not their problem. Morrow said, the city does not own the logo, BNSF Railway does. She went on to say the license agreement the City of Frisco has does not address the use of the logo by candidates in city or other elections. Then she ended the city does not have any jurisdiction in the matter.
Makes you wonder why if the city has no jurisdiction and the license agreement the city has does not address the use of the logo by candidates, why would they put a rule on their website and in the candidate packs that clearly states the logo is not legally available for your use during the campaign. The city documents and website 1000% imply the use of the city logo is not allowed. If they can’t enforce the rule why have the rule?
We reached out to BNSF Railway for a comment regarding the complaints. On February 6 we received a note back from them that they had forwarded the issue to their legal department to see what the next steps were for them. Then on February 8, we received an email from Kendall Kirkham Sloan, Director of External Communications that said “BNSF does not endorse political candidates. We are working with the city on the use of the logo.”
We decided to check back to see if BNSF Railway, The City of Frisco, or Wes Pierson, the City Manager would make sure his current sitting council members followed the rules. Attending a city event is fine but “the purpose of campaigning” is when you cross into dangerous territory. For example, the Keating For Frisco website is being used FOR CAMPAIGNING and the point of the site is to get him reelected which is why it is on every campaign printed piece of material. “Learn more at Keating For Frisco” or just click the QR code which takes you to his website. Even though we pointed out the RULE VIOLATIONS back in early February, imagine our surprise to learn Keating still has the City Logo in two different places on his website as of today. Just another way Keating is giving the middle finger to the rules that apply while campaigning.
Then we learned about a Private Meet & Greet held by none other than our first family, Jeff and Dana Cheney. The invite states it is a Mix and Mingle Happy Hour, not the same as a Keg Party, for candidates John Keating, Angelia Pelham and the Safety-First Frisco Vote No PAC. To us, this is a campaigning invite since they are using the “Re-Election” logos that belong to the candidates and the logo telling citizens how to vote for propositions. Surely, we will not see the City of Frisco logo here, right? Wrong!
Several pictures have been posted across social media of the event and it is CLEAR, Angelia Pelham is breaking the rules of the use of the city logo while campaigning. She is wearing her City Council Member Badge with the city logo. Now many would say this is no big deal, but it is because if anyone knows ‘THE RULES’ it is our current city council members who have already been through a campaign in the past. We can prove Angelia knows the rules, just look at previous events like the Frisco Chamber Forum or SLAN Forum, she is wearing her Re-Elect Angelia Pelham badge.
We plan to reach out to BNSF Railway again because their last email to us said they were working with the city regarding the proper use of the logo, so either A) they endorse the candidates or B) they don’t, and they make them stop using a trademark logo that the city does not own while campaigning. It is simple folks, follow the rules, not sometimes, but all the time.
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!
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!
I went to her to ask for help with an issue my child that was getting nowhere with the school,…
So whatever became of the $17 million dollars that the city council gave the Mayor to beautify a drainage ditch?
At last count, there are 3 different "spa/massage" businesses in the small office park at the northeast corner of John…
I literally just saw this. Yeah, she used to forward everybody’s emails behind their backs.
You're dropping truth bombs! These mom and pop shops are what should be the least of Karen's worries. If they…