If you have not read our blog from yesterday, Legal Logo Woes then you should. We told you about a citizen who emailed the city and after publishing our blog, we heard from many residents who also emailed the city, and got the same stock answer.
“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.”
The resident did not ask about the trademark of the logo it asked about the city’s rule posted on their website and in the candidate packet stating you could not use the Frisco Logo in campaigning. The city made that rule and published it so the city should be able to enforce it, especially with a sitting council member. Why publish it if you can’t, won’t, or don’t want to enforce it?
We emailed BNSF Railway to ask if the use of the city logo that they own, means and should be interpreted as they endorse John Keating and Angelia Pelham? They responded with we have forwarded this to our legal department. If the answer is no, they do not endorse these candidates, we plan to ask about Mayor Cheney’s use of the city logo in his campaign material in his 2023 election. We will let you know what we hear back!
In our last blog we asked if local elections are truly non-partisan and from the response we received most readers responded with a firm NO. We are not surprised by the response because we believe local races stopped being non-partisan a long time ago. Political campaigns are serious business according to the book Political Campaign Craftsmanship by Edward Schwartzman which notes that over one BILLION dollars are spent in presidential election years. Where do the candidates get all this money?
Candidates for political office at any level of government, must hustle to raise money to fund campaigns. Campaign finance laws dictate who can contribute, how much one can contribute and how those contributions must be reported. In Texas, campaign finance guidelines are published by the Texas Ethics Commission. Before any campaign can start raising funds, they must first file paperwork to identify their campaign treasurer who is responsible for keeping up with the campaign finance reports that must be turned in to the city.
Generally, when a person donates to a candidate they have a specific reason or purpose that drives that decision. People may donate to support a specific candidate or party whom they share the same values or has the same goals. One may donate to try and influence an election outcome in their favor or to gain access or influence with the candidate. In Frisco, who is donating to our city council members and what are they doing with the money you donated?
In an early blog called The Ethics Conclusion & The Bogus Ethics Policy, we addressed campaign donations going back and forth between candidates and how it can affect them from being able to be independent when an ethics complaint is filed against a member of the council. In our blog Dark Money, we talked about the corrupt campaign finance system that has shifted the power in politics from the residents to the pay-to-play system that developers in Frisco seem to take advantage of.
As we said local elections are no longer non-partisan so if you are democrat you mostly likely donate to democratic candidates and the same could be said for a conservative donating to republican candidates. We decided to start with John Keating because he is currently running for re-election and his campaign finance report has been the most colorful over the years.
John P. Keating is a registered Republican. In 2015, Keating announced he would not run for re-election in Frisco because he planned on running for Texas House Representative District 33. According to TransparencyUSA he has received contributions from some interesting groups, most likely during the time he ran for the Texas House District. Empower Texas PAC $52,160.01, Texas Right To Life PAC $10,000, True Texas Project PAC $2239.86, and the Collin County Republican Party as well as 2 republican woman groups. One interesting donation to point out is the James Webb donation during his run for Texas House. Webb donated $20,000 according to TransparencyUSA and he was convicted of Medical Fraud in 2016.
What about locally? Keating made several donations according to his campaign finance reports, remember this is money donated to his campaign. Keating donated over $3000+ to The Frisco Chamber of Commerce, the most recent donation in 2022. In 2017, he “sponsored” $1500 for the Collin County Republican Party. Fast forward to 2021, John Keating’s campaign finance report shows he donated $1000 to each of the following republican campaigns: Angela Paxton Campaign, Jared Patterson Campaign, and Pat Fallon for Congress. Also in 2021, he continued donating to republicans like the Chris Hill Campaign for $500, Jimmy Angelino for $1000, and the Rob Altman for $1000.
In 2022, from his campaign donations, he donated $1000 to each of the following republicans: Keith Self for Congress, Jared Patterson, Matt Shaheen, Drew Springer, Frederick Frazier, and the Jimmy Angelino Campaign.
In local elections, using his campaign donations, he donated $1000 to the Bill Woodard Campaign, and in 2022/23 he donated $2000+ to the Cheney Campaign. Now what is interesting is that John Keating and then wife Leslie Keating, made around $7000 in donations to Angelia Pelham, a registered democrat. We could not find the donations on his campaign expense reports so we are assuming that came from personal funds. QUESTION:Keating has always made campaign contributions to politicians from his personal campaign fund so why when it comes to Angelia did he change that? Keating has donated to some very conservative politicians in recent years and received money from very conservative groups over the years, so we are guessing he didn’t want his “REPUBLICAN” donors to know he was donating to a democrat which would have had to be listed on his campaign finance report. Since it came from his personal funds, the only way to know he donated to Pelham is by looking at her campaign finance reports.
Why is this important? First if you donate to a candidate like Keating, but you don’t support Cheney or Woodard, would you be upset to learn he is using campaign donations to support them? If you are democrat voting for Keating, and never researched his campaign funds, would you be upset to learn Keating has donated to and accepted campaign funds to some very far right conservatives? Lastly, Keating supported Angelia for council then and now and the fact that he gave her $7000 could be an issue for party driven voters. Maybe that is why he didn’t donate from his campaign fund like he did with all the other candidates. We don’t know the make-up of Angelia’s voters, but if most are democrat do you think they know Keating is donating to some very conservative legislatures and accepted money from some very conservative PACs over the years?
In our next blog we plan to deep dive into the other council members’ campaign contributions to see who they are giving their campaign money to which was been donated to them.
Campaigning has begun and we are excited to see how the next few months play out. We thought we should educate ourselves on the rules, so we read city’s Political Campaign Sign policy listed on the city website.
Rules 1 & 4 are pretty clear so we decided to look at the candidates social media pages and election websites.
Rule 1: Political signs cannot be placed on any City of Frisco, Community Development Corporation (CDC), or Economic Development Corporation (EDC) property or in a City of Frisco easement.
Rule 4: The City of Frisco logo cannot be used in any way for campaigning including on political signs.
John Redmond website appears to only be one page and has a short intro to who he is and his campaign logo. We could not find any social media pages for him. – Passed Inspection
Mark Piland website does not include pictures of political signs on city property, and it does not contain the official city logo. In a review of his social media, we did not see any violations either. – Passed Inspection
Angelia Pelham currently holds Place 3 and serves as Deputy Mayor Pro Tem. Her website passed inspection. However, her social media did not! On January 17th she held a filing party at city hall. She had several supporters come join her and there are numerous pictures of her and supporters holding Pelham campaign signs on city property and more so in the rotunda of city hall! That is a clear violation of Rule 1 even if it was temporary. The photos also violate Rule 4 regarding the city logo not being used for campaigning because clearly in several photos the official city logo can be spotted. It became campaigning when she turned into a filing party, had her political signs and several supporters wearing t-shirts. The photos appear on her political Facebook page as well as personal page and on Instagram.
We liked her campaign video, she looks good in red and has a catchy slogan. We are a little curious about one portion of the video which shows her standing at the back of the room with Frisco Public Safety officers from both the PD and FD. The video is tagged in the corner with her campaign logo which could give people the impression she is endorsed by either public safety group, which she is not. The picture includes Mark Piland who has announced he is running for Place 1 which made us curious how he feels his likeness in her video? Lastly, when the photo was taken we were pretty sure none of them knew down the road it would be used for campaign video. We are not sure if there is any violation here according to campaign rules or city rules, however one would think before using someone’s likeness, out of respect, you might want to ask them if they are okay with it. Many police departments have rules about offices being photographed and for the purposes they can be used for.
Lastly, we looked a John Keating’s website. He currently serves Place 1 and is the Mayor Pro Tem. We could not view his social media because has blocked us across all channels. Keating’s website is in clear violation of Rule 4. As soon as the page loads you see a picture of Keating with the slogan Promises Made Promises Kept and behind it is a watermark of the official City of Frisco Flag. Then if you scroll down, right after he asks you for your money, you can clearly see the official city logo.
On the “About John” page it shows him standing in the Frisco City Council Chamber up on the dais. This picture was taken on December 4, 2018, the night the council approved a plan for the PGA of America. The picture appears in an article for the Dallas Morning News.
The last page titled “The Mission” has a picture of Keating with the official city of Frisco Logo right behind him, which is again, a clear violation of Rule 4. Then under Public Safety he has a picture with Chief Shilson, Frisco PD which mislead residents of an endorsement that he does not have. Now the picture with Shilson may not be a violation but is misleading.
When it comes to campaigning, rules should be taken very seriously. We could understand how first-time candidates can make mistakes, but if they are running it is their responsibility to know the rules. As for the Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Angelia Pelham, and Mayor Pro Tem John Keating, they have no excuse. If they are serving in the Deputy Mayor Pro Tem and Mayor Pro Tem positions then clearly they should know the rules. Keating has been around since 2011, off and on and if he doesn’t know the rules by now then we may have bigger issues. We go back to why are there rules for thee but not for me? I can guarantee if some of the previous candidates who ran for office committed these violations we would not hear the end of it. The city should also be accountable to uphold their own rules! Email the city council and ask them to uphold to the city rules now and in the future.
Are you ready for another adventure, well let’s visit Fort Collins, Colorado. Every few years the Frisco Chamber hosts a “Leadership Event” and according to the website it’s an opportunity to build new – and strengthen existing – connections among the Frisco business and community leaders that you otherwise may not have the opportunity or time to engage with. In English they mean it is a chance for the “commoners” to spend three glorious days collaborating and partnership building with the “important people.”
The event was held September 12 to 15, 2023 in Fort Collins, Colorado. According to the Chambers website the destination “offers a blend of outdoor adventure, cultural attractions, and a thriving business community. In September, when we will be visiting, the city is particularly beautiful with its golden aspens and crisp autumn air. The downtown area is full of art galleries, independent shops, and restaurants. The city is also known for its commitment to sustainability and its collaborative spirit.”
What is the goal of these fun trips on taxpayer dollars?To help shape the “Future of Frisco.” You can be an INVESTOR at different levels. The “Innovator Investor” costs $4000 and the description reads, “Lead community enrichment as the Innovator Investor. Your investment drives program growth, offers brand exposure, and shapes our community’s future. Benefit from positive community association, visibility, and impactful connections. The “Visionary Investor” is $3000, and the description reads, “Propel community progress as a Visionary Investor. Your investment aids program growth, aligns your brand with community investment, and supports valuable experiences for community development. Enhance your brand’s image while contributing to community success. Blah, Blah, Blah…
Lastly you can just be an “Attendee” which is $3250, and it includes airfare, hotel, transportation, and most meals. A few city insiders told us in the past maybe one to 3 people from the city attended these trips. However, in recent years Mayor Cheney turned it into the “Popular Club” trip on taxpayer dollars and felt that everyone in the city should go. We were curious of course over the last few years, who went?
In 2019, Council Member Will Sowell and John Lettellier, Director of Development Services were the only 2 from the city to attend the trip. Then in 2022, that number jumped to six which included four council members and two city officials. Last year in 2023, it jumped to 12 people which included five city council members and eight city officials. It is important to note that 1 to 2 months after the 2023 trip one attendee Paul Knipple, City of Frisco – Director of Engineering, left the city and took a position at the City of Westminster, Colorado. Do the math: 12 people x $3250 = $39,000 of taxpayer dollars.
Next we have Visit Frisco, the official destination marketing organization for the City of Frisco. According to the website it is their mission to generate a positive awareness of Frisco as a premier destination for meetings, sporting events, conventions, trade shows, leisure travel, and to positively impact the economic base of the City of Frisco. In 2019, zero reps from Visit Frisco attended the Leadership Trip. In 2022, one Visit Frisco rep attended the trip. Last year in 2023, Marla Roe the Executive Director attended the trip which cost taxpayers $3250.
What about the Frisco Economic Development Corporation? Well in 2019, two EDC reps attended and in 2022, one EDC rep attended the trip. Last year in 2023, two Frisco EDC reps attended the trip which is $6500 in taxpayer dollars.
Then we have the Frisco Independent School District, wait what? In 2019, two trustees attended, and zero attend in 2022. Last year in 2023, three Board of Trustee representatives attended which include Dynette Davis – Board President, Gopal Ponangi – Vice President, and Rene Archambault – Board Secretary. First, why did any member from the ISD Board of Trustee’s need to attend these trips? Secondly, when did Financial Hot Mess Express better known as Dynette Davis become the President? That means 3 x $3250 = $9750 of taxpayer dollars – but whose counting…oh wait we are!
Now it is a Chamber Leadership event, so we would expect several representatives of the Chamber to attend. In 2019 and 2022, the same four chamber representatives went. Last year, five chamber representatives went. Two representatives from the Frisco Economic Development Corporation include Stephanie Wagoner – Director of Business Retention & Expansion, Gloria Salinas – Vice President also attended. That means 7 x $3250 = $22,750 dollars.
Then we had a few people attend that held a place on local boards or committees. For example, Donna Schmittler of the Heritage Association and Danny Mehta with the Downtown Advisory Board. We also know Jake Petras attended who at the time was on the Planning & Zoning Board, but according to the registration it shows him under a business name. We don’t know if the city paid for Schmittler or Petras, but we did receive a registration confirmation for Danny Mehta. Add another $3250 dollars
It really was a “Who’s Who of Frisco” aka “Developer Friends” of the mayor and council that attended from the business community. A few stood out on the list like Lori Medina, owner of MedinaUSA, also the Mayors Chief of Staff for several years, and his campaign manager. She is also currently helping Angelia Pelahm in her re-election bid this year. The other person to stand out is Jake Petras who went under his real estate business name but was a current member of the Planning and Zoning Board. Correction, shortly after the trip was over he was quietly removed from the P&Z board for an ”incident” that happened in Fort Collins. You probably recognize other big names like Hillwood, PGA, Hall Group, Wilks Development FireFly Park, Rollertown Beerworks, Tumbleweed TexStyles and Dallas Cowboys.
It makes sense of course because obviously there was a heavy focus on the downtown area of Fort Collins as the City of Frisco is in the middle of a multi-pronged project to redesign and improve the infrastructure of Frisco’s downtown. The trip was well documented by another attendee Audrey Henvey for Star Local Media and Frisco Enterprise. “On Sept. 13, Frisco’s city leaders, city staff, school district representatives and business community members soaked up the kaleidoscope of components that make up downtown Fort Collins, Colorado. They took in the color explosion of flower beds nestled throughout the area — a product of the city’s downtown flower project. They took note of the outdoor painted piano, the murals on transformer cabinets and the activated alleyways featuring strung lights.“ Cheney is quoted in the article as saying, ““So we need to make some very strategic decisions, truly, over the next couple of months, adding that work will also continue with Velocity Group, a consultant hired by the city to help forge a vision for the Rail District.” Wonder how much that is costing taxpayers? Lastly, Cheney is quoted as saying, “Just seeing the horticulture they do and all the flowers is just so beautiful, and it helps them create that civic pride,”
The only question we have is, why didn’t the council and city officials who have been very vocal to the Frisco Animal Advocate community, that they would only consider a public/private partnership for an animal shelter stop by NOCO Humane? Who are they? Well, they are the PUBLIC/PRIVATE PARTNER TO THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS to provide animal protection and control services. If they were out there on taxpayer dollars they probably should have stopped by NOCO since that has been a hot topic lately. We would love to hear from an animal advocate on how the city has progressed since they took the Animal Shelter off the CITIZENS BOND last year because they wanted to “ look into public/private partnerships” possibilities. Simple answer, they don’t give two shxts about what the very vocal animal advocates have been asking for, it simply does not fit their agenda of FRISCO. Goes to show the “citizens” at the top of the org chart are not as important as Cheney’s idea of downtown and the flowers he wants that create civic pride.
It sounds like an amazing VACATION taking in all the sights, just look at the trip agenda. Did we mention it cost TAXPAYERS OVER $65,000 and that is for one trip, and it could be more if they paid for others to go. If the goal was how to help “Shape Frisco” did we really need that many people to go look at streets, painted pianos, murals, flower projects, alleyway strung lights? Could 2 or 3 people go and bring back video and pictures to share at a work session?
Before our leaders can shape Frisco they need to figure out what Frisco is famous for. For example, Fort Collins is referred to as the Craft Beer Capital of Colorado as it has 21 breweries, and it is near one of the most beautiful reservoirs in Colorado. Colorado is naturally an outdoor enthusiast dream, from food exchange outposts, gardens and parks. That makes sense as it generally does not go over 90 in the summer. What is Frisco? What are we already known for that we can build our downtown around? Build, create and design Frisco around the history of our city instead of trying to create a history. Instead, we are creating “Cheney’s Frisco” and believe me, he could care less with what residents want as he has already proven that over and over again.
On October 30, 2023, we published our blog Another One Bites The Dust which was about Fire Chief Lee Glover killing the Squad Unit and Blood Program. Generally, Squad which is a 2-person group, responds to all high acuity EMS calls and critical care calls, as well as all structure fires in a city. It is like no other unit in the department and when in trouble if you have a need for the most advanced or technical medical procedures in the field, they are the team you want at your front door. It must have ruffled a few feathers at city hall because Bobblehead Bill was quick to act as the mouthpiece for the city and troll social media to tell us we were wrong.
We took his statements and submitted a PIR the next day for the proof to back up his comments which he spewed all over the North Texas Politics Facebook page. On November 15th we received a letter back from the city with a PIR Invoice for $90 dollars. It is the breakdown that we found interesting of those charges:
Labor: Identify Search Terms / Set Up Search / Download / Export Emails: $3.75
Labor: Compile / Review /Conversion / and Redactions of Emails: $41.25
Labor: Fire / HR Department Records Collections: $30.00
20% Overhead: $15.00 for a GRAND TOTAL OF $90.00
We paid and then waited for our files. Now in a new year, still waiting, we emailed the city on January 12024, asking when we should expect our files. The next day we got an email back from the city that read, “The City of Frisco has reviewed its files and has located documents responsive to your request. HOWEVER, DUE TO CONFIDENTIALITY, the City has chosen to seek a ruling from the Office of the Attorney General regarding the release of a portion of the responsive documents. The remaining responsive documents are available. They also mentioned some figures we asked for were released in a different PIR that we chose not to pay another $100 dollars for.
What did $90 buy us? There was a PDF which contained 15 or so emails, two additional outlook message attachments, copy of the blood contract, two excel spreadsheets that contained the hiring/history breakdown and the call count. That’s it … because the rest (which we don’t know what that is) has been sent to the AG.
Question 1: Did the city charge us for a copy of the blood contract that Bobblehead Bill offered to send out to anyone who emailed him for free without a PIR? Question 2: WHAT IN THE HELL COST $90.00? We have paid $30 for way more information than this in the past.
Woodard’s Statement: The blood transfusion program isn’t going away; in fact it’s expanding. We use data to analyze the best use of resources. Right now, Squad sits almost all the time.
Fact or Fiction: We asked for the study or data they used to make their decision and the response we received was, “There are no records responsive to a “Study.” Then they said it was the number break-down for blood products administered and the number of squad responses that the department reviews for decision-making.
The breakdown for the “Blood Administration” since 2018 is as follows: 1 in 2018, 5 in 2019, 12 in 2020, 5 in 2021, 10 in 2022 and 13 in 2023 (through 11/1/23). Initially looking at the blood administration program the numbers are going up each year. While it is not tons of patients it is showing a trend that is going up, not down.
As for the Squad response breakdown the numbers provided to us by the city are 1502 in 2021, then 1103 in 2022, and 538 in 2023 through 11/1/23. Initially looking at the numbers it would appear Squad calls are going down just like Woodard stated, but we were curious what happened that resulted in 565 fewer calls on one of the busiest apparatuses in a growing city.
We of course went digging for the answer and we learned there are several call types for example, unresponsive, unconscious patient, medical emergency 1 and 2 calls. The call type determines which apparatus responds. Several whistleblowers sent us information on an email by Fire Chief, Lee Glover’s where he gives direction shortly after being named Fire Chief to start taking Squad off certain types of calls to reduce the numbers which makes them look EXPENDABLE. If you look at the call history SQUAD was removed from all ME 1 and ME 2 calls in district 4 and then they were removed from all unconscious and unresponsive calls for the entire city. WELL, WELL, WELL now that explains how calls for SQUAD dropped over 565 calls in less than a year. Maybe that is what Glover’s email meant when he said “Make It Look Pretty”
Woodards Statement: In 2024 we expect to add this program to every ambulance we have, further expanding the program.
Fact or Fiction: We asked about the costs and how they planned to fund the personnel training and the cost for every ambulance to be outfitted to carry the blood products. The response from the city was, “Paramedics will be trained in blood administration in an on-duty rotation at no added cost to the city and that blood will be carried on two vehicles with trained personnel every day.” We were not provided with any details on the cost to retrofit any apparatuses to carry blood.
Woodards Statement: We have been working with our medical director (as well as any other required parties) to ensure the program is run appropriately and has all the proper staffing. He also posted a picture of section 2.2 of a blood contract acting as if that was the guarantee they had.
Fact or Fiction: We asked for any communications between the city, blood bank, and medical director discussing the EXPANSION of the blood program. We were provided no communications between the city and their Medical Director where they discuss expanding the program and discussions to ensure the “program runs appropriately” as Bobblehead Bill stated.
We also asked for a copy of the approval letter from the blood bank and/or hospital where they guarantee to give more blood to more vehicles. The city provided us a signed 2018 Blood Contract and the signed 2023 Amendment. The 2018 Contact clearly states in the “SCOPE OF THE AGREEMENT” the city is to store a certain amount of blood and plasma in AN AMBULANCE UNIT in a continuously monitored refrigerator. In the section he posted “SUPPLY OF BLOOD PRODUCTS” it states it will provide what the city needs, however due to the unpredictable nature of the demands for blood products, the hospital can NOT GUARANTEE the city availability for ALL OR ANY PORTION of the blood products to be supplied. Hey Bill, it says an ambo unit meaning singular (aka 1) and did you read “No Guarantee.”
As for the 2023 Amendment, it is simply an updated FEE SCHEDULE meaning the cost the city has to pay for the blood and plasma product. Then it states the remaining terms and conditions of the contract from 2018 will continue in full force and effect, unchanged. Well, Well, Well Bobblehead Bill… there is NO GUARANTEE THEY WILL SUPPLY BLOOD FOR EVERY AMBO. Did we read that right? Prices for blood and plasma have gone up considerably and now we are talking about carrying it on every ambo instead of 1 or 2 specialized Squad Teams. In a nutshell it means more taxpayer money, more taxpayer money, and more taxpayer money. Besides the cost increasing for carrying the product that has a shelf life which means it has to be switched out, we also now have to retrofit ambos/vehicles and train more personnel. It sounds like we are wasting money when what we have currently is working.
In closing, it looks like Bobblehead Bill needs to do more research! There is no guarantee in writing that the hospital will agree to expansion or that they will guarantee you any product. Why would we retrofit any apparatus or vehicle on a “WHAT IF THEY GIVE US BLOOD MENTALITY.” The DRASTIC DROP in the Squad response numbers can be related to Glover removing them from certain calls. Why would he do that? According to insiders he has hated this program since its inception back in 2018. The city wants to sell you on that this is a good decision, however if you ask a firefighter, what might they say? Let’s just say it is your life on the line, are you willing to give up a dedicated team to critical care that literally could mean life or death?
The holidays are over and 2024 is here and we have continued our deep dive into the misdealings of the City of Frisco. We keep finding these little or maybe not so little nuggets of information that are cause for question and concern. Perhaps this will tie you over as we continue to investigate and verify our new leads.
In 2023 we saw several posts about the Frisco Firefighters Association regarding staffing, Assistant Chief Kraemer being fired after 27 years with the city, and the filing for Collective Bargaining and Civil Service. To say our interest was piqued is an understatement, we knew we had to investigate.
We decided to go back and read some of those old posts by the city and the FFA but we were surprised to see…many of them disappeared. We don’t know if anyone else noticed, but the Frisco Communications Dept. took down the city’s posts and propaganda videos that were paid for by taxpayers’ dollars, and the council’s open letter to residents damning the Frisco Fire Association for daring to gather signatures to place Civil Service and Collective Bargaining on the May ballot. They even deleted citizens’ comments in the posts from the late summer and fall.
Now, the naysayers will say the city didn’t delete anything, but they did. The proof is in the city’s posts where the links no longer work. For example, John Keating posted, “This isn’t a political battle or one for financial gain. It’s a powerplay by those who serve themselves, and do not have the best interests of Frisco at heart. They have misrepresented our city staff and leadership and our beloved Frisco Fire Department!” Then you have George Purefoy’s statement with a link that reads “unavailable.” Even Bobblehead Bill Woodard had to get in his two cents.
According to insiders the FFA never wanted to go in this direction, but they feel the city management and the city council didn’t follow through on the promises they made to silence them. In the past, the FFA threatened similar action when they felt that their concerns for safety were being ignored. Fast forward to today, what has changed since then? Insiders tell us they don’t trust Fire Department leadership, the city, or the council. On top of breaking promises, ignoring the results of climate studies done over the years, many feel the city used the FFA to oust the Fire Chief and an Assistant Chief who were threatening to file complaints on the city. The cherry on top is when the city ignored the Mayor’s Study asking the FFA if they would like Interim Chief Glover as their permanent chief. Despite the over 200 firefighters that said NO, they still hired him. This is the same chief that the city sent down to Austin to speak AGAINST Texas House Bill 471, protecting our first responders.
Now we know, you are wondering, why are we going over this again? Well, we learned the city HAD TO TAKE DOWN the propaganda they posted because it was a No-No (illegal) so they scrubbed their social media. What would they do? How would they fight against civil service and collective bargaining?
Well, we found a new nugget which is quite disheartening. On November 8th, papers were filed for what they call a Specific-Purpose Committee or PAC—Political Action Committee. It appears the city recruited former Mayor Mike Simpson (who endorsed Mayor Cheney) to appoint Richard Peasley as treasurer of a PAC called Safety First Frisco. The description reads, “Citizens opposing Civil Service and Collective Bargaining in Frisco, TX.”
This smells like shit and is clearly a move by the City of Frisco to get a highly respected Frisco resident to spin their story. I’ve met Mayor Simpson a couple of times. He wouldn’t remember me and my wife, but I certainly admired his leadership back then. I can’t help but think he might change his tune if he really knew the whole story. Can someone send him a link to our page?
Before deciding either way at the ballot box, talk to the Frisco Fire Association. I am generally not for unions and civil service, but learning most of the cities around us are Civil Service and that collective bargaining is the only thing that will protect them from a corrupt city making decisions that can literally kill them. My wife and I will be voting YES for them. Either way you can bet we will be following the campaign contributions for this NEW PAC! I have a feeling that is going to offer up a lot more nuggets.
According to Star Local Media, here are what those terms mean, according to state law:
Civil service: A system with a three-citizen commission to assess the hiring, firing and promotion of firefighters. Under Frisco’s current system, city officials have that power.
“What civil service does is eliminate favoritism,” FFFA Secretary Treasurer Dustin Allen said.
Collective bargaining: A system allowing both the fire department and the police department to become their own bargaining agents when it comes to agreements on wages, staff numbers and recruitment.
“That allows the [departments’] association to, as a collective, sit down and meet and discuss working conditions with the city or city management,” Allen said.
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…