Have you ever wondered what the relationship is between The City of Frisco and the Frisco Chamber of Commerce. Despite the cozy public image, they often present together at ribbon cuttings and business luncheons, they are legally and structurally separate entities. The Chamber is its own entity and has a foundation which is a private, nonprofit organization. What does all that mean? Simply put, they are not a department or arm of the city government.
The Chamber has a board of directors and its own funding, which is primarily from membership dues and sponsorships. While the Chamber claims to be independent they often collaborate on economic development, public policy and community events. City officials and Chamber leadership often sit on the same committees and advisory boards.
Every election cycle, the Frisco Chamber Government Affairs division takes a strong and proactive stance on governmental issues. Locally they focus on business-friendly initiatives and educating and informing local voters. Per there website, “The Frisco Chamber does not endorse candidates but plays a strong role in encouraging voters to know the candidates and issues and make informed decisions. The Frisco Chamber does this through candidate forums and communication efforts.”
We would argue that they do “endorse” without “endorsing” candidates. We would also argue they do limit what they want to inform voters about. When it comes to candidates they are not as “fair-and-balanced” as they claim to be. Want the proof?
Compare those three situations and tell me what is the difference between them?
At the Chamber Forum in 2023, where Mark Piland ran against Mayor Jeff Cheney, the Chamber team specifically asked Mark Piland about a false story that was planted in the DMN by the city to destroy his character just before early voting again. They went as far as asking Piland about a direct quote in the article. The point of this question was to push votes towards Mayor, Jeff Cheney!
In 2024, we wrote about the Frisco Chambers “Election Fix” in our blog. There were two propositions on the ballet for Civil Service and Collective Bargaining. They never wanted to go this route, but they felt the city had given them no choice after years of denying staffing issues that put their lives at risk each time they report to a fire. The Frisco Chamber invited Safety First Frisco PAC run by Councilman Bill Woodard to the Forum and gave him 10 minutes to speak about why citizens should Vote Against the Propositions. What about the Firefighters, were they given the same time? No, they Frisco Chamber did not invite them. The night of the event two of the Frisco Firefighters Association board sat in front row and the Chamber could have seen the oversight or mistakes they made and allowed them to speak the same courtesy, BUT THEY DIDN’T!
The Frisco Chamber also sent out two email blasts, one in March, and one April before the election to local business and members advocating on the issue to Vote No! Local resident, James Nunn took to Facebook and wrote, “The Frisco Chamber of Commerce just sent an e-blast to their membership advocating a “no” vote on a local issue relating to the workforce of the City of Frisco. This is another example of the Chamber pandering to elected (and formerly elected) officials in Frisco. This action alienates part of the membership and effectively removes the Chamber as an independent voice on local issues.”
Fast forward to 2025, Tammy “Toxic Tapes” Meinershagen, whose story was posted on Frisco Chronicles You Tube Page and then was picked up by the DMN, CBS11, WFAA, Fox4, and NBCDFW. Everyone should have been on pins and needles waiting for the Chamber team to ask the big question, that never was! In fact, not ONE question related to her “direct quotes or comments” on the tapes released were brought into question. They completely avoided asking her about the tapes, her divisive and hateful statements; instead, they focused on the increasingly divisive political climate created by individuals referring to supporters of other candidates.
Remember earlier, we asked you to compare these 3 situations and tell us the difference between them. What is it? The difference is the RULES!
They don’t play by their own rules on the Chamber website which is to “INFORM & EDUCATE” local voters on the issues. WHY? Why would they do that? The answer is $414,306.80! That is how much the Chamber has received from the City of Frisco for items such as seminars/schools/training, dues and subscriptions, travel/meal/lodging, food and provisions, and lastly promotional marketing from 2020 to present. They got over $95k of that in November of 2024! The Chamber “CAN’T BITE THE HANDS THAT FEED THEM!”
Want to know the biased board members and employees: click here!
The Frisco Chamber of Commerce is 1000% a biased organization to protect the city, and what the city wants! For them to claim anything other than that is an absolute fallacy of epic proportions. Now it is time for some fireworks, stay tuned!
In April of 2021 you would have thought an El Paso dust storm full of tumbleweeds came through Frisco and upset the equilibrium of our city. As we discussed in our earlier blogs Where There Is Smoke PT 1 and There is Fire PT 2, there has been a long standing point of contention between the Frisco Firefighters Association and the city in regards to workers compensation.
In 2021 the city opposed House Bill 2242 brought forward by Jared Patterson, Texas State House Rep for Frisco. In 2023 the FFA and Patterson brought HB 471, and they have been working extremely hard to get it or similar legislation passed in Austin that would protect first responders across Texas. The fight for more protection by the FFA and Jared Paterson has continued into our 2025 Texas Legislative Session.
Even though we knew about the El Paso dust storm, my wife and I were still shocked on May 16, 2023, after tuning into the city council meeting online, like we have done every other Tuesday for years. Mayor Cheney presented a proclamation to Denton County MGMR, for all the work they do each day relating to mental health. Mental Health Awareness Month aims to increase awareness about the vital role mental health plays in our overall health and well-being and provide resources and information to support individuals and communities in need of mental health support.
At that same meeting, during Citizen Input (23:00 minute mark), Frisco Firefighters Association President, Matt Sapp, along with Retired Frisco Fire Chief Mark Piland, and Assistant Fire Chief Cameron Kraemer to address the termination of Kraemer, a 27-year Veteran of the Frisco Fire Department.
What? After 27-years serving our city and its residents without hesitation, Kraemer was terminated BY EMAIL while on medical leave and under medical supervision for PTSD which we go into more detail about in our blog Backdraft which we really encourage you to read.
By the end of the meeting, I wanted to scream like Alanis Morrissette…
Isn’t it ironic? Don’t you think? A little too ironic
Where are we two years later? It is Mental Health Awareness Month again, and the second anniversary of Kraemer’s termination BY EMAIL while on medical leave. The fight is not over, not even close! It’s time to peel back the curtain on a firehouse-sized problem simmering here in Frisco? Buckle up, this one’s got smoke, politics, and no small dose of Texas-sized irony.
Smoke, Stigma & Silenced: Mark Piland
Since then, Retired Fire Chief Mark Piland has had his name wrongfully smeared and his 40-year stellar career in public service wrongfully attacked by City of Frisco leaders for speaking out on behalf of Kraemer and the Frisco Firefighters Association when he attempted to run for Frisco City Council.
The Legislative Lifeline
When your city will not support you, what do you do? The Frisco Firefighters Association has continued the fight and has been in Austin off and on the last several weeks with local State Rep Jared Patterson to fight for more protection for public safety employees in the State of Texas. Just today, HB331 officially headed to the Governor’s desk to be signed into law! The bill marks the final piece of legislation language from last session’s HB471 that our Frisco Firefighters have been advocating for the past three legislative sessions.
A Firefighters Fight: Cameron Kraemer
And Cameron Kraemer, where is he? Kraemer, while still under medical supervision, started the fight of his life against our very own City of Frisco. After a hearing on September 21, 2023, before the Texas Department of Insurance, the DMN reports that the administrative law judge hearing the case ORDERED THE CITY OF FRISCO, which is self-insured, to pay Kraemer benefits and any accrued but unpaid income benefits in a lump sum with interest as provided by law. According to John Riddle, president of the Texas State Association of Fire Fighters, Kraemer’s case is being watched throughout Texas, and it is important to the state’s 18,000 firefighters in 195 communities. Riddle said in the DMN, “For now, Frisco is among the most aggressive cities in fighting its injured employees at City Hall and the Legislature — and because of that, employees like Cameron Kraemer pay a high price.”
The battle continued as Kraemer took his case before the DOJ for them to determine if he was able to sue the city for wrongful termination which we wrote about in our blog Big Time Casino Payout. The DOJ ruled Kraemer could move forward with a lawsuit so in August 2024 Cameron Kraemer filed a lawsuit for wrongful termination against the City of Frisco in Collin County. Based on the research we have done, Kraemer is going to win, and we think he will win big! You can learn more in our December 2024 blog Kraemer vs City of Frisco that we wrote which lays out the details.
Final Thoughts from the Hillside Winery Whistleblower
Ask yourself why. Why is the city spending hundreds of thousands on a private law firm to fight so hard and drag this out for so long, when clearly, they are in the wrong? Why is the city spending tax dollars fighting our public safety employees instead of protecting them and just doing the right thing? What will this cost us, the taxpayers, when he wins? Our guess…. MILLIONS! But that is not all. We are hearing rumors of other lawsuits that have been or will be filed by former employees of the FD against the City of Frisco. We are digging into that now!
They had all the time in the world to prance around asking us to vote to change the use of EDC funds for a Frisco Center For The Arts but they cannot simply make things right with the firefighters. Instead, we have Councilwoman Meinershagen calling them 300lb bullies and complaining that they are fighting for protections that directly affect their life. We have Bicycle Bill Woodard, who wants you to believe the firefighters are lazy (his words during the May 2024 election), and they want to bankrupt the city. You can’t get a paycheck from a bankrupt city, so why would they want to do that? Cheney and Keating want you to believe that our RETIRED Fire Chief was fired after a stellar career with the city and 10 years of perfect performance reviews. Not to mention, in our PIR requests and federal FOIA’s, we found his entire 40-year career was stellar with not one deficient performance review. Lastly, no one is paying attention to the fact that in the last 6 to 8 months, several (rumor is 6 to 8) of our firefighters are saying Hasta La Vista Baby either via retirement or quitting their job. They are going to work for other organizations and cities where they are valued.
Just hope and pray your house does not catch fire because we were already short staffed and now it is getting worse! The city loyalists just turn a blind eye as always, and function as if nothing if wrong. They want you to believe we have nothing to be worried about, but as a taxpayer you can bet, I am worried! Big Time Payouts, the loss of experienced firefighters from our roster puts citizens and businesses in jeopardy.
Back in the day, Frisco was known as a dormant suburb, north of Dallas, but today Frisco is a community undergoing vast changes and becoming its very own urban Metroplex. Gone are the rural days when everyone knew their neighbors, and a trip to Stonebriar Mall was the excitement for the week. Today, we are at a crossroads of transformation, and the experience of change has been both loved and hated along the way.
The reason my wife and I moved here was because we loved the sense of community, the schools, and the feeling of being safe. The truth is all of that has changed with the massive development that has taken place in the last 10+ years. Yes, we knew Frisco would develop and we looked forward to that at one time. However, that is when you had a city council who engaged and listened to the residents and decisions were made based on what was best for the community.
Frisco has changed, and to be very honest, it is now filled with dirty politics on all sides. Secret deals are happening, and our city council is misleading us to approve projects that are in their best interest, and they are leading with iron fists. Our priorities have shifted, and our sense of community is disappearing every day. Today is election day, and each of us has a chance to vote for change.
We debated on releasing the tape of Tammy Meinershagen when we received it. In the end, we felt voters have the right to know who they are electing. Meinershagen’s statements against the South Asian community are offensive. Calling both South Asian candidates idiots and other names is disgusting and shows a lack of leadership and integrity. She then goes on to talk about how she is not afraid of bullies, even if they are 300lb firefighters or a black woman. Since when are those who protect and serve bullies? Her reference to a black woman being a bully because they disagree on how to do things would be the same as calling her an angry black woman, which I am pretty sure the black community would find an offensive stereotype. Then she references that the Frisco population is only 1% Asian, so she has no base here, and with a laugh, says that means she is white. Frisco’s lack of an Asian population does not make you white, Ms. Meinershagen, but it is clear that you want to be.
Then she goes on about her opponent saying she is “offended and insulted that he would run for city council.” So, she is offended that a citizen who had every right to run, is running? She pointed out at the Chamber Forum and on this tape how her opponent ran for Congress and lost – well Ms. Meinershagen, John Keating ran for higher office as well. In fact, he left his seat early to run and when he lost he came back and took over another seat during a special election so does that make him incompetent to run?
Ms. Meinershagen continues to talk about other local leaders, Scott Johnson, Jared Patterson, and Shona Sowell. Then she talks about residents who are or have taken a chance to run for office, like Mark Piland, Burt Thakur, Jared Elad, and Gopal Ponangi. While many may be upset, we released these tapes. The bigger question is, WHY ARE YOU NOT UPSET ABOUT WHAT TAMMY MEINERSHAGEN SAID?
Today Jamie Heit posted on her FRWC page that we have some shady behavior by certain candidates this cycle including that of a current candidate running for office. Heit ignores all the shady behavior her best friends have done in the past and finds excuses for that but now she sits upon a hill of moral authority accusing this candidate of secretly recording a conversation, questioning her morals and integrity.
Here is the problem with Heit’s statement: how does she know it was secretly recorded? Who told her that? Who told her that the conversation was with this candidate? There are only 3 ways you would have known the who, when, where and if it was secretly recorded:
1) Ms. Heit you were there, and you participated in the conversation and if that is the case why were you not disgusted then with the comments by Meinershagen? We know you were not there so we know this option is not possible.
2) Tammy Meinershagen would have had to tell you who this conversation was with and that she was unaware of it being recorded. If that happened, it means TAMMY IS ADMITTING TO THE CONVERSATION AND WHAT SHE SAID IN IT?
3) The candidate whom you have accused of doing this would have had to tell you they did it. We are pretty sure that did not happen. It would make no sense to be a whistleblower and then yell from a rooftop “It’s me!”
Our guess: Ms. Heit, you know about the conversation because Tammy told you, which means she is admitting to her statements. Secretly recorded or not, nothing illegal was done as Texas is a 1-party state. That means Tammy is admitting to her offensive and objectionable conversation. Someone like that should not be a leader in our city, as her statements clearly show she Tammy has no integrity or ethical morality laying out everyone’s personal business to someone.
Then you have Jake Petrus, otherwise known as the “Town Bully” for the cabal. He posted that this was a private conversation, secretly recorded at xxxx home. The only way Jake would know who the other person was or where it was recorded is if TAMMY TOLD HIM! If he is right, that means he talked to Tammy or someone who had talked to Tammy, to know how and when. THAT PROVES THE CONVERSATION IS LEGIT AND THAT TAMMY IS CONFIRMING HER ROLE AND STATEMENTS.
Either way it doesn’t matter if Tammy knew or didn’t know – what matters is Ms. Heit and Jake Petras would not know “the how, when and with who” without Tammy confirming it. That means she knowingly said nasty, hurtful, demeaning, racist things and spread the personal business of those who had trusted her to others in the community like a game of show and tell. Personally, if I were Johnson, Keating or Pelham, I would be glad to know about this. Clearly it shows they cannot trust Tammy, who they thought was a confidant/or a friend.
I don’t think those who considered her a friend would have ever guessed she is spilling the secrets of their lives and private conversations too others. While we are not the greatest fans of Angelia Pelham and John Keating the fact is they have the right to know their fellow city councilwoman was talking trash about them to others in our community. Simply put, this was probably not the first time Tammy allowed her loose lips to talk trash – it was just the first time she got caught.
If Heit or anyone, for that matter, wants to claim that someone who recorded this is not fit to be a leader, then we want to know why Tammy’s statements and behavior which clearly show a lack of integrity, knowledge or ethical morality is not being called out to be a leader in Frisco? She should resign!
In closing, Tammy kept referring to Frisco as “my city, my city, my voters, my budget, …” – this is not her city, it is our city! She seems to have forgotten that on her quest for Broadway or to be on Broadway. We also want to be clear that we will always protect our sources at Frisco Chronicles. We do want to make it very clear; WE DID NOT RECEIVE Pelham’s text or the Meinershagen conversation directly from the candidate Heit and Petras are currently calling out. We received the text from Source A and the recording from Source B, and neither of them was the candidate Heit and Petras are attacking online.
As for Broadway Frisco – Prop A & B we would ask you to consider this before voting:
Today, we hear “Tourism, Tourism, Tourism,” and most recently, how we need to be more like Nashville. The thing is, Nashville has a deep history back in the 1920s. They had a thriving publishing industry, then came the advent of the Grand Ole Opry in 1925. When WSM began broadcasting live performances from the Grand Ole Opry, it positioned them to become “Music City USA.” By 1945, it was one of the most popular radio programs in America and established Nashville as a hub for country music. They made urban renewal a priority and renovated several landmarks, including the Music Hall of Fame and The Sommet Center. Broadway (similar to 5th Street in Austin) became known for bars and a honky tonk music scene. It was the cornerstone for emerging young artists and a short distance trolley ride from the iconic Music Row. Major record labels headquartered themselves in Nashville, and it became a gathering place for the arts, entertainment and music. They did not simply build a 340-million-dollar Broadway, and become Nashville overnight!
What is the problem with Frisco being more like Nashville? We never implemented our identity as we began to grow and develop into a Nashville. Purefoy took us down the road to being Sports City USA! It worked! Now the city council says we must be more like Nashville to compete, or else! With every development, we have heard Mayor Cheney say this would have a HALO Effect on our city, making us the greatest city in America. Now, all of a sudden, if we don’t spend $160 million or $340 million to get FRISCO BROADWAY, we will lose the economic boom to Nashville? The AMC Awards are happening here, not in Nashville, why? It is being held at a great venue. We didn’t have Frisco Broadway to win over the AMC Awards. We are not Nashville! We will never be Nashville! We are Frisco, Texas!
Please vote no to the propositions in order to protect our community and the residents who live here.
Tammy says, “I don’t like bullies! I don’t care if they are 300lb firefighters or black woman!”
Tammy on Scott Johnson: “He is the weakest leader I have ever seen.”
Tammy continues, and it sounds like she is gloating when she talks about his divorce and his wife potentially spilling the tea if he runs for Mayor.
Tammy on Angelia Pelham: “She also voted Republican for the first time. Why would she do that? She is a staunch democrat.”
Tammy continues to talk about Angelia’s poor leadership, how she doesn’t care if she ever talks to Angelia at an event, how she doesn’t have a lot of respect for Marcia (John Keating’s girl), and how Angelia has not done anything for our city.”
Tammy on Shona Sowell: “She was a nice person at the beginning, I heard, but at the end of the six years, she was a monster.”
Tammy, the reason you gave in this conversation is not the same reason you have previously stated as to why you ran against Shona Sowell. Which one is the truth?
Tammy on John Keating: “He should not get married until after he loses the Mayoral race to see if Marcia sticks around.”
Tammy continues to talk about John, his ex-wife Leslie, his kids, and we are curious why you would ever have a conversation with someone and discuss someone else’s personal life. You are okay spilling others’ secrets and talking about their lives, so let’s see how you like now that it is happening to you.
Gossip is human nature. At some point, we all talk about others or are talked about. Not all gossip is evil. Some of them are mindless chit-chat. But it can hurt someone else and also backfire. Those who are busy discussing your life are probably not happy about theirs. Tammy needs to take a good look in the mirror and re-evaluate her choices. She doesn’t want folks talking about her husband’s Ketchup Caddy, yet she thinks it’s okay to expose anyone and everyone’s secrets.
The ticking of time is the invisible heartbeat of our lives and affects every moment of our consciousness. Time and self are in perpetual handshake – for example, a human trapped in a completely dark cave would still be governed by the circadian rhythms of their internal clocks. There are many careers in which “time” is a critical component. Metrologists have technology that is incredibly accurate to measure the passing of minutes, seconds. Surgeons in an operating room live on a time clock and those who take too long could kill someone. Professional surf boarders must be able to catch the perfect wave and football players have to make the play in a certain space of time or face penalties. Various factors are crucial to our construction of the perception of time such as memory, concentration, emotion and the sense we have time is somehow located in space.
When it comes to the job of a firefighter, time plays a critical component. Imagine your house catching fire, flames coming out of the windows and roof line while you hear loud pop and bang sounds from things exploding inside. As you watch the firefighters attack the house fire, you become almost paralyzed, and time comes to a standstill. As you stand there seeing the chaos around you, it begins to feel like an eternity of time. For the firefighter the stress put on their body fighting your house fire can prompt their brain to speed up its internal processing which helps them face life or death situations.
When the process began to search for a new chief, the firefighters quickly realized the city had an agenda and that former Assistant Fire Chief Lee Glover from the “Un-Happy Days” was about to be their new commanding officer and Chief. The Frisco Firefighters Association did a survey and provided it to the City Manager and Council. In Survey Says we told you about that survey and its results. Question 1: Do you want Interim Fire Chief Glover to be the next Fire Chief of the Frisco Fire Department? Survey says … 92.5% said NO. City Manager Wes Pierson and his office, along with City Council, were given the results and they chose to disregard the voice of some 200+ firefighters and make Lee Glover the new Fire Chief.
When we were reading through the “In-Service Meeting” notes it was noted that firefighters believe it is their Chiefs job to fight for them and defend them but instead they feel Glover ignoring the staffing issues and only doing what is being asked of him by City Manager Wes Pierson. They don’t believe their current leader and Chief supports them in any way and the result is they have no voice with city management and city officials. One comment noted, “we are not being heard and it will take one of them dying before Glover or the city take notice of staffing issues.”
Who is responsible for hiring and firing in the city? Mayor Jeff Cheney addressed this issue in the 2023 Mayoral Campaign at the Star Patriots Candidate Forum. The Council hires the City Manager, and it is the city managers responsibility to manage and hire and fire department heads. If something goes wrong, you can bet Cheney will excuse himself from responsibility and put it all on Wes Pierson.
Another comment from the most recent notes reads, “we work under the fear of retaliation and feel we are disciplined for the simplest mistakes.” We feel like we have heard this before – oh yeah, we have in the 2011 Climate Report when Lee Glover was the Assistant Fire Chief. The 2011 Climate report reads “firefighters talk about getting in trouble for small things and being required to write memos on things they done (and re-writing them over and over until the Senior Officer is happy with it).” It goes on to read “they are being threatened with their job, being moved to the day shift, being belittled, yelled and treated like children.” Proof is in the pudding!
The “In-Service Meeting” notes also address promotions and annual evaluations. Officers feel they meet their rankings, do their job, and then they are told they must do more than that to get to move up. Now the promotional process is based on a “taskbook” which is a checklist that shows what a firefighter or officer understands and has been cleared in, to show they are proficient in the job they will be stepping into. It was recommended by one of the committees to implement the taskbook in 2025. The 50+ pages of notes said some complete the taskbook, but others can be prevented from completing it by the Battalion Chiefs which prevent them from testing. One comment was the process was very “subjective” and “some are allowed to test, while and others are not allowed to test for promotions.” We know from talking to several inside sources that just recently a handful of firefighters applied for the LT positions, and they were not allowed to test even though they qualified which matches the statements made by the firefighters at the meeting. We also learned that Fire Chief Lee Glover choose to ignore his committees (another complaint in the notes) and implement the taskbook requirement now and that did not give all the candidates time to complete it before the test.
After reading this, we honestly feel like we are on a Merry-Go-Round that is not so …merry. We pulled up the 2011 Climate Report that reads “firefighters’ perceptions of the hiring and promotion process is that it is manipulated by the Chief and Senior Officers.” It goes on to read “firefighters would like to see a hiring and promotion process established, published and followed that does not allow for manipulation of the data of tests and who is selected.” So basically, what is in the 2011 Climate Report matches the feelings of the 2024 In-Service Meeting Notes and the one common denominator is … Fire Chief Lee Glover!
We think that City Manager – Wes Pierson, Mayor Jeff Cheney, and the City Council suffer from Echolaia, which is the repetition or echoing of words that you hear someone else say. If not Echolaia, then they suffer from insanity which is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. If they don’t have either of those two medical conditions, well then, they suffer from just simple stupidity. Voltaire noted that the more often a stupidity is repeated, the more it appears to be wisdom.
In a nutshell the council hopes we are “STUPID” and if they just repeat the same thing over and over, we will begin to believe it. They are like Dorothy in the Wizard of OZ clicking together her ruby red slippers but instead of saying there is no place like home they are saying Chief Glover is the best, Chief Glover is the best! Just look at Mayor Jeff Cheney at the Star Patriot forum in 2023 when he was running for re-election. After seeing the FFA Survey showing a vote of NO CONFIDENCE in the new Fire Chief Lee Glover, he went to a candidate forum and directly lied to our faces talking about how great Glover was and how he was already improving things at the fire department. LET THAT SINK IN FRISCO RESIDENTS: MAYOR CHENEY KNOWINGLY LIED DIRECTLY TO VOTERS and thought he would never get caught.
Remember, the entire goal of the city and its leadership at all levels these past two years has been to blame Piland, blame the power grab on the “small portion of firefighters”, and to blame anyone and everyone but themselves. They have LIED…. and in the most recent election for the propositions the Frisco Fire Association even made a video pointing that out.
The only mistake the City of Frisco and Frisco City Council made was thinking people would not get tired of their BS and start to pay attention. That failure is what allowed the Whistleblowers to rise up!
If you live in Frisco, then you should know the name Cameron Kraemer. Kraemer, the former Assistant Fire Chief, was fired after 27+ years with the city. During his time with the Frisco Fire Department, he served as Deputy Chief, Battalion Chief, Captain, Lieutenant, Firefighter and Paramedic. But last year in 2023 Kraemer’s name was the subject of many headlines. Community Impact’s headline read, “Frisco Assistant Fire Chief Kraemer fired after nearly 30 years” and The Dallas Express headline read, “Local Assistant Fire Chief Kraemer Fired.”
Why would the City of Frisco fire such a long-standing employee? Kraemer’s history with the city goes deep, his dad Tom Kraemer, who recently passed away, worked for the city’s communications department for around 19 years. A Facebook post by the Frisco Fire Fighters Association on May 2, 2023 read, “Regrettably, Assistant Chief Kraemer has been terminated by the City of Frisco after 27 years of service, without being given the opportunity to go through the appeals process and contested case hearings,” the post read in part. The post went on to say that Kraemer went on leave in August 2022 for post-traumatic stress disorder. According to the Frisco Fire Fighters Association, Kraemer filed for workers’ compensation for PTSD in December 2022, citing Section 504.019 of the Texas Labor Code. The department denied Kraemer’s claim. He is appealing the decision. The post closed with the following remark, “It is disheartening to witness the dismissal of a Firefighter with significant tenure in this way, particularly in a city that prides itself on its care and regard for its employees.”
At Frisco Chronicles, we felt something smelled like a freshly cooking, Cowboy Cow Pile Patty, smoldering in our Texas 110-degree summer heat. That is a nice way of saying something smelled like ShXt. We started to dig, and we uncovered some dirty back door dealings about the city which we disclosed in our 12 days of Christmas Articles (check the archives). We were curious what would happen next with Kraemer, and we didn’t have to wait long to find out.
Cameron Kraemer took his workers’ compensation case before the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) claiming he was undergoing treatment for long-term post-traumatic stress when the city terminated him and denied his claims for medical coverage. On September 21, 2023, the case went before the TDI in Dallas and the administrative law judge who heard the case ordered the City of Frisco, which is self-insured, to pay Kraemer benefits and any accrued but unpaid income benefits in a lump sum with interest as provided by law.
On October 12, 2023, the Frisco Firefighters Association released a Press Release that was posted to their Facebook page that reads, “The state ruled that Cameron’s injury was compensable under the workers’ compensation law. We are working with the Texas State Association of Fire Fighters to review Cameron’s options for going forward.” Attached to the post was a Press Release and it quotes Matthew Sapp, President of the Frisco Fire Fighters Association, as saying “Cameron Kraemer was undergoing treatment for LINE-OF-DUTY injuries clearly recognized by the state legislature and medical experts, but the City of Frisco CHOSE TO BREAK THE LAW, deny him insurance coverage and terminate him.” The press release noted: The city WASTED TAXPAYER RESOURCES on this case!
The win was also reported across local news and newspapers. The Dallas Morning News headline reads “Frisco Firefighter fired while on medical leave WINS WORKERS’ COMP CASE.” The article noted Kraemer was still undergoing treatment for long-term post-traumatic stress disorder. Kraemer is quoted as saying, “They took away my job, it took away all my benefits, they took away everything, and they wanted me to retire.” Kraemer refused to retire and went through the appeals process. “I’m still young so I’m penalized for retiring before the age of 50 as a first responder. I’m only 46,” he said. “And the reality is I’ve got three teenagers, and they had to walk through this process with us. And the amount of strain and tension and stress and anxiety that it puts on the house, you can’t even quantify it.”
While many don’t believe that PTSD is a real issue, it is! Ask yourself this, if you saw a 45-foot Frisco Fire Truck back up and pin a fellow firefighter against the wall of a city building, then after you had to clean up the blood and bodily fluids at the scene and notify the fellow firefighter’s family, COULD YOU HANDLE IT? The incident, discussed in the DMN articles is what Cameron Kraemer and our fellow Frisco Firefighters see every day! As a holistic person I can only imagine the impact it has on your mind, body, spirit and soul. Do you think Sassy Lauren Safranek, the City HR Director, or any of our fellow city council members have witnessed anything like this or worse? How about seeing it throughout your 27-year career, are you sure you could handle it?
Truthfully, my wife and I could not imagine seeing the devastation and destruction these men and woman in both our Police and Fire departments see daily. You probably think the city did the right thing but of course they didn’t. Instead, they sent their attack boar Bobblehead Bill Woodard on social media to pass out false information on Kraemer’s case and attack our first responders during the most recent election. Why is a city councilman releasing personal details in an ongoing case on social media? We are glad he did because it made our spidey little senses rise and we started investigating and will write about that in our next article.
Where is Cameron Kraemer now? Well, he is still receiving treatment, and his case had to go before the DOJ to determine if he was able to sue the city for his wrongful termination. Yesterday, we learned from sources inside the city that the DOJ ruled Kramer can sue and we are betting he wins big time! Meanwhile Bobblehead Bill Woodard wants you to believe our firefighters are lazy (his words during the May 2024 election), however it is not in their nature to lay down without a fight. Kraemer is going to use the legal process to take a wrecking ball to the city in court, which he should! Infact, the case was filed on 8/2/2024 in Collin Countys 416th District Court under case number 416-05201-2024.
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN TO YOU THE TAXPAYER? That means taxpayers on top of spending money on Performing Arts Centers, downtown revitalization, and the upcoming Grand Park, will also be subject to a BIG TIME CASINO LIKE PAYOUT to Cameron Kraemer and rightfully so! To be direct, the city who lolly gagged around, could have tried to settle this issue but choose to swing their cajónes around and now taxpayers will foot the bill for it. NOW YOU CAN SEE WHY THEY ARE ABOUT TO ANNOUNCE THEY ARE RAISING OUR TAXES!
WOW WOW WOW. Truth is out. No more rumors. Nothing illegal. Thank you for sharing and exposing Toxic Tammy. Time…
Cheney is so full of shyt! He can’t be gone fast enough. Vote Burt, Vote Elad! We need to start…
All of this makes so much sense based on how I’ve seen both myself and so many other city employees…
Thank you for enlightening us! It is about time people see the light.
If you have not figured it out our Mayor is not for the citizens of Frisco.