Meet The Candidates: Place 4

by | Mar 9, 2025 | Campaign Signs, City Boards and Committees, City Council, Elections, Frisco ISD, Gopal Ponangi, Politics

In Frisco, there is a permission process for running for office.  What do we mean by permission process?  Let us share: if you are interested in running for city council, you need to let Mayor Cheney know, and he will notify his henchwoman, Lorie Medina.  Medina will then let you know if you have permission and if you are qualified enough to run for office.  Suppose you don’t have the support of Cheney and Medina, otherwise known as the leaders of the established Frisco cabal. In that case, they will make it very difficult for you by turning to their developer friends to fund the campaigns of the “Cabal Approved” candidates. 

How do we know this?  It is what we have been told by several previous candidates who ran for office against the Medina Machine!  If you want to run for office in Frisco, you must have their blessing, and they will give you the “pathway” to the dais of the council.  But first, one must pay their dues, of course, or they will be told, “It’s just not your turn yet!”

It makes you wonder why any rational human being would want or try to run for office in Good Ole Frisco!  Maybe they believe in things like community service and making a difference. Maybe they think local government should be more than a rubber stamp for developers. Then again, maybe—just maybe—they’re the rare type of person who enjoys the thrill of fighting voter apathy that plagues our elections.  Either way, this time around Frisco residents have choices, and it is up to them to get off the couch, stop making excuses, and vote for change.   Otherwise, you will once again find yourself asking why your city council makes decisions without your input.  Remember, you had a chance to care. You just didn’t.  Let’s look at who is running for Place 4!  To be fair, we will go in order of their names on the ballot.

First up is Joshua Meek, whose filing application states he is a Real Estate Professional!  According to his website, he is “Your Local Real Estate Expert” – just what we need, another Realtor!  According to another site, Meek Industries, of which he is the Founder and CEO, they are a diversified holding company with a mission to acquire and grow attractive investments that generate sustainable cash flow.  What?  It does not list any partners, investments they are involved in, etc.

According to his political website, he has attended 133 Frisco City Council Meetings.  Have you ever wondered who is that guy who sometimes wears a baseball hat and sits right behind the podium where everyone speaks to the council – that is Meek.  He was appointed to the Frisco Community Development Corporation Board and has been involved in several notable projects.  It touts he is a community leader, who over the last 14 years served in a variety of Frisco organizations and community positions including, Frisco Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, Visit Frisco Board Member, member of the Frisco Rotary Club, Leadership Frisco class graduate, and Citizens Police and Fire Academy graduate.

What is Meeks Platform?  Well, it says he wants “THRIVING PARTNERSHIPS” and touts our success is due to those partnerships with DEVELOPERS, school districts, healthcare systems and higher educational institutions.  He goes on to say these partnerships must be PRIORTIZED as we finalize Frisco’s buildout.  Truth is he is the young Cheney who is all about development and developers from what we can tell.

Next up he wants to “Pioneer Innovation” and somehow relates that to public safety.  He believes that integration of technology and artificial intelligence can further enhance the high-quality performance of Frisco’s first responders.  Personally, I don’t think AI can fight a house fire or stop an armed robbery the way our actual first responders can!

Lastly, he wants to “Leverage Economics” and he will continue to lower the tax rate by leveraging the use of sales tax revenue. That way Frisco CDC and EDC are able to create funding sources to help strategically fund parks, projects and attract employers that many other communities.   What caught our attention was his comment “By continuing to invest in Frisco as a destination location” but do Frisco Residents want to be a destination location or a community.  He also forgot to mention the CDC or EDC will fund a big Performing Arts Center that the cabal wants.

Next up Jared Elad whom we have nicknamed “The Beard” from his yellow signs popping up!  His application lists his occupation as a small business owner.  According to his website, he came from a modest upbringing in Tennessee and Oklahoma and got a bachelor’s degree from Oklahoma State University.

He began his career as a Financial Advisor with Merrill Lynch and later worked at Wells Fargo and BB&T/Truist as a Financial Advisor and Vice President. In 2024, he went independent to better serve his clients. Elad is married to Stephanie Elad (FISD Board Member) and has two daughters.  Jared currently sits on the Board of Directors of the Villages of Stonelake HOA.

Jared Elad’s website goes on to say he wants to Eliminate excess spending, Lower taxes, Accomplish the budget, and be Dependable to the community.  Get it ELAD! He touts we need fiscal responsibility with transparency, and he wants every taxpayer dollar spent efficiently, and wants to cut out wasteful expenses with a focus on projects that bring true value to “FRISCO RESIDENTS.” 

Elad’s site also goes on to say he will support Public Safety, and he is dedicated to partnering with Frisco PD and Fire to ensure they have the resources, training, and equipment needed to serve and protect all Frisco residents effectively.  He is for Community Friendly Development & Growth that supports economic vitality while not forgetting that it needs to align with the needs, concerns and wants of “FRISCO RESIDENTS.” 

Lastly, Jared Elad has some cute pet videos and displays his support for Frisco Pets on his Facebook page.  For the pet lovers, he had declared he is for a new pet shelter to ensure the safety and well-being of Frisco pets.  As soon as he displayed his support for pets, the first comment came from an infamous Cabel supporter, Jake Petras, who stated he would also love a pet shelter and asked how we would fund it.  Funny because we have seen many posts where Petras attacks pet people and the idea of a shelter, so we have to assume the cabal has him at work again being their mouthpiece to put other candidates running on defense or at least try!

Next up we have Jerry Spencer, and his application states he is an investor.  He has lived in Texas for 76 years and over 20 years in Frisco.   We could not find a website for Spencer, but we did find a Facebook page, but it was also limited to information.  We sent a message asking if he had any platform ideas he wanted to share for our article.

Spencer responded that he lives on the east side of the tollway in Plantation.  He would like to see Frisco shift the focus from sports, tourism, and being a destination city and broaden our economic base with a much greater emphasis on attracting emerging technology and 21st century industries such as AI, robotics, drone technology, autonomous driving, medical research, etc.  

Spencer would like to also put a focus on regional cooperation with our regional partners in both Denton and Collin County.  He believes Frisco has a Lone Ranger mentality, and he would like to see us have a regional performing arts center where we pair up with Plano, McKinney and Allen.  There are 235,000 people in Frisco, but more than 750,000 in those four cities. The per capita costs of an arts center drop dramatically when spread over four cities.  He said working together would be a better solution.

Next, we have Gopala Ponangi, whose occupation is listed as a Business Owner.  He has lived in Texas for 24 years and spent 21 of those years in Frisco, Texas.  Gopal is married with two daughters and has a pet Shih Tzu named Coco.  He is a small business owner with an emphasis in Digital Marketing for Financial Services and Real Estate. If Gopal’s name sounds familiar it should, as he has served on the Frisco ISD Board of Trustees, Place one.  His website at the time said, “Education is my passion, and I will strive to give my best to our students and the community.”

According to his website for Place 4 City Council, he says he is proud to be an active member of Frisco, leaving initiatives through nonprofits with a focus on Education, Healthcare and the Fine Arts.  His bio states he is the Past Director of the Frisco Economic Development Corporation. He also was a founding Co-Chair of the Mayors Adhoc Committee for the Frisco Indian Affairs which has now taken the shape of the Multicultural Committee under Frisco Boards and Commissions.  He touts on his website how he has served on several committees through FISD.

As for his Vision for Frisco, he would like to focus on more local jobs through smart, responsible growth.  He would also like to see an improvement in traffic and will work to prioritize smart traffic solutions to keep Frisco moving forward.  He is committed to Public Safety and will prioritize funding to ensure our first responders have the necessary resources to protect citizens.

After reviewing Gopal’s website, we had two questions.  First if he is passionate about education then why is he running for city council?  Second, he states he served on a lot of boards which made us wonder how he had the time?   If you investigate his attendance for some of these boards, he boasts about it appears he was absent at 99% of the meetings.  If he can’t show up for boards/committees/meetings, etc. then why would we think he will show up for city council meetings and all the duties that come with that role.

Lastly, we have Sangita Datta, and her application states her occupation as a financial specialist, having lived in Frisco for the last 6.5 years.  We assume Datta is a Frisco Socialite because we constantly see her at events, and she has helped each of our current council members campaign during election cycles.  According to her website, she is committed to making Frisco a better place to live, work, and grow.  Her service journey began in Mother Teresa’s house in Kolkata, where she learned the meaning of life, compassion, and giving back to the community.

Datta’s platform includes promoting economic growth and fiscal responsibility through attracting quality jobs and supporting local businesses, using city resources wisely to keep taxes low, and fostering an environment where entrepreneurs can thrive.   Secondly, she stands for enhancing a family-friendly community life by investing in parks, playgrounds, and community spaces and supporting initiatives that help working parents maintain Frisco’s reputation as a great city.   Hmmm, we have initiatives that maintain our city’s reputation.  Do tax dollars pay for that?  Datta also wants to ensure safety and preserve Frisco’s unique character.  After reading her site, we are not sure how preserving the city’s character affects safety, but hopefully, we have time to learn during the debates.

She believes her experience serving on the City of Frisco Parks & Recreation Board, Ambassador for the Frisco Chamber of Commerce, as Treasurer for the Indian Association of North Texas, and as an Ambassador for the Frisco Inclusion Committee will help her while serving on City Council.  Datta also graduated from the Leadership Frisco, Citizens Police Academy and completed the City 101 programs.

That rounds out your choices for Place 4!  Meeks reminds us of a young Cheney Real Estate mogul in training.  Elad is a marketing genius with “The Beard” and we are excited to learn more about him in the debates. The pet-friendly Frisco will most likely gravitate to Elad because he has openly said he supports an animal shelter.  Gopal is the obvious Cabel plant as he “supports the arts” meaning a Performing Arts Center.  Proof that Gopal is one of the implants in his kickoff photos with Keating and Pelham. 

We would like Gopal to explain his attendance record for previous positions he has held and tell us how it will be different this time.  In our opinion, Datta should be madder than a wet hen that those she supported for years are not showing her the same respect she has shown them over the years.  We need more clarification regarding her platform, and we are concerned her relationships with the current council means she will stay “inline” with what the Cheney Machine wants.  However, we could be wrong, maybe there has been a clear line drawn in the sand of friendship.  As for Spencer, we just don’t know enough about the person or platform to offer an opinion. The Whistleblowers want change – however that comes!  We want independent individuals who will make their own decisions and not follow the gravy train of the current council members.

Influencing the Desi Vote

by | May 6, 2024 | Angelia Pelham, Elections, Gopal Ponangi, John Keating, Mayor Jeff Cheney, Politics

Diversity refers to the presence of a variety of people, cultures, races, religions, and more that make up a local community. Growing up in another country we traveled to many destinations and that allowed us to learn about diversity and different cultures in our early developmental years. It was eye-opening and breathtaking, and little did we know it was exposing us to the diversity in those local communities.  My dad loved talking to the locals, eating local foods, and doing what the locals did.  Those are some of the best memories that I carry with me today.

Now as a dad and granddad, I try to expose them to the same blessings bestowed upon me by my father.  A few years ago, my grandkids said, Papa can we go to the event where they throw colors all around and get dirty?  I explained to them that Holi or the Festival of Colors, was a religious Hindu event to mark spring’s arrival and the triumph of good over evil.  I explained to them it was rooted in ancient traditions, and that it is one of the most prominent Hindu celebrations next to Diwali, the Festival of Lights.  The kids were excited to learn more and understand it better and now we take them every year.  By attending the event they had fun, made new friends, and learned that diversity in a community is a great thing.  

Frisco is growing so much that in 2017, Mayor Cheney created an ad hoc committee on fostering communication between the city’s Asian Indian community and city leadership.  The Frisco Indian Affairs Committee defined its mission through four pillars: community outreach, civic engagement, philanthropy, and events.  At the time it was created, the Indian community was made up of about 35,000 residents and that has only increased with rapid growth in our region. With the rapid growth of the Indian American community comes a significant political constituency.  An online survey conducted in September 2020 showed that while holding relatively liberal views when it comes to US politics, Indian Americans are conservative when it comes to issues back in India. 

Over the last few months, we have received several emails from different followers living in our Indian American community here in Frisco.  Surprisingly, they shared the same sentiment of concern over whether their community understands the effect of their voting power and how to choose the candidate who will best represent or include their community.  They explained that the “leaders” of the community with a substantial presence generally “guide others” on who to vote for.  They are concerned some leaders have ulterior motives and may not be doing what is best for the community, but what is best for them.  So, we decided to investigate one.

One leader in the Indian American Community is Gopal Ponangi who currently sits on the Frisco Independent School Board.  We pulled up his campaign finance reports for the period covering 01/01/2021 to 06/30/2021, expecting to see lots of donors but there were only three and each one donated $5000.00.  The donors were Venu Bhagyanagar, Anand Chillappa, and Pavan Nellutla. Then one more donation for $500 from Dustin Paschal. 

We pulled up his second campaign finance report from 07/01/2021 to 12/31/2021 and has a $200 donation from Angelia Pelham (current councilwoman), and $1000 from John Keating (current councilman).  Under pledged contributions, you have Venu Bhagyanagar, Anand Chillappa, and Pavan Nellutla for $5000 each.  Then there are several more from other individuals ranging from $50 to $1500.

Then we looked at his more recent campaign finance report for the period 7/1/22 through 12/31/22.  We saw the same three names under pledged contributions: Venu Bhagyanagar, Anand Chillappa, Pavan Nellutla and each gave $5000 dollars.

 At first glance, we notice several of his donations are from current or former members of city boards and commissions including Chinasatyam Veernapu – Parks and Recreation Board, Venu Bhagyanagar – Former Frisco Parks Recreation Board 2021, Pavan Raj Nellutla – Urban Forestry Board, Hitesh Naidu – Board of Adjustments / Construction Board of Appeals, and Venkat Mulukutla – Social Services & Housing Board.  The other concern is the donations from Angelia Pelham and $1000 from John Keating. 

Gopal appears to have a very vested interest in who he supports. Our question is, did Gopal Ponangi encourage his community to vote for the best candidates or the ones who donated to him? It also makes you wonder if his largest contributors sit on City boards and commissions, could that influence who he supports?  Could it be a conflict if he wanted to endorse another candidate instead of the current sitting council members?   Obviously, Gopal is not going to bite the hand that feeds his campaign contributions list.

Gopal was out at the polls on election day with Keating and he kept pulling people over and telling them how to vote.  Then he had them take pictures with Mayor Cheney, which he later posted on his social media pages.  We will talk more about that in another blog.  More importantly, do these leaders show up throughout the year, or only annual events, and during election season?