Another One Bites The Dust

Shout, Shout, let it all out. These are things I can do without

Come on, I’m talking to you …. Come on

Shout, Shout, Let it all out

If the words sound familiar but you have not yet figured it out yet, then let me help you.  In 1984, Tears for Fears released their second album.  Shout was a song on the album, but it did not hit the Billboard Top 100 until August of 1985.  Today it remains one of their most recognizable songs.  It was rumored the song was about pain, but the truth is it was a call to action, a rebellion against the established norms of the times, a call to be different.   

Frisco has always prided itself on doing things better “than other cities” along with being different and being ground breakers.   Being different is “The Frisco Way!”  In Frisco our leaders believe we must build the best, develop the best, and offer the best services to our citizens as a standout community.  With development and construction in full gear over the last 10 years you can imagine things happened along the way that helped carve out better practices and procedures for the city. 

An example of that is back in February of 2018 when Francisco Palmas pant leg was caught in a trencher causing him to be dangled upside down at a local commercial construction site.  The result was it nearly severed his leg and you might think he died.  Frisco Firefighters reached the victim in just under five minutes, but they couldn’t free him which meant his leg would need to be amputated right there amid the dust, dirt and rocks.  (Photo from Frisco Lifestyle – The Edge of Chaos)

According to a Dallas Morning News article, Frisco Deputy Fire Chief, Scott Vetterick said that the department had already started putting a plan in place for this under then Fire Chief, Mark Piland.  Vetterick knew with all the development and construction, it was not about if something would happen but rather when it would happen and that made it a priority to have a plan in place.  On the way to the scene, Frisco FD reached out to Dr. Gamber, an emergency room doctor at Medical City Plano.  Gamber summoned trauma surgeon Al West who would arrive via a helicopter 41 minutes later with his small black medical kit and blood.      

While Dr. West performed the amputation just above the right knee, Frisco Firefighters had to hold Palma’s body so he would not fall and proceeded to give him blood replacement.  Along with the blood replacement they administered medications, fluids and monitored Palmas’ vital signs along with watching his airway.  At the same time other teams worked to disassemble the machine.  Palma survived because of the fast actions of the Frisco FD, Trauma Surgeon Al West and the replacement blood brought in that day.  At the time there was a 75% chance that with a prosthetic he would walk again one day.  Most importantly this man lived to see his kids grow up.  In a Frisco Lifestyle article, Vetterick shares, “We had a lot of people working backchannels in order to make it happen that day. I was calling Medical City Plano’s radio room, Assistant Chief Kramer was calling Dr. Gamber, the battalion chief was coordinating the actual rescue and the disassembly of the machine, and then our medics were immediately tending to the patient.” 

Deputy Chief Vetterick said at the time he believed  that the response protocol put in place is the perfect example of collaborative efforts that help save lives.   His hope was it would benefit more people and save more lives as Frisco continued to grow.

The official announcement of the blood replacement being carried on board with the Squad teams came in December of 2018 in a Frisco Fire Department press release.  Frisco Fire Chief Mark Piland  said, “Frisco Firefighters are committed to providing the highest level of care possible. This program is definitely a team effort, and I would like to thank Dr. Gamber and Medical City Plano for the hard work and assistance to get this program started.”   

Dr. Mark Gamber, Frisco Fire Departments Medical Director said, “Prior to today, patients who needed blood were completely dependent on how fast we could get them to a hospital.  Now, with early transfusion for severe blood loss, Frisco Fire will give critically ill patients a better chance of survival.”   

The news of the new program went far and wide across the state and it was believed that it showed innovation and how Frisco was to lead the way  with cutting edge services that help serve the citizens of Frisco.

What is Squad?  Generally, the Squad responds to all high acuity EMS calls, and it also responds to all structure fires in a city.  It is a 2-person group whose capabilities are like no other unit in the department.  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.  For example, Squad assisted doctors with Palma’s amputation, they can give blood transfusions to trapped victims, and they perform out of the box lifesaving methods during emergency medical  situations.  It is the definition of the city’s motto Progress In Motion.

Safety, education, and training were a big push by Piland who lead the department at the time.  It probably came from his experience serving with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as a Task Force Leader with Virginia Task Force 2 a FEMA Urban Search and Rescue Team whose job was to provide search and rescue for victims of disaster.  Shortly after Piland became Chief in 2013 he implemented the Safety Officer Program that focused on the health and wellness of the fire fighters.  The Captain of Safety oversaw all fire fighter injuries, the safety on scene at calls, structural concerns during fires, identified concerns such as pools that could affect how they fight a fire and more.  In 2016, a request was made for two Fire Safety Incident Officers in the city’s annual budget.  The goal was to implement two full-time shift personnel to staff the positions around the clock. The program made overall safety a top priority.

Fast forward to today, Frisco is a city of 225,000+ people and we have a New Fire Chief, Lee Glover.  Programs like those mentioned above have major implications in saving lives.   On October 27, 2023, the Frisco Fire Department released a video about the history of the program in a series called Frisco Fire Facts which was also share to the city Facebook page yesterday.  It starts with Deputy Fire Chief Jake Owen of the Frisco Fire Department talking about how the program got started in 2018.  It discusses the highlights of the Squad Program and the onboarding of blood replacement.

Ready for the WHOPPER of TEA?  It was confirmed to us last week in an off-the-record conversation with a city employee at city hall, that FIRE CHIEF GROGGY LEE GLOVER announced the END OF THE SQUAD PROGRAM!  Wait…What?  It was also announced that the Safety Program was ending.  People are being reassigned to drive Battalion Chiefs! Firefighters will be reassigned most likely depending on staff levels.  What will be the result of losing the Squad Program, it will create the loss of two functioning paramedics for high priority EMS calls and a loss of two tactical level firefighters on structure fires. As for the Safety Program what does that mean for the safety of our firefighters? Should we be surprised, I mean the decision to name Groggy Glover the new Fire Chief was not supported by the ranks within the department.

Glover was not kidding when he said in June of 2023, “We’re going to continue to do what we’ve been doing since the day I WALKED INTO THIS FIRE DEPARTMENT.”  He DISMANTLED a CRITICAL LIFE SAVING program that was highly regarded, and we are curious why?   Is it because that is how modern-day fire departments operate which he probably does not understand since it doesn’t fit the antiquated days of his upbringing in the department.  Did he not like the programs simply because they were instituted under the previous Fire Chief, Mark Piland?  

According to yesforfrisco.org in the recent MAY 2023 BOND ELECTION – Proposition A, the city asked citizens to approve the following equipment & apparatus items: Vehicles to replace with proposed bond package: 2 Squads, 4 Engines, 8 Medics, 1 Truck, and 1 Hazmat.  WHY DID THE CITY ASK CITIZENS TO PAY FOR 2 SQUAD REPLACEMENTS?   With all the development of the PGA which will bring golf celebrities from around the world and a new theme park for kids would you end lifesaving programs that protect citizens, visitors, and firefighters?   What about citizens of Frisco Lakes?  Did the council who rely on their votes to get elected ask Frisco Lakes residents how they feel about getting rid of a blood replacement program that could save their lives?  With the traffic getting worse and horrific car accidents happening more often, did anyone think about how the blood replacement program could save the lives of those in the accidents.  I mean those are citizens or visitors who spend tax dollars in our city?  No – they just want to build and build and claim to be about exceptional service.

On the front page, of the Frisco Fire Department the Mission Statement reads: Committed to your Health and Safety through Exceptional Service.    Right under that it reads, “Public safety is among the highest priorities for city leaders, past and present.”  Yeah we have heard that repeated over from city leaders.  Now act like it!

We just keep asking why, why would Glover think these are good decisions?  Based on the 2011/12 Climate Survey it said in order for the issues in the department to be resolved some SIGNIFICANT changes must occur.  The culture of the department needs to change from a negative, hostile, retaliatory environment to one that is positive.  Guess what, it was trending in the right direction but now Groggy Glover is dismantling the department bit by bit and they hope no one is paying attention.   Well, maybe it is just his way of being retaliatory to those speaking out against him as that is how it has worked since he walked into the department all those years ago.   

Slowly but surely our Fire Department turns back time and honestly it should scare the hell of citizens!  We have heard it scares the hell out of those who put on the FD uniform on the front line every day.  It leads us to our last question, the most important question, who is the “King Ding A Ling” of bad decisions?  Well, that might be a tie between Groggy Lee Glover and City Manager, Pungent Wes Pierson.

PINOCCHIO – THE ART OF LYING

Benjamin Franklin once said these powerful words, half a truth is often a great lie.  The Armstrong Lie is a powerful documentary about Lance Armstrong, a sports legend who won the Tour de France seven consecutive times from 1999 – 2005 after surviving stage 3 testicular cancer that had spread to his lungs and brain.  Armstrong will go down in history for committing one of the best kept lies in sports history while he amassed a fortune from the sport and its sponsors.  Over the years he was plagued with rumors that he was doping or using performance-enhancing drugs which he denied emphatically.  Then a teammate became a whistleblower which caused Armstrong to be stripped of his titles, sponsors ditched him, and he faced several legal cases. So why did Armstrong lie?  Why did he risk losing it all if it ever became public?  Sports writers and enthusiasts have questions for years, but will we ever really know the truth?

The art of lying is among the most sophisticated accomplishments of the human mind.  Children must learn how to lie, how to assess the reactions of the listener, and how to adapt a story to fit a believable narrative.  Kids also need to learn how to decipher a lie to protect themself.   Learning to lie during the impressionable years of our life is why some adults conquer the art of lying.   But are all lies bad lies?  Studies have been done for years to answer this question.  I was blown away when I read one article that said there were 10 types of lies or deception.   In Armstrong’s case he lied by omission (partial truth), used lies of falsification (lie to get attention or sympathy),  told bold face lies (one tells a lie, and everyone knows it’s a lie), used lies of exaggeration (lies based on some truth), and he was a pathological liar (lies for no apparent reason).

Lies, regardless of whether they are big or small can cause a physical change in our bodies.  It can trigger increased heart rate, high blood pressure, and elevated levels of stress hormones in the blood.  It can also cause dry mouth, upset stomach, vomiting, sweaty hands, nervous facial twitches or hand twitches and can cause your skin to break out in a rash or turn red.   I know what you are thinking right now, where are we going with this Shady Shit?  Well forum after forum Mark Piland mentioned transparency and how he wanted to put in place an ordinance, like the City of Plano’s that said if you received over $1000 from any individual you could not hear any case or be involved in any discussion that could come before the council to avoid a conflict of interest or perception of wrongdoing.  You can still accept large donations, but you just can’t be involved in items that come before the city – seems simple and common sense.  

At one debate Cheney said campaigns are expensive and without donations it would be hard to run a campaign of this magnitude. This go around I have received a postcard, a magazine, and newspaper all with Mayor Cheney’s “Vote for Me” message.  Unless you are living under a rock everyone knows who Mayor Cheney is, his record, and his accomplishments, so why is there a need to spend that kind of money?  At the forum, Cheney responded and said Plano’s ordinance was put in place two years ago after all their developments were done or largely done.  He said he spoke to a Plano elected official recently (no name mentioned) about their policy and the official told him that the ordinance is not even enforceable, there are no teeth to it, and it was put in place because of a political ideology in their community who was having a tough time getting traction for their candidates that they wanted to support.  Now they have a situation where PACs and Super PACs along with other special interest groups lead the outcomes in elections.   Watching the forum, I noticed Mayor Cheney would twitch his hands, blink his eyes and his face would turn red so it made me wonder, was he lying? 

The morning after the forum I woke up, had coffee and white powdered donut (love those), and talked about the Forum with my wife.  While we were perplexed we let it go and went on with our life because we did not think for a minute this was some smoking gun.  Several days went by and we got an email from a follower who said they too were curious about Piland’s idea and Cheney’s response, so he emailed the Plano City Council.  He forwarded us the emails and responses and that is when I the light bulb turned on.  The whistle blower asked which one of the council members spoke with Mayor Cheney, could they confirm or deny his statements made at the forum, and what is their personal feeling regarding the ordinance.   Surprisingly several responded and all of them had a similar consensus.  We are publishing the first two responses in full below as we just don’t have time to post them all.

Shelby Williams responded, “the ordinance truly does have no teeth—that’s something I’d like to fix.”  Williams went on to say, “ Whomever Mayor Cheney spoke to from Plano was not correct, A) The only political ideology that drove the campaign finance ordinance was the desire to rein in the massive amount of commercial developer money influencing Plano’s elections and B) while it was argued that the ordinance would cause PACs to dominate our elections, it never happened. After the ordinance was adopted, PAC spending went down significantly.  He also said he wrote about this in 2021 when the new council proposed to repeal the ordinance.  Here’s my article from then, which includes links and screenshots to more data: https://shelbyhwilliams.com/campaign-finance-recusal-ordinance-up-for-repeal/.” 

Anthony Ricciardelli (Place 2) responded, “I voted for the ordinance when we enacted it, remain a big fan of it, and believe that it is meaningful.  I agree that there are still loopholes in it, unfortunately.  I would like to close those loopholes.  Respectfully, I don’t think it would be prudent for me to comment on something attributed to a different council member.  I can tell you that I’ve never said anything like the statements that Jeff Cheney attributes to someone on the Plano City Council.”   

Like we said earlier, lying is an art form!

TRUE: Mr. Cheney was correct that there is a loophole in the ordinance that needs to be fixed and they hope to do fix it in the near future. 

LIE: Mr. Cheney said it was put in place by a political ideology in Plano’s community that was having a tough time getting traction for candidates that they wanted to support.  Williams said it was to rein in the massive amount of commercial developer money influencing Plano’s elections.

LIE: Mr. Cheney said they now have a situation where PACs and Super PACs along with special interest groups lead the outcomes in elections.   Williams said after the ordinance was adopted, PAC spending went down significantly. 

Martin Luther King, Jr., once said “A lie cannot live” and he is right.  Lies may take care of the present but they have no future.  If you tell one lie and get caught then all your truths become questionable.  I have always believed that when someone lies to you what they are really telling you, is that you were not worth the truth.  That is a slap in the face, it tells you what they think of you and how little they value you or  think you are worth to them.  In the end we are left with one question, Mayor Cheney, who did you speak to on the Plano City Council that you quoted at the forum?

Blow-By-Blow Breakdown

If someone were to ask you what happened on June 28, 1997, would you know the answer?  Truthfully no, the date would not stick out in most people’s minds.  Now what if someone said do you remember that bizarre moment in boxing history when Mike Tyson bit off a portion of Evander Holyfield’s ear?   My guess, is you remember that, and it happened on June 28, 1997.  At the time, the fight was one of the highest grossing Pay Per View events with 1.99 million buys.  It was the first time to break $100 million in revenue.  It was round 3 of their much-anticipated rematch when one of the most iconic and grotesque scenes in sports history took place and became the most replayed slow-motion event in sports history.  I remember sitting there on the couch with my wife and two boys, our mouths wide open in disbelief, that Iron Mike had just bit a portion of Holyfield’s ear.   After a few seconds my wife stands up and says “Well, he must have been hungry.  His mamma should have to feed him before the fight!”  She gathers the bowls on the coffee table and heads to the kitchen, the night was over.

At the Star Patriots Debate on April 3  both candidates took their gloves off but at least no one lost an ear.  The debate was filled with a few jabs, a few uppercuts, and a few hooks.   The consensus on who won depends on who you ask.  Cheney’s supporters feel he did a strong job and Piland supporters will tell you that he gave Cheney the good ole’ one-two punch and took the title.  My wife and I went, and we agreed that I would take notes on Cheney’s comments, and she would take notes on Pilands comments and discuss the next morning over coffee.  After a good night’s sleep, the sun rose, and I could smell the coffee brewing and we both took our place at the table with our notes.  A quick review in order of some of the comments that stuck out at us.

Growth: Cheney said, it’s a misperception by many people that government controls our growth patterns.  He noted that the city cannot tell a developer when they can or cannot develop their land which is in fact true. 

FACT: The city can control some of the growth by not selling off all the land it owns “right here, right now.”  The City of Frisco owned the 91 acres of land where the Frisco Star now sits, the 2.5 acres behind the Star where Blue Star built a 300,000 square feet office building, and how about the land sold for $37.9 million for Blue Stars Industrial Park?  What a lot of residents don’t know or maybe don’t understand is that back in the day the city bought a lot of land betting like a gambler  in a high-stake poker match that Frisco would grow and they could sell it down the road.  The city also “strip annexed” a narrow strip of land that effectively cordoned off a large area, protecting it from other hungry nearby suburbs.  In 1999, the State Legislature would prohibit “strip annexation” from happening in the future. 

Workers Compensation For First Responders: was discussed by both candidates but we will review in our next blog.

Golden Goose: Cheney said 30 years ago with the development of the Frisco EDC and CDC that residents of Frisco made the choice about how they wanted to develop our community and he along with every city manager and city official has done what was promised to the residents.  He also said that is how Frisco was built and that is the golden goose of Frisco. 

FACT: What residents agreed to 30 years ago (there is no formal agreement by the way) versus what residents want along the way can change.  Residents have been saying for the last 5 to 7 years to slow down, focus on the infrastructure first which has fallen on deaf ears.  The only one who cares about the Golden Goose is the mayor and his friends who benefit from them. 

Universal: Piland mentioned the last-minute bait and switch of items in the SUP, the promises from the developer to the Cobb Hill residents should have been codified in the SUP and how this should be a case study in zoning and what city officials should not do.  Cheney said what was posted on his Facebook page about the project is exactly what was sent to them but as they got through the discussion’s things change. 

Question: When things started to change in the discussions why didn’t you tell residents that on social media as you had everything else at that point?  Our guess he knew residents were not going to like the changes in hours, building height, ride height and more.

Cheney said if they had not solved the wall issue with Cobb Hill it wouldn’t have past but then he also said it would be illegal for the city to enter into an agreement between two parties for something like a wall and we cannot interfere with private property rights.

Question: Wait A Hot Minute Mayor!!  You voted for it that night instead of postponing it so the residents of Cobb Hill could formalize a private contract with Universal to make sure the “wall issue” is resolved. 

Cheney then mentioned that this project had more discussions because they knew how long it took them as a council to “wrap their head around it” so they knew they would need to do this differently and research and have community discussions.  NO, NO and NO! 

FACT:  What happened was they went live on Facebook announced it and planned to vote that night, but they didn’t expect that post to blow up and go viral.  It was over a thousand comments in a few hours and based on a review was one of the highest posts in citizens response/comments on the city page in years. Once they saw the instant outcry knowing it was an election year, they had to postpone the vote that night.  Cheney wants us to believe they did it for us the residents – that is simply not true!

Citizens Input: Piland pointed out Cheney has publicly said and posted on social media they could not respond to citizen’s input (we found several posts that match Pilands claims).  Then he pointed out at the January 17 council meeting, 3 separate citizens spoke regarding Universal and Cheney responded to each one for 3 to 4 minutes.  Piland even remarked, Cheney did it under the guise of I really need to help you get your facts straight.  Cheney’s response was per the city charter the mayor runs the council meetings and they can respond to citizen’s input.

FACTS: Section 3.13 Rules of Procedure, “The city council shall determine its own rules of order and business. The city council shall provide that the citizens of the city shall have a reasonable opportunity to clearly hear and be heard at public hearings with regard to specific matters under consideration.”  At first it appears Cheney could be right but Section 2.125 in reference to meetings states “All meetings and deliberations of the board shall be called, convened, held, and conducted, and notice shall be given to the public, in accordance with the Texas Open Meetings Act, as it currently exists or may be amended.”   That means the answer is in the Texas Open Meetings Act which states, limited verbal interchanges between citizens and council members are appropriate, discussions should not be permitted to drag on. When a member of the public makes an inquiry about a subject for which notice has not been given, a council member may respond with a statement of factual information or recite existing policy.   Piland is correct that Cheney violated the Texas Open Meetings Act that night and many other nights too speaking during citizen’s input. 

Code of Conduct: Piland also referenced the December 18(actually Dec 4) council meeting regarding the PGA where Cheney had to recuse himself due to his relationship with one of the principal members of the project.   Before he did he took Mayors Privilege and spoke for nearly 8 minutes regarding the project then stepped off the stage.  Piland pointed out the mayor violated Section 3.11 Conflict of Interest in the City Code of Conduct.  Cheney’s  said his conflict of interest technically had cured at that point because the council felt that his boss Robert Elliott was not the right partner for the project (does Elliott know this) and they needed a bigger partner which is when Omni stepped in and the ownership interest changed and it removed the conflict.  Cheney also said he followed the code of conduct, and he takes the code of conduct very seriously at the City of Frisco and so that’s why he makes sure not to involve any of his personal business in things.  “As a real estate broker, I’ve never represented the city of Frisco in a transaction, I’ve never represented a party who did business with the City of Frisco and I’ve never had an interest in any project in the city of Frisco.”  Lastly he said that he has declined every request for help from clients to get through the zoning process even though it would have been very lucrative for his firm. He closed by saying he is very transparent with everything he does and he is proud of that.”


FACT: Section 3.11 Conflict of Interest it states, “Should any person on the city council have a conflict of interest, pursuant to any state laws and/or city ordinances regulating conflicts of interest of municipal officers, with an agenda item then before the city council, they shall openly declare before discussion proceeds, and he is thereby prohibited from discussing the item or voting on the question, and is not considered as present and voting for the purposes of the tally.”    As for Cheney’s claim he cured his conflict of interest Omni’s own press release from December 4, 2018 notes it is a joint venture and the new company was Omni Stillwater Woods.  Nowhere does it say Robert Elliott is removed from the project and it was SWC Clay Roby who spoke on behalf of the project at every P&Z and council meeting, not a representative from TRT Holdings which is Omni.  Cheney can argue he cured his conflict of interest but that is a logical fallacy which is an error in reasoning that makes your arguments less effective and convincing.    

FACT:  Cheney’s claim he declined every request for help regarding zoning is also not correct.  Cheney may not have helped a client but he did help a campaign donor.  In a Dallas Morning News article written by Sharon Grigby (March 2019), he stated “Cheney told me he met Carter sometime after he became mayor in May 2017. The mayor said the developer visited Cheney’s City Hall office about a sign-ordinance provision that caused difficulties for his Preston Road multi-tenant commercial property.  “Like most developers, they reach out to the mayor and say, ‘This is unreasonable. Can you help me?’” Cheney told me Tuesday.  Although Cheney said he helped resolve the issue, he maintains that the 2018 campaign donations ($15,000)  were not tied to that case. There was never a this for that.”  Cheney is correct it is lucrative but not to his firm it was his campaign fund!

Campaign Donations: Piland referenced the City of Plano’s campaign finance rule that any person who donates over $1000 that comes before the council, would require the person on the council to recuse themselves.  Piland noted you can take as much money as you want but you will have to recuse yourself from all discussion and votes.  Cheney responded and said Plano’s ordinance was put in place two years ago after all their developments were done or largely done, and he did speak to one of their elected officials about their policy.  He said the Plano official (no name) told him the ordinance is not even enforceable, there is no teeth to it and it was put in place because of a political ideology in their community was having a tough time getting traction for the candidates that they wanted to support and now they have a situation where PACs and Super PACs along with other special interest groups lead the outcomes in elections.  

Question:  Did that communication happen via email and if so would you release the communication so we can see the Plano elected officials’ response?

Purefoy:  Cheney commented that developers made a commitment to our city to develop and invest here (sometimes almost a billion dollars) and it scares developers that the commitment made is not going to be honored after his opponent is elected.  Cheney said it probably scares somebody that wants to invest a lot of money in this community, and it could make them think otherwise.  He said developers are scared by the rhetoric and comments they are hearing in this mayoral cycle because the outcome could change the entire direction of the City of Frisco.  Lastly he said it would tarnish the “legacy” of George Purefoy and it would break the promise made to him to continue his work.

Fact: Mark Piland has said he is pro-development and would just like to see more community engagement and discussion around some of those projects.  Piland never said he would not follow through on a contract or commitment made to a developer from the city or previous administration and he also never said he was against Public/Private Partnerships.  How is hearing from residents a negative thing?  From the two debates we heard we have not seen Mr. Piland be anything other than pro-responsible development.  So why would developers be scared?   Lastly, Purefoy did amazing things for this city in the last 35 years and to say change would tarnish his legacy and the promise made to him is ludacris.   Companies and cities pivot all the time, and they are doing just fine!  Our concern should not be about a promise made to Purefoy it should be about the promises made to residents in this city every day.  Cheney used this a cheap ploy scare tactic in our opinion.

Closings:  Cheney said his most valuable experience for this community is being the leader of this community for the last six years.  He said mayors elected in this city are not people who have had careers in bureaucratic government.  He said the City of Frisco elects entrepreneurs, visionaries, risk-takers, and people who don’t want to do things the same way.  That is what Frisco is all about. He then said his superpower is building extraordinary teams and making people believe that they can do more than they ever thought they were capable of.  That is his greatest gift and what he will continue to do here in his last term.  Mostly he wants his last term to be about testing the absolute limits of what a city is capable of and in the City of Frisco will stress the boundaries of what is possible here over the next 3 years.

FACT:  I know this will be hard for some to believe but people have skills they don’t have superpowers!   He said Frisco is all about entrepreneurs, visionaries, and risk takers – really, since when is that what Frisco was all about?  The scariest thing he said is that he wants to test the absolute limits of what a city is capable of, so it’s not about you, me, or the residents, this is solely about his personal legacy and how he will be remembered.  People are telling you to slow down not stress the limits, so you can’t say you represent and listen to the people when you are doing the exact opposite of what people are asking for.

The night lasted longer than anticipated and when it was over it was clear the candidates were tired, the audience was tired, and the campaigning was about to kick into high gear.   As we pulled into the driveway of our house my wife said to me, Honey what is your superpower? I looked at her and said I am a bull shit meter! I can sense, smell, fly through and see the bull shit from anyone where around me. She simply said okay I will get that on a t-shirt for you for Christmas. Then she said it felt like one was me, me, me and the other was about team, team team.  That pretty much sums up how I felt too!