Frisco is the home of perfectly manicured lawns, HOA emails no one reads, and a voter turnout rate that could make a ghost town look politically engaged. Every election cycle, a handful of brave souls decide to throw their hats in the ring for city council, only to be met with the resounding enthusiasm of… crickets.  Why would anyone subject themselves to this? Good question. Running for office in Frisco is basically signing up to shake hands with people who won’t vote, attend forums that barely fill a Starbucks, and post on social media only to get three likes (one from your mom). And yet, candidates still do it.

Let’s play a game: Ask your friends and neighbors what they know about the upcoming Frisco elections. Chances are, you’ll get a mix of blank stares, mumbled guesses, or the classic “Wait, we have an election?” Well, here’s a crash course: February 14th was the last day to file for a spot on the ballot (so if you were thinking about running, too late—better luck next cycle). The real fun begins with early voting on April 22nd, leading up to the final day to cast your vote on May 4th (not April 3rd, by the way). During this time, our fire stations and schools will be transformed into democracy hubs, filled with voting machines that will see depressingly low foot traffic.

Meanwhile, candidates will be busy breaking the city’s sign ordinance, because let’s be honest, rules only seem to apply to challengers. The city turns a blind eye when incumbents plaster their signs wherever they please, but if a newcomer so much as breathes near the wrong patch of grass, code enforcement swoops in like the fun police. It’s all just part of the charming tradition we call local politics.

Whistleblower is here to educate and let you know about the candidates!  For City Council Place 2 we have Burt Thakur, Sai Krishnarajanagar against Tammy Meinershagen.  Let’s dive into them!

Burt Thakur, a former Navy Veteran, and a longtime resident of Frisco previously made a run for Congress.  Burt Thakur was born in New Delhi and raised by his maternal grandparents. He spent his childhood in India, where his grandfather was responsible for the care of the national forests, tigers, and land management. He moved to New York in the late 1980s and later attended Valley Forge Military Academy in Pennsylvania. After graduating, he enlisted in the United States Navy. Burt served as a nuclear reactor operator on the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman. He was honorably discharged in 2006, after serving for 6 years.  Thakur is an engineer project manager who facilitates the construction process for large data centers.   He also appeared on Jeopardy and was interviewed in the Winners Circle.

Thakur recently addressed the Frisco City Council to address the issue of the Performing Arts Center and fiscal responsibility.  If passed, the measures would allow the city to use $160 million to build the Frisco Center for the Arts. The center, designed to host Broadway-level shows, is estimated to cost more than $300 million.

Burt Thakur’s website states he has a vision for a Stronger, Safer and Thriving Frisco. Burt is a champion for veterans and their access to care and has helped many veterans get access to their benefits. In Frisco, Burt wants to ensure a space is granted for veterans’ organizations like the VFW and American Legion to share. As his best friend from the military committed suicide, Burt knows first-hand the value that a community and shared space can provide to his brothers and sisters who served. He also states that “integrity” is a commitment to ethical leadership. He states “True leadership is built on honesty, transparency, and accountability. I have always stood for ethical decision-making, responsibility, and staying true to my principles.

Next, we have Sai Krishna who ran in 2020 for council place 3 back in 2020.  According to the Dallas Morning News Voter Guide in 2020, Krishna is a Registered Nurse with an associate’s degree in nursing, a Bachelor of Science in Nursing, and a master’s in business administration.  He also is an Insurance Provider.  During his 2020 race, Krishna had only lived in Frisco for 3.5 years.  According to the guide he had not served on city boards or commissions at the time of the 2020 race.  We could not find a working website for Krishna, or anything published online about his 2025 run for council.

Lastly, we have Tammy Meinershagen who currently sits on the Frisco City Council in Place 2 and has lived in Frisco for over 20 years.  In a recent January 2025, Local Profile highlight Meinershagen was asked what her first impression of Texas was, and she replied “I had such a bad impression of Texas — I really did not want to come. I didn’t want to move to Frisco, and I certainly didn’t want to become a Texan. I expected everyone to be in cowboy boots and hats, and I had heard several stories of racism in Texas that also concerned me. I just didn’t think I’d ever feel at home in Texas. I pushed really hard against it for many, many years.” She went on to say that her opinion has changed because she has realized the diversity Texas offers.

Since being here and getting invested in Frisco, she became the Multicultural Chair for the Greater Frisco’s Council of PTA’s which led her to get involved in The City of Frisco. She helped organize the first multicultural float for the community in 2011 and worked on the Citizens Bond Committee, where she advocated for the arts center. Meinershagen was named the “Spirit of Frisco” by the Frisco Chamber of Commerce and one of CEO MOM Magazine’s Power 15. She is also the first Asian-American to serve on the Frisco City Council, and she made history as the first Korean-American female elected to any City Council in the State of Texas. Meinershagen is also a professionally trained musician and can play the piano and violin.

She is asking for you to “Re-Elect” her but remember we never “ELECTED” her to begin with.  Meinershagen was set to run against the incumbent, Shona Huffman, who choose to resign from her current seat and withdraw from the race to focus on recovering from a breast cancer diagnosis. An election was never held and Meinershagen “won by default” meaning we never ELECTED her.  This will be her first actual race for City Council.  A Community Impact article from Feb 28, 2022, reads, “Tammy Meinershagen to ASSUME Place 2 on Frisco City Council; May election for city to be canceled.”  The article states that according to Mayor Jeff Cheney, Meinershagen will FILL THE SEAT and went on to say they are CANCELING the May 7, 2022, election since both races were uncontested.

Meinershagen made headlines recently on Frisco Chronicles when we wrote about her husband’s involvement with Ketchup Caddy.   In 2022, her husband Todd Meinershagen AGREED to pay more than $525,000, including interest, for his role in market manipulation related to the company Ketchup Caddy. 

Meinershagen is a very prominent supporter of the Frisco Arts and the new Performing Arts Center.  She supports the bond being put before voters for a $300+ million-dollar theater that will cost residents anywhere from $5 to $6 million a year to operate of city tax dollars.  Meinershagen also supported the controversial Universal Kids Studios project over objections by local homeowners.  Remember the “BAIT & SWITCH” that changed at the last minute during the development meeting before the council vote.  Meinershagen was one of the loudest supporters on social media selling us the part would only be operating from 10am to 6pm when it is was actually 8/9am to 9/10pm.  She also told us rollercoasters would be 40 to 50 feet high, but they are actually able to go up to 100 feet high.   She used social media to sell it one way when she knew the whole time they were going to make last minute changes. 

Lastly Meinershagen, stepped out front and center against our Frisco Firefighters last year during the election.  While they have been asking for more firefighters, she adamantly agrees with the stance of the city leadership that everything is just fine.  She claimed she was not representing herself as a council person at the polls but just a regular old resident with a passion for the issue.  Residents don’t often spend that much time at the polls holding signs unless it is for a purpose, group or team.

What are your thoughts on Place 2? Will you get out to vote? We will be sending a questionnaire to all three candidates soon with some hard-hitting questions so it will be interesting to see how they respond, or if they even will respond. Next up we dive into Place 4 and the 5 candidates running for that position.