Please welcome, Resident Bobblehead Bill Woodard

by friscowhistleblower | Mar 2, 2024 | Bill Woodard, City Council, Civil Service and Collective Bargaining, Elections, Mayor Jeff Cheney, Politics, Safety First Frisco PAC

In an open letter to Frisco citizens on August 3, 2023, the Frisco City Council announced they “firmly oppose” the measures by the Frisco Firefighters Association to seek civil service and collective bargaining.  The letter stated the department holds International Accreditation and Class 1 Public Protection Classification (ISO 1) from widely respected third parties, which distinguished the Frisco Fire Department as one of the top departments in the country.

Recently we read an article in the Dallas Morning News regarding Frisco voters and how they will soon decide on civil service and collective bargaining for fire fighters.  It questioned if it was ethical for Council Member Bill Woodard, who opposes the measure to lead the PAC.  The article points out that by law, Woodard is prohibited from speaking out against the measure that is on the May ballot. 

In a recent announcement we obtained from a source, it showed that Woodard was set to speak on March 21^st at the Frisco Rotary meeting to give an “explanation of the propositions.”  How is he going to speak if it is prohibited by law from him speaking out against the measure?  In the DMN article, Woodard said “that he can have both positions from two distinct capacities.”  He went on to say, “I am doing this as a citizen, as a member of this PAC, and anything that I say is in no way representative of my position on council.”

Honk, Honk!  Did you hear the horn blow?  If Bill Woodard wanted to speak on these measures as a resident, then why did he use campaign contributions to help set up the PAC?  Campaign contributions generally come from the public to help you fund your election for COUNCIL.  Woodard donated $200 to help the PAC from his Campaign Contributions.  It is noted as In-Kind Contribution at the UPS store for a PO Box for Safety First Frisco.   

Is that all he donated?   On the same campaign contribution report, he also shows an expense on 9/5/23 for $216.92 paid to Bluehost for webhosting.  Then on 10/10/23 there is an expense to Google for URL registration fees in the amount of $196.91.  Woodard terms out next year in 2025, so what type of website would he need to be buying and hosting now?  Drum roll please…our guess is the PACs website.  We did a search to see who is hosting the website and well, you guessed it, Bluehost and it was created on 10/18/23.  That is just days after registering the URL’s.

Remember in the DMN article he said he could speak out as a citizen, so why not fund the PAC with his own personal money?  Why not pay for it from his personal bank account?  Why did he fund it from his political campaign contributions?  How can he say now after funding it from his campaign contributions that he is just a REGULAR JOE citizen speaking out against the measures? 

Next, we wondered how does the audience distinguish between Councilman Bill Woodard and resident Bill Woodard?   Bill Woodard was elected to the Frisco City Council in June 2016 and his current term expires in May 2025.  Bill Woodards name has been in front of residents as Councilman Bill Woodard for 8 years now.  If an announcement says Bill Woodard is coming to speak and explain the propositions, as an audience member or a resident you are automatically going to make “the connection” to the Frisco City Council.  The only way we could take Bobblehead Bill’s opinions from the perspective of a resident is if he was NOT AN ACTIVE council member or had never served on the council and then we would have never known who was anyways.

This is no different than the concern residents have had for years now with Mayor Jeff Cheney, wait should we call him Jeff Cheney Real Estate Broker, or resident Jeff Cheney.  Do you see the confusion?  Do you think Real Estate Broker Jeff Cheney would be asked to speak at Chamber events?  We have never seen the Chamber invite any other Real Estate Broker to headline an event or win Executive of the Year.  Do you think resident Jeff Cheney would be asked to the Dallas Cowboys Christmas Kick Off to speak at the podium?  Probably not!  When you hear the name Jeff Cheney, you immediately associate him with his position as Mayor of the Frisco City Council.  So, resident Jeff Cheney could not speak at the Rotary either and be an independent resident in opposition to the measures.  The audience does not make that separation.

We did notice one interesting thing today as we poked around.  The Frisco Rotary website now shows two names speaking on the proposed measures.  First up, “resident” Bill Woodard, followed by Matt Sapp, President of the Frisco Fire Fighters Association.  At least the Rotary Club came to their senses and invited both parties to explain their positions.  We wonder if the invitation to the association was extended after the original announcement, which is why they were not listed.

When is ENOUGH, ENOUGH?  The city continues to play between the lines.  They had published online and several other places where they were opposed to the ballot measures and had to take them down because it was illegal.  Backed into a corner it now appears they are using Bobblehead Bill to speak against the measures.  It is the “BACKDOOR” plan that teeters on legal vs illegal, or ethical vs unethical.  It all comes down to the city, and the city council who think they are above the law, and they don’t have to be accountable to the residents.  It is the “FRISCO WAY” they always talk about.  When will someone, a reporter, residents, or maybe the district attorney, call them out on the Shady ShXt behavior they continue to display?  This is an obvious “F U” to the residents and the fire fighters of Frisco.