Ah yes, the newest myth making the rounds in Frisco’s political whisper network: “Tammy Meinershagen was tricked. Led astray. Lured into saying those things she obviously believes. It’s not her fault—it was a setup!”
Cue the dramatic violin. Please.
Let’s be clear:This isn’t a conspiracy—it’s a confession. Tammy wasn’t led anywhere. She wasn’t prompted. No one shoved a script in her hand and said, “go ruin your credibility.” What you heard in those tapes was not stumbles or slips. They were her unfiltered opinions—her beliefs, her attitude toward other fellow leaders, and her disdain for her constituents laid bare.
But Tammy supporters? They’ll believe anything—as long as it lets them avoid looking in the mirror at the cold hard truth. Anything except the truth.
The Silence of the Cabal
Now let’s talk about the rest of the Frisco elite—those quiet pillars of complicity who heard these same tapes and responded with… crickets.
Jeff Cheney: Silent.
John Keating: Silent.
Bill Woodard: Silent.
Former officials mentioned in the recordings: Dead silent.
Their SILENCE makes them complicit to the thoughts and actions displayed on the Toxic Tammy Tapes. Silence isn’t just a lack of words—it’s a choice. A political calculation. A fear-driven retreat into the shadows. And if you want to be mayor of Frisco but can’t speak out when a sitting council member exposes herself as part of a toxic, backroom clique that mocks constituents and violates confidence, then guess what:
You are not fit to be mayor.
You don’t deserve the trust of the public if your response is to remain silent, then wait and see which way the wind blows.
The Keating Episode
Now, about John Keating. When the tapes dropped, he said nothing publicly. But privately? Oh, we heard from him. Trust us, we debated long and hard whether to release what he told us, because we have rules. One of them is protecting real sources (aka whistleblowers). However, let’s be clear: Asking us to scrub information about your family out of the tapes doesn’t make you a whistleblower, it makes you someone who is asking for a favor. And we don’t owe you favors.
Keating was upset that his kids were mentioned in the recordings. And rightly so. He sent us an email on Friday, May 2nd at 6:46pm asking us to remove or edit out the portion about his sons, or references to them. That’s right, instead of confronting Tammy Meinershagen, who aired private conversations she had with his ex-wife, he came to Frisco Chronicles asking for a favor.
To be very clear, we understand why Keating is upset and we respect it. His kids (even though they are grown) don’t deserve to be in the discussion. They are private citizens who did not ask for their life to be on blast. However, let us be plainly clear – we are not the ones who put them on blast…. Tammy Meinershagen did! It does not matter if the meeting was recorded or not; she should never have brought it up to someone else outside of her conversation with John or Leslie. Tammy Meinershagen broke the confidence, broke the trust, and broke the friendship lines and barriers. NO ONE ELSE!
On May 3rd at 3:11 AM we wrote Mr. Keating back and said thank you for request. Removing it now is nearly impossible as it has already been uploaded and shared. We told him we understood his frustration, however we are not the ones who brought his kids into this – Tammy Meinershagen did. We did ask our tech guy if there was a way to take it out after being posted (to be kind) but he told us there was not.
That say day, May 3rd at 7:54 AM, John Keating replied and said he understood and agreed “Tammy is responsible for all of this.”
He then continued to tell us, “Despite playing a small role in the overall story, I must say, the written narratives were very clever, wickedly entertaining, and at times, hysterically funny.”
He closed his email with “I hope the community does hold Meinershagen accountable for what she said. She certainly offended all four corners of Frisco with insults, bigotry, jealousy, and hatred.” Yet publicly, Keating remained silent! Never once standing up for the four corners of Frisco he mentions. This is a man who already discussing with folks his bid for Mayor when Cheney’s term ends. He is already actively asking for endorsements for when that time comes.
HOW DO YOU ENDORSE A GUY, SUPPORT A GUY, WHO HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO DO THE RIGHT THING, AND STAYED SILENT?
We’ll say it as directly and plainly as possible: If you’re more upset about being exposed than about the bad behavior being exposed—you’re part of the problem. Keating has endorsed Gopal and been across the city with him the last month wooing the South Asian community to vote for Gopal. He will also be at the polls with Gopal, why? Keating expects Gopal to do the same in return when he runs for Mayor and he knows he can’t and won’t win with out the South Asian vote!
WAKE UP SOUTH ASIANS!!!! NEITHER GOPAL, NOR KEATING CARE ABOUT THE SOUTH ASIAN COMMUNITY. THEY STRICTLY WANT YOUR MONEY AND YOUR VOTE! IF THEY DID CARE, THEY WOULD HAVE STOOD UP FOR THE COMMUNITY INSTEAD OF REMAINING SILENT AND COMPLICIT!
A Final Word to the Voters
Next time Keating—or any silent leader—asks for your vote, remember what they said when the city needed courage. Nothing.
If you can’t speak up when your own political ally crosses the line, don’t pretend you’ll fight for the rest of us when the stakes are higher.
Truth doesn’t need a PR campaign. It just needs a spine. And Frisco’s voters deserve leaders who have one.
Welcome to Frisco, where city forums are held in churches and the post-debate fellowship feels more like WWE Raw match than Sunday service. If you came to the Frisco Chamber Candidate Forum expecting polite civic engagement and balanced moderation, you were about to get body slammed by reality. Because after the cameras stopped rolling and the applause faded, the real action kicked off in the lobby of Grace Church, where things took a turn for the bizarre—and borderline unhinged.
According to multiple witnesses, Frisco resident and self-appointed political pitbull Jake Petras decided the Frisco Chamber Forum evening wasn’t over. Before we continue, for context purposes, this is the same man who recently showed up at the political polls to support Tammy Meinershagen, holding a picture/poster that many found offensive and degrading to a female South Asian candidate. A local news channel did a story on the poster/photo after the incident. At the time, Petras told the news he was sorry, and issued an apology to anyone who may have been offended.
Petras made his way across the lobby of Grace Church to verbally harass Place 4 Candidate, Jared Elad. Petras began engaging in an aggressive and unsolicited confrontation with Elad. It was a moment so far removed from civic discourse; it may as well have come with entrance music and a steel chair. A Frisco Police Officer who heard the confrontation made his way over and stood next to Elad. Fortunately, one brave resident—a quiet observer turned unlikely hero—stepped in to defuse the situation, pulling a classic wrestling move of their own: the well-timed interference.
Petras then began telling the resident, he wanted to talk to Elad because he was upset that Elad blocked him from his candidate Facebook page. He also talked about “that day at the polls” and told the resident he did not have a sense of humor because “it was funny.” Petras apologized for the optics when that incident happened, but apparently, he had a change of heart and thinks the sign at the polls was funny again. He continued to say if he has something to say to Petras, say it to his face, own it, own it.
At the same time, another supporter of Elad and Thakur went over to Mr. Thakur and informed him of the escalating confrontation. They recommended he get his signs and get out of there because it was clear Petras wanted a confrontation, and they were worried that if he did not get it with Elad, he might turn his attention to Burt Thakur. We are told Thakur gathered his signs and quickly went out the front door.
But he didn’t stop there. As Elad left to go to his car, accompanied by a local supporter, seeking an end to the evening’s chaos — Petras followed him into the parking lot, heckling him the whole way. What was the point? Why would Petras do that? Surely it was over once they got to the car, right? Wrong!
After Elad loaded his signs into his vehicle, he and his local supporter headed back to the church and like a subplot from a reality TV drama no one asked for, Petras followed Elad back to the church, continuing the pursuit until Elad asked a Frisco Police Officer who had been watching the whole event for help. At that point the officer stepped in and asked Jake for his name and ended the confrontation.
Elad went into the Church while his supporters remained outside. One of the folks at the church sent us this video. When we asked her why she recorded it she responded, “Jake wanted a reaction and with the current climate, I was worried about what narrative would be portrayed to the public if something went sideways.” She recorded from the Church lobby as they walked to the car in a group, the second time. She continued, “Elad avoided the confrontation the best he could by ignoring Mr. Petras, who was hoping for a reaction.”
Lastly, she mentioned the Frisco Police Officer who was there for security purposes should have had the entire event on his body cam footage. He was standing next to Elad in the church during the confrontation and watched Petras follow Elad to his car through the front doors of Grace Church. We have requested this through a PIR. Will the city be “TRANSPARENT” and turn it over to us?
As Elad left the church for the last time, surrounded by multiple supporters, the video clearly shows Jake Petras, Lori Medina, and Steve Cone standing together, talking. We have many questions!
Jake Petras is mad that he is blocked from someone’s Facebook page. I wish we lived in Las Vegas, because I would bet a million bucks on the odds that Petras is blocked by numerous people! Yet, he couldn’t care less that his friends like Mayor Jeff Cheney and Councilman John Keating block residents from their page every day! We are blocked and we are not confronting people at forums, raising a ruckus!
Was this a setup? Was it motivated or intentional?
Was Lori Medina involved? She made it quickly to Petras side after the confrontation ended.
Who knows! What unfolded that night wasn’t just embarrassing for the Chamber — it was a chilling look at how toxic and personal Frisco politics has become. No one stepped up to help the candidate except for one man – and to that person we thank you for doing the right thing. Instead of being a time to “inform and educate” the election cycle has been replaced with “intimidate and escalate.” This wasn’t a forum. This was a verbal cage match with a Tammy supporter.
Next, stat tuned for the door-to-door delivery drama!
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.
I literally just saw this. Yeah, she used to forward everybody’s emails behind their backs.
You're dropping truth bombs! These mom and pop shops are what should be the least of Karen's worries. If they…
Interesting Article
I don't know, Patrick, and I'm not familiar with SREC, so I'm unable to answer your questions.
Hi Patrick—when is your SREC30 meeting. Missed the one and want to together before Sept.