Frisco: Bought & Paid For

We have wondered for years how these political endorsements and donations work in the City of Frisco.  We have pointed out that council members donate to each other, that they take rather large donations from developers, and that it all gives off the wrong appearance to the public.  We have been met with such resistance to the suggestion that this city is bought and paid for, and the victims are the residents, just living their lives paying taxes.  All we have wanted is for the residents to have a voice and a right to vote for what they want in this city, something that terrifies our council and city management.  So how are things bought and paid for, well grab some popcorn because we are about to tell you.

Let’s start with Safety First Frisco, a PAC, set up to oppose Proposition A & B for Civil Service and Collective Bargaining put forth by the men and women who serve our city in the Fire Department every day. The PAC was set up by members of our city council (Bobblehead Bill Woodard), Former City Manager George Purefoy and Mike Simpson, Dick Peasley, and many more of the Cheney klan. Then add to that our current council members (minus Brian Livingston) who are out block walking, holding community events, and taking to social media to oppose the propositions and take jabs at our firefighters while trying to tell us how to vote.  Yes, I know they will say we are crazy!

Well, this morning we pulled down the Safety First Frisco campaign finance report which was filed 3 DAYS LATE.  What we saw was chilling, appalling, disturbing, and intimidating.   We talked about how the PAC was set up in our earlier blog, The Secret PAC. Today’s campaign finance report shows that from 1/1/2024 to 3/25/2024 the PAC took in $105,201.32 which breaks down to $22,950 in monetary political contributions, $12,251.32 in non-monetary contributions (in-kind), and $70,000 in monetary contributions from CORPORATIONS OR LABOR ORGANIZATIONS.  Stop and read that again and let it percolate that in 2 months a PAC took in $105,201.32.

Where, oh where, did the monetary political contributions come from:

Bill Woodard For Frisco: $1000.00

Craig and Kathryn Hall (Hall Group – Developers): $10,000

Jeff Brawner and R.J. Grogan (Law Partners): $500 each

Kyle Wilks – President Wilks Development of Firefly Park Project: $10,000

Where, oh where, did the non-monetary (in-kind) contributions come from:

George Purefoy, former City Manager: $4000 for Polling Expense

Bill For Frisco Campaign: $8000 for Polling Expenses, and $54.92 for Printing Expenses, $39.50 for Website Expenses, $206.22 for Printing Expenses, and $59.53 for Website Expenses.

Where, oh where, did the monetary contributions from a CORPORATION OR LABOR ORGANIZATION come from:

Mario Sinacola & Sons Exc, Inc: $10,000 (they have active contracts with developers & the City of Frisco)

K-N Ventures (aka Fehmi Karahan of Fields Development): $10,000

Columbus Realty Partners (aka, Staubach, Richard Reupke, Robert Shaw & Fields Development): $10,000

Rudco Land, LLC (aka Trey Sibley III or Hillwood Properties – Fields Development): $10,000

Hunt Funding Group (aka Hunt – Fields Development): $10,000

CrossTie Capital (aka Philip Rose – Fields): $10,000        *click the name to read our last blog.

Chief Partners III, LP (aka William Vanderstraaten – Fields): $10,000

It is important to note that any of the names above that are underlined, DON’T LIVE IN FRISCO.  Yes, they have a development here, but they are not Frisco Residents.   

What does all this money mean?  It means Frisco was bought and paid for by DEVELOPERS!!!!  These same people who run the same corporations have donated to almost every one of our council members, some more than others (meaning Cheney).  Just look at Keating and Pelham’s current campaign finance reports, the same names appear across the board. 

Ask yourself, why are current council members so OPPOSED to the Frisco Fire Fighters Association, which has been around since 1997, but they all took ENDORSEMENTS & MONEY OR IN-KIND DONATIONS from them when running for office?  The firefighters spent about $10,000 on Bill Woodard and about $8,000 on Laura Rummell.  They have paid for signs and billboards for the candidates they have endorsed.  Now, they want you to believe the Frisco Fire Fighters and the ASSOCIATION are trying to RUIN AND DESTROY FRISCO? 

We have been to a few events now and the message from the Fire Fighters has been consistent at each one.  If you don’t like Prop B, then don’t vote for it, but please understand why they are pushing for Prop A and consider voting Yes for Prop A.  They also have said that come May 5th when the election is over, they will still show up at your door and be here to service the citizens of Frisco the same way they have all these years.  That begs the question, how is our City Council serving the citizens?  Wait, they don’t care about what citizens want.  Yet when you follow the Safety-First Frisco website or Facebook page all they have done is attack with absolute hate and anger our firefighters, our former Fire Chief, and yet they claim they love them.  It feels very personal, to be honest.

They are serving themselves!  Bobblehead Bill wants his bikes, trikes, and trails.  Tammy wants her performing arts center.  Keating stands up for Veterans which we respect but outside of that he is just there for the photo opp and to be a cool kid.  Laura Rummell claims to be the pet advocate, yet she has done nothing.  Brian maintains his concerns about density and resident welfare.  Lastly, for years, rumors have followed Mayor Jeff Cheney or should we say Real Estate Broker Jeff Cheney that he has used his position as Mayor to further his own business and personal wealth.  For years, Jeff Cheney has denied over and over any wrongdoing, favoritism, or personal benefits from his relationships.  All his loyal subjects fall in line and defend him and say it is just a COINCIDENCE.

In closing, we saw a post from Brian Livingston earlier about how he is not very confident that his discussion regarding lobbying restrictions will pick up any traction, well duh!  He is not sure why the transparency of money movement between lobbyists, clients, and politicians is a concern for some people.  We assume that “some people” he is referring to is the Frisco City Council and City Management. The same council member who when he endorsed Mark Piland for Mayor in 2022, was later removed from all committees as well as his campaign manager.  Revenge or just COINCIDENCE.

Ask yourself one question, who is the real bad guy here?

The Election Fix: Politicians’ Pocket Change

When you open a campaign finance report the first thing you see is a list of donors supporting a campaign.  But beyond the pages, if you dig and go back far enough you find a treasure chest that shows you the politicians’ political expenditures.  It is the section where politicians showcase their exceptional talent for creative accounting! It is truly a treasure trove of clandestine expenditures that should make any commonsense reader wonder if they’re funding a campaign or planning a covert mission to Mars. From “strategic consulting fees” to “research expenses” it’s a riveting read for anyone interested in the fine art of obfuscation. Who needs transparency when you can have a thrilling game of financial hide-and-seek?

On John Keating’s report there is one name, Mustang Strategies LLC that appears 7 times.  We were curious how one politician in less than two and half months can spend $18,655.50 with one company.  We looked up the company on OpenCorporates.com and the agent’s name of record is Jason Zelovics and its office is right here in Frisco. It appears the certificate of formation is dated 08/27/2019.  He also has another company called Round Table Strategies.  We looked at Angelia Pelham’s report and it appears she paid $0.00 to a “consultant”, so again why has Keating spent so much?

The next item is Hope Floats Creative LLC, for whom he made two payments each for $975 on 3/1/24 and 3/20/24.  According to their website they are the official publication for Frisco Lakes Community Association, Inc.  Makes sense!

In January, Keating donated $2500 to Linking Cultures of Frisco for the 2024 MLK Gala.  We were curious to know who runs Linking Cultures of Frisco?  We visited the organizations website and according to the MLK Gala invite if you would like to be a sponsor email AngeliaPelham@LinkingCulturesOfFrisco.org.  Ding, Ding Ding!  Here we go again one council person donating to another council person or their organization.  It leaves us asking how can Angelia ever claim to be impartial with Keating when it comes to a vote or if he were ever charged with an ethics complaint? 

The last two expenditures are the most interesting and got us thinking.  The first was for $2500 to Collin County Republican Party on 1/24/24 for there 2024 Lincoln Day Dinner fundraiser.  Turns out he has donated a lot to them over the years and that makes us wonder, can that affect an endorsement?  If up against another candidate, are they going to go with Keating just because he has given money to the GOP?   On a side note, OpenSecrets.org has John Keatings occupation listed as “househusband.”

The next is $475 to the Frisco Chamber for Membership fees paid on 1/2/24 and has donated or paid fee’s several times to them.  It begs the question, in the upcoming forum being held April 11, 2024, will the Chamber show “BIAS” towards a new candidate.  They did last year so we can only assume they will this year.  Which makes us believe any new candidate who has not paid a group may have a harder time than candidate who has paid that same group.

In the end, we cannot get the math to add up on Keating’s reports.  Can you?

Carried Over from Last Reporting Period: $9207.27 + Political Contributions $35,125.00 = $44,332.27

Total of Last Report and Contributions = $44,332.27 + Loan $50,000.00 = Total $94,332.27

Total $94,332.27 – Political Expenditures $31,345.83 = Total $62,986.44

Yet his Totals Page has $66,691.66 which is a difference of $3705.22.  Either he can’t do math, his campaign finance person can’t do math, or something smells like a German man’s armpit.  That leaves us asking, who is checking these reports and where are the checks and balances?  The other concern we have is how much some of these “Consulting” companies are being paid, but that is a whole other issue to go down the rabbit hole with. One thing is clear, these practices can raise concerns about the integrity of the electoral process and the fairness of decision-making in local government.