Anyone who tells you they look forward to each election cycle and the Frisco Chamber Forum is either lying, blind or deaf! Each year we watch it live, hoping it will be an independent, and we are always disappointed, and this week was no different!
If you watched the Frisco Chamber Candidate Forum this week, then you saw Tammy Meinershagen’s opening statement. In case you missed it, Meinershagen said, “This re-election has been the hardest thing I have done in my entire life. I am very grateful for the love and support of my husband, 3 daughters, my friends, my supporters who have walked in this journey with me, and I am thankful for many of you who have had open, honest, and healing conversations.
There is more that unites us than divides us. But what is happening in Frisco is not okay. This is not our Frisco. Doing secret recordings, having multiple fake profiles, anonymous blogs, attacking family members, this is not right. And despite being attacked, and my family being attacked, I’m still here. I’m here to fight. Fight against the dirty tactics, fight for Frisco, and I believe all of us need to come together and refuse to accept this as the new normal of choosing our Frisco leadership. We need to choose better. I believe that tonight you’re going to hear more empty promises, performative politics, and sound bites.
I’m here to talk about my record and what I’ve actually done for the citizens of Frisco and for our city through my time here. I look forward to earning your vote and sharing more about my time here in Frisco.”
While Tammy stands proudly and proclaims she is here to fight against dirty tactics and this being the new norm of Frisco, behind the scenes her supporters are doing exactly that! Don’t let Toxic Tammy fool you, she is holding up to her statement that she is here to fight! Fight for her control to govern by using her own supporters or any means necessary including committing dirty acts she talked about in her opening statement, all while acting coy and innocent, “oh poor me the victim.”
Incoming! Meet the Political Porch Pirate!
Like political cloak-and-dagger a mysterious car drives slowly through a neighborhood on the hunt for a specific political porch. The car has arrived at its destination, then parks at the house next door. A mysterious man walks up the front steps of the home and begins to approach the front porch. The Ring Doorbell shows him laying down an envelope, then he quickly turns to leave ascending down the front steps. Who was the mystery man? What did he drop off? What could be in that envelope? Is this the only home that received that envelope?
Guess what, we know! SMILE FOR THE CAMERAS
Who is the mystery man delivering envelopes all over town? We had several people send us Ring Doorbell footage and security camera footage and after careful examination ….
Meet Brian Thomson, a resident here in Frisco who worked the polls every day for Tammy Meinershagen at Frisco Fire Station 7. Brian is a long time Tammy supporter and according to Been Verified has an asset listed similar to the car in the video.
“Political Poison Pages: Unpacking the False Burt Binder”
What is in the envelope? We call it the Burt Binder, by that we mean a hit piece against Burt Thakur! The first page talks about how Burt defies the TX GOP Platform with public union support. A COMPLETE LIE! Tammy’s team is crumbling due to the Frisco Firefighters Association and Frisco Police Officers Association endorsing Burt Thakur and Jared Elad. The only way to counter that is to use scary words like “union supporter” in a last-ditch effort to scare them before early voting. At no time has Burt said he supports unions, but he has said he supports our public safety departments. He believes that through conversation and getting back to the table and addressing the primary issue of staffing would alleviate many of the problems. Keep in mind both departments have done “staffing studies” that we have published right here on Frisco Chronicles that at the time showed The City of Frisco was below standards in both departments. These men and woman put their life on the line to save us, our homes, our pets, and they are not asking for a raise. They are asking for more staffing! Burt has said he supports more staffing so that we can be where we need to be to keep citizens safe and our police and fire fighters safe. How is that supporting “unions?”
Next the front page of this binder lists a political action committee that we are not listing here because we have been able to find ANY LEGAL FILINGS FOR THIS PAC. For now, we have to believe this is a FAKE PAC and question if this group is even legit? The binder has a certain look to it that we have seen before, and we have a pretty good guess of who designed it! One of Tammy’s greatest supporters! We won’t say their name because we are not 100% sure but we are 99.99999% sure.
The second page talks about how Burt ran for Congress. Okay, and? John Keating ran for the Texas House of Representatives in 2015. That’s right, he ran for District 33 in 2016 which covers Rockwall County and parts of Collin County. At the time he ran he touted how he was proud to establish the $5Billion Dollar Mile – what happened with that, oh yeah Lake Lebanon was born after the developer went belly up. Guess what, Keating lost by 99 votes! So, if Tammy and her supporters are saying Burt is not qualified because he ran for Congress then how is John Keating qualified? He was endorsed in his 2016 bid for District 33 by every major REPUBLICAN and still lost by 99 votes. If you have all the support and still can’t win, should you be qualified to be sitting on city council?
The false binder then discusses how Burt auditioned for a TV or was on Jeopardy. Being an actor, appearing on a game show, or having an IMDb page makes you inept and not qualified to run for office? Hey Matthew McConaughey – you can’t run for Texas Governor! Hey Dr. Mehmet Oz, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Clint Eastwood, Al Franken, and Donald Trump – according to Tammy supporters and this FAKE PAC you are all inept and unqualified to run for government offices.
The next page says Burt’s campaign manager is a Hard Democrat and we reached out to him, and he said he is his own campaign manager. He has many supporters on both sides of the isle (Tammy said that too at the Forum this week) and he appreciates all their help to win so he can serve the people of Frisco. Let me understand, it is okay for Tammy who claims to be a Republican, to be supported by HARD…HARD DEMOCRATS, and that is, okay? It is also okay Meinershagen to pander to the Republican Base that she is a conservative and yet not one conservative candidate or group has come out to endorse her.
Campaign of Harassment
In what can only be described as a masterclass in political desperation, supporters of Tammy “Toxic Tapes” Meinershagen have gone beyond spirited campaigning and crossed the line into something far more disturbing — a coordinated, relentless campaign of harassment and intimidation against her opponent, Burt Thakur. It started with whisper campaigns and online trolling but quickly escalated into full-blown digital and real-world stalking. Facebook pages, comment sections, and community groups have been littered with copy-paste attacks, baseless accusations, and character assassinations aimed at discrediting Thakur.
But it didn’t stop there. Someone—clearly with too much toner and not enough integrity—dropped off phony binders filled with lies and distortions at private homes of Thakur supporters. A juvenile stunt meant to mirror past political smear tactics. These “binders” had all the hallmarks of a hit job: half-truths, wild speculation, and outright fabrications. And as Election Day draws near, things will get uglier. One resident email to us described it “more like a mob than a campaign” that has resorted to stalking, slander, and intimidation tactics. Frisco deserves a campaign, not a crusade—and voters have every right to demand better than this.
“Tammy’s Greatest Hits: Now That’s What I Call Hypocrisy”
Tammy’s opening statement completely goes against what her supporters are doing! Does she want us to believe she does not know the porch pirate deliveries? Does she want us to believe she did not know what Jake Petras would do at the polls while holding her Vote For Tammy sign? Tammy has one problem: she is full of lip service and zero accountability for her actions and the actions of her campaign or the supporters of her campaign. Her hot mic moment exposed her cold heart! Even amid full proof truth, her supporters will still fight till the fat lady sings that she is INNOCENT! INNOCENT! Tammy is a well-experienced politician who knows how to play the game now! A vote for her is a vote for continued corruption within our city. As for Brian Thomson, please email us the filings for your PAC.
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 the heart of Frisco, a tempest brews after the release of Tammy Meinershagen’s true intentions caught on tape. It is not a brew of natural elements, but of words, actions, and deep-seated tensions. When it comes to the public safety departments, our city leaders love to tout how “great we are, and everything is just perfect!” However, when you talk to employees of the PS departments, you will hear a much different version, and it has been boiling for several years in private and last year became very public when the Frisco Firefighters Association worked to get Civil Service and Collective Bargaining on the ballot.
Last year, the city said, “the Police are happy, this is just about a POWER GRAB by a few firefighters.” You keep hearing about Station 10 being built, but the better question is, how will they staff it? Two months ago, they had a hiring announcement for fire, and this week posted again. They better hurry and hire with the numerous people just leaving this year. Four members of the leadership team – retired so they can move on to another job, same field, with a better city/county. More in the last month have made the exodus!
We can’t wait to see the ribbon cutting for Station 10 and all the new equipment, oh wait! Will that station have an engine? Will it have an Aeriel Truck, a Rescue Truck, or a Tanker Truck? Will it have an ambulance? We know from our discussions with city insiders that the station was built so they could finally say, “We built Station 10, we are good!” But just because they built it does not mean it will be fully staffed or have the needed apparatuses like the other stations. It is called “bait-n-switch” folks! Dig into it!
On May 10th the Frisco Firefighters Association and Frisco Police Officers Association united in a “Joint Public Safety Endorsement” for candidate Burt Thakur, who is running for CC Place 2. Then, on May 13, the two groups released another “Joint Public Safety Endorsement” for candidate Jared Elad, who is running for CC Place 4. The decision for both organizations to come together speaks volumes to the boiling point temperature happening within the walls of the city between public safety, city management, and the Council. Then yesterday the Frisco Police Officers Assocation released the following statement:
As you can imagine, the supporters of Tammy Meinershagen and Gopal Ponangi were not too happy with the endorsements. Meinershagen’s supporters have lost their ballistic missile over it. The proof shows in the things being posted across social media. It is enough to ignite a discourse that transcends typical political disagreements, touching the very core of the community’s trust and respect. It is a campaign of swarms and smears that is hotter than a jalapeno in July.
What should be a civil discussion about leadership and public safety has turned into a rhetorical wildfire, complete with insults, conspiracy theories, and even an unfortunate comparison to… ants? Yes. Ants.
In a social media post that makes your eyebrows arch, and your coffee go cold, Tammy supporter Tracie Reveal Shipman writes, “Have you ever noticed how fire ants respond to a threat? (If you’ve lived in TX long enuf… YOU KNOW what I’m talking about!) They swarm. They send signals throughout the mound to crawl all over the perceived threat and then, on cue, they attack! I thought of that this morning when I read the Frisco Police Association’s “attack” on Tammy Meinershagen.
Shipmen then goes on to describe the Frisco Police Officers Association’s criticism of Meinershagen as akin to fire ants swarming on cue. “They attack,” she wrote, painting our police and fire associations—comprised of actual human beings who protect and serve this city—as mindless insects who swarm when threatened. Shipman ends her post with “Don’t be fooled by the swarm! Don’t get bit by distractions and deceptive heresay.”
Let’s be clear: this wasn’t just some metaphorical faux pas. This was a deliberate attempt to dehumanize public safety employees for daring to speak up against a politician. For many, it crossed a serious line, and our inbox and messenger started filling up with comments and perspectives. These are the same men and women who run toward danger when others run away, and now they’re being painted as the villains for expressing concern about ethics and accountability.
What we find even more disgusting is that Shipman is some sort of motivational coach and her website claims she works with “leaders around the globe” and she is “Dedicated to Building Purpose, Passion, and Performance.” Ms. Shipman, if you are a globetrotting problem solver, then why not help fix the problem? Can’t you arrange with all your insider city friends to bring together the council, management and both public safety departments and perform your earth-shaking motivational speech that will heal everything instead of attacking our public safety departments calling them ants?
One would think, after one of Shipman’s Revelational Speeches we would find our city manager, city council and both public safety groups sitting together in a sweat lodge singing kumbaya my lord releasing all the toxins from their body and building purpose and passion together. To be fair, we don’t know anything about Shipman but just based on her social media posts and her attack style on every post, we find her to be an annoying little woodpecker.
Then we looked at the comments of Shipman’s post and the first one was from Laura Segars Woodard. For those who don’t know that is Councilman Bicycle Bill Woodards wife. She applauds, Tracie and then goes on to say, “Part of the reason why my husband, Bill, is no longer on FB is because of the abuse he took from the Union and pro-Union people.”
Abuse? Is she serious or on something like the kids in Prosper? A pity party for one, please. Let’s not rewrite history here.
Woodard was not attacked. He led the charge against the Firefighters Association by releasing internal city documents (that were not obtained from a PIR – which means he used city resources in his PAC, which I think maybe illegal), and launching verbal assaults on the department’s integrity. He didn’t just oppose collective bargaining—he called these people lazy and tried to discredit their service altogether. Now, his wife is trying to play the victim card at a bad poker table.
Then Tracie Shipman must jump back into the fight to reply to someone, and she says, “It’s unfortunate that the comments from the altered recordings have, once again, been conveniently taken out of context to fit a tired narrative. To be clear, the reference to 300 lb bullies was directed to the union reps at the polls last year during the VOTE NO campaign. But we wouldn’t know that, because the recordings were manipulated to remove the prompting questions and context. For all we know, the questioner used the word “bullies” first and Tammy was responding to the use of that word. But hey… why let a little thing like that get in the way of some good old-fashioned righteous indignation!?
She continues, “I’m a huge fan of metaphors and I stand by mine. From my perspective, the behavior of the association members looks swarm-like with what appears to be coordinated attacks. AND, as I said in my post, I understand WHY they are behaving like they are. They feel threatened. The voters already rejected the union demands of one local association and Tammy represents the tip of the spear in that ongoing tax-payer fight!” She closes with, “Oh, And I do hope CBS News picks up the story and investigates the potential crime of the recordings! Thank you for tagging them!
WHISTLEBLOWERS RESPONSE: Your candidate, Tammy Meinershagen, has taken a huge hit because of her own choices. She chose to violate her friendships and the private conversations she had with those friends when she went to someone else’s place and revealed what she had been told. I am sure her friends thought they were having a safe space conversation when they talked about their families, marriages and kids. Guess it is okay for her to violate that sanctity but not someone else? Sounds like on top of being a bad friend, she is also a hypocrite. We listened to the entire conversation and Meinershagen was not prompted in anyway down any single path if she was we would not have released it.
2: The “Unions” you speak of have nothing do with this. Remember last year, when Angelia said what will happen after the election, where do we go on May 5, 2024? Well, Ms. Shipman, after the election last year, our Frisco Firefighters went back to work. They have been working and on their own personal time chose to go lobby in Austin for a bill they truly believe benefits their lives, their children’s lives and the other first responders in Texas. They have done nothing! Now because you have nothing else to fight with you want to use scary, intimidating words, like unions in order to put a fear in someone. This has nothing do with Unions and everything to do with Tammy Meinershagens choices!
3: CBS NEWS: CBS is welcome to reach out to us by email or through our attorney, who is listed on our website. Our attorney will represent us, and we will comply with all laws while PROTECTING OUR SOURCES. We have nothing to hide, did nothing illegal, and did not misrepresent anything.
Meanwhile, Amanda Baze Hall, also posted today calling for truth over tactics. First, she dismissed the Frisco Police Officers Association by saying they don’t represent all Frisco Police. Hall then goes on to claim she knows what is really happening when clearly, she doesn’t! After that she attacks “a candidate” who moved here from California who is pretending to be a conservative. Well, if that were true then why are the Frisco Democrats not happy about that? Why are they all backing Tammy Meinershagen who claims to be a Republican, when she isn’t?
Of course, we like to go to the comments, and we see a name know all too well…Lisa Kirby. Lisa attacks the FPOA Treasurer Colby Hill, for being arrested. Is she trying to assert that all officers are bad or discredited because one has been arrested? From everything we can tell, the FPOA was transparent and fully cooperated with the investigation. She makes it sound like the FPOA did something wrong when they didn’t. If she wants to hold the FPOA responsible for Colby Hill, then maybe we should hold Chief Shilson accountable or responsible for the other officers arrested under his command, right? You will always have bad actors in life, but in this case, good officers did the right thing, and now you want to make them look bad for doing their job and holding the bad ones accountable?
Then Kirby continues to slam the Elads, long-standing residents of our community, by implying that they cannot serve simultaneously on two separate boards. If we look at all the boards and commissions in Frisco, are we going to find any husband-and-wife duo’s serving on separate boards? If we do, should we question that dynamic?
So, let’s talk about Kirby and her true colors now! Kirby supports Meinershagen and the apple may not fall from the tree as she has several posts that in our opinion are subtle digs and making fun of Sai and Burt Thakur. They say you are usually friends with like-minded individuals.
Finally we have Laura Segars Woodard popping up again in the comments. At 9:43 am today wrote, “ I was shocked to see what the FPOA posted when there is an ongoing criminal investigation for these illegally obtained recordings. What is the etiquette about discussing an open case and also sharing misinformation? The recordings were definitely edited, and there was no mention of Police in them. It is clear the pro-Union people and organizations will try to get their way by any means.”
Funny thing, Laura Woodard…if there is a criminal investigation into illegally obtained recordings – HOW DO YOU KNOW ABOUT IT? If the council was informed about an investigation that would be private city business, and they should not even be discussing that with their SPOUSE. Laura, you asked about the “etiquette of discussing an open case and also sharing misinformation?” Is Facebook the right place to be asking that question? Don’t you think if it is inappropriate for FPOA, to post comments, it would be inappropriate for you to be posting about an open investigation as a councilman’s wife? Especially when you should know nothing about it. Lastly, she tries to intimidate people using the word “union” which is MISINFORMATION, isn’t it?
Want to hear the best part? Later today at 3:43 PM, Laura Segars Woodard – edited her statement on Facebook and removed everything about a “CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION” and “ILLEGALY OBTAINED RECORDINGS.”
WHISTLEBOWERS RESPONSE
Ms. Woodard, the fact that you know anything about a criminal investigation that has nothing to do with you is ALARMING, CONCERNING, AND INAPPRORPRIATE! The fact that your husband may have been informed of such an investigation and shared that with you IS EVEN MORE CONCERNING! You should know and have the basic knowledge that Texas is a one-consent state and therefore, nothing was ILLEGAL. That means your comments, along with others in your Cabal, are either ignorant because you don’t understand the law, or you are flat out lying to citizens of Frisco. It is a nice way to try and PIVOT away from Tammy’s actions and words, and a useful way to try and gaslight voters and the other candidates.
TO CLEAR UP ANY CONFUSION ABOUT THE RECORDINGS
A source reached out to us and told us they had the tape. That source WAS NOT any of the candidates in either race for Place 2 or 4. Based on the original tape that we listened to, we can assure you the tape was not illegally recorded, we did not obtain it illegally and the only edit we made was to remove a second person at the request of the person who sent it to us. We can also assure you we did not manipulate words, move things around to make it worse and that everything Tammy said was 1000% Tammy Meinershagen’s own words and she was not prompted in any way in the conversation! If the Frisco Police would like to talk to us about this so-called criminal investigation, they can reach out to our Attorney!
Where Do We Go from Here
This isn’t just another Facebook spat—it’s a full-on culture clash and first responder bash! And it’s exposing deep fractures between City Hall, frontline workers who keep Frisco running and the residents of the community.
Let’s end with this: Politics will always have disagreements. But when leaders—or their surrogates—start describing our civil servants as swarming insects, when they dismiss public safety associations as mere obstacles to personal ambition, and when they twist the narrative to play victim while having a history of attack, we’ve gone too far. Frisco deserves better. We deserve real dialogue, mutual respect, and accountability—on both sides of the aisle. And for goodness’ sake, leave the ants out of it.
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.
Back in the day, Frisco was known as a dormant suburb, north of Dallas, but today Frisco is a community undergoing vast changes and becoming its very own urban Metroplex. Gone are the rural days when everyone knew their neighbors, and a trip to Stonebriar Mall was the excitement for the week. Today, we are at a crossroads of transformation, and the experience of change has been both loved and hated along the way.
The reason my wife and I moved here was because we loved the sense of community, the schools, and the feeling of being safe. The truth is all of that has changed with the massive development that has taken place in the last 10+ years. Yes, we knew Frisco would develop and we looked forward to that at one time. However, that is when you had a city council who engaged and listened to the residents and decisions were made based on what was best for the community.
Frisco has changed, and to be very honest, it is now filled with dirty politics on all sides. Secret deals are happening, and our city council is misleading us to approve projects that are in their best interest, and they are leading with iron fists. Our priorities have shifted, and our sense of community is disappearing every day. Today is election day, and each of us has a chance to vote for change.
We debated on releasing the tape of Tammy Meinershagen when we received it. In the end, we felt voters have the right to know who they are electing. Meinershagen’s statements against the South Asian community are offensive. Calling both South Asian candidates idiots and other names is disgusting and shows a lack of leadership and integrity. She then goes on to talk about how she is not afraid of bullies, even if they are 300lb firefighters or a black woman. Since when are those who protect and serve bullies? Her reference to a black woman being a bully because they disagree on how to do things would be the same as calling her an angry black woman, which I am pretty sure the black community would find an offensive stereotype. Then she references that the Frisco population is only 1% Asian, so she has no base here, and with a laugh, says that means she is white. Frisco’s lack of an Asian population does not make you white, Ms. Meinershagen, but it is clear that you want to be.
Then she goes on about her opponent saying she is “offended and insulted that he would run for city council.” So, she is offended that a citizen who had every right to run, is running? She pointed out at the Chamber Forum and on this tape how her opponent ran for Congress and lost – well Ms. Meinershagen, John Keating ran for higher office as well. In fact, he left his seat early to run and when he lost he came back and took over another seat during a special election so does that make him incompetent to run?
Ms. Meinershagen continues to talk about other local leaders, Scott Johnson, Jared Patterson, and Shona Sowell. Then she talks about residents who are or have taken a chance to run for office, like Mark Piland, Burt Thakur, Jared Elad, and Gopal Ponangi. While many may be upset, we released these tapes. The bigger question is, WHY ARE YOU NOT UPSET ABOUT WHAT TAMMY MEINERSHAGEN SAID?
Today Jamie Heit posted on her FRWC page that we have some shady behavior by certain candidates this cycle including that of a current candidate running for office. Heit ignores all the shady behavior her best friends have done in the past and finds excuses for that but now she sits upon a hill of moral authority accusing this candidate of secretly recording a conversation, questioning her morals and integrity.
Here is the problem with Heit’s statement: how does she know it was secretly recorded? Who told her that? Who told her that the conversation was with this candidate? There are only 3 ways you would have known the who, when, where and if it was secretly recorded:
1) Ms. Heit you were there, and you participated in the conversation and if that is the case why were you not disgusted then with the comments by Meinershagen? We know you were not there so we know this option is not possible.
2) Tammy Meinershagen would have had to tell you who this conversation was with and that she was unaware of it being recorded. If that happened, it means TAMMY IS ADMITTING TO THE CONVERSATION AND WHAT SHE SAID IN IT?
3) The candidate whom you have accused of doing this would have had to tell you they did it. We are pretty sure that did not happen. It would make no sense to be a whistleblower and then yell from a rooftop “It’s me!”
Our guess: Ms. Heit, you know about the conversation because Tammy told you, which means she is admitting to her statements. Secretly recorded or not, nothing illegal was done as Texas is a 1-party state. That means Tammy is admitting to her offensive and objectionable conversation. Someone like that should not be a leader in our city, as her statements clearly show she Tammy has no integrity or ethical morality laying out everyone’s personal business to someone.
Then you have Jake Petrus, otherwise known as the “Town Bully” for the cabal. He posted that this was a private conversation, secretly recorded at xxxx home. The only way Jake would know who the other person was or where it was recorded is if TAMMY TOLD HIM! If he is right, that means he talked to Tammy or someone who had talked to Tammy, to know how and when. THAT PROVES THE CONVERSATION IS LEGIT AND THAT TAMMY IS CONFIRMING HER ROLE AND STATEMENTS.
Either way it doesn’t matter if Tammy knew or didn’t know – what matters is Ms. Heit and Jake Petras would not know “the how, when and with who” without Tammy confirming it. That means she knowingly said nasty, hurtful, demeaning, racist things and spread the personal business of those who had trusted her to others in the community like a game of show and tell. Personally, if I were Johnson, Keating or Pelham, I would be glad to know about this. Clearly it shows they cannot trust Tammy, who they thought was a confidant/or a friend.
I don’t think those who considered her a friend would have ever guessed she is spilling the secrets of their lives and private conversations too others. While we are not the greatest fans of Angelia Pelham and John Keating the fact is they have the right to know their fellow city councilwoman was talking trash about them to others in our community. Simply put, this was probably not the first time Tammy allowed her loose lips to talk trash – it was just the first time she got caught.
If Heit or anyone, for that matter, wants to claim that someone who recorded this is not fit to be a leader, then we want to know why Tammy’s statements and behavior which clearly show a lack of integrity, knowledge or ethical morality is not being called out to be a leader in Frisco? She should resign!
In closing, Tammy kept referring to Frisco as “my city, my city, my voters, my budget, …” – this is not her city, it is our city! She seems to have forgotten that on her quest for Broadway or to be on Broadway. We also want to be clear that we will always protect our sources at Frisco Chronicles. We do want to make it very clear; WE DID NOT RECEIVE Pelham’s text or the Meinershagen conversation directly from the candidate Heit and Petras are currently calling out. We received the text from Source A and the recording from Source B, and neither of them was the candidate Heit and Petras are attacking online.
As for Broadway Frisco – Prop A & B we would ask you to consider this before voting:
Today, we hear “Tourism, Tourism, Tourism,” and most recently, how we need to be more like Nashville. The thing is, Nashville has a deep history back in the 1920s. They had a thriving publishing industry, then came the advent of the Grand Ole Opry in 1925. When WSM began broadcasting live performances from the Grand Ole Opry, it positioned them to become “Music City USA.” By 1945, it was one of the most popular radio programs in America and established Nashville as a hub for country music. They made urban renewal a priority and renovated several landmarks, including the Music Hall of Fame and The Sommet Center. Broadway (similar to 5th Street in Austin) became known for bars and a honky tonk music scene. It was the cornerstone for emerging young artists and a short distance trolley ride from the iconic Music Row. Major record labels headquartered themselves in Nashville, and it became a gathering place for the arts, entertainment and music. They did not simply build a 340-million-dollar Broadway, and become Nashville overnight!
What is the problem with Frisco being more like Nashville? We never implemented our identity as we began to grow and develop into a Nashville. Purefoy took us down the road to being Sports City USA! It worked! Now the city council says we must be more like Nashville to compete, or else! With every development, we have heard Mayor Cheney say this would have a HALO Effect on our city, making us the greatest city in America. Now, all of a sudden, if we don’t spend $160 million or $340 million to get FRISCO BROADWAY, we will lose the economic boom to Nashville? The AMC Awards are happening here, not in Nashville, why? It is being held at a great venue. We didn’t have Frisco Broadway to win over the AMC Awards. We are not Nashville! We will never be Nashville! We are Frisco, Texas!
Please vote no to the propositions in order to protect our community and the residents who live here.
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