Keating Rebranding or Lying?

In the last week or so there has been a rush for some elected politicians to “REBRAND” their message because they realize it is not hitting well with residents who turn up to vote.  If you are not paying attention, you might not catch the subtle “rebranding of the message” or what we simply call lying.  Political messaging is a delicate dance.  Mailers hit your mailbox with words that dance gracefully around some inconvenient truths.  A candidate’s message is supposed to be consistent but in Frisco, politicians transform blatant contradictions into poetic ambiguity, crafting messages so elusive that even Sherlock Holmes would throw in the towel trying to understand. Candidates are the maestros who have turned gaslighting into an art form and when caught on camera they politically rebrand the message making deception look like a masterpiece.

Let’s look at Keating’s first mailer which reads “Leadership. Experience. KEATING.”   He says his mission is to keep Frisco the #1 city in America by protecting our quality of life and ensuring it remains the best place in Texas to build a business and raise a family.  On the back of the flyer, Keating points out his priorities to keep taxes low, support police and fire, and again mentions protecting our quality of life.  Then in a bid red banner, it reads “Frisco Under Keatings Leadership” and is #1 Safest City In America according to Smart Asset 2023, #1 Best Place To Live according to Money Magazine 2018, #1 Best City To Do Business in Texas according to Better Homes and Gardens 2020 and #1 Suburb in North Texas according to Livability 2023. 

If you ask the residents of Cobb Hill whose backyard now faces a future theme park if Keating and the council protected their quality of life, my guess is they would say no! On March 3, 2023, he admitted the night of the vote at the city council meeting that he did not meet with residents of Cobb Hill and instead chose to go on vacation and protect his quality of life.  This proves Keating’s priorities are Keating, not the residents.  He then said we do fully expect to be held accountable. He continued, “Accountability & Transparency is part of the Frisco City Council’s DNA,” and goes on to talk about how he says that with conviction.  On May 4, 2024, we will know if the residents hold him accountable for his decisions.

Updating The Message or Spreading the Lies:  Keating’s new social media ads have a bolder look with a blue background and bright yellow text that read “His Record” as being all the same #1 labels, but this time he leaves the dates off of the publication for the rankings.  Why is that?  We guess that people don’t care how we ranked in 2018 they care how rank today in 2024.  A report in U.S. News listed the top 25 places considered the best places to live for families in the U.S. in 2023-24 and Frisco did not make that list.  The same magazine has the top 150 most popular areas to live in 2023-24 ranking and Frisco did not make that either unless we fall under #113 DFW. What Keating has failed to realize is just because he says it is true does not mean that it is true.  Many things have changed in 6 years but his Forest Gump brain still believes we are #1.

Changing Tunes on Public Safety and Proposition A & B:  Keating was proud to jump at the forums this year and announce he supports the Vote No PAC which is bought and paid for by Frisco developers.  He is also proud to be endorsed by Mayor Cheney and former Mayor Mike Simpson, both of whom are huge proponents of the Vote No PAC.  He also had his friends and fellow council members out at the polls with him encouraging citizens to vote NO against the Firefighters.  Yet in just the last 24 to 48 hours that message has started to shift.  A poll greater for Keating emailed us and said they were told not to hold a Vote No sign if wearing the blue Keating t-shirt anymore. Wonder why a shift in political messaging?

In our opinion, double speaking is not a good political message.  For years Keating has said he is an advocate for our first responders.  In fact, in a video 3 years ago he stated that his personal goals were to provide first responders with the tools and training they need to stay safe.  Keating also filed for an endorsement in the last election which we wrote about in our blog Jammed Up John Keating, and one of the questions was, “he supported four firefighters for ALL TRUCK COMPANIES” and that we have to grow accordingly to the population growth.

Fast forward to today, and now Keating says we have adequate staffing (which has not changed since the last election), and that this is a power play for those who serve themselves and do not have the best interests of Frisco at heart.  Is Keating calling our first responders “self-serving?’  Keating has also filled out the Association’s (aka the bad Union they are trying to sell us today) required questionnaire for an endorsement which comes with money in each election.  He had no issue with the Association (aka bad union) and the money they fed his campaign all these years.  Honestly, we think he is hacked off that he did not get either public safety group’s endorsement this year and why would he expect to after how he has talked about them and attacked them as evil ogres of our city?   The fact is Keating sold out our first responders for big-money developers and a house in the prestigious PGA Preserve community, and he has to live with that. 

As we said now Keating has begun to update his message on public safety.  His new mailer has red and blue emergency lights on the front and reads “In 2022 and 2023, Frisco was named #1 Safest City In America.   Then a big bold yellow banner along the bottom reads “John Keating Kept Us Safe.  Let’s Keep John Keating.”  News flash Mr. Keating, when my house was broken into it was not you who showed up at my door to keep me safe, it was our Frisco Police Officers.  When my wife had a medical emergency, it was not you who came to our home and provided that, it was our Frisco Fire Squad.  Maybe we missed your get-well card in the mail, but I am pretty sure you never “KEPT US SAFE!”  Quite frankly, the front of your postcard shows your arrogance and narcissistic personality.

The back of the newest mailer has a bright red banner that reads “John Keating Gives Police, Fire, and First Responders the Tools They Need to Keep Us Safe.”  It goes on to say our safety is not just a promise it is a priority, but we don’t believe you.  Then he says under his leadership Frisco has added 85 new police and fire personnel, which sounds great.  Can you tell us what the breakdown of that is between the two departments?  If you list that number out it might now look so good for the promises you are offering.  As for supporting the bond for Fire Station 10, who cares?  Let’s say we have a new shiny building, if you don’t staff it, what is the point?  According to city hall insiders you only plan to have one truck there and no medical which in my tax-paying opinion seems like a damn waste.

Lastly, the mailer talks about Keating Public Safety Priorities which means, “Can you smell the ShXt Keating is selling.”  Don’t defend the police – defend the police?  How will that play with the Democrat vote you are trying to win?  Support our police officers and firefighters by “advocating for maintaining adequate staffing levels WITHIN THE POLICE FORCE TO ENSURE RAPID EMERGENCY RESPONSE TIMES?  Hmmm, read that again, “within the police force!”  Guess he just forgot the Fire Department.  Wait, he has promised to advocate for years on that issue and has not done anything and still claims HE IS THE TRUE LEADER FOR OUR CITY?

Can we just lay it out for you?  Keating’s rebranding is like a symphony of semantics, where promises are whispered like sweet nothings and lies are wrapped in the velvet cloak of confusing rhetoric. He is dumber than Forest Gump and so is his political consultant Mustang Strategies.  One might even say Keating’s campaign consultant spins their web of propaganda making the narrative so tangled that even Charlotte the spider might blush with envy.

He has sold out the frontline who have supported and endorsed him for developer money and the hopes of being Mayor Cheney’s Best Friend Forever.  Keating loves to talk but his actions or food but then goes against everything he claims to stand for.  We are ashamed of those who support him because it tells us a lot about their lack of morals, honesty, and integrity.  Keating’s mailers are woven tapestries of half-truths, lies, and promises, painting a picture so vivid that even Picasso would envy their creativity.   

Winston Churchill: ‘Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.’

India Association of North TX

Frisco has experienced rapid growth in recent years, fueled by its reputation as one of the fastest-growing cities in the United States. The city website which estimates our current population as of April 2024 is about 233,211 people.  It also breaks down the economic statistics showing the median household income is around $145,914, the median family income of around $175,969, and the average median home value is $571,671.  All of this shows that Frisco is growing and prosperity is still good here. 

The other thing you notice in Frisco is that we are becoming more diverse each day and we think that is a good thing.  Living in a community with an eclectic diverse culture makes for a vibrant community to live in and enjoy.   As of 2023, the city website reports Frisco is 48.1% white, 26.7% Asian, 12.4% have two or more races, 9.3% are Black, 3.5% other, 0.5% are American Indian/Alaskan and 0.06% are Pacific Islander/Hawaiian and 14.5% is made of Hispanics (any race). 

Recently we heard about the Frisco Indian American Families City Council Forum.  We could not make it to the forum, but we did see video clips of it online.  We thought the dialog was good and the moderator did a good job, but we were disappointed two of the candidates (the active city council members) were unable to attend.  It did have some important faces like Texas House Representative Jared Patterson, Tony Singh from Little Elm District 2, and Burt Thakur a former Congressional Candidate and it was held at Rotate Bar & Kitchen which is an Indian-owned business.  It is events like this that show our diverse populations that they have an important voice and need to be involved. 

We wanted to dive deeper into the Indian community which is an important voting group here in Frisco.  We started looking at social media and immediately noticed there are several “social influencers” right here in our own backyard and local community.  Then we came across a post that said it is a beautiful day to be out to complete your civic duty and vote.  It tagged the Indian Association of North Texas (IANT) whose website states its primary purpose is to serve the cultural and educational needs of the North Texas Indian community.  It listed IANT as a 501(c)(3) non-profit, non-political, non-sectarian organization, established in 1962 and incorporated in 1976. 

Non-political?  The posts sure don’t seem “non-political” as it said to go vote and had several photos with folks holding signs for John Keating.  We also came across another post from the same influencer that details 3 candidates to vote for and is an endorsement that tagged the IANT.  It is confusing because it was not one post but multiple posts where the IANT was tagged for a political purpose. We were curious, why is the IANT involved in local elections in the City of Frisco, Texas?  Are they under pressure or being forced to get political? Why is one of its directors tagging the IANT in a clearly political post? Maybe this was the influencer’s endorsement, which is fine, but since they hold a position of influence with the IANT, should they be tagging a non-political organization? 

We could not find anything on their website that talked about how they endorse candidates, so we emailed them to ask what the process is for choosing a candidate to endorse.  We did see social media posts by the IANT encouraging people to vote but not for any one specific candidate. Do they require them to fill out questionnaires, and get interviewed by the board or a selection committee?   If they don’t endorse, and this is one person’s they should probably be clear on that to not influence others’ opinions.  Is the IANT under pressure or being forced to endorse candidates.

We want to see more voting here in Frisco and the Indian American population needs to understand the power they have as individuals by casting their vote.  The issues facing our local community as well as the state and national level make every vote that much more important.  We think holding educational political awareness events, meet-the-candidate events, and forums is fantastic.  We have trust in our leaders and influencers and if they want to endorse candidates then the public who follows them needs to know they have done their due diligence to determine who they are going to support.  Voting is crucial to changing the world in so many ways and we just want to make sure the message is fair and representative of everyone in the community not just one person’s sole endorsement.  We will let you know what we hear back from the IANT now that we have reached out to them.