Blow-By-Blow Breakdown

by | Apr 12, 2023 | Elections, Mark Piland, Mayor Jeff Cheney, Politics

If someone were to ask you what happened on June 28, 1997, would you know the answer?  Truthfully no, the date would not stick out in most people’s minds.  Now what if someone said do you remember that bizarre moment in boxing history when Mike Tyson bit off a portion of Evander Holyfield’s ear?   My guess, is you remember that, and it happened on June 28, 1997.  At the time, the fight was one of the highest grossing Pay Per View events with 1.99 million buys.  It was the first time to break $100 million in revenue.  It was round 3 of their much-anticipated rematch when one of the most iconic and grotesque scenes in sports history took place and became the most replayed slow-motion event in sports history.  I remember sitting there on the couch with my wife and two boys, our mouths wide open in disbelief, that Iron Mike had just bit a portion of Holyfield’s ear.   After a few seconds my wife stands up and says “Well, he must have been hungry.  His mamma should have to feed him before the fight!”  She gathers the bowls on the coffee table and heads to the kitchen, the night was over.

At the Star Patriots Debate on April 3  both candidates took their gloves off but at least no one lost an ear.  The debate was filled with a few jabs, a few uppercuts, and a few hooks.   The consensus on who won depends on who you ask.  Cheney’s supporters feel he did a strong job and Piland supporters will tell you that he gave Cheney the good ole’ one-two punch and took the title.  My wife and I went, and we agreed that I would take notes on Cheney’s comments, and she would take notes on Pilands comments and discuss the next morning over coffee.  After a good night’s sleep, the sun rose, and I could smell the coffee brewing and we both took our place at the table with our notes.  A quick review in order of some of the comments that stuck out at us.

Growth: Cheney said, it’s a misperception by many people that government controls our growth patterns.  He noted that the city cannot tell a developer when they can or cannot develop their land which is in fact true. 

FACT: The city can control some of the growth by not selling off all the land it owns “right here, right now.”  The City of Frisco owned the 91 acres of land where the Frisco Star now sits, the 2.5 acres behind the Star where Blue Star built a 300,000 square feet office building, and how about the land sold for $37.9 million for Blue Stars Industrial Park?  What a lot of residents don’t know or maybe don’t understand is that back in the day the city bought a lot of land betting like a gambler  in a high-stake poker match that Frisco would grow and they could sell it down the road.  The city also “strip annexed” a narrow strip of land that effectively cordoned off a large area, protecting it from other hungry nearby suburbs.  In 1999, the State Legislature would prohibit “strip annexation” from happening in the future. 

Workers Compensation For First Responders: was discussed by both candidates but we will review in our next blog.

Golden Goose: Cheney said 30 years ago with the development of the Frisco EDC and CDC that residents of Frisco made the choice about how they wanted to develop our community and he along with every city manager and city official has done what was promised to the residents.  He also said that is how Frisco was built and that is the golden goose of Frisco. 

FACT: What residents agreed to 30 years ago (there is no formal agreement by the way) versus what residents want along the way can change.  Residents have been saying for the last 5 to 7 years to slow down, focus on the infrastructure first which has fallen on deaf ears.  The only one who cares about the Golden Goose is the mayor and his friends who benefit from them. 

Universal: Piland mentioned the last-minute bait and switch of items in the SUP, the promises from the developer to the Cobb Hill residents should have been codified in the SUP and how this should be a case study in zoning and what city officials should not do.  Cheney said what was posted on his Facebook page about the project is exactly what was sent to them but as they got through the discussion’s things change. 

Question: When things started to change in the discussions why didn’t you tell residents that on social media as you had everything else at that point?  Our guess he knew residents were not going to like the changes in hours, building height, ride height and more.

Cheney said if they had not solved the wall issue with Cobb Hill it wouldn’t have past but then he also said it would be illegal for the city to enter into an agreement between two parties for something like a wall and we cannot interfere with private property rights.

Question: Wait A Hot Minute Mayor!!  You voted for it that night instead of postponing it so the residents of Cobb Hill could formalize a private contract with Universal to make sure the “wall issue” is resolved. 

Cheney then mentioned that this project had more discussions because they knew how long it took them as a council to “wrap their head around it” so they knew they would need to do this differently and research and have community discussions.  NO, NO and NO! 

FACT:  What happened was they went live on Facebook announced it and planned to vote that night, but they didn’t expect that post to blow up and go viral.  It was over a thousand comments in a few hours and based on a review was one of the highest posts in citizens response/comments on the city page in years. Once they saw the instant outcry knowing it was an election year, they had to postpone the vote that night.  Cheney wants us to believe they did it for us the residents – that is simply not true!

Citizens Input: Piland pointed out Cheney has publicly said and posted on social media they could not respond to citizen’s input (we found several posts that match Pilands claims).  Then he pointed out at the January 17 council meeting, 3 separate citizens spoke regarding Universal and Cheney responded to each one for 3 to 4 minutes.  Piland even remarked, Cheney did it under the guise of I really need to help you get your facts straight.  Cheney’s response was per the city charter the mayor runs the council meetings and they can respond to citizen’s input.

FACTS: Section 3.13 Rules of Procedure, “The city council shall determine its own rules of order and business. The city council shall provide that the citizens of the city shall have a reasonable opportunity to clearly hear and be heard at public hearings with regard to specific matters under consideration.”  At first it appears Cheney could be right but Section 2.125 in reference to meetings states “All meetings and deliberations of the board shall be called, convened, held, and conducted, and notice shall be given to the public, in accordance with the Texas Open Meetings Act, as it currently exists or may be amended.”   That means the answer is in the Texas Open Meetings Act which states, limited verbal interchanges between citizens and council members are appropriate, discussions should not be permitted to drag on. When a member of the public makes an inquiry about a subject for which notice has not been given, a council member may respond with a statement of factual information or recite existing policy.   Piland is correct that Cheney violated the Texas Open Meetings Act that night and many other nights too speaking during citizen’s input. 

Code of Conduct: Piland also referenced the December 18(actually Dec 4) council meeting regarding the PGA where Cheney had to recuse himself due to his relationship with one of the principal members of the project.   Before he did he took Mayors Privilege and spoke for nearly 8 minutes regarding the project then stepped off the stage.  Piland pointed out the mayor violated Section 3.11 Conflict of Interest in the City Code of Conduct.  Cheney’s  said his conflict of interest technically had cured at that point because the council felt that his boss Robert Elliott was not the right partner for the project (does Elliott know this) and they needed a bigger partner which is when Omni stepped in and the ownership interest changed and it removed the conflict.  Cheney also said he followed the code of conduct, and he takes the code of conduct very seriously at the City of Frisco and so that’s why he makes sure not to involve any of his personal business in things.  “As a real estate broker, I’ve never represented the city of Frisco in a transaction, I’ve never represented a party who did business with the City of Frisco and I’ve never had an interest in any project in the city of Frisco.”  Lastly he said that he has declined every request for help from clients to get through the zoning process even though it would have been very lucrative for his firm. He closed by saying he is very transparent with everything he does and he is proud of that.”


FACT: Section 3.11 Conflict of Interest it states, “Should any person on the city council have a conflict of interest, pursuant to any state laws and/or city ordinances regulating conflicts of interest of municipal officers, with an agenda item then before the city council, they shall openly declare before discussion proceeds, and he is thereby prohibited from discussing the item or voting on the question, and is not considered as present and voting for the purposes of the tally.”    As for Cheney’s claim he cured his conflict of interest Omni’s own press release from December 4, 2018 notes it is a joint venture and the new company was Omni Stillwater Woods.  Nowhere does it say Robert Elliott is removed from the project and it was SWC Clay Roby who spoke on behalf of the project at every P&Z and council meeting, not a representative from TRT Holdings which is Omni.  Cheney can argue he cured his conflict of interest but that is a logical fallacy which is an error in reasoning that makes your arguments less effective and convincing.    

FACT:  Cheney’s claim he declined every request for help regarding zoning is also not correct.  Cheney may not have helped a client but he did help a campaign donor.  In a Dallas Morning News article written by Sharon Grigby (March 2019), he stated “Cheney told me he met Carter sometime after he became mayor in May 2017. The mayor said the developer visited Cheney’s City Hall office about a sign-ordinance provision that caused difficulties for his Preston Road multi-tenant commercial property.  “Like most developers, they reach out to the mayor and say, ‘This is unreasonable. Can you help me?’” Cheney told me Tuesday.  Although Cheney said he helped resolve the issue, he maintains that the 2018 campaign donations ($15,000)  were not tied to that case. There was never a this for that.”  Cheney is correct it is lucrative but not to his firm it was his campaign fund!

Campaign Donations: Piland referenced the City of Plano’s campaign finance rule that any person who donates over $1000 that comes before the council, would require the person on the council to recuse themselves.  Piland noted you can take as much money as you want but you will have to recuse yourself from all discussion and votes.  Cheney responded and said Plano’s ordinance was put in place two years ago after all their developments were done or largely done, and he did speak to one of their elected officials about their policy.  He said the Plano official (no name) told him the ordinance is not even enforceable, there is no teeth to it and it was put in place because of a political ideology in their community was having a tough time getting traction for the candidates that they wanted to support and now they have a situation where PACs and Super PACs along with other special interest groups lead the outcomes in elections.  

Question:  Did that communication happen via email and if so would you release the communication so we can see the Plano elected officials’ response?

Purefoy:  Cheney commented that developers made a commitment to our city to develop and invest here (sometimes almost a billion dollars) and it scares developers that the commitment made is not going to be honored after his opponent is elected.  Cheney said it probably scares somebody that wants to invest a lot of money in this community, and it could make them think otherwise.  He said developers are scared by the rhetoric and comments they are hearing in this mayoral cycle because the outcome could change the entire direction of the City of Frisco.  Lastly he said it would tarnish the “legacy” of George Purefoy and it would break the promise made to him to continue his work.

Fact: Mark Piland has said he is pro-development and would just like to see more community engagement and discussion around some of those projects.  Piland never said he would not follow through on a contract or commitment made to a developer from the city or previous administration and he also never said he was against Public/Private Partnerships.  How is hearing from residents a negative thing?  From the two debates we heard we have not seen Mr. Piland be anything other than pro-responsible development.  So why would developers be scared?   Lastly, Purefoy did amazing things for this city in the last 35 years and to say change would tarnish his legacy and the promise made to him is ludacris.   Companies and cities pivot all the time, and they are doing just fine!  Our concern should not be about a promise made to Purefoy it should be about the promises made to residents in this city every day.  Cheney used this a cheap ploy scare tactic in our opinion.

Closings:  Cheney said his most valuable experience for this community is being the leader of this community for the last six years.  He said mayors elected in this city are not people who have had careers in bureaucratic government.  He said the City of Frisco elects entrepreneurs, visionaries, risk-takers, and people who don’t want to do things the same way.  That is what Frisco is all about. He then said his superpower is building extraordinary teams and making people believe that they can do more than they ever thought they were capable of.  That is his greatest gift and what he will continue to do here in his last term.  Mostly he wants his last term to be about testing the absolute limits of what a city is capable of and in the City of Frisco will stress the boundaries of what is possible here over the next 3 years.

FACT:  I know this will be hard for some to believe but people have skills they don’t have superpowers!   He said Frisco is all about entrepreneurs, visionaries, and risk takers – really, since when is that what Frisco was all about?  The scariest thing he said is that he wants to test the absolute limits of what a city is capable of, so it’s not about you, me, or the residents, this is solely about his personal legacy and how he will be remembered.  People are telling you to slow down not stress the limits, so you can’t say you represent and listen to the people when you are doing the exact opposite of what people are asking for.

The night lasted longer than anticipated and when it was over it was clear the candidates were tired, the audience was tired, and the campaigning was about to kick into high gear.   As we pulled into the driveway of our house my wife said to me, Honey what is your superpower? I looked at her and said I am a bull shit meter! I can sense, smell, fly through and see the bull shit from anyone where around me. She simply said okay I will get that on a t-shirt for you for Christmas. Then she said it felt like one was me, me, me and the other was about team, team team.  That pretty much sums up how I felt too!

Goodbye Rock Hill

by | Apr 7, 2023 | City Council, Developements, Developers, Fehmi Karahan, Mayor Jeff Cheney, Politics, Rock Hill

Ah! Spring! Spring is the most popular of the four seasons for obvious reasons.  It means warmer weather, more hours in the day, and more sunshine.  The buds are starting to show, early flowers are beginning to bloom, and the birds are singing a new tune.  Spring is a sign of new beginnings, it symbolizes life and how good always triumphs over evil, light over darkness, and life over death.  Hibernation has ended! It seems that many people in Frisco are starting to open their eyes, and many are expressing their concerns for the first time over what appears to be some questionable negotiations, developments, and deals throughout the years. The spring awakening always seems to be heightened when an election is on the horizon.

One of the most important aspects of Spring is baseball otherwise referred to as America’s National Pastime.  Dr.  Gerald Early, a Washington University Professor once said, “There are three things that America will be known for 2000 years from now:  the Constitution, jazz music, and baseball.  They’re the three most beautifully designed things this culture ever produced.”  From an immigrant’s perspective, he is right on point.   I remember the first game I went to after moving to America.  The sound from the crack of the bat, watching a player slide into home, eating a famous hotdog and relish, and trying to catch the foul balls that came our way.   Back in the day if you caught one of those balls you could turn them in for a ten-cent snow cone.   

In 1958, Damn Yankees hit the widescreen and it is one of the best musical sport romantic comedy films of its time.  It was about a frustrated fan of the hopeless Washington Senators who made a pack with the Devil to help the baseball team win the league pennant.   One of the most famous quotes from the movie was “One long ball hitter, that’s what we need!  Honest to God, I’d sell my soul for one long ball hitter!”  Mmh? Something about this story is hitting close to home.  Has someone in Frisco soul their soul to the devil?

Frisco has gone through many changes over the years and with each one a little bit of Frisco’s history seems to be erased.  The most obvious was in 2020 when the council considered renaming Rockhill Parkway.  Established in 1854, Rock Hill was one of the oldest communities in Collin County and earned its name from the white rock escarpment on which it was built.  By 1898, it had a thriving community featuring two schools, four churches a grist mill, a cotton gin, a blacksmith, a drugstore and a grocery store.  In 1902, St. Louis and San Francisco railroad bypassed the town and within months most of the businesses, townspeople and churches had relocated.  By the mid-1930s, only one African American Baptist church remained.  In the 1960s the black school closed and in 1973 the general store was razed leaving Rock Hill and its rich history a distant memory to many.  One of the last connections to its history was the street named Rockhill Parkway. 

On June 23, 2020, a letter was sent to residents informing them of the road name change and they could respond with any input by July 14, 2020.  Renaming  Rockhill Parkway to PGA Parkway hit a nerve with many locals who felt like the council was erasing what little history was left of the old town.  While doing research we came across an article in the Frisco Enterprise that reported in July 2020 that Assistant City Manager Ben Brezina acknowledged the name change had been a topic of conversation for at least 8 to 10 months.  John Lettellier of Development Services for Frisco said moving forward with the proposal happened in just the last 6 to 8 weeks.  The article also noted The Heritage Association of Frisco learned about the proposed change by way of a community member who received the notice and, they had never been approached by the city for its historical background.   Lastly the most interesting thing in the article was a statement posted on the Facebook page by then councilman Tim Nelson that the item was proposed by a member of the council and consensus was to move forward.  Hmmm… I wonder who proposed the name change?

Here is where it gets interesting, in our research we found that many who supported the name change were big businesses with big money and investments in Frisco:

  • Kyle Wilks – President of Wilks Development (who is behind Firefly Park in Frisco)
  • Edmund Garahan – CEO of Carbon Companies (building Luxury hotel near PGA)
  • Triad Frisco Partners (developer of 1310 urban living units, 8 retail buildings, 1 convenience store with gas pumps, 5 parking garages on the southwest corner of Dallas Parkway and Rockhill Parkway)
  • Fehmi Karahan – Fields Development (June 29, 2020 letter of support)
  • David Fogel – Manager of Rockhill Legacy (Development at Rockhill & Legacy)
  • Blake Nelson – Managing Partner (7-Eleven located Rockhill Parkway & Preston)
  • Darrell Crall – COO of PGA (letter specifically notes they feel strongly there is a long-term value to the PGA branded and the roadway would showcase to millions the PGA Frisco partnership and evolution of Frisco)
  • Michael Smith – TRT Holdings, Inc. (Part of Omni Stillwater Woods Golf Resort)
  • Fehmi Karahan – Fields Development (July 17, 2020 letter writes that the city has made an extraordinary financial commitment to the new PGA  project and should use all available means to support the success of that project.  We strongly urge you and the city council to support the full renaming of Rockhill from Teel to Coit)
  • Clay Roby – PGA Frisco / Stillwater Capital / The Link (the renaming will further establish Frisco as Sports City USA and appropriately showcase the HQ of the PGA of America)

On Aug 4, 2020, citizens made their way to the podium for Citizens Input to against the change.  If you watch the meeting, the mayor remarked that the city of Frisco has always made it a commitment to preserving our history and they even invested 3 to 5 million into the Heritage Museum.  He was on city council in 2009 when the road was changed to Rockhill Parkway but he doesn’t remember it and until a few months ago he does not believe many people even knew the story of why it was named Rockhill.  He believes Prosper ISD naming the their new high school in Frisco city limits Rock Hill Highschool is a great way to remember the community of Rock Hill.  Sadly, he seems to criticize the volunteers at the Heritage Museum for not being accurate on the history and calling the exhibits dated and we need to do better there telling our story.  He noted that the PGA and Fields wants to write their own story and they have been good partners to the community.   Councilman Woodard suggests renaming Northeast Park to Rock Hill Park he is willing to help get that done.

Today the only reminder that Rock Hill once existed is a historical marker located on the northeast corner of PGA Parkway and Preston Street.  The name change passed to PGA Parkway but the question is did it ever have a chance to be kept Rock Hill Parkway?  Almost every developer who wrote in support of the name change donated to the campaigns of several sitting on our council.  When Fehmi Karahan the King of Fields writes that the city should use all available means to support the success of that project and that he urges the city council to support the full renaming of Rockhill from Teel to Coit the city is going to do just that.  Cheney accepted over $30k in January 2020 from the big names on these letterheads and he needs that money to pay back his $99,000 personal loan that he took out for campaigning because as he said at the recent debate he is not an independently wealthy man.  Has Bill Woodard followed through on working on the renaming of Northeast Park?  Not from what we can see.  When Universal was recently in front of the council we heard each of them say that they listen to the residents and this is just another example where big money, big investments, and big companies take priority over residents.  Words can come from one’s mouth but actions are what matter.  That night a man said the citizens of Frisco are being exploited for money and by its actions that is the way it looks.   It’s time to bring change to Frisco in this upcoming election and the others in the future.  Maybe those sitting on the lofty hill have become too comfortable.  I ask you, has someone perhaps sold his soul?  I am reminded of the song  “Whatever Lola Wants.”  I would have to change the words up a bit and sing,

Verse 1

Whatever  Fehmi wants, Fehmi get

Whatever the PGA Frisco wants, the PGA Frisco gets

(Bridge)

I always get what I aim for

And your heart and soul is what I came for

Verse 2

Whatever Cheney wants, Cheney gets

Whatever the developers who come here want, the developers gets

(Bridge)

Don’t you know you can’t win

Your no exception to the rule

I’m irresistible, you fool

Give in (Give in, you’ll never win)

Follow Up: Seal of Approval

by | Apr 2, 2023 | Elections, Politics

When you run for any office at the local, state or federal level you have to know that you can and will be questioned by the public you serve. It comes with the job that you choose to do! As the election is getting closer we choose to look at the candidates supporting people for Mayor. Jonathan David Spencer had no endorsements for us to review. Mark Pilands endorsements to this point have been from PAC’s who interviewed all the candidates who came in for the process. Mr. Cheney is the only one who has individual citizen endorsements for us to look at. We did not target one candidate and only one candidate!

An endorsement is a public declaration or the act of giving one’s public approval or support to a candidate running for elected office. When you choose to put your name out there, then you choose to open yourself up to being discussed. Let me be very clear, we did not attack or threaten any person or business, we do not condone anyone attacking or threatening any person or business and we don’t condone phone calls to candidates or their families making attacks or threating anyone.

We sent an email to each person asking the following:

Did you talk to all the candidates regarding their views or beliefs before choosing to endorse one?

If yes, can you tell us the top 3 reasons for your endorsement of Mayor Cheney?

If no, do you think your endorsement was transparent or should be transparent that you did not met with all the candidates?

If they owned a business who has done business with the city we asked if they think that business could affect their decision on who to endorse?

In our blog, we only listed the businesses since they were on the individual’s original endorsement posted on Mayor Cheney’s Facebook page. We pointed out how one of his supporters has some of the best BBQ in town and we have visited downtown Frisco many times enjoying several of the business mentioned and have nothing bad to say about any of them. We simply asked if they are doing business with the city or the Mayor personally that could affect their endorsement because the public has the right to know that. Noting a check for $1.5 Million is not a bad thing, it is a payment for an economic incentive agreement that was written up between the city, developer, and Frisco EDC and that is public record we believe people have the right to know for the purposes of transparency. Also we made no negative mention of Adams or her businesses, we simply asked a question of her role as a precinct chair (which she brought up in her video) and did her endorsement conflict with the platform she took an oath to uphold. Noting that several are on boards and commissions within the city is public record and people have the right to know.

As for Mr. Young, he specifically asked us to mention the following: “Please make sure to include the list of the elected officials I have hosted (list of all the names) at Verona Villa. So we did! If those mentioned did not like their name in our blog then they can talk to Mr. Young who asked us to mention them by name. If anyone has any doubts that he asked us to post certain names then please email us and we will send you Jason’s email so you can see where he asked us to make mention. We did not attack his business in the blog in any way we just noted that one time they had previously done business with the city. I don’t see that as a big deal and I would guess most reading out blog don’t see that as an alarmingly big deal so why is Mr. Young taking to his Facebook page making it a big deal?

Lastly, lets clear up any confusion! We are not associated with any campaign! We have no association to the Cheney, Piland, or Spencer campaign. We also emailed the school board candidates and we are not associated with any of those campaigns either or any sitting ISD board members. As for the businesses mentioned they have done nothing wrong nor have the business owners. Myself and my wife, nor anyone we know, has made any threating calls or sent any threatening emails to anyone, ever at anytime. I take that accusation very seriously! Libel and slander are very tough works to be thrown around loosely and I can say with confidence we have not posted anything that is not factual and we can back up everything we have posted with documentation.

Sincerely,

Frisco Whistle Blower

Seal of Approval

by | Apr 1, 2023 | Elections, Politics

A couple of times a year my wife and I make the drive down the tollway to attend church at The Potters House led by bishop TD Jakes and when you leave there you have a feeling of a tingle from your fingers to your toes and you know Jesus is in your soul. One of his sermons was about the three C’s. The three C’s is how you can categorize your friendships: Confidants, Constituents, and Comrades.

The confidant is a special relationship. They love you unconditionally, they are intimately intertwined in your life and stick around for better or worse. They are lifetime relationships, and they are they to make sure you reach your destiny. They can call you out when you are wrong and praise you when you are right and everything they say has merit and value that ultimately you take into consideration when making lifetime momentous decisions. TD Jakes said if you have 3 to 5 of these confidants in a lifetime you are a blessed person because the truth is you will have very few of these in your lifetime. The constituent is not into you they are into what you are for. As long as you are for what they are for they will walk with you and work with you and labor with you. Be careful, don’t fall into the trap where you think that they are there for you, because if they meet someone else who can further their agenda they will leave you and hook up with them because they were never for you! Often we mistake a constituent for a confident and they end up breaking our hearts or hurting us deeply. The comrade is not there for you nor are they for what you are for (like the constituent). The comrade is against what you are against, and they will come alongside you to fight a mutual enemy but that doesn’t mean you are for the same things. They are in your life to fulfill a purpose or until victory is accomplished and once completed you both move on. Jakes compared it to scaffolding which you use to paint a building, then when you are done painting the scaffolding is removed and goes away. When you share your dream and your comrade does not react the way you expected remember they were never really with you in the first place.

The May 2023 General Election is just around the corner, and many were under the assumption our current Mayor was so popular that no one would run against him, and he would walk into this election unopposed just like he did in 2020. Truthfully most of us were shocked to learn on Friday, February 17 a worthy opponent walked into city hall, took the elevator to the fifth floor, and dropped of his packet to officially be a candidate for the Mayoral race. Word spread like wildfire across the busy intersections of Frisco and Cheney quickly realized he was going to have to work and campaign. Soon after the mayor began asking for endorsements both on his website and Facebook page and it was not hard to notice video after video of those “endorsements” full of praise popping up for the mayor.
As always curiosity kicked in and we wanted to know more about those giving the endorsements. Albert Einstein once said “the important thing is to not stop questioning. Curiosity has a reason for existing.” We decided to start by creating an email asking the following questions: did they meet with all three candidates personally, and did they understand their positions, views, and issues before making an endorsement? Then we emailed individuals and shockingly very few responded to us (please note our sarcasm). We also did some of our own research to see if they had any business connections with the candidates that could influence their decision. We highlighted a few below:
Cheney’s first video was from Earnest B. Morgan, and we can tell you the man serves up some amazing BBQ. Mr. Morgan is a small business owner and local pastor, and active in the local area. Mr. Morgan did respond, and we want to say THANK YOU for doing so sir! Morgan said he never reached out to any other candidate before endorsing Cheney because he and his family have supported Cheney for many years, and they believe in what he has accomplished so far. At shady shit we do believe friendship and loyalty matter, so we completely understand and respect the Morgan’s point of view. Our only question is does Morgan have business with the city or Cheney? We found a check from The City of Frisco on 2/4/21 to Earnest B. Morgan for food and provisions for a total of $216.00. We also know he has catered events for many different candidates in the past. Nothing glaring or alarming was uncovered.

The next one to respond was Jason Young. He offered to meet us in person to discuss our questions and of course we declined his invitation and said we would put him down as a no comment to which he replied that is not what he said, he would discuss it in person. A Frisco Enterprise article, quotes Jason as saying he has a host of businesses focused on providing excellent service experiences including Verona Villa, operates Eventi Venue at The Patios at the Rail and runs programming at Nack Theater in the Rail District, owns an Allstate agency. He also has served on the board of Visit Frisco since 2011 and is the newly elected board chair of Frisco Arts Foundation. In his response to our email, he wanted us to note that Verona Villa (where Cheney had his Kick-off party) has also hosted Governor Abbott, Jared Patterson, Matt Shaheen, Frederick Frazier, Van Taylor, Susan Fletcher, Brian Livingston, John Keating, Collin County Republicans and Friends of the NRA. We wanted to know has he done business directly with the city or Cheney? Yes, we found a check The City of Frisco cut on 1/30/18 to Verona Villa for food and provisions for $4235.00. He also hosted Cheney’s recent kick-off event, but we don’t know if Cheney paid for that or if he donated the space and food.

Another interesting endorsement was Donny Churchman a developer whose primary focus is redeveloping downtown. I would argue he is biased by on the fact that he does business with the city and receives economic incentives from the city. For example, on 10/29/20 the city cut Nack Patios LLC an economic incentive check for 1.5 million and another one for 101,250.00 which is labeled accrued accounts payable.

The other two we found interesting were the conservative / GOP endorsements. The first was from Judy Adams who is the owner of American Coffee & Tea , owner of Posh Peepers, and a realtor with Century 21 Judge Fite. She did not respond to our email, but from what we can tell she has not done any business directly with the city and we didn’t find business linking her to the mayor. Adams stated in her video she was Denton County GOP Precinct Chair which caught our attention because the Collin County GOP did not endorse Cheney and we don’t believe the Denton County GOP announced any official endorsements. This left us curious why one individual PC would step out of rank and do an individual endorsement. What does the GOP party think about one of their own endorsing a candidate that has openly supported and endorsed democratic candidates? From what we read on the GOP website that would go against her oath to promote the republican platform as a PC. In the past, the municipal levels of government have mostly been bipartisan but as America has splintered in half the calls for unity in parties even at the local level are in high gear. Then we saw the endorsement from Ted and Bobbie Hart. Ted is the founder and president of Frisco Lakes Conservative Coalition. The endorsement says they support him but it does not say the coalition itself endorses him. It’s a little confusing, to say the least, because we found some members of the coalition who say they don’t support the endorsement for Cheney. Again, is it a personal endorsement or did the coalition actually endorse him?

Endorsements can matter but only under the right circumstances. Do they really have power of persuasion on voters? There is no concrete research showing standard endorsements can change a voter’s mind unless it comes from a big-time celebrity. Overall, what we found interesting in our research was that many of his endorsements previously or currently hold positions on Frisco Boards and Committees, some have done business with the Cheney or the city and others are just basic endorsements by good people like Earnest Morgans. What does matter in this world is relationships and where those relationships/friendships can take you as TD Jakes said. Ask you self when looking at any endorsement do you think they are there for the candidate or for what the candidate can do for them.

You Can’t Handle The Truth

by | Mar 30, 2023 | Elections, Politics

Michelle Obama said in her book Becoming, “The more popular you become the more haters you acquire.” There is some truth to that statement. Growing up I never cared about being the center of attention, being liked, or being popular. My wife on the other hand was and still is the complete opposite. She is a social butterfly, the talker, and the one everyone likes which is good for me because I can just hide in the distance behind her. I remember seeing her across the gym when we were kids and I said I am going to marry that girl. My best friend Charlie said that would require you to talk to her and you don’t talk to anyone to which I looked at him and shrugged my shoulders. He had a point! You’re not that interesting when your passions are reading, writing, and movies.
As a teenager, I worked at the local library so it’s no surprise that as I became a young man I picked career paths that were secular or isolated. I was a braille proofreader for many years, then went to school to become a mortician. A what? In English, I was a funeral director, and it was great because none of my clients talked back to me since my primary job was to preserve bodies, plan funerals, embalm and cremate dead people. I went back to school during that time to become a coroner because performing autopsies on dead people seemed interesting and my audience was still dead. My wife then introduced me to a man she met through a random chance encounter and he offered me a job as a fortune cookie writer for $42,000 USD a year I thought this could be fun. It was the best move because it led me to my long-time career of being a movie critic and ghostwriter.


What is the point of me telling you about my crazy past, well, simply, I never aimed to be popular, so I have very few haters. It was Dustin Hoffman or Warren Beaty who once said in a movie, “Telling the truth can be a dangerous business. Honest and popular don’t go hand in hand. If you admit that you play the accordion no one will hire you for a rock ‘n’ roll band.” Dustin and Warren were right and we know from personal experience anytime you are dealing with shit, it is a dangerous business. My dad told me once as we drove in his truck that honesty is like a slap in the face and the receiver will only take kindly to getting slapped once, beyond that you better be ready to run or not be invited to their party.
You are reading this and probably thinking to yourself, how does it relate to Frisco? Frisco Chronicles is not very popular, and we are guessing we are not very well-liked, shocking right? How do we know this or how did we come to this assumption? We sent the incumbent Mayor Cheney and his opponent Mark Piland an email on March 24 with the same questions and to our surprise, neither of them wrote us back! We thought we had at least a .001% chance of hearing back from at least one of the candidates, but our hopes may have been set too high. It appears that they have a lack of appreciation for what we do and we can’t figure out why. As we sit here drinking our second bottle of vino feeling despair and being heartbroken, we at least have hope that “YOU” our readers appreciate us exposing the shady shit of Frisco.
Side Note: In all transparency we did not send an email to the third candidate who is most known for tempting women with his half naked 6 pack abs towel wearing, gun-toting, bible quoting, software selling, food sharing, book writing, bible study hosting, reincarnated Jesus ideology here to baptize his flock in his apartment rooftop pool. We figured he might be too busy with his kingdom of followers or a psychiatrist. Mental health is no joke and we strongly encourage anyone suffering from mental health issues to reach out to experts who can help!

Back to the point, we know you are thinking what in the bloody hell was written in the email sent to the candidates. Hold your horses, we are getting to it!

Good Day Mr. XXXX

We are the Frisco Chronicles and are putting together a write-up on each candidate running for the city council. We wanted to reach out to ask you a few questions and we hope you choose to respond. We will be emailing your opponent and plan to ask him the same questions.

  1. What do you think are 3 of the most important skills needed to be a good mayor?
  2. What are the top 3 most pressing issues facing the city today?
  3. Do you have any personal rules when it comes to campaign donations?
  4. What’s more important for our city right now: Building new homes and commercial space, rehabbing/expanding, and better utilizing our existing homes and storefronts?
  5. If you could change one thing in our zoning code, what would it be?
  6. How do you plan to involve the residents in the decision-making process in our town?
  7. Describe an ethical dilemma you’ve faced and how did you resolve it?
  8. How many hours a night do you sleep?
  9. If you had to pick one and only one – what would be your go-to restaurant in Frisco?
  10. We have so many great areas and neighborhoods in Frisco. In recent years both candidates have built and moved into new homes. How did you choose the area in which you wanted to live and what made you fall in love with your home?
    Behind every man is great rockstar woman!
  11. How long have you been married?
  12. What is the best piece of advice you spouse ever given you?
  13. Who can tell a better joke, you, or your spouse?
    Two Fun Questions
  14. What is your favorite color?
  15. What would be your dream vacation spot?
    Thanks for your time and we truly do hope to hear back from you!
    Sincerely
    Frisco Whistle Blower
    Frisco Chronicles Team

From our perspective, we thought that it was professional and courteous as well as fair since the candidates received the same questions. Robin Sharma once said, “leadership is not a popularity contest; it’s about leaving your ego at the door. The name of the game is to lead without a title.” We agree with that statement wholeheartedly and popularity should be no scale for the election of politicians. As Orson Welles said, if elections depend on popularity, Donald Duck and The Muppets would take seats in the Senate. The reality is that elected officials at the municipal, state, and federal levels are very focused on their pet projects, running a campaign or getting re-elected, and being the winner of the popularity contest. What is next up on the Shady Shit blog? Well since they did not respond we will just have to continue with our curiosity which leads us to ask is Cheney popular or a one or two-trick pony?