How do politicians win an election? Successful candidates must persuade voters they deserve their individual votes and garner critical votes from current friends and current followers. Every political campaign has ups and downs and sometimes they just go sideways. Locals will tell you they were surprised to see they had a choice this year for Mayor since previously Cheney ran unopposed. Others would say its a “Long Shot” but there is power in grass roots movements. Cheney said at one of the debates the reason he needs these “large donations” is to run a campaign like his it takes big bucks. Sometimes its not just about the money, it’s about the desire for change and truth that can set things in motion depending on the political climate. Cheney is right, the easier way would be to simply “buy an election!”
With all the drama surrounding the city and the Frisco Fire Department, it makes you wonder what is Cheney thinking? Cheney constantly touts we are the “Safest City” and he holds the Police Department in high esteem, which he has mentioned many times. However, he has not said much about our Fire Department in quite a long time. Looking back at Cheney’s words in 2017 we must ask how is this all sitting with him today? He has been silent on defending our fire fighter first responders and that is not sitting well with me.
Imagine you are a high-strung marketing executive on a business trip in New York and you just want to get home for the Thanksgiving holiday. You get to the airport and your flight is delayed and you get seated next to a goodhearted but annoying shower curtain ring salesman who likes to talk. Your plane gets diverted to Wichita due to a blizzard in Chicago which is your final destination. You can’t get a room but the annoying guy next to you did and he offers to share the room with you for the night. The next day you both get on a train which breaks down near Jefferson City leaving passengers stranded in a field. You then travel with the annoying companion by bus to St. Louis where you try to get a rental car by fail. Then that annoying travel companion shows up in his rental and offer you a ride and with no other options in site you head out for a 24-hour death-defying ride. Finally in Chicago, the new friend drops you at the L-Train (subway) and you jump on to get to your house with the hopes to just enjoy some turkey. Now imagine how funny it would be when the travelers are played by Steve Martin and John Candy.
Personally, I loved the movie and I think a trip full of nonsense sounds like a lot of fun. This old fart would love to be young and travel carefree like even if it was a trip from hell. Somewhere in all the crazy you find a little big of “it was worth it moments.” In our previous blog Frisco Delays PIR Request, we mentioned that a citizen reached out to us after they could not get the PIR they requested from the city. As of today, its been 2 months are still waiting for what the city sent to AG claiming proprietary work product. It is our opinion that the City of Frisco wanted to delay the citizen receiving the information until after the election. Is the city with holding information that could change peoples decision on how they vote?
Mayor Cheney said more than once they (the city and council) took a trip to Universal during citizen town halls, council meetings and on social media. It made us a little curious about the trip, was it anything like Planes, Trains, and Automobiles? Probably not, but the Curious George in me went into overdrive. So when we were sent the details we dove right into the deep end to start going through it.
Who went? Based on the travel documents provided to us through the citizens PIR we learned that Jeff Cheney (Mayor), Angelia Pelham, Brian Livingston, John Keating (City Council), Wes Pierson (City Manager), Ben Brazina (Assistant City Manager), John Lettelier (Development Services Director), Marla Roe (Visit Frisco), Jason Ford (President of Frisco EDC), and Phillip Climer (Building Inspections Division.
When was the trip? It appears the participants had different travel dates. Jason Ford and Marla Roe traveled 10-8-22 to 10-11-22 and the rest of the city staff went flew out on the 10-9-22 to 10-11-22. Then Jeff Climer went in November for two days, but we are not sure what the point of that trip was.
How much was the airfare for City Council?Jeff Cheney, Angelia Pelham and Brian Livingston were booked for direct flights on Southwest Airlines from DFW to Orlando and the total shows $2678.88 (base fare + fee’s) and each Amex was charged $892.96. Then we noticed a credit was issued for Brain Livingston’s ticket and a new ticket was purchased in the name of John Keating. It was a direct Southwest Airlines flight which cost $809.96.
How much was the airfare for City Staff?John Lettellier’s direct flight on Southwest Airlines was confirmed on 09/19/2022 and it totaled $553.20. Wes Pierson our new city manager confirmed his ticket 09/22/2022 on American Airlines for a total of $911.04 which included the Preferred Seat Charge of $15.71, Main Cabin Extra charge of $78.13. Ben Brezina’s trip was confirmed 9/22/2022 on American Airlines and cost $730.20 and Phillip Climer airfare was $623.00.
How much was the airfare for Frisco EDC and Visit Frisco? We did not find any airfare cost for Marlo Roe so we assume she rode on the magic carpet with Aladdin. According to Jason Fords expenditure sheet his airfare was $1284.73.
How much was the hotel cost? Each room at the Sapphire Falls Resort was $167.63 (tax included) per night. All together it was about $4000 for the travelers. Now here is where it gets interesting.
Resort Details: If you remember there was a ticket for Brian Livingston that then was credited back to the Amex. A new ticket was purchased for Councilman Cheating John Keating. However there is a room expense for Brian Livingston and NO room charge for John Keating. My wife did her thing online and confirmed that Brain Livingston was in DFW during the time of the trip, so how did he have a room in Orlando Florida for $335.26. If Livingston didn’t go, and Keating went in his place then the city should have updated the reservation with the hotel, but they didn’t. Awe golly, maybe he stayed in some girl’s room as he is known to get around and he didn’t need a room. We feel confident that he stayed in Livingston’s room, which still leads us to ask – why did the city not change it? Is it illegal to expense it under Livingstons name? Did Livingston know he had an expense in his name?
What about other expenses? There are no expense reports for Cheney, Pelham or Keating so we have no idea what they spent on food or “extras.” Ben Brezina and John Lettellier expense reports had no food charges, and based on both men being pretty fit we just assume they don’t eat. Both men had about $56.00 each in parking or taxi expenses. Phillip Climer had $172.50 in food for two days.
Who wins the award for the “HEY, BIG SPENDER” gold trophy? Well, that would be Mr. Jason Ford, President of the Frisco EDC. We believe his travel expense report may be inaccurate because it does not add up to what we received. It reads his flight was $1284.73, then $116.77 in transportation charges, $439.16 for meals, $3047.89 for lodging and $15 for airplane Wi-Fi. Let the suspense music begin because when you look at his Sapphire Falls Resort Hotel Bill his room for 3 nights was $512.04. That means he either paid the bill for everyone’s room or something on this report is NOT RIGHT.
We did find some of his receipts. The evening he arrived he had a meal that included a Flatbreed Pizza, two side salads and lava cake which came to $38.34 + $7.20 tip for a total of $46.24. Then on 10-9 Jason Ford expensed a dinner that he notes with John Keating on the receipt, and it included sliders and Mich Ultra- since when does the city pay for alcohol? The total came to $24.50 + $5.50 tip for a grand total of $30.00. It appears the morning of 10-10 Jason took Keating, Pierson and himself to breakfast and the total was $89.46 plus a $15.54 tip! It appears that evening he took everyone to dinner at a Universal Sports Grill and the total was $194.64. Before I tell you THE BIG TIP, just remember at this week’s city council meeting the city tried to hide on the consent agenda a $5 million parking garage for some collector’s cars that were donated to the city and candy store (side note Livingston removed the item from the consent agenda to post pone it). Either way that must mean the city has a “big purse” and we have the money to spend! As Angelia said the night of the council meeting in March where they made the big Universal Decision “money is not a bad word, it is how people use money that is troublesome.”
DRUM ROLL PLEASE: Jason Ford left a $5.35 tip! We thought maybe they included gratuity since it was a large party but we could not find it so unless it got cut off the page, it was $5.35. (You can’t make this shit up).
It was clear after reviewing everything that a lot of details for the traveling city representatives was missing from this PIR request. There was not a travel expense report for each person. Hotel room bills for people who didn’t go, and no hotel room bills for ones who went. We are guessing the trip cost tax dollars at the minimum $10,000+ dollars. As a taxpayer I think maybe instead of sending 9 people we could have done it with half the number of people. Now they will argue, it will bring us millions in tax revenue over 30 years, but I am old and most likely will be 6 feet under in a few years and my kids will be arguing over their inheritance so who am I to care about 30 years from now. I like many other taxpayers hope you had a good time on our dime. If I were not in a wheelchair I would come to the next council meeting and break out in song during citizens input and sing
The minute you walked in the joint I could see you were people of distinction Real big spenders Good lookin’ so refined Say, wouldn’t you like to know what’s goin’ on in my mind? So let me get right to the point I don’t pop my cork for everyone I see Hey big spender, Spend a little money on me
Wouldn’t you like to have fun, fun, fun How’s about a few laughs,
Hey big spender Hey big spender Hey big spender Spend, a little money on me …or just help me with my property tax bill that is due since we have money to build a garage and take $10,000 dollar trips.
Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “Curiosity is lying in wait for every secret.” One of the driving forces behind human discovery is curiosity. What if Galileo never bothered to look through his telescope? He would have never observed celestial bodies proving that there were objects in space. A person’s curiosity to look at something and then want to know the story behind it is what changed the world thousands of times. I am no Galileo, but my curiosity is what drives me to investigate to find the truth.
For years drivers along the DNT, Panther Creek and 380 roadways wondered “what will these fields develop into one day?” I don’t think Frisco residents ever expected 3 world-class developments centered around the PGA & Golf. There is no doubt about it, the deal is a win-win for Frisco and its residents. The portion that intrigued me was Fields, a 2100-acre master-planned community. Plans for villages (neighborhoods) and a network of trails built around the natural topography sound brilliant! It soon became clear with the Cheney Group announcement of being the Fields experts, that he had access to information, homesites, and builder information before anyone else in real estate and that was a red flag for me.
I am not the first to ask questions or have the hair on the back of my neck stand up. Take a moment and browse social media and you will see residents ask questions in regard to Cheney profiting personally from his position as Mayor. In May of 2018, Texas Scorecard released an article by Ross Kecseg asking will the Mayor profit from the PGA deal. On June 25, 2018, Texas Scorecard writer Ross Kecseg released another article regarding the Frisco mayor lashing out at PGA deal coverage and that he has threatened to sue Texas Scorecard to uncover their sources. The articles questioned the conflict between Stillwater Capital, The Associates and the closely tied relationship to Cheney.
In going through documents from a PIR request, I came across a series of emails. The first email was August 1, 2019 and it was written to Mayor Cheney from Holly McCall, Admin Assistant to the Mayor & Council. It reads On Thu, Aug 1, 2019 at 11:23 AM Holly McCall wrote: Mayor Cheney, A gentleman named John Baumgarten, from (redacted) (investors group), came by the office this morning to invite you to attend a dinner on Sept. 10 at 6 pm at Del Frisco’s, Legacy West. Beau Welling plans to speak about building golf courses, including the PGA project. They would love for you to participate in a Q&A at the end if you are willing. Mr. Baumgarten says this is a group (of @ 25 investors) with an interest in golfing and the PGA Project, and that they “are not selling or promoting anything.” They have also invited some of the Omni Group and Joe Trahan from Channel 8. John Baumgarten Principal, Private Wealth Management
The same day at 10:13 pm, Lorie Medina who was known as Mayor Cheney’s Chief of Staff responded. It’s important to note that Lorie Medina was not a city employee, she was paid by the Mayor $5000 a month from his campaign.
On Aug 1, 2019, 10:13 PM -0500, Lorie Medina , wrote: Would you like me to ask Jon McCary about this firm? This could be a good discussion since we are trying to attract VCs and PE firms to Frisco for Inspire Frisco. Also, it might be good to include him at the meeting, if possible.
VC standards for Venture Capital Firm and they invest in industry startups and PE stands for Private Equity Firm and they buy companies and overhaul them to earn a profit. Capital for investments comes from outside investors. Inspire Frisco helps to build a network for Frisco entrepreneurs.
August 2nd the Mayor replies from his Cheney Group personal email where he was a Broker Associate with The Associates Realty and it reads On Fri, Aug 2, 2019 at 12:58 PM Jeff Cheney wrote: Would love his input if he thinks it’s a worthwhile use of time. I do not normally want to kill an entire evening unless necessary. Jeff Cheney, CPA Broker Associate The Associates Realty One Cowboys Way Frisco, Tx 75034 www.CheneyGroup.com
Were the emails a big deal? We didn’t think so until we hit another email sent from John Baumgarten to Jeff Cheney on September 11, 2019. It reads
From: “Baumgarten, John” Date: September 11, 2019 at 11:24:14 AM CDT To: Jeff Cheney JCheney@friscotexas.gov Subject: B & B dinner
Jeff, Cannot thank you enough for carving out some time for us last night and sharing the history and vision of this spectacular project. Congratulations for putting this audacious project together. As a small token of my appreciation, I would love to make a donation to a charity that is connected to this project – let me know what you suggest. I would also like to get on the unofficial lot list – let me know what is involved in that. Thank you again. Maybe we can host another event as we get closer to the next phase being completed. Again, thank you for participating. My guests really enjoyed it based on the early feedback. John
To understand why this email is important you must rewind to the Facebook post on 10/13/22 where the Cheney Group announced they had been working on somethingspecial for the last year. They were excited to announce the Cheney Group team were the Fields Experts and that The Preserve at PGA was teeing off and lots were going fast. The Perry Mason in me had some serious questions.
First, the email above was from 2019 and John asked how to get on the unofficial lot list mentioned at the dinner and what was involved in that. What unofficial lot list and were these lots for the Preserve village? Was Mr. Cheney the only one with access to sell these lots? How many of the unofficial lots were sold prior to the public announcement lots were available? The post said his group had been working for the last year, but the emails were from 2019 so did he work on it for more than a year?
Second, John also mentions making a donation to a charity connected to the project and we safely assumed he meant the PGA/Fields project. We were surprised that Mr. Cheney forwarded that to Lorie Medina to ask her thoughts. She responded with how about we send him to www.giveforfrisco.com and he can pick a charity of his choice. Wait a minute! Was the donation part of getting on that unofficial lot list? Was there an expectation that if a donation was made the person would have more access to the unofficial lot list? The fact that he forwarded the email to Lorie asking for her thoughts, does that display his willingness to accept a donation?
Third, the thank you email was sent to the mayor’s official email address. However, we did not see a response to it! Does that mean the mayor never responded to the gentleman’s two questions? Does it mean he replied through his private email since he knew any communication could be a public record? To give the benefit of the doubt, we are going to assume it was not included since it was out outside of the scope of the PIR.
Truth and Transparency are what residents want and it seems like we always moving in circles without an end or satisfactory answer. The emails by themselves seem like little concern but the emails as a whole have very shady implications. Even if nothing wrong took place, the appearance of impropriety is enough to cause doubt that shady shit is happening in Frisco.
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