Looking to the Future - League City 2017

Well League City, hopefully as you lay down to sleep and visions of sugarplums dance in your head tonight, you can all rest a little easier in light of the fact that our illustrious emperor mayor has closed out the year with his pride and ego secured.  Yes, his cronies on council have finally given him everything he ever wanted - the end of City Manager Mark Rohr's employment in League City.  Never mind the consequences, we'll sort those out later, right?  But let's take a look at this - we've protected our fragile emperor's mayor's pride, and what will it cost this city?  And while we're at it, let's put a little analysis in to see what forces are currently driving our city, and where the logical conclusion of the efforts of these forces will put this city.  And finally, let's take a look at future elections and consider the consequences of statements from some of the players involved in this round of the game of thrones.



How much did pumping up Pat Hallisey's already over-inflated ego cost League City?



Many of the armchair lawyers of the Edelman/Hallisey/Mallios camp for liberals, misguided simpletons, and half-wits on the Facebook/League City Politics is Full Contact Sport page have suggested that it's "just" a couple hundred thousand dollars that it will cost the city.  Here's the problems with this simplification:

1. The use of the word "just" here is rather laughable.  These are the same people who complained about the cost of implementing a "smart" sign at Hometown Heroes Park (~$70k if I recall), which is something that would contribute to the "improved communication" this group has stated they would like out of the city.  But now, spending "just" a couple hundred thousand dollars on Pat's ego is completely reasonable?
2. Much has been postulated as to the likelihood of Mark Rohr suing the city for what amounts to breach of contract.  Mick Phalen seems to think that Rohr's "track record" has indicated he'll take the severance pay and split.  Personally, I almost hope that he sues, if for no other reason than we can have actual judges and lawyers clarify for all of the half-witted amateur legal scholars in Mallios's fan club how the legal system actually functions.  Not to mention it'd be rather nice to put a final dollar tag on how much we have invested in the fragile ego of Mayor Pat Hallisey.  However, since I'm a resident of this city that will end up paying for this fiasco with my tax dollars, I have to hope that he doesn't sue.
3. All of these questions have ignored the bigger cost to this city - what does it mean for our future.  There's the immediate questions of what this means to projects that are already in work.  How much slower will these projects be accomplished as Mr. Baumgartner now has to divide his attention between his prior-to-firing duties and his new duties as interim city manager.  How many projects that the city has approved will now be cancelled/delayed due to failure in acquiring funding via grants (one specialty of Mr. Rohr's that we've now lost).  How hard will it be for the city to find a new Manager (or even a City Administrator, if Emperor Pat Hallisey gets his way and we return to a strong-mayor form of the good ol' boy system) - The reason we had such extreme severance terms in Mr. Rohr's contract was that our city has a terrible history of employing city administrator's and manager's for such short durations, and the way in which Pat dragged this entire subject through the mud in the local press will not help us going forward.  Furthermore, now that we've established our council and Mayor as bullies who rely upon their position of power to break contracts and go back on their word without so much as going through the motions of even trumping up a negative performance review (as John Bowen pointed out - this would've been VERY easy to do), how much damage will this cause in our city's ability to negotiate terms with businesses that are going to enter into contracts with the city?  Can we even put a price on that?  But hey, at least Pat doesn't have to tell his 29-year old daughter there's no "hanky panky" going on at City Hall.   (For those who missed the post-Executive Session portion of the council meeting where Rohr was fired, Emperor Hallisey used this as justification of his vote to also fire the City Attorney, which was based on the CA's processing, at Council's request, a letter to the Mayor demanding an apology for his use of the B-word in reference to a female council-member.  Now, while it was a stretch to send this to the ethic's board on the ground of sexual harassment, it's also a stretch that the Mayor's daughter was so out of touch with current events that she asked Emperor Pat what sort of "hanky panky" was going on at City Hall (as he stated she did), but hey, anything for a good story, right Emperor Pat?)
   

Who are the forces driving this city and the current council members?



So clearly Emperor Hallisey is on the throne at present, and he got some of his cronies elected (Dugie/Gripon/Millican), but who is really driving this liberal surge?  Clearly the people of League City aren't liberal - the latest national elections have shown that the conservative north part of Galveston County is strong enough to override the historically liberal island.  So why do we have a Democrat mayor and his allies in power?  First and foremost, we have the myth of non-partisan location elections to thank.  The Democrats are able to claim they're not liberal and apparently the public is willing to trust anyone who says that.  But more importantly, who was supporting these candidates?  Dugie gets a pass - he ran unopposed - let's hope that doesn't happen again.  While getting some youth on this council is a good thing, I think it's rather shameful in a city full of engineers, doctors, scientists, and business executives we have two landscapers on our city council, especially two who have shown that they have zero ability to objectively analyze a cost/benefit decision and instead simply back Emperor Hallisey.  But who else is backing these candidates?



Marc Edelman.  Outside of being a rather offensive keyboard warrior who has a personal grudge against actual Republicans that is so strong he's willing to align himself with Democrats to exact revenge, what are his qualifications to be a contributor to the discussions regarding the future of this city?  He's thrown money and support at forces that are clearly opposed to advancing League City, and he's used his particularly vile and nasty brand of vitriol to deceive the public.  Marc Edelman is a plague upon this city, and it's time someone calls this out.



Backing the Blue versus Union Bullying.  The deciding factor which saw the Green Team swept to a 4-4 split Council in the latest election was the influence of the League City Police Officers Association.  We happen to live in a very conservative town, and with liberals attacking our police at the Federal level by endorsing Black Lives Matter and other anti-police organizations, the backlash locally to show support for our police with blue line decals on cars, Blue Lives Matter bumper stickers, and in general showing up to support our officers has been a big deal in League City. The Green Team (rather skillfully) used this tide of support for our officers to seize power by capitalizing on a very unique situation with one specific police officer to gain the endorsement of the police officers union, and then win the election. But here's the problem with this – backing the blue does NOT mean backing the police officers union (LCPOA). We “back the blue” by living decent lives, by supporting our cops with good equipment, by enacting laws and choosing prosecutors who will punish criminals and defend the police. Backing the union means endorsing a financially unsustainable future by caving in to out of control demands for salary and pensions (look at what has happened in all those rust belt states where public employee unions have controlled elections for decades). It's even more sad to think that our union was out to get City Manager Rohr over a single isolated incident – and one that there was no reason to be upset with Mr. Rohr about to begin with. One child of an office was denied coverage in a terrible situation that was created by our city's attempt to provide better coverage at a better rate for the city to employees. The thing that the union failed to point out (or even accept) is that the CM and city staff saw the problems created by the change in insurance, and worked to find a new insurance provider to remedy the problem. In other words, they took action to look out for the best interests of the city, there were some unintended and unforeseen consequences, and they took immediate action to rectify the situation. However, the damage was done, and the union had made up their minds, so they got the Green Team elected by campaigning for them as backing the blue, and then they demonstrated classic union bullying tactics as they forced the completion of the quid pro quo situation by getting the action to fire Mark Rohr on the agenda prior to the end of 2016. Despite Nick Long's protest that the vote should be delayed until the city could at least analyze the potential impacts, despite Larry Millican's claim that he didn't really want to rush into this vote, the council voted to fire Mark Rohr. This is what happens when our elected officials are hostages held in debt to public employee unions to return the favor for their support in the election. This is why the rust belt cities are bankrupt – our city rushes into bad decisions and the taxpayers are left to pay the consequences.
A Look to Next Year and Reaction to Key People
So this all leaves us going well, what's next. Obviously we'll have to wait to see just how much Emperor Hallisey's pride and our Police Union has cost this city while we wait to see if Mr. Rohr decides to sue for breach of contract. But let's break down some key statements by people recently

1. Keith Gross – Mr. Gross, for the most part I've been impressed at your cautious and well thought out comments on council. You tend to be much more pensive than many other members of council. However, this time you've revealed something much more troubling, a short-sightedness that is rather disturbing (and that's giving you the benefit of the doubt). See, I say it's benefit of the doubt, because I'm going to assume that you truly meant and believe that you voted to fire CM Rohr because the relationship between the Emperor and the CM was irreparable. The problem with that rationale is that it's rather short-sighted. This mayor is only in place until 2018, our contract with the CM was for longer than that. In other words – the city could suck it up and figure out ways to work despite their differences until an election can rectify the mistake that is Mayor Hallisey. I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt and assume that you're only being short-sighted, and that it wasn't simply you waffling to attempt to play both sides as you feel there is a rising surge of support for the green team and you're wanting to try to gain their favor now.
   
2. Brian Brown – I had given you the benefit previously of assuming you were just using the Green Team forum as a place to spread your campaign message because there really is no other place to discuss League City Politics in social media. However, I believe your true colors have started to shine. Here's my take now – you're an arrogant Yankee who simply thinks you can Monday-morning quarterback city government based on your extensive expertise in the field acquired by driving tug boats. You've completely bought into the mythology of CM Rohr's performance that has been spread by the Green Team, and you called for his and CA Doan's dismissals. Those having been discussed and acted upon, now you're going after P&D director Paul Menzies. Well, Mr. Brown – I think you have finally revealed, that in classic NYC fashion, you're headhunting and scapegoating like a champion. Please know that you and your friends in Mallios's clan can't continue to complain about city staff turnover and pin this as a failure of the CM, when y'all are gunning for everyone on social media.
   
3. Greg Gripon – Well well, Mr. Gripon – you pointed out that your vote against the CM was a result of discussion with city staff and you were afraid we'd lose more people if the CM stayed. However, did you talk to any of Mr. Rohr's actual reports? You mentioned the staff that was there to show their support for the action to dismiss the CM – but you failed to mention the staff that showed up to support the CM. Now we know – you're a puppet for the union. So is your debt to the union paid in full, or do you owe them more? Can we expect you to seek pay increases for the police officers to unsustainable levels? Can we expect you to bankrupt our future with pensions for the union? And will you EVER show independent thought and vote against Mayor Hallisey?
   
4. Hank Dugie – You ran unopposed once; hopefully never again. You're just a pawn for the Mayor, and it's shameful. You could've been so much more.
   
5. Byram Lass – Have you seen the error of putting your faith in the Green Team yet, as they've revealed they aren't truly concerned about the future of League City, it's simply another “faction” to replace the previous “faction”?
   
6. Tom Dill – Thank you for being a beacon of reason at city council meetings. You've pointed out the potential consequences of the Mayor's actions, and sadly, since Mr. Gross wasn't paying attention and took the path of least resistance, we'll now have to wait and see just how accurate you were. But thank you, for your honesty and your courage in standing up to Emperor Hallisey and his union-backed puppets.
   

What Next?
Well folks, now that the Mayor has his “pound of flesh”, can the city move forward in a reasonable manner, or will we continue to see more petty politics in League City? Only time will tell.

My apologies for the vacation

Well folks, the election happened.  I've taken the last week to try to decide what to say.  At first I wanted to discuss the likely 4-4 votes that will be coming up, very interesting considering that most of the Green Team supporters complain in general about the slow pace of government action (as if that's a surprise, for government at any level).  Then I wanted to write a listing of all the things I warned will happen, so down the road, I could say "I told you so."  But I don't want to be able to say I told you so.  I love this city and look forward to it's continued growth and success, and as such, I hope the best for the two new council-members.  So instead, I've decided to remind the new council-members what got them elected, and let them know that at least this one anonymous citizen will be watching, and ready to call them out should they stray from what they've promised:

1.  A divergence from politics as usual in League City
2.  To not fight growth but try to ensure it's orderly and desired growth
3.  To not raise taxes
4.  To prevent unnecessary spending
5.  To restore "civility" and "dignity" to city government

That being said, the Green Team is in for quite a ride.  Their most vocal and lunatic fringe of supporters (Marc Edelman, Holly Shelden, Mick Phalen, Bill Heins, Mel & Sandra Kelley, Jay Ewend, Karl Wankowicz, Dee Scott, and the former mayors and council members with bitter grudges) are creating quite the Catch22 for Green Team.  See, if the Mayor and his pals on the Green Team are TRULY committed to restoring civility and a divergence from politics as usual, they would do the following:

1.  Stop butting heads with the City Manager/City Attorney, and actually try working with them.  I realize the Mayor feels slighted, but the fact is he is just as much a part of creating the bad environment and relationship as the City Manager is.  Someone has to take the lead on mending that relationship, and given that the Green Team has promised civility, the Mayor should lead by example.  But Marc Edelman insists on trying to tie some imaginary connection to a few disgruntled people in Joplin to League City in an effort to discredit the City Manager, and given his massive support of the Green Team including hosting their victory celebration, it's doubtful he will sit quietly by while the relationship gets fixed.  So appeasing their vocal core and living up to their promises can't be done for the Green Team - so which will it be, live up to what got you elected, or demonstrate that this city voted to swap one political machine for another?

2.  Stop with the useless ethics committee complaints already.  It was the wrong place to challenge the Mayor's lack of understanding of a council-manager form of government, and it's the wrong place to try to "fix" our city government.  This ethics council is largely a joke.  It's essentially toothless, and it's a big waste of time and money.  Seriously, this is EXACTLY more of the same, and it's the type of stuff the citizens have spoke with their votes to get away from.

3.  Figure out a way to attract businesses to be able to fund all the traffic improvements and water infrastructure upgrades that your supporters are expecting.  Otherwise, you won't have any choice but to disappoint them or raise taxes.

This is a short list for now, but it's not going to be easy.  Good luck, and I'll be watching!

League City New Residents - I Told You So!

Just when I thought I was done with my last post before the election (this one: https://leaguecityoutsiders.blogspot.com/2016/11/election-eve-update-for-league-city.html) , I see this nugget of truth (Finally some truth!) out of the Green Team's twisted cheerleader, the self-professed "First Lady of League City", Janice Hallisey.  Her latest get out the vote effort starts off with, "Vote for people who grew up here..."  I've been saying all along that the Green Team's priority is League City for the natives.  Never mind that half of this city's population didn't grow up here.  Never mind the needs, thoughts, and desires of the people who have moved in and paid taxes here as this city doubled in size in the last 20 years.  It's all about the old families.  If you're a non-native and want to be properly represented on Council - vote for Drury, Kinsey, and Spry!

Election Eve Update for League City Council Voters

It's almost here League City!  Your Facebook can turn back into food pictures and duck-faced selfies.  You might even re-friend some of those people you had to cut loose in the last few months.  But before we get to that wonderful post-election time-period, for those of you who haven't taken advantage of early voting, you have to make it through Election Day... running the gauntlet of candidates and surrogates outside of the polling locations (Don't worry - it sounds like they're going to be well-regulated to abandon hope of harassing you once you get 100ft from the door.)  But you shouldn't need to worry about all of that - you'll do your homework BEFORE you get to the polling location. 

Sadly, many have done all their research on the Presidential election, but have totally neglected local elections.  Yet it's the local elections that require the most research.  Unless a President declares a war, there's very little they can do that will have as substantial and direct consequence on your day-to-day life as the people on City Council will have.  Furthermore, city council elections don't have the easy-button of party affiliation listing (they're "non-partisan").  So you actually have to do your research.

Some Facebook groups (League City Politics is a Full Contact Sport) would LOVE to do your "research" for you.  They'll tell you all about how great their slate of Green Team candidates is, about their community service, and about how long they've lived in League City.  What they won't tell you is any actual plan the Green Team has for League City.  Because their plan is the impossible - they want to freeze time (seemingly sometime around the late 1980s).  They want to pretend League City is "rural".  They want to eliminate professional, educated, city staff who have served this city well.  This group silences and shouts down anyone who disagrees with them through childish name-calling, arbitrary enforcement of "rules" for their group, and innuendo lobbed at anyone who speaks negatively about them.  This group will claim that the Green Team has exclusive ownership of the moral high road, and throw out hyperbolic accusations of "serious" election rule violations.  They'll do a lot of things.  But the key thing they will NOT do, is offer you any sort of unbiased, educated, rational information regarding the election.

Now, I'll offer you my take and recommendations, but I highly suggest you take a while and research my rationale and claims.  I'll suggest a starting point (and it is JUST a starting point) that you read through the rest of the posts I've made.  I like to focus on issues (with some humor thrown in, when you're this long-winded it helps to keep people awake), and I like to provide references to support my opinions (instead of pretending to be an authority on all aspects of local governance).  Then do some more research on your own, you all know how to use Google (or duckduckgo, whatever suits your fancy).

In this election for City Council, while all candidates are technically independent, you're facing a choice between two slates (and one wild-card who you likely haven't heard of because he's done much less advertising).  Slate A - Debbie Drury, Todd Kinsey, and Brenton Spry.  Slate B - The "Green Team", Greg Gripon, Larry Millican, and Rudy Salcedo.  If you've watched any City Council meetings in the last couple of months, you've seen some of these "Green Team" folks and most of their supporters as they've lined up for 3 minutes of shame every meeting to plead for such causes as: 

1 - Spending $10mil on a new animal shelter (because improving/expanding the existing one wasn't good enough for them)
2 - Acquiring an "office" for the mayor (even though we have a council-manager form of government which renders the mayor a ceremonial figurehead who is in reality just an extra and useless member of the city council, and even though the mayor had full access to the shared office for all of council), creating an unnecessary expense for the city to change the signs, and enabling the mayor to overstep his role and try to interfere with the duties which we pay the City Manager to perform (the City Manager who has a Master's Degree and is qualified to run a city versus the Mayor who has no formal training whatsoever).
3 - Complaining about the city council "disrespecting" the Mayor (despite the fact that he campaigned on a promise to fight them, creating the atmosphere of distrust and combativeness)
4 - Changing the city logo back to the old oak tree silhouette instead of the new bright sailboats (because a logo means that much to them, and it'd be worth the expense to get the drab old logo back).
5 - And finally, we get to a real issue - opposition to the city's plan to revitalize the downtown area of League City (because they don't understand the difference between investment and spending).

The Green Team will talk a lot about valuing "involvement" in the city (citing how many council meetings their favorite candidates have attended, or charity groups they're involved in).  But this doesn't qualify one to make decisions regarding the operations and planning for a city of this size.  What SHOULD qualify someone is how will they vote on issues that matter to you.  So let's boil down the positions of the two slates.

The A Team (Drury/Kinsey/Spry) will continue the path set forth by existing council members (Becker, Bentley, Hansing, Kinsey, Long, and Gross).  They will seek the advice of our trained and skilled City Manager, and measure that advice with their truly conservative views that are representative of the majority of League City residents.  They will continue to seek the balance in revenue to fund infrastructure improvements while decreasing debt and working to get our taxes lowered in a responsible manner.  This balance will be achieved by attracting businesses to League City, thereby driving up the retail sales tax revenue and hotel occupancy tax revenue, which will be largely funded by those from outside of our community, and enable improvements to be funded without relying on the revenue of homeowners' property taxes.  They will continue the plan to implement improvements such as downtown revitalization in a manner that will maximize the federal funding of projects through grants (thereby restoring money paid out by League City residents to the Federal government back to League City). 

The B Team, or so-called "Green Team" (because Gripon is an environmentalist whose primary focus seems to be on the liberal buzz-word of "sustainability" and because Pat Hallisey is Irish) of Gripon, Millican, and Salcedo, will attempt to fight growth and development.  They will try to preserve "green space" and oak trees, and yet they have promised to focus on traffic improvement and increasing our water supply.  If we resist growth and development, yet invest in infrastructure improvements as the B Team has promised, the only two methods to fund this are by increasing revenue (which in this case would HAVE to come from your wallet in the form of increased homeowners' property taxes) or by increasing debt.  I would love to go in more depth as to what the Green Team would do, but this is literally the only thing I've heard them promise to do, besides "cleaning house" and attempting to eliminate the City Manager and City Attorney (both of which would be costly ventures and likely get our city involved in unnecessary legal battles).  The B Team will have family members, old friends, and some of League City's police officers out campaigning for them on Tuesday.  But keep in mind, while they may have convinced the police union which represents some of the police officers to support them, they have no different plan to support the police department than the A Team.  Remember, public employee unions are about the only group that can choose who their boss is, what benefits package they are provided, and their pay scales, by influencing an election.  Police unions have historically been rather short-sighted, often backing Democrats who court the union with promises of increased pay and benefits yet then fail to "back the blue" as they continue supporting anti-authority voices.  Furthermore, as described in this reference regarding municipal employee unions:  https://www.sas.upenn.edu/~holgers/papers/sw_1_13.pdf, "Political economy reasons may prevent the city from operating efficiently since local politicians have incentives to accommodate public sector unions."  While the general consensus of the League City population is decidedly supportive of our police officers, please keep in mind that the unions are often short-sighted in what they view as advantageous to the officers they represent.  Do not let the police that are out to support the candidates endorsed by their union's political action committee sway your convictions.  Keep in mind that higher pay and benefits may benefit the police in the short-term, but they will bankrupt the city or increase your taxes in the long-run, which will inevitably be met by decreases in compensation and worse conditions for the police officers. 

Brian Brown has run a very clean (and very limited) campaign, and has been used and abused by the Green Team to try and split votes.  He doesn't really have much of a shot of getting elected, and would be outnumbered by one of the two slates on every vote.  As such, it's not really worth considering what positions he will support - his vote on Council would be completely inconsequential.

Don't fall for lies and tricks at the polls (such as the B Team's inflated, and void of context, claims regarding past water rate increases).  Don't let anyone convince you that the A-Team is not going to support the police - the fact is ALL of the candidates this time around will fully support our police department.  Given this summary, I highly recommend, if you haven't made up your mind yet, that you vote for the team with a rational path for the future of League City - Drury, Kinsey, and Spry.

The choice really is simply - do you want to embrace and shepherd in sensible growth that will decrease the tax burden on homeowners while increasing the investment in infrastructure improvements, or do you want to support a delusional quest for nostalgia that will attempt to fight growth to save a few oak trees and increase your taxes?  If you want to pursue lower taxes while increasing the quality of life - vote for Drury, Kinsey, and Spry.  If you want to save a few oak trees and try to fight the natural course of suburban growth at the cost of increased taxes on your property or decreased quality of life, vote Gripon, Millican, and Salcedo.

Anger Management Required for League City Mayor Pat Hallisey

Mayor Hallisey,

Are you losing your cool because you are afraid your Green Team is losing this election?  Perhaps you're realizing that a full-frontal assault on the city staff (particularly the manager and attorney) was a mistake.  I mean, what happens if your Green Team loses?  So now, you've resorted to petulant, childish, half-truth riddled posts on Facebook to try to defend yourself and rouse your  base of malcontents into getting their friends to vote for you? 

Here's the thing Pat, if you or the Green Team offered anything positive, ANYTHING at all positive to voters, perhaps you wouldn't be so nervous.  Outside of the endorsement of the police union, have y'all accomplished anything?  You've managed to get Greg Gripon's name dragged in the dirt (although, that DID get him to finally pay up his back taxes to the city/school district, so I guess that's a positive accomplishment), you've managed to get Monica Millican to show her true colors by having her attack Larry's opponent Brian's capability to serve the city (Since, you know, his wife just had a baby)... this is Brian, the ONE person who has run the most positive, clean campaign.  But I guess y'all realized he was splitting the anti-"Tea Party" vote, and had to be stopped.  Brian, kudos for keeping it clean, but perhaps next time you'll realize that all of the friendly words from the Green Team Goons on League City Politics is a Full Contact Sport are just empty words.  I suggest you find a new forum to spread your message - perhaps start your own Facebook group to rival Chris John Mallios's.  He clearly has failed at creating a place for discussion - it's a "mutual admiration society" for anti-progress NIMBY old-timers.  I don't agree with your path for the future of League City, and feel the local government SHOULD take an active role in attracting businesses, but I certainly do appreciate your honesty and dedication to your principles.  But back to the Green Team and anything they've contributed - outside of Greg's loopy idea to require reclaimed water lines (which is not done without a large cost and brings in it's own risks), the ONLY idea which y'all have is to oppose progress, fight development (you know, that thing that can be used to steer us to lower property taxes) and pretend that investing is the same thing as wasteful spending.  You've promised to fight the city staff and the rest of the council, but they were freely elected, just as you BARELY were. 

Mr. Hallisey, the Galveston Daily News was correct when it said there isn't likely to be any couples counselling for you and the city manager.  And for good reason - seeing what you and your wife and your minions have spouted on Facebook, how could any reasonable person be expected to be willing to work with you?  You've made no effort to hide the fact that you are out to get the city manager and city attorney for perceived slights against you.  You completely fail to realize that your only real enemy is the city council (after all, the CM and CA will do as the majority of council asks); or perhaps, you just realize you can't really do anything about them.  But you really should rethink your position, the fact that they've so effectively implemented the will of the council to resist you, wouldn't you want them on your side should your band of followers take control?  Of course, after seeing the way you've handled it when council member Nick Long corrected your alternative history regarding your votes and positions and pointed out some of your half-truths (you handled it by calling him immature and accusing him of pounding his chest, thus revealing your own lack of decorum and professionalism), I highly doubt the CM or CA would ever work well with you, as I doubt anyone except your puppets would willingly work with you. 

So I ask you to answer the following scenario-driven questions:

Scenario A - Your Green Team wins enough seats to have control of the council

1)  How do you plan to pay for the golden handcuffs that are part of the contracts for the CM and CA?  Will you dip into our tax revenues to pay for this?  Perhaps you can tap Ralph Parr for donations, since he loves to fund your Quixotic quests for power.  Be prepared that I will highlight just how much taxpayer money you waste on this childish grudge.

2) What will you do the same and what will you do differently in this city, and how do you anticipate that impacting our taxes?  Your supporters are resistant to any development, and are resistant to attracting businesses, yet they want more road and water work done.  How will you fund all of this without raising our taxes? 

3) If you DO get rid of the CM and CA, how do you plan to attract a skillful and professional CM in the future?  Word will get out of how you handled things.  Then what?

4) Many of your supporters pushed for the new animal shelter, and are pushing for a dog park.  How will you give them that without utilizing eminent domain to acquire land and without raising taxes?

Scenario B - Your Green Team doesn't win enough seats to control council

1) How do you expect the city staff and council to work productively with you since you've openly insulted them  during this election?

2) How will your tone change when you realize there IS no widespread mandate for the will of you and your Green Team?

More on the Downtown Parking Garage for League City

So the League City Politics is a Full Contact Sport forum turned into quite the crap-show over the last couple of days thanks to the antics of Jay Holley and Mel Kelly who are, to quote Mel, "Bad at being bad" and completely failed in their attempted character assassination of council candidate Debbie Drury.  I was going to think of a response to all of that, but realized, a much better response would be a return to focus on current issues regarding League City.  Furthermore, credit is due to Chris John Mallios for actually enforcing his rules against his fellow Green Team supporters, so no response is needed any more.  So let's get back to the latest debate - the infamous Parking Garage.

A lot of theories regarding downtown revitalization have been thrown out by the Green Team propagandists in the League City Politics is a Full Contact Sport forum.  These amateur urban planners have centered their complaints regarding League City's downtown revitalization plan around the parking garage which the city would like to build across from League Park.  I've already made numerous posts that mentioned some of the benefits (all residents able to take advantage of events at League Park such as the 4th of July celebration, costs will be shifted to the Feds through grant money, etc), but let's address some specific ideas and concerns which have been raised (and with some actual research and references, instead of relying on the opinion of some random person on Facebook), namely:

1) There's no need for a parking garage, a parking lot would be sufficient for the amount of traffic the area sees
2) A parking garage wouldn't address the biggest problem, that the area would still not be pedestrian friendly
3) There isn't enough business there to justify the expense
4) The money could be better spent on other projects

So let's talk about the "need" for a parking garage, as we have a bit of a chicken and egg scenario.  The fact is, when you add parking, you attract more businesses.  After all, especially in a downtown area (which, despite some claims, the historic area of 518 DOES qualify as a downtown area) where you already have buildings packed closely together, and you only have street parking available, it is hard for a business to open that needs parking (they'd need to buy a large enough lot for their business plus parking.  Now, we could just put in a lot, and this would certainly accommodate more activities and more businesses than present; however, it's setting yourself up to plateau in growth.  Once the parking lots are constantly full, people will stop crowding in, and additional businesses can't be accommodated.  At this point, it's probably too late to start a garage - the businesses already there will be negatively affected as the lot is torn down to put up a garage.  However, if you build the garage first (and ring it smartly with storefronts, providing a quick move-in opportunity for new or relocated businesses) then other businesses will fill in and drive up the retail sales tax, liquor tax, and other outside revenue that will help fund other improvements in this city.  In other words, this is an INVESTMENT in something which will bring in additional revenue, which will help fund all the other projects which the Green Team has stated this money should be spent on (road improvements, water infrastructure, etc).  Here's just one example of a similar town that saw a massive amount of retail growth, all spurned on because of the garage (in other words, through proactive planning instead of reactive construction):  http://buildabetterburb.org/financing-parking-garages-qa-with-parking-consultant-gerard-giosa/ .  Here's another city facing similar issues, and a quote that applies to League City as well, "An exciting downtown is part of what attracts CEOs and entrepreneurs ": http://www.toledoblade.com/local/2005/01/31/Mayor-pushes-downtown-projects-to-attract-new-people-businesses.html

Of course, the Green Team isn't really opposed to a parking garage.  What they're opposed to is anything that Mark Rohr has ever suggested, because they wish to promote Pat Hallisey to dictator and restore League City to the ineffective, turbulent, cronyism of a Strong-Mayor form of government, and they are opposed to retail and business growth ruining their nostalgic idea of some mythological "rural" League City (thanks George Turski).  Meanwhile, the rest of us just want a way to get our property taxes lowered, and investing in something that will attract businesses is EXACTLY the way to accomplish that.  Ironically, the Green Team has spoken about smart or managed growth, and this is EXACTLY what the Council and City Manager have been proposing, that Hallisey's minions are opposed to.  The downtown revitalization plan implements most of the suggested practises laid out in this guide for communities:  https://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/app/legacy/documents/rebuilding-downtown.pdf .  But again, "smart" growth is just a Green Team euphemism for resisting development at all costs (since it's your tax dollars, not theirs, after all, Hallisey has property below the city average in value, and Greg Gripon doesn't bother paying his taxes anyway until he's called out by his opposition as he runs for office).

A parking garage actually creates a more walkable and beautiful downtown area by preventing the on-street parking mess that is the current downtown.  It would enable wider sidewalks and other conveniences that would make for a safer more pedestrian-friendly downtown, which is exactly the trend that the younger generation is seeking as they choose where to live and start businesses.  But again, the Green Team isn't after that, they just want to keep their old city for their old families.

Now onto the costs of a parking garage vs. a parking lot.  A parking lot likely won't be big enough to accommodate the transit center which is required to get Federal grant money.  As such, the burden for funding would be entirely on the city.  Based on this site: http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/NR/rdonlyres/6EB981D2-6A67-449F-9808-5B4F950F7B01/0/Parking_Management_where_it_can_take_you.pdf  The cost per space to build a 2 or 3 story parking garage is roughly 4 times the cost to build a surface parking spot.  Since the plan involves the city funding 20% of the cost, and money from grants covering 80% of the cost, then we're essentially getting the garage for the same cost as the parking lot.  Now, obviously, the ongoing maintenance costs will be higher, but the businesses which will be attracted will bring in more revenue to offset this cost (and then some).  So a surface lot isn't useful as a solution at all.

So the question is - do you believe the spin from the Green Team which is seeking to fight growth (which is a losing fight - the area is GOING to grow, like it or not), or do you want our city to invest in it's future to be able to provide improved infrastructure while shifting tax burden to retail that will enable the city to provide better services while lowering property taxes?  THAT is the question - not "Do you want a $10mil parking garage?" as the Green Team likes to ask.  PS - that cost is for the ENTIRE downtown revitalization, not just the parking garage, and only serves to demonstrate the hyperbole the Green Team is prone to employ as it seeks to trick voters into supporting their anti-business agenda.

Attention League City Mayor Pat Hallisey (or his Public Affairs Assistant Janice)

Mayor Hallisey claimed he was a uniter, and while campaigning posted messages such as "Bring Unity to Our Community".  Mayor Hallisey complained about unfair treatment and nasty politics.  The Green Team supporters complain that this campaign has turned nasty with things taken out of context.  And then, the Mayor's Wife, the self-proclaimed 1st Lady of League City, hops on Facebook and starts liking comments that people should vote Greg Gripon because he will fight our City Manager.  (But he supports our staff, supposedly).  The Green Team hypocrisy was on full display this week following the Ethics Board meeting on Saturday.  Here's a summary:

At a council meeting months ago, Mayor Hallisey referred to a female council-member with "the B-word".  The council (excluding Hank Dugie) all sent a letter to the Mayor expressing their displeasure with such behavior.  Instead of responding with a simple "sorry, heat of the moment", he brought in a line of his supporters to the next council meeting to profess that the Mayor would NEVER say such a thing.  However, the statement was heard by more than one member of the city staff.  These supporters are essentially saying that these people are liars, and complaining that the Mayor was being persecuted for what amounts to hearsay.

When the Ethics Board met, the ethics compliance officer hired to look into the complaint found that, "The mayor's actions were not because the employees were female".  Now, the Green Team's most vocal supporters hopped on Facebook to celebrate with, "Mayor Exonerated".  But here's the problem - the Green Team supporters seem to be incapable of actually reading the entire article and stopped on the headlines.  See, the board and compliance officer found no ETHICS violation.  They didn't find that the Mayor never did anything that he was accused of doing (in fact, as the editorial in the GDN pointed out, it "found the mayor probably did refer to Position 3 Councilwoman Heidi Hansing with a gender slur, which was neither professional nor productive"), just that the actions themselves weren't ethics violations.  In other words, this wasn't the right place to complain about it.  But the compliance officer went on (and was RIGHTLY praised by the Galveston Daily News in an editorial by Michael A. Smith) to point out that the Mayor HAS acted outside of his role as the Mayor.  Pat Hallisey simply does not comprehend or accept what a council-manager form of government is.  Pat Hallisey is mayor of a City and does not understand or follow the charter.  The ethics officer stated, "His actions were, I believe, because of the conflict concerning his role as mayor in a city manager form of government.  This is the elephant in the room."  Pat Hallisey - your EGO is the elephant in the room, and it's gigantic.

Did the council waste time sending this to the Ethics Board?  For sure.  Is the Mayor a jerk, definitely.  So do you want to vote to get the Mayor's cronies on the Council?  I sure don't.  The worst thing for a jerk on an ego trip is to surround them with yes-men.  Here's a thought - vote down the Green Team, and let's talk about changing the charter again, to eliminate the position of Mayor.  After all, and even number is never a good thing when taking votes (ties become no votes for all intents and purposes), and the Mayor is just a figurehead for ceremonial purposes in a Council-Manager form of government.  We could simply have the rotating Mayor Pro Tem position (or even let the Council elect their "Head") handle any ceremonious duties.  It'd be one less stipend  we'd have to pay (hey, that'd save the city $12k/year), and it'd prevent these power struggles when elected members don't understand the charter.

And while we're on hypocrisy, here's a couple side notes that are amusing:

Byram Lass STILL likes to complain about people from neighboring Dickinson commenting on their precious little Facebook group; yet has NO problem whatsoever with people from Arizona, Louisiana, and La Grange commenting (since, you know, they're Green Team supporters).

The Green Team complains about dirty "gotcha" politics (as Ralph Parr mentions in his letter to the editor which GDN carried, and Pat Hallisey shared with his supporters) - yet then spreads hearsay about something not so nice that Debbie Drury allegedly was overheard saying.  So which is it, is the Green Team taking the high road or not?  And if it is, you should put a gag order on Mel Kelly and Jay Holley.

Byram Lass - tone down the partisan Facebooking while at work

Byram Lass,

I was going to let this go, because I don't personally care about trivial rules.  However, since you have continually commented on every supposed "illegal" or "unethical" offense you feel the candidates you don't like have committed, and since you continually like to question the faith and beliefs of anyone who disagree with you, and since you continually make sanctimonious slippery-slope arguments that these offenses are somehow gateway crimes that make you wonder what someone won't do wrong, there is something that needs to be discussed.

Mr. Lass - your employer is VERY clear about personal use of government resources and time.  PARTICULARLY with respect to posting partisan political stuff.  Now, I'm not the petty type who would go running to the Office of the Inspector General to complain about your activities, but you might want to reconsider how much time you spend on Facebook posting about politics while you're supposed to be at work.  Keep in mind, all of your posts are on a public group, and they're time-stamped, it wouldn't take someone very long to figure out that you were using at a minimum government time, and more likely, also government resources, to post such things.

I was going to post screenshots for you of the hundreds of business-hour weekday comments you've made to the League City Politics is a Full Contact Sport Facebook political discussion group, but it's really not necessary.  You know what you've done.  Instead the following will suffice.

1) Mr. Lass, please reacquaint yourself with John 8:1-11 (since you like to project your religious judgment onto others)

2) Mr. Lass, please reacquaint yourself with the rules of your employer and the experiences of another NASA employee, Mr. John Cobarruvias (this link will help: http://blog.chron.com/techblog/2008/05/updated-nasa-employee-suspended-for-partisan-blogging/ )

3) Mr. Lass, please stop with slippery slope arguments.  I'm not going to sit here and say "Oh my, if he'd do this, what WON'T he do?!"  I'm not going to sit here and suggest that if you're willing to break these rules that you might show up at a city council meeting and do something irrational (as you suggested I would do, since I was willing to, gasp, break Facebook's "Real Name" rule).  I'm not going to do that, because I honestly believe you're a good person with good intentions, just seriously misdirected and deceived by the groupthink of the Green Team.   But I'll suggest you remember this and stop making such slippery-slope fallacies in the future when you extrapolate alleged trivial election missteps as indicators that people won't follow ANY rules.

 

League City - If you read it on Facebook, it must be true!

Chris John Mallios and his loyal band of Green Team propaganda clowns over on the Facebook Group League City Politics is a Full Contact Sport like to think they have the market cornered on sharing information with the residents of League City.  They pretend to have an open forum for discussion, yet shout down, kick out, and silence anyone who is not in agreement with them.  Please consider another source for your information - and I highly recommend digging into the ACTUAL source of information instead of their outrageously distorted version of events.  Look at the city website for information on projects that are being discussed.  Look at the city website for links to council meeting video archives and minutes.  Look at the county tax site for receipts for tax payments (to see what items were paid late or whether they were paid on time).  But whatever you do, don't bother attempting to get the truth out of the League City Politics is a Full Contact Sport circus.  Here's a few examples of the complete distortions presented by the loyal followers of Brother Hallisey.

1) Mick Phalen Can Use Paint.  In an attempt to imply that the tax documents which were shared by various outlets regarding Greg Gripon's failures at managing his personal and business finances, Mick Phalen showed that you can (gasp) alter the files on a computer.  However, what you CAN'T alter, are the receipts which can also be looked up, showing that multiple years were paid late, the day before Greg Gripon was going to go on Chris John Mallios's radio show.  So go check those out for yourself.  While it IS possible to edit documents, the manner in which Mr. Phalen presented his information was meant to imply that the documents sent around WERE faked, but they weren't.  Good try, Mick, to attempt to discredit the truth through innuendo, that way you can't be pointed out for lying.  But as Byram Lass likes to remind everyone, leaving out any of the truth is the same as lying.

2) Sandra Kelley Lies about Votes at Council Meetings.  Besides being generally delusional about the popularity of her positions in League City, Sandra Kelley has been flat out lying on LCPIAFCS.  After a tirade about the downtown revitalization beginning with the expense of burying power lines (which she somehow thinks are an aesthetic feature as opposed to an eyesore) she was asked who voted to bury the lines.  Her reply was 5-2 (which, to anyone who follows the Council meetings would realize is most likely everyone else in favor except Dugie and Hallisey); however, the vote was actually 7-0.  Yes, folks, Pat Hallisey and Hank Dugie both voted for this as well.  Will Sandra Kelley and her little minion Mel launch a recall effort for this abandonment?  Perhaps Pat should remind his wife how he voted, after she liked Sandra's rant about this, then went on to state, "This last Council has voted yes!"  Janice - news flash, your HUSBAND voted yes.  Of course, you couldn't POSSIBLY be trying to hide this fact by making these comments on Facebook to avoid the rebellion of his loyal army of idiots on LCPIAFCS, right?  And then Sandra went on to imply that something nefarious is at play when Keith Gross left the chamber for the vote.  He clearly asked if "abstaining" was essentially a vote against the proposal, and if he wanted to actually abstain he would have less impact on the vote if he left the room.  So he left.  Now, if Mr. Gross fails to leave the room should someone put forth a proposal that is against the downtown revitalization effort, and instead abstains, you could argue that he's trying to manipulate the vote through his various methods of not voting.  But if he remains consistent (which he's been VERY consistent on this so far) then nothing is wrong.  But again, with a play out of the smarmy politics for dummies book, if you just IMPLY he did something wrong, you can always deny you meant to imply it.  So if you're GOING to spread misinformation, at least do it with some conviction.

Here's some more distortions from the Green Team Propaganda Machine

1) Power Lines are "Historical" Charm (Sandra Kelley on FB, regurgitated by Wiccan Cheryl Barr at the Council Meeting on 10/25).  I honestly don't need to say too much on this, but you're really stretching for rationale when you are trying to dissuade the council from voting to bury power lines and the best you can come up with is: I've seen them in other downtowns, they look historical.  It's power lines, not your grandmother's heirlooms. 

2) Yvonne Tibai can't use a map, how can we trust her to collect other information.  She claims to have records showing candidates to have not voted in League City elections; however, she also assumed that Kemah address meant non-resident of League City (I guess we can throw out those Dickinson address folks down in Bay Colony as well).  How many votes has she failed to recognize because they were cast in League City elections at polling locations/precincts that ARE League City but without League City addresses?  (ALWAYS consider the source)  I won't ever know, because she refuses to share the information except in private conversations (possibly because she's altered it, or knows it's incomplete?)  Ultimately, this points to yet another reason not to trust anything you read on League City Politics is a Full Contact Sport.  They're not used to having anyone fact-checking their claims, since they exist in their echo-chamber of stupidity, and are completely manipulated by a couple less than honest puppet-masters.

3) Inconsistency.  This is a good way to determine bias and verify that the Green Team Propaganda Wing is just that, and everyone should look elsewhere for truth.  Prime example - Byram Lass challenges someone from Dickinson who comments on LCPIAFCS group; yet is TOTALLY okay with Gordon Vest of Louisiana and Holly Shelden of La Grange chiming in to the group.  An immediate neighbor seems more valid of a contributor than a former resident in discussing the future of our city

4) Immaturity.  Just how much discussion could this group of deranged hyper-vocal half-wits possibly have about a tattoo on a city council members arm?  Is this what passes for "research" and serious conversation with these clowns?  Again, yet another reason to find a different source for information regarding League City politics. 

I'm not saying you should trust me.  In fact, don't, you don't know me from Adam.  This is why I provide references for things I state, or at least point you to where the source is.  Verify everything.  And if you see something incorrect that I've said, please, let me know.  I'm only human. 

Larry Millican - League City Council Candidate - Platform Analysis

I really didn't want to write something about Larry Millican.  In watching the Council meetings his comments have been rather well thought out, calm, and collected, to the point that I wanted to believe he wasn't part of the "Green Team" machine.  Yet after seeing so many things associating Larry with the rest of Pat Hallisey's puppets, I can no longer avoid commenting on Larry's platform.  He has jumped in with both feet, and as Holly Shelden pointed out today, "When the character of a man is not clear to you, look at his friends."  So, it's time to look at what's wrong with Larry Millican's platform.  But before we get there, I have to question - as he put it, his wife is the activist, he's just been along for the ride, so why is Larry running now?  Perhaps the question is - what's in it for Larry?  Moving on - let's look at the four points of his platform.

1) "Restore respect and dignity to City Council"  Now, I've seen our Council be plenty respectful and act with appropriate dignity, up until Pat Hallisey snuck into the Mayor's office, finally winning an election for the first time ever after countless attempts, by running in a special election that occurred with a ballot where the mayoral election was the ONLY contested position.  Even then, Pat only won by less than 100 votes in a city of greater than 100,000 residents.  Pat campaigned on a promise to fight the rest of council and oppose them at every step of the way.  So one has to ask - with such a disrespectful position towards the will of the people who elected (by wider margins, in elections that saw a greater portion of the population vote) the rest of Council, how can one who has aligned themselves with Pat's Puppets actually restore "respect and dignity"?  Pat Hallisey's wife is on Facebook "liking" comments that describe candidates for council and council members as "cougars" and "hogs", is that the type of "dignity" and "respect" we can expect with Larry on council?  Pat's puppets are wasting their time attempting to get a recall election for councilman Dan Becker, and posting childish selfies at their coordination meetings, and seeking to waste our tax dollars on a special recall election - is THAT the kind of "respect and dignity" we can expect?  To that, I say, NO THANK YOU.  I'd much rather our city council respect the fact that I have worked hard to earn my money, and act responsibly by taking the necessary steps to reign in spending (more to come on that later) and attract businesses to our town so the tax burden can shift to retail and industrial instead of homeowners taxes.

2) "Restore open discussion and public decision making".  Really, Mr. Millican?  Public decision making?  Like when you asked council to resist seeking public approval to spend $10million on a new Animal Shelter (your wife's pet cause) simply because you were afraid the public wouldn't approve it?  Now you've aligned yourself with the Green Team, campaigning against the downtown revitalization effort, which is intended to increase retail sales tax through targeted investment in specific proposals that will increase the number of retail shops downtown while providing a public service with more parking available for events at League Park, that will skillfully bring in grant money to fund 80% of the cost (transferring federal tax dollars paid by our citizens from Washington back to League City).  This same Green Team campaign against downtown revitalization uses the justification that the parking garage should be put to the public for a vote, yet you resisted doing this for your wife's pet project, an extreme expense.  Now, I'm not saying I'm opposed to a new animal shelter, but the hypocrisy of this "restore open discussion and public decision making" plank in your platform is ridiculous.  Which is it Larry, do you want public decision-making when it supports your positions, but don't want it when it might rain on your wife's parade?

3) "Intentional approach to long term economic growth" - Please reference my post on Greg Gripon's identical position (https://leaguecityoutsiders.blogspot.com/2016/10/league-city-council-candidate-greg.html )  Ultimately this is liberal centralized control at it's purest, and Larry claims to be a "conservative".  Shame on him.

4) "City employees are our greatest asset".  Really Larry?  Is that why you support a Mayor who has driven away quality employees? Is that why your Green Team supporters are on a witch hunt to drive out our City Manager and City Attorney?  Please explain this contradiction.  Even if we ignore the way the Mayor has badgered and harrassed the city staff, at BEST, this line is a platitude, corporate-speak nothingness at it's finest.  What aspect of our city's benefits package, pay scale, or work environment do you plan to change?  Without specifics here, you're just paying lip service in an attempt to grab some votes.

I'm sorry, but I can't support a big-government, regressive, anti-growth, hypocritical Hallisey puppet for Council.

League City - Vote for Rudy Salcedo (if you support a President Hillary Clinton)

The Green Team is going to try to hide behind the whole council-elections-are-nonpartisan line.  The elections themselves may be non-partisan.  This just means the city doesn't have to host a primary election, and we can have more than 2 candidates in the general election.  It doesn't mean the candidates are non-partisan.  The fact is, League City is a majority-conservative, majority-Republican region now.  And the fact is, the Green Team will try to hide the fact that they are a liberal, big government, tax and spend, nanny-state supporting faction.  But they're not very good at hiding it. 

I haven't said much about Rudy Salcedo yet.  After all, it's hard to criticize someone who has been largely checked out of this election.  I've never seen a candidate attempt to say so little.  His website lists the groups he volunteers with, and not much else.  Even the Green Team Propaganda Wing (League City Politics is a Full Contact Sport) has been rather quiet, outside of Janice "Please keep my husband out of my hair by giving him an office at City Hall" O'Hallisey posting RUDY, RUDY, RUDY! along with images from the movie "Rudy".  So it's rather hard to dispute anything he's said, when he's said nothing.  But I figured out why he's been rather absent from the campaign here in League City...

It's because he's been busy on Twitter trying to get HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON elected as your President:

Folks, tell these big-government liberals that you don't want their regressive thinking damaging this great town by rejecting the Green Team.  If you support HRC, then by all means, vote for Rudy Salcedo.  If you want our City Council to roll over and implement any liberal policies that HRC dreams up, vote for Rudy.  If you want a City Council that will push our police department to round up guns when HRC issues executive orders on gun control - vote for Rudy.  If you want someone who will stand up to federal overreach and will instruct our police department to ignore un-Constitutional Executive Orders on gun control - vote against Hillary and vote against her supporter, Rudy Salcedo by voting for a proven, established conservative - Todd Kinsey.

League City Council Candidate Greg Gripon's Platform

Based on the Chris John Mallios sympathetic interview with Greg Gripon, we finally know what his platform consists of (besides #LeagueCityProud #HomeGrown).  And it's got some serious flaws.  Yes, it's time to get back to the issues as we analyze the PRIMARY reason Greg Gripon is wrong for League City's future.  And it's because his only desire is to fight to keep us in the past by implementing regressive liberal policies of centralized control and misguided environmentalism run amok.   Outside of talking about his dad and sharing stories of the good old days, Greg Gripon expressed his top 3 priorities for the city, as

1. Traffic
2. Maintaining support for the Police Department so it remains "The Best"
3. Centralized government-mandated master-planning of the development of the remaining 50% of League City he identifies as not built out on the west side of the city.

With respect to traffic, he seems to believe that right-turn lanes on 96 would solve a lot, but expressed no plan to add these, he simply complained that it was built without planning for them.  Never mind the fact that the roads were probably built to be as wide as possible to allow for water drainage without encroaching on private property any more than was absolutely necessary (you know, to protect property rights as Brian Brown has stated is his desire).  Outside of this, the only plan put forth by Mr. Gripon was to add a website, managed by the city, to communicate upcoming traffic projects to the residents.  Now, I've seen plenty of traffic and road maintenance/construction notices on the Facebook page the city maintains, and I've seen electronic message boards on the streets, and I've seen updates on the city website already.  So I guess Greg's brilliant plan is to just duplicate this information on a dedicated website.  Now, I'm not opposed to this, but that won't actually FIX any traffic problems.

With respect to maintaining support for the Police Department, outside of paying lip service in gratitude for the police union endorsing him, he said nothing else.  Honestly, does this mean he plans to buy more new equipment, improving their benefits, increasing funding for training, what?  It's really easy to say you're going to maintain support for something, but that's not a plan.  That's a goal, at best, but most likely just lip service.

Now, onto the centralized government-mandated master-planning for development of the west side of the city.  If this doesn't stink of liberalism run amok to you, then you lack a nose.  Here's a few quotes and points from Greg on this topic:

•  The city needs a document that specifies roadways, zones for buildings, homes, schools, a complete plan
• Anyone who wants to build something must get approval from the city that it is in accordance with the plan
• This will "control growth in League City"
• Architectural restrictions must be in place, as the city, "...must control what's going to be built"
• The city needs to "Make that area grow the way you want it to grow"
• "People come to League City because they love the green space in this town."

Now I don't know about you, but, like Brian Brown claims, I believe in private property rights.  It's one thing for the city to look at what land is available and within it's budget to acquire to provide amenities for the citizens.  It's one thing for the city to find land to acquire to meet the needs of the citizens (retention ponds, water treatment facilities, water towers, etc), road widening and new roads, etc).  But it's completely something else to micromanage an entire area of the city to built according to the plan.  Is Mr. Gripon to tell churches which land they can actually build on and where they can't?  Is Mr. Gripon going to tell a retail developer that they can only build a restaurant, not a laundromat?  Is Mr. Gripon going to tell investors that their investments are now worthless because that land is zoned for an ice cream parlor and they wanted to open a hair salon?  This unchecked level of control is absolutely terrifying.  Keep in mind, most zoning laws the city HAS enacted, only applied if property is transferred to someone else.  If Mr. Gripon's plan maintains that restriction, with no retroactive zoning enforcement, then it's going to be completely toothless.  If it IS going to restrict even the current land-owners, then it's absolutely draconian in nature.  Furthermore, it's completely hilarious that the SAME people who are complaining that the city is attempting to develop wasted land in the historic downtown area into a parking garage that is masked/framed by retail shops (something which would provide a service to the residents with the parking garage, and more importantly, shift the tax burden to retail sales tax revenue instead of homeowners taxes by bringing in more shoppers from outside of League City) are now supporting this unchecked level of centralized planning that echoes Stalin's five-year plans to tell farmers which crops to grow (and we all know how well that worked out).   As part of the centralized master planning, Mr. Gripon also insists that all developers should be required to develop with the pipes for a reclaimed water system.

Now, the city is already working on requirements that subdivisions that are built will have reclaimed water systems to irrigate common land, the entrance-ways, and parks.  If that's all Mr. Gripon is talking about, then he's talking about changing nothing and taking credit for it.  Now, if he's talking about requiring it for every single residential house, this is a MASSIVE cost increase.  Byram Lass claims that Mr. Gripon isn't opposed to growth, but increasing the cost in this nature can be viewed as NOTHING but an opportunity to resist growth, and in Mr. Gripon's own words, this will, "control growth in League City".  But let's look more into whether this reclaimed water system makes sense.  First, Mr. Gripon claims that 80% of the water use in League City is for irrigation systems, and only 20% is used for bathroom and drinking water.  First of all, that's not true.  The city's own website states that it CAN be as high as 50-80% of residential use IN THE SUMMER MONTHS (reference: http://leaguecity.com/index.aspx?NID=1585 ).  So, 25% of the time, it CAN be as high as 50-80%.  The rest of the year, it's virtually none.  But let's do the math more generous to Mr. Gripon, and say that summer is a full half of the year in League City and that the 80% figure isn't an upper bound but the average.  And let's say it doesn't drop to zero the rest of the year, but let's say it drops to 50% of the use (even though that's likely VERY high).  50% of the year we're at 80%, 50% of the year we're at 50%, that would STILL cap our irrigation usage at 65%.  Perhaps Mr. Gripon get's his figures from global figures from Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irrigation_statistics) which includes places that use FAR less water in bathrooms and kitchens, and has far less natural rainwater yet still needs to grow crops.  But here in League City it's not 80%.  Moving on to even more mistaken claims, Mr. Gripon stated that the water would be free of chlorine and fluoride, and this would make the grass happy.  However, very few water processing facilities remove chlorine or fluoride from the water, and most still ADD chlorine to attempt to control bacteria in the "purple" reclaimed water system (we'll come back to bacteria in a minute).  In other words, this claim is mistaken.  Now the reclaimed water is usually going to be higher in minerals and salts, some of which are good for the grass, but the levels can get too high, and proper treatment of lawns will be difficult to manage.  Additionally, the minerals and salts will make for very "hard" water, and this puts a much heavier strain on the valves, pipes, and other equipment in the systems, and reclaimed water systems require much more maintenance (reference: http://www.rainbird.com/landscape/resources/webinars/Reclaimed-NonPotable.pdf ) and on-going operational costs than our current water system (thereby decreasing some of the savings).  Additionally, there could be impacts such as challenges in scheduling the early-morning youth sports at parks, as you need to limit human contact while the grounds are still wet from reclaimed water.  And for those concerned about our environment, a lot of studies are starting to come out that reclaimed water systems are breeding grounds for anti-biotic resistant genes by passing on antibiotics in the wastewater and providing a breeding ground for bacteria due to lower levels of disinfectant.  (reference: https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/bitstream/handle/10919/23863/Fahrenfeld%20et%20al.%202013%20Front.%20Microbiol..pdf;sequence=1) , so this system would be a safety risk for our community.  And one final point on the reclaimed water mandate that is part of your platform - who is TRULY going to pay for it?  You can say that it's going to be a mandate on developers - but they don't ACTUALLY pay for it.  The end consumer of the work the developers do will pay for it.  For one thing, running the water and sewer is usually funded by a MUD, which is a tax the homeowners will pay.  If it's not, then the developer will pass the cost on with the price of lots, and the homeowners will be paying higher for their houses.  In other words, people will stop choosing to build in League City, because Friendswood, Dickinson, and other areas will be most cost effective.  But of course, your goal is to "control growth", so that's REALLY what this is all about, isn't it?

Mr. Gripon, sure some people come to League City for it's "green space".  But the majority come here for the following:  League City has safe neighborhoods with good schools, there's lots of job opportunities in the area, there is a reasonable cost of living and a high level of convenience.  Your plans will increase the cost of living and decrease the level of convenience. You see, evidence from other cities that have created too many restrictions on growth and micro-managed the "master plan" to the level Mr. Gripon is proposing, have started to realize bipartisan criticism.  Liberals lament that the plan has lead to an increasing level of segregation and a widening inequality between the "haves" and "have nots", as the restrictions on development create barriers that prevent the lower-middle class from being able to live in nice towns (reference: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/04/business/how-anti-growth-sentiment-reflected-in-zoning-laws-thwarts-equality.html).  Meanwhile, the right has shown that zoning laws have limited the economic growth of our nation (reference: http://www.forbes.com/sites/timothylee/2011/09/19/zoning-laws-are-strangling-silicon-valley/ ).  You see, Mr. Gripon, we need to shift our city revenue to be derived from retail and industry instead of homeowners.  This will help keep our area with a reasonable cost of living.  If we fight growth, we drive up our taxes on homeowners to find the infrastructure improvements.  If we fight growth, we artificially drive up property values, pricing out the working class.

So, folks... it's about CONTROL.  Do YOU want the control, or do you want to hand it over to the government?  If you want your cost of living to increase while your conveniences decrease, vote for the Green Team (Gripon/Salcedo/Millican).  If you want the control, and you want to LOWER your taxes, not increase them, vote for someone else who will support the City Manager and the rest of our City Council as they implement an ACTUAL plan that is seeking to diversify the tax base to decrease the burden on homeowners.

League City Politics at Its Ugliest

Intimidation, harassment, and assault are completely unacceptable.  The beauty of our election system is that it allows all of us to have our "say" without the need for such tactics.  I'm sure you've all by now read Justin Gripon's accounting of an alleged incident of harassment that borders on assault against his sister.  I see three possibilities at play here.

1)  Justin Gripon's story was completely and accurately presented to the public.  If we assume this possibility, it is ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTING.  If you, like me, are opposed to the Green Team's election, KNOW THIS - the election will be decided by shedding the light of truth through to eliminate the spin from the green team.  This election will be decided by properly spreading the word that this city needs a solid plan for the future with increasing the tax base to shift the burden of infrastructure improvement costs from the homeowner to the retail sales tax and hotel occupancy taxes.  This election will be decided by showing the true colors of the green team.  Should anyone who reads this website want to get involved, the right way to get involved is to share the message with your friends and neighbors and resist the spin machine that is League City Politics is a Full Contact Sport.  I absolutely disapprove and am disgusted if anyone who thinks they agree with me and support what I am doing was involved in this incident.  Do the right thing, and issue an apology, and stop with any such tactics.  Now, if possibility 1 is really what happened, then there should be an actual investigation.  There is absolutely no reason NOT to contact the police.  Please do so, Ashley!  Most grocery stores have cameras in the parking lot, please release the images/videos captured of this incident so that the public can help find the offender.  There are crazy people on every side of an issue or election, and they need to be removed from the equation.  After all, some of the Green Team supporters have threatened to open a "can of Texas whoop@$$" on yours truly, so I know it goes both ways, and it's completely unacceptable.

2) Justin Gripon's story was slightly exaggerated.  This is very likely, and isn't meant to say anything wrong was done or said by Justin.  After all, in the rather charged atmosphere of this election, it's very easy to misinterpret the statements and questions from people who disagree with you.  Perhaps the factual timeline of events has been misinterpreted as the story passed from Ashley to Justin, then from Justin to Facebook.  Perhaps someone waving her down and asking rude questions was interpreted differently by Ashley.  Perhaps there wasn't any appendage from the alleged harasser that actually entered her vehicle, and the person just leaned against the truck as they asked questions.  Again, security camera footage should help resolve this.  But ultimately, there is ZERO reason for anyone who is opposed to a candidate to engage in direct confrontation with anyone associated with that candidate.   The opposition would be FAR better served by helping spread the message of how candidate Greg Gripon is wrong for League City's future instead of confronting him, his friends, his family, or his "surrogates" directly.

3) Wagging the dog.  In light of all of the discussion surrounding Greg Gripon's inability to manage a budget and failure to keep up with his taxes (we'll ignore whether all levels of government have been paid for all taxes, liens, and judgments, and focus on the fact that at the bare minimum he didn't keep up with it for many years), Justin and or the Green Team in general devised a plan to divert attention away from Greg's poor management of his business and finances.  Taking a page out the playbook for many liberal causes, they crafted a victimization story, one so disgusting if it is true that anyone who dares challenge the narrative is automatically branded an insensitive jerk at best.  Now, I want to be able to take Justin and Ashley at their word, like Chris John Mallios takes Greg Gripon at his word.  However, I, and most of the 100k+ people in League City don't personally know these people.  So instead, I have to look at the story of the alleged harassment, and I'm hard pressed to understand how it happened.  See, unless Ashley happened to be wearing a Greg Gripon for Council shirt (in which case, the story makes a LOT more sense), then the person only had two reasons to think Ashley Gripon is affiliated with Greg Gripon - 1, she was driving a Lynn's Landscaping truck, or 2, the person recognized her as Ashley Gripon.  Now I think we can rule out 2, as anyone who knew her to be Ashley Gripon wouldn't need to ask her, as the story alleges, if she is one of Greg Gripon's "surrogates", they would already know that she is his daughter.  This leaves 1, and I just don't see how anyone would make the leap to thinking someone in a Lynn's landscaping truck is a political "surrogate" for Greg Gripon, as the logical assumption would be that the truck is driven by simply an employee.  In other words, this entire scenario seems VERY unlikely, and the conversation doesn't seem remotely like one that someone would actually initiate.

Now, I wasn't there, so I'm not assigning a likeliness to ANY of these 3 possibilities.  I've already made a statement assuming that it's case 1 - that I find any such action taken to be completely disgusting and will not be associated with anyone who does such things.  But I truly hope that it's simply a matter of case 2.  However, it should be rather suspicious if the Gripon family does NOT contact the police for an official investigation to be launched, as simply releasing the security camera footage should indicate which case occurred, and point the finger at case 3 being the most probable. 

Candidate Greg Gripon - Let's make this simple for you.

Please print this, put a line through each of these liens and judgments which show as outstanding on the county's website, then sign the bottom of the page saying that you have, in fact, paid off all of the crossed out items.  See, I'd love to take you at your word, but you spoke some seriously slippery words when you said you'd taken care of Clear Creek [ISD] and Galveston County (which surprisingly left out the State and the Federal Government).  Here's the problem, as I see these are all still outstanding.  I've determined them to be outstanding by searching on http://www.galvestoncountytx.gov/cc/Pages/RecordsSearchCCO.aspx for Lynn's Landscaping and Greg Gripon.  See, previously, I'd forgotten to search for your business name, but since you talked about it SO proudly today, I figured I would search for that as well.  Then I removed anything that was neither judgment nor lien, then I removed any of those which had a corresponding release.  These are the ones that remained:

Lynn's Landscaping:
2013027212 - A OF J - 5/13/2013 - $8,253 - Owed to County/City
2014039640 - ST TAX LIEN - 7/15/2014 - $7,232 - Owed to the State
2015025907 - FED TAX LIEN - 4/28/2015 - $5,340 - Owed to the Federal Government
2015034338 - FED TAX LIEN - 6/1/2015 - $56,701 - Owed to the Federal Government
2015045121 - ST TAX LIEN - 7/16/2015 - $5,058 - Owed to the State
2015062700 - FED TX LN - 10/2/2015 - $45,532 - Owed to the Federal Government
2015065582 - A OF J - 10/16/2015 - $29,382 - Owed to CCISD

Greg Gripon:
2016012635 - FED TAX LN - 3/7/2016 - $43,139 - Owed to the Federal Government

So between the suspicious delay in responding, and now the half-answer you gave Mallios in your interview today, and the fact that all these still show as outstanding, that doesn't look very good.  But perhaps you did pay all of those recently, if so... one has to ask HOW?  And even if you have a VERY good explanation for all of that, given the extensive history of liens and unpaid taxes, please tell me how we can trust you with any sort of oversight of taxpayer money?

And just so I don't have to make a separate post just for Marc Edelman, because that would only feed his arrogance (and really, he should seriously work on his hubris), allow me to clear things up for you.  As flattered as I am that you think I'm the City Manager (which clearly indicates just how spot-on and accurate you acknowledge my posts are), and despite how much I'd just hate to disappoint you, I am NOT, in fact, Mark Rohr.  In fact, I've never set foot in the state of Ohio, much less attended a university there.  And as for readership, you're welcome to assume nobody else is reading this blog.  However, I can confirm that Chris John Mallios, Bill Heins, and yourself are reading it (which is already more than you claim), and unless y'all have a serious obsession with my blog to the tune of >4500 page hits in under a month, your estimation skills are "piss poor".

Greg Gripon's Best Clinton Impression Yet!

Comments on Chris John Mallios's radio interviews:

Welcome aboard Mr. Heins, appreciate you joining the discussion!  Here's the thing... much like the Republicans had a problem with having debates on NBC networks, much like they complained about the biased moderaters from CNN, why would actual conservatives go into unfriendly territory to be interviewed by the Proud Democrat Chris John Mallios?  His handling of discussions and rules on the Full Contact Sport Facebook Group show he's completely incapable of being an impartial interviewer.  The fact that he removes people for being non-residents when they disagree with his Green Team propaganda, yet allows obvious non-residents like Holly Shelden (of La Grange) and Gordon Vest (of Louisiana) to continue to comment shows his bias.  Furthermore, the fact that the only place he sought out questions for the candidates was from the Green Team Progaganda Wing (Full Contact Sport Group), why would anyone besides the Green Team show up for his show?  Furthermore, it wasn't a debate, there was zero one-on-one with any candidates, it was one-on-one with Chris John Mallios, who lofted such softball questions to Greg Gripon, I'm not entirely certain that Pat Hallisey didn't script the entire thing (the show is called Political Theater, after all).  Please tell me how YOU define qualified?  I sure haven't seen anything out of the semi-literate comments written by Greg Gripon that indicate he's remotely "qualified" to serve on city council.  And I particularly enjoyed his Clinton-esque evasion of the topic of his taxes.  When Mallios asked about them, Gripon stated that he'd had some tax troubles, but they were "taken care of".  When Mallios, in the toughest question he actually asked of Gripon, followed up with, "So the lien is paid?", Greg answered, "Clear Creek and Galveston are..." Greg Gripon has YET to state that he's cleared the FEDERAL tax lien.  He's had his friends give vague responses that things are okay, and he's had a very carefully sculpted response ready to avoid discussing the federal tax lien.  Until he clearly says he is fully current on ALL taxes at ALL levels of our government, I'm going to consider him completely unqualified to run our city.  After all, how can we trust he'll manage the city's finances any better than he's managed his business and personal finances?  And I'm not buying his boohoo hard times sob story, QUALIFIED people come through those, and the last thing they fall behind on is their taxes.  After all, if you want to "serve" the people, you should pay your "fair share", right Mr. Turski?  And if he DID manage to pay off the >$60k in outstanding taxes, where did that money miraculously come from all of a sudden now that he is running for office?  Mighty suspicious.  (And sorry, Mr. Heins, for answering with a new post instead of a reply, but I wanted my followers to be able to link to it directly.)

If you email Jefferson Rothbard

be sure to check your spam folder for replies, anonymity comes at a price.

Thanks for reading, Chris John Mallios!

So within a few hours of my request that people post links to the league city outsiders on the League City Politics is a Full Contact Sport Facebook group, Chris John Mallios updated the description of the group to read the following:

"Anonymous postings (or links to such sites) will be removed"

Chris John Mallios, I challenge you to take the following action(s)

Either:

(1) Change the name of your Facebook group to one of the following
  a.  League City Democrats
  b.  League City Green Team Propaganda Discussion Group
  c.  Friends of Chris John Mallios
  d.  Pat Hallisey's puppets
  e.  Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain, we're all brainwashed here

or

(2) Change the description of your group to read the following:  This is a group where people who think like me and agree with me are allowed to discuss how much we all agree with each other WITHOUT profane language (for the most part) and cheap shots (unless they're directed towards our opponents).  Everyone has an opinion so respect the opinion we all collectively hold or you will be shouted down.  Remember 3 Things 1.  League City is a place for us oldtimers who grew up here and nobody else.  2.  it's nothing personal unless we don't like you  3.  Politics is not life and death, but if you cross us we'll threaten your livelihood and challenge your manhood.  Please do not advertise or spam, except to advertise for Pat Hallisey's indoctrination sessions, Mel Kelley's delusional recall efforts,  or Green Team recruiting events.  Anonymous postings are not allowed, but feel free to drop innuendos towards our opponents all you like.  You shall never question the following lies I have told: 1.  I, Chris John Mallios can track IPs from Facebook users (even though it's impossible and I, Chris John Mallios wouldn't have the faintest clue how to do it), and 2.  This group is for League City residents only (you know, unless we agree with you - Holly Shelden of La Grange, for example -  or you went to high school with Pat Hallisey - Gordon Vest for example -, in which case, comment away, while I will silence any actual residents of League City who happen to not want their real name used, or anyone who agrees with that kind of person.

If you refuse to make one of these changes, then you are admitting that you, sir, are the true coward.  You are the one afraid of ideas.  You are the one who is pretending to offer up to the community a "safe place" (there's another Democrat buzz word for you) to "debate" issues that matter to our community, when in reality, you're simply attempting to convince the rest of League City (the people that aren't as completely immersed in local politics as you are), that your ideas, and those of your like-minded individuals are the voice of the will of the people in an attempt to influence this election.  

In light of Chris John Mallios's update to the description for his Facebook group - please do NOT post links to this blog on the group.  Instead, if you find a question I raise to be one worthy of seeking answers from the regulars on his group, or if you find one of the comments to be one that they need to see, just summarize the point with a post on his group, or copy and paste the actual text instead of pasting a link.

Contact Information & Request

Should anyone wish to reach me, you can email me at jefferson.rothbard@tuta.io  .

If any of you Green Teamers wish to address my questions or respond to my positions, or let me know where you feel there is factual information on which I've been anything less than 100% truthful, and you don't want your fellow Green Teamers to know that you actually engaged with the "deceiver" from "never never land", I won't even let anyone know that you contacted me if that's your desire. 

I realize this will bring the wrath of Turski down on you; however, if anyone is brave enough to endure that verbal shellacking, please start posting links to the blog on the League City Politics is a Full Contact Sport Facebook group any time you see a new one up.  I don't want anyone to have the excuse of ignorance when challenged as to why they didn't respond to my questions and concerns. 

Also, please share links to the blog with as many Facebook groups as you can that have anything to do with League City and Galveston county - we need to get the word out to everyone that the Green Team is NOT the team that represents the will of the people.

League City Politics - Real Context (Not Just History)

I had so many thoughts over the last 24 hours regarding what this post should cover.  Initially I started with a desire to clarify a few things and thank a few people.  Then I thought about criticizing the superior level of decorum displayed on the League City Politics is a Full Contact Sport Facebook group last night by Bill Heins.  But then that all changed today... I decided to do all of that, but more importantly, to highlight what the City Council election this year really means.  Because after all, genuine substance trumps the silly games that pass for politics over with the Green Team crowd on League City Politics is a Full Contact sport.

So first, let's get some clarifications and thank yous out of the way.  Byram Lass - thank you for honestly pointing out how misguided Yvonne Tibai was with her whole Debbie Drury lives in Kemah mess.  And yes, you ultimately did correct the rest of the clowns regarding Brenton Spry's address, but my post was still 100% correct in that Marc Edelman and Mick Phalen have been stirring up their own breed of half-truths and distortions.  So, congratulations, you actually got something right for once.  Of course, you still have YET to show ANYTHING that I've said to be a half-truth.  Please do, or stop claiming anything I've said is anywhere short of the truth.  Also, thanks for reading the blog!  But seriously, if you're going to try to answer someones question about a specific factually correct or incorrect statement, you really should address that statement, not the merits of the author of the page where that statement was a comment by someone else.  You mad, bro?

Now, let's just address Bill Heins quickly.  You posted a less than exemplary photo of Debbie Drury.  I'm sure you've done far worse things in your time, and I'm also 100% certain that that photo has absolutely NOTHING to do with how Debbie Drury would perform on City Council.  It stinks of grasping at straws.  Posting like that also showed poor judgment, and I'm certainly relieved to know that you are NOT on the ethics board any longer, as you clearly have a complete lack of personal ethics. 

Okay, and now on to something that actually matters.  Holly Shelden likes to claim that anyone who disagrees with her knows "nothing of LC politics, the players and history". Well, Holly, we don't need a lesson in history that goes back to the times when Bill Heins "studied girls at Texas A&M", we don't even have to go back to the last time Pat O'Hallisey actually had a full-time paying job.  I've actually found a GREAT piece of writing that accurately and succinctly describes the two factions which are vying for power in League City with the election this fall, as it's the same two factions that went to battle back in the Spring.  This website post (http://rrhelections.com/index.php/2016/03/16/league-city-mayoral-preview/) , written by Daniel Surman, who I assume is the same Danny Surman who has posted on the League City Politics is a Full Contact Sport page, clearly predicted the outcome of the mayoral election through analysis of the candidates support base.  For those who don't feel like clicking on the link and reading, let me summarize, there are two factions in League City.  In one corner, you have the Tea Party aligned with the Chamber of Commerce, interesting in attracting businesses to League City in an effort to shift the burden of funding the infrastructure and operations of this city to outsiders (through retail sales tax revenue increases) instead of the resident homeowners, and this corner holds most of the current City Council.  In the other corner, you have the old-timers who are seeking to preserve their idealized, nostalgic image of League City from their youth by preventing progress and improvement.  This group is currently headed up by the mayor, Pat Hallisey.  The post then predicted that the anti-improvement group would likely win the special election for Mayor, as the old-timers are much more likely to turn out for a special mayoral election that has nothing else contested on the ballot.  However, if you read his analysis of the current demographics in League City - there's ZERO reason for this group to expect a positive outcome in a YUUUUGE general election that has a Presidential race on the ballot.  Moving beyond this analysis, the Green Team laughingly has made such claims as Justin Gripon's, "a overwhelming support from the community as a whole that support political change to steer our city towards a planned sustainable future."  Ignoring that even the bulk of the support for the Green Team is really just anti-business and seeking to keep their oak trees around, and ignoring your party-line progressive Democrat terms like "sustainable", please keep in mind that y'all exist in an echo chamber.  You are CONSTANTLY surrounded by the same group of ~20 people who all think like you.  You've misinterpreted the echos of their single-minded comments as widespread support.  You don't have that.  But we'll let the election results explain that concept to you.

Now, how should one choose a side in this election.  Let's start by explaining which side is which.  The Green Team (Gripon, Millican, and Salcedo) are the anti-business old-timers.  These people want to keep League City as they have idealized it.  A small town, with a bunch of oak trees, them, their families, and their kind here.  None of these new people who've moved in as the population doubled since the turn of the century, just the oldtimers.  Much like the make-up of the national Democrat party, this faction is largely made up of the lower class and the upper class of League City residents.  And that makes sense, the lower class is nervous about being priced out of the area as values will go up with additional development.  The lower class is fine with the city being funded by property taxes, as they don't pay that much property tax regardless.  The lower class loves getting the benefits of living in a nice area, as long as someone else is funding it.  The upper class wants to preserve their green space at all costs, because they can afford it.  But this city is mostly made up of the middle class and the upper-middle class. These are the people who will pay the costs for operating and maintaining this city, as they are paying the bulk of the property taxes.  These are the people who will be benefited by attracting businesses to League City, which would increase the tax revenue from retail sales taxes, and enable the city to lower our property taxes.  The faction that is supporting this effort to attract business, and accepts the reality that this area is GOING to develop, whether we like it or not, and is willing to address this by steering it along in a direction that benefits the residents (ALL the residents, not just the old-timers) is the faction that the Green Team opposes (Drury, Kinsey, Spry). 

So, as Marc Edelman made clear, if you want to save some oak trees at all costs, and you're okay with high property taxes and hopey-changey sustainable liberalism, vote for the Green Team.  Just know this - this area is GOING to grow, it's GOING to get developed, and at best you'll be delaying the inevitable, and I ask, at what cost?

If you support lower property taxes, you want to shift the costs of operating this city and improving our infrastructure to non-residents who come to our town to shop, and you want a city council that will be proactive to get ahead of the development and ensure our city remains competitive with surrounding towns at attracting the businesses that will drive retail sales tax revenue, then oppose the Green Team and vote for Drury, Kinsey, and Spry.

My apologies to Brian Brown, he isn't actually a member of either faction; however, the amount of brown-nosing of the Green Team cheerleaders he has done on the League City Politics is a Full Contact Sport Facebook group is shameful, so I guess he can be lumped in with that group by his personal choice more than for his actual positions.