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.
Wednesday, October 19, 2016
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.
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.
Tuesday, October 18, 2016
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.
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.
Sunday, October 16, 2016
League City Weekend Update - Politics as Usual
While the Green Team likes to claim they're attempting to restore civility to League City politics, and pretend they are somehow an alternative to the factions that have controlled this city longer than I can remember. They claim they aren't tied to developer money, despite the fact that their lord and savior, Pat O'Hallisey sure has taken plenty of developer money over the years. But really, it's more of politics as usual. Disappointed Democrats, sad to see this region turn red in the last 20 years, and some bitter RINO's have formed a coalition of smarminess and deceit. They think they can trick the rest of the population into voting for their candidates by cashing in on the general anti-incumbent sentiment that is popular in our country right now. But the fact is, the people of League City are smarter than these clowns assume (and smarter than most of the clowns, in fact). The Green Team Progaganda Front (Facebook group League City Politics is a Full Contact Sport) moves seemingly rudderless from rant to rant in hopes of latching onto any possible current discussion as a means to further their anti-Council agenda. Here's my take on the latest discussions they've had
Campaign Finance Reports
Always exciting reads, especially at the local level, Marc Edelman and Mick Phalen have lead the surge to continue the smear politics of discrediting council candidates because they have received funding from developers. However, they seem to ignore that, while true that Kinsey got the biggest single donation from a builder, Salcedo and Gripon both got $1,000 donations from Jeff Payson, a builder (Cervelle Homes). One shouldn't throw stones from glass houses. Then they latched onto a discussion that only tin foil hat conspiracy theorists would find interesting at all, and launched into hypothesizing why Brenton Spry's address would be listed in Kemah when he donated to Debbie Drury's campaign. As verified by Mr. Spry's neighbors, it's clear he lives in League City now; however, if you clowns have nothing better to do than worry about this listing, have fun. Personally, I found it MUCH more interesting to note the following: Greg Gripon failed to list the occupation or employer for ANY of his donors whatsoever. Pat Hallisey who hasn't had a paying job that wasn't tied to the city or county in longer than I'm able to find record managed to scrape together $1,100 to fund his puppet for council, and Larry Millican is apparently wealthy enough to loan his campaign a lot of money. But ultimately, none of that matters to me. You see, I'm more concerned about the path forward each candidate envisions for this city, how they plan to vote on investing in this city, and how their plans will impact my wallet.
Parking Garages and Other Improvements
Oh the shortsightedness of the Green Team, it would be laughable if they didn't have a real chance of gaining control of our city government. You clowns rant and rant about the parking garage being proposed as a part of the downtown revitalization plan. However, all of your arguments are based on a few invalid assumptions:
1. The parking garage isn't needed and won't be utilized
2. The parking garage is going to cost $10mil to the taxpayers of League City
3. The parking garage will negatively impact the surrounding businesses
4. The parking garage is tying up funds that could be used to solve a wealth of potential other challenges faced by League City.
Let's address each of these. I, personally, have avoided many city functions at League Park due to the lack of available parking. When I have made it to these events, outside of the humor of Karl Wankowicz hanging out at the Meet the Mayor tents, despite being neither an elected representative of this city nor a city staffer, I have noticed that there are people parking in lawns up and down all the side streets in the area of League Park. A parking garage could help these homeowners avoid this hassle
The cost to League City residents is going to be substantially lower than the total cost of the project - as the plan is to get grant money to cover 80% of the cost. This is essentially a net return to the people of League City some of the federal tax dollars we've all involuntarily contributed. I for one would love to see some of my Fed tax dollars come back to this town instead of being pumped into Obama's programs and other towns.
Surrounding businesses will see a boost in business thanks to the added businesses that will be surrounding the parking garage. Spillover effect is real (just ask Karl how many more friends he has since he's latched onto Pat Hallisey's coattails).
But the last point is the ultimate one, and it highlights how shortsighted the anti-progress Green Team is being - given that 80% of the funding would come from the Feds, only the 20% of the cost could be freed up for other projects. The whole purpose of this parking garage is an investment in the city that will boost retail sales tax and hotel occupancy tax in the future, thus funding FAR more projects than the 20% investment in a parking garage would fund. And it just might bring in enough money that in the future our tax rates could be lowered. Funny how y'all on the Green Team fail to see this, yet then rant that the city didn't lower tax rates the fractions of percentage this year to decrease the unanticipated increase in revenue based on increasing appraised values.
Latest Galveston Daily News Article
Former Mayor Tim Paulissen, it's truly amazing you didn't win your election for County Commissioner, given just how slimy of a politician you truly are. I wanted to give you the benefit of the doubt. I wanted to believe you the whole time you were Mayor. But your alliance with the Green Team and the massive amounts of spin with which you've distorted your commentary on current events has taken away that benefit. Much like I pointed out on the blog earlier, when you tried to pretend that the 2010 propositions showed a public in support of a strong-mayor form of government (which I very clearly explained wasn't the case at all, and to which you have yet to respond, choosing instead to simply drop the discussion as if it never happened), your interpretation now of the Galveston Daily News article regarding the Mayor trying to research the nature of the exit of city staff in recent years borders between comedy and super-slimy spin. Let's break down your comments (reference the bottom of this post), and those of the people who responded to you bit by bit (since that's how I like to do things, baby steps, so the simpletons of Team Green can follow along like a color by numbers picture).
1. Mr. Mallios wants to praise you for admitting you were wrong. But I don't think you actually regret anything you've ever done, I think you just didn't anticipate you were hiring someone with a backbone that would stand up to your team, and now you're saddened to see that there is pushback.
2. The City Council still controls the vision. While the CM has clearly submitted many thoughts that the council has implemented, that doesn't mean he's controlling the vision. If I were on council in a council-manager form of government, I would EXPECT my city manager to present me with plans, ideas, options that should contribute to the vision. Otherwise, he would just be a city administrator at best. But of course, you are still bitter that you weren't a "strong-mayor", and you're saddened that your buddy Pat isn't one now. Much harder to reap the benefits of a spoils system for your political machine when there is a professional and skilled City Manager gumming up the works, eh?
3. While high turnover is disappointing in general, and often points to there being an issue, I love that former mayor Paulissen and the LCPIAFCS clowns have jumped to assuming the problem is the City Manager. Here's some other equally valid possibilities that y'all are ignoring
One further topic was brought up in an attempt to discredit the city manager while y'all were commenting on the former mayor's post, and it also needs clarification. Kimberly Patrick Harmon brought up that the City Manager brought forward the study regarding the parking garage for vote with one bid. Brian Brown, in his eagerness to demonstrate his lack of Google skills, jumped on the bandwagon and cited Texas local government code requirements for purchases, and then Byram Lass chimed in with some NASA-geek non-related nonsense. Let's clear all of that up:
1) There is no requirement for professional services to seek multiple bids if any of the list of exemptions in section 252.022 apply (Brian Brown, you should have read further down, assuming you got your information from www.statues.legis.state.tx.us/SOTWDocs/LG/htm/LG.252.htm ) - you're looking for section 252.022 (4)a procurement for personal, professional, or planning services.
2) If you had paid any attention to the deputy city manager, they don't even know anyone else to contact for bids to perform such a study.
There's nothing nefarious going on here, but you can keep your tin foil hats on, if you like.
3) Kimberly Patrick Harmon - as presented at the council meeting, the bill for this study was under $200k. Please explain why you interpret this as "nearly a million dollar expense".
When y'all lie, exaggerate, and spin in this manner, all you're doing is making your Green Team look petty and dishonest.
Reference - Tim Paulissen's comments from the LCPIAFCS group, on Friday, October 14th, 4:59 PM:
"Just finished the story on the front page of the Galveston County Daily News and it brings to mind a question that I asked Mr. Rohr in the beginning about the rumor that he comes in and runs off all the staff. He assured me that he would not be the case. Fast forward to today, and the city has gone through lots of staff. He needs to go. My biggest mistake was saying okay to his hiring. Credit to Mr. OKeefe, everyone pressured him to give him the green light, he had big reservations. Can't remember if Mr OKeefe voted for him or not. To everyone who reads this, my apologies. He is supposed to run day-to-Day, not run the vision. That governance policy is BS and we all know that. Vote for the green team, so we will have the votes to send him packing!"
Campaign Finance Reports
Always exciting reads, especially at the local level, Marc Edelman and Mick Phalen have lead the surge to continue the smear politics of discrediting council candidates because they have received funding from developers. However, they seem to ignore that, while true that Kinsey got the biggest single donation from a builder, Salcedo and Gripon both got $1,000 donations from Jeff Payson, a builder (Cervelle Homes). One shouldn't throw stones from glass houses. Then they latched onto a discussion that only tin foil hat conspiracy theorists would find interesting at all, and launched into hypothesizing why Brenton Spry's address would be listed in Kemah when he donated to Debbie Drury's campaign. As verified by Mr. Spry's neighbors, it's clear he lives in League City now; however, if you clowns have nothing better to do than worry about this listing, have fun. Personally, I found it MUCH more interesting to note the following: Greg Gripon failed to list the occupation or employer for ANY of his donors whatsoever. Pat Hallisey who hasn't had a paying job that wasn't tied to the city or county in longer than I'm able to find record managed to scrape together $1,100 to fund his puppet for council, and Larry Millican is apparently wealthy enough to loan his campaign a lot of money. But ultimately, none of that matters to me. You see, I'm more concerned about the path forward each candidate envisions for this city, how they plan to vote on investing in this city, and how their plans will impact my wallet.
Parking Garages and Other Improvements
Oh the shortsightedness of the Green Team, it would be laughable if they didn't have a real chance of gaining control of our city government. You clowns rant and rant about the parking garage being proposed as a part of the downtown revitalization plan. However, all of your arguments are based on a few invalid assumptions:
1. The parking garage isn't needed and won't be utilized
2. The parking garage is going to cost $10mil to the taxpayers of League City
3. The parking garage will negatively impact the surrounding businesses
4. The parking garage is tying up funds that could be used to solve a wealth of potential other challenges faced by League City.
Let's address each of these. I, personally, have avoided many city functions at League Park due to the lack of available parking. When I have made it to these events, outside of the humor of Karl Wankowicz hanging out at the Meet the Mayor tents, despite being neither an elected representative of this city nor a city staffer, I have noticed that there are people parking in lawns up and down all the side streets in the area of League Park. A parking garage could help these homeowners avoid this hassle
The cost to League City residents is going to be substantially lower than the total cost of the project - as the plan is to get grant money to cover 80% of the cost. This is essentially a net return to the people of League City some of the federal tax dollars we've all involuntarily contributed. I for one would love to see some of my Fed tax dollars come back to this town instead of being pumped into Obama's programs and other towns.
Surrounding businesses will see a boost in business thanks to the added businesses that will be surrounding the parking garage. Spillover effect is real (just ask Karl how many more friends he has since he's latched onto Pat Hallisey's coattails).
But the last point is the ultimate one, and it highlights how shortsighted the anti-progress Green Team is being - given that 80% of the funding would come from the Feds, only the 20% of the cost could be freed up for other projects. The whole purpose of this parking garage is an investment in the city that will boost retail sales tax and hotel occupancy tax in the future, thus funding FAR more projects than the 20% investment in a parking garage would fund. And it just might bring in enough money that in the future our tax rates could be lowered. Funny how y'all on the Green Team fail to see this, yet then rant that the city didn't lower tax rates the fractions of percentage this year to decrease the unanticipated increase in revenue based on increasing appraised values.
Latest Galveston Daily News Article
Former Mayor Tim Paulissen, it's truly amazing you didn't win your election for County Commissioner, given just how slimy of a politician you truly are. I wanted to give you the benefit of the doubt. I wanted to believe you the whole time you were Mayor. But your alliance with the Green Team and the massive amounts of spin with which you've distorted your commentary on current events has taken away that benefit. Much like I pointed out on the blog earlier, when you tried to pretend that the 2010 propositions showed a public in support of a strong-mayor form of government (which I very clearly explained wasn't the case at all, and to which you have yet to respond, choosing instead to simply drop the discussion as if it never happened), your interpretation now of the Galveston Daily News article regarding the Mayor trying to research the nature of the exit of city staff in recent years borders between comedy and super-slimy spin. Let's break down your comments (reference the bottom of this post), and those of the people who responded to you bit by bit (since that's how I like to do things, baby steps, so the simpletons of Team Green can follow along like a color by numbers picture).
1. Mr. Mallios wants to praise you for admitting you were wrong. But I don't think you actually regret anything you've ever done, I think you just didn't anticipate you were hiring someone with a backbone that would stand up to your team, and now you're saddened to see that there is pushback.
2. The City Council still controls the vision. While the CM has clearly submitted many thoughts that the council has implemented, that doesn't mean he's controlling the vision. If I were on council in a council-manager form of government, I would EXPECT my city manager to present me with plans, ideas, options that should contribute to the vision. Otherwise, he would just be a city administrator at best. But of course, you are still bitter that you weren't a "strong-mayor", and you're saddened that your buddy Pat isn't one now. Much harder to reap the benefits of a spoils system for your political machine when there is a professional and skilled City Manager gumming up the works, eh?
3. While high turnover is disappointing in general, and often points to there being an issue, I love that former mayor Paulissen and the LCPIAFCS clowns have jumped to assuming the problem is the City Manager. Here's some other equally valid possibilities that y'all are ignoring
- The Mayor! Considering that just last week at the council meeting, Mr. Dill (who serves on the Finance Committee) had to once again remind the Mayor that no member of council should be running around on their own getting involved in the day-to-day operations of the city, obstructing the duties of the city staff, and causing problems, it would be seriously negligent to ignore the Mayor's role in staff turnover in League City! And while we're on the Mayor - who was the source that triggered this article in the Galveston Daily News? Given that the City Manager refused to comment, I highly doubt this was his doing (as Mr. Brown wants to believe). Given that the first sentence mentions the Mayor's name, and the first quote is attributed to him, I find it VERY likely he is contacting the paper, trying to spin his latest witch hunt effort to come off as Pat O'Hallisey, the Great Irish Protector of League City, which is not only highly unprofessional, particularly as this article is starting to get into HR issues, which should never be aired as dirty laundry, but also further demonstration of his desire to violate the City Charter which provides for a council-manager form of government. I bet the council is having second thoughts about their vote to NOT pursue action on the complaint about the mayor. And while we're on the topic of inappropriate involvement, why is the mayor's wife advertising HR issues (informing the LCPIAFCS clowns that the HR director is gone as of Thursday) and then promising to find out if the HR director was fired or resigned. First of all, if our city is run at all like a business, that type of information shouldn't be given out to anyone (much like an employer would only confirm whether someone previously worked for them or not) and only would reveal the nature of someones break with the employer should they be given permission to do so. Mrs. O'Hallisey - you were NOT elected by the people, please stay out of the day to day operations of our city.
- You Clowns on LCPIAFCS - The turnover seems to be the highest at the highest levels of city staffing. These are the people who are required to attend the City Council meetings. If I had to sit there with a straight face while clowns came in and complained about the mayor's office not being fancy enough, or our logo being sailboats instead of oak trees, or any of the multitude of ridiculous things that Heins, Barr, Mallios, Wankowicz, and Lass like to complain about, I'd be looking for a new job too!
- Political Volatility - Given the amount of disgust which you clowns show for the city staff and the way you are headhunting the City Manager and the City Attorney, the city staff are probably all terrified of what would happen should the Green Team take power in the next election. Concerns about stability would lead many to seek other opportunities for employment.
- Asking too much for too little. I've pointed out in numerous other posts that the clowns backing the Green Team have expectations that clearly nobody could ever meet, given the completely illogical pairing of such keep-my-taxes-low-at-all-costs types like John Bowen and Mick Phalen, with the tax-and-spend liberals like Chris John Mallios and all the special interests like the Dog Park Kelley's, and perhaps the same has happened with our city staff. We're wanting them to accomplish massive amounts of work and not rewarding them accordingly. When you work a lot for too little pay, you look for a new opportunity.
One further topic was brought up in an attempt to discredit the city manager while y'all were commenting on the former mayor's post, and it also needs clarification. Kimberly Patrick Harmon brought up that the City Manager brought forward the study regarding the parking garage for vote with one bid. Brian Brown, in his eagerness to demonstrate his lack of Google skills, jumped on the bandwagon and cited Texas local government code requirements for purchases, and then Byram Lass chimed in with some NASA-geek non-related nonsense. Let's clear all of that up:
1) There is no requirement for professional services to seek multiple bids if any of the list of exemptions in section 252.022 apply (Brian Brown, you should have read further down, assuming you got your information from www.statues.legis.state.tx.us/SOTWDocs/LG/htm/LG.252.htm ) - you're looking for section 252.022 (4)a procurement for personal, professional, or planning services.
2) If you had paid any attention to the deputy city manager, they don't even know anyone else to contact for bids to perform such a study.
There's nothing nefarious going on here, but you can keep your tin foil hats on, if you like.
3) Kimberly Patrick Harmon - as presented at the council meeting, the bill for this study was under $200k. Please explain why you interpret this as "nearly a million dollar expense".
When y'all lie, exaggerate, and spin in this manner, all you're doing is making your Green Team look petty and dishonest.
Reference - Tim Paulissen's comments from the LCPIAFCS group, on Friday, October 14th, 4:59 PM:
"Just finished the story on the front page of the Galveston County Daily News and it brings to mind a question that I asked Mr. Rohr in the beginning about the rumor that he comes in and runs off all the staff. He assured me that he would not be the case. Fast forward to today, and the city has gone through lots of staff. He needs to go. My biggest mistake was saying okay to his hiring. Credit to Mr. OKeefe, everyone pressured him to give him the green light, he had big reservations. Can't remember if Mr OKeefe voted for him or not. To everyone who reads this, my apologies. He is supposed to run day-to-Day, not run the vision. That governance policy is BS and we all know that. Vote for the green team, so we will have the votes to send him packing!"
Thursday, October 13, 2016
Hate-filled Venom of Half-truths and Innuendo
Okay, supersleuths over on League City Politics is a Full Contact Sport. Since Byram Lass likes to refer to this blog as hate-filled venom of half-truths and innuendo... here's your challenge. As far as I can tell I've posted the following: facts, questions, and subjective opinions. It's up to you if you want to believe my opinions are "hate-filled". I view it more as full of disgust... mostly disgust at the hate with which y'all treat our elected council members and the city staff, your nearly complete lack of logic or rational thinking, and your attempt to shout down anyone who doesn't agree with you. However, I'm a human and prone to error - so here's your challenge - point out anything I've said that is a "half-truth" or an "innuendo". I'll either retract my statement or show you how you're wrong.
Moving on, let's talk about something that your group keeps bringing up that is completely untrue - the mayor's office. The mayor, in fact, has an office. Y'all were called out (by a real person no less!) to meet at City Hall tomorrow, and your peanut gallery turned into a cricket farm. Jake Lass, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps you've been sold a lie by Pat Hallisey and his most ardent cheerleaders (his wife and the Kelleys). Perhaps you truly don't realize they're lying to you (after all, why would your friends lie?!). Why don't you take Mr. Heimlich up on his request to meet at City Hall and find out. Then y'all can finally put this myth to bed. #MythBustersLeagueCityEdition
Moving on, let's talk about something that your group keeps bringing up that is completely untrue - the mayor's office. The mayor, in fact, has an office. Y'all were called out (by a real person no less!) to meet at City Hall tomorrow, and your peanut gallery turned into a cricket farm. Jake Lass, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps you've been sold a lie by Pat Hallisey and his most ardent cheerleaders (his wife and the Kelleys). Perhaps you truly don't realize they're lying to you (after all, why would your friends lie?!). Why don't you take Mr. Heimlich up on his request to meet at City Hall and find out. Then y'all can finally put this myth to bed. #MythBustersLeagueCityEdition
Tuesday, October 11, 2016
League City Must Have a Jump to Conclusions Mat
I thought I was done for the night after the lengthy post earlier... but I can't resist commenting on this: Marc Edelman has lost his mind, and all it took was a parking garage to push him over the edge. He's created three separate threads today alone complaining about the parking garage that's part of the proposed Downtown Revitalization effort. But the latest thread really takes the cake for busting out a jump to conclusions mat. Given Marc's history with city politics, I find it rather hard to believe he's truly as clueless as his post makes it seem. Much like continuing to share the deceitful sign from a previous election that falsely claimed the Democrats were endorsing Heidi Hansing and Geri Bentley, I wonder just how much of what Edelman writes isn't simple ignorance but actual deceitfulness. Here's his post:
"So let me get this straight, we are going to build a parking garage to revitalize the old downtown area, however the majority of the parking spaces are going to have to be reserved for a park and ride so we can get the federal government to pay for 80% of the cost. Then the majority of the parking spaces are going to be available at night when the majority of the adjacent businesses are closed, but we are going to have to create a new tax called a Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone (TIRZ) to levy against all the adjacent businesses to help pay for the 20% of the cost that the federal government will not cover. Then there will be some ground floor shops built into the parking gareage to increase revenue to the city who will compete with the businesses who will pay taxes to subsidize these new businesses rent. All I can say is wow."
Please keep in mind, I'm not entirely sold on the parking garage yet; however, I'm not opposed to it yet. I don't have enough information about it yet to have an opinion on it, and I'd like to know more about what the anticipated economic benefit is, the margins of error on that estimate, etc. But then again, I'm a rational person, which isn't something I can say for sure about Marc at this point. That being said, this post needs to be analyzed line by line.
"So let me get this straight, we are going to build a parking garage to revitalize the old downtown area, however the majority of the parking spaces are going to have to be reserved for a park and ride so we can get the federal government to pay for 80% of the cost. "
- Yes, getting the federal money requires this parking garage to be used for more than a place to park when the city hosts events in the parks downtown. Setting it aside for a park and ride would meet the qualifications. This is an opportunity for League City to get back some of the money the residents pay to the Feds instead of all our money being shipped off to other cities/countries. Sounds great to me. There's nothing "Libertarian" about failing to make use of programs that the Fed has set up simply because you disagree with the programs. League City residents wouldn't be getting a refund of Federal taxes if we don't get this money from the Feds.
" Then the majority of the parking spaces are going to be available at night when the majority of the adjacent businesses are closed, but we are going to have to create a new tax called a Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone (TIRZ) to levy against all the adjacent businesses to help pay for the 20% of the cost that the federal government will not cover. "
- Nights, weekends, holidays the parking spaces would be available to residents and visitors for any use. This part of the statement is true. These are also the times when most shopping and dining are done. These are also the times when the city likes to host events at the parks (like the 4th of July event). In other words, these are the times when the additional parking would be needed. Your statement is predicated upon the assumption you made that this is "when the majority of the adjacent businesses are closed". Please clarify which businesses you are referring to. The desire is to create a hotbed for restaurants and retail shops, all of which would likely be open at night (you know, when us productive members of society are typically free from the entanglement we lovingly refer to as "work").
- You pretend ignorance about how a TIRZ functions, and I find it hard to believe. The council discussed this to a level that could best be described as beating a dead horse, and you were previously on the Planning and Zoning commission, so I highly doubt you can be so ignorant as to think of the TIRZ as a new tax being levied. It should more accurately be described as an allocation of taxes to be spent closer to home. It's no additional tax rate on the properties. It's not an increase in appraised value on the properties. It's simply earmarking any future tax increases due to appraisal increases to go towards development in that area. Some have pointed out that the County has tended to oppose creation of TIRZ as if that's an argument to oppose it. That's a good thing, and of course the county will oppose it - it's robbing them of added revenue in the future by earmarking the funds for the TIRZ to be used only in that location. No more shipping money to the island from League City. Sounds great to me. Please comment if you can dispute this explanation of a TIRZ.
"Then there will be some ground floor shops built into the parking gareage to increase revenue to the city who will compete with the businesses who will pay taxes to subsidize these new businesses rent. "
- Yes, ground floor shops will increase revenue to the city - giving the city the opportunity to fund infrastructure and improvements throughout the city without increasing our taxes. Sounds good ot me... yet you've deceptively implied that neighboring businesses will be subsidizing the rent for the new businesses. First, you assume that these will be "new" businesses, and ignore the possibility that existing local businesses might move into these locations. Perhaps a second location of Barry's Bistro would be perfect in one of these slots. Secondly, you assume that the city (or whoever ends up being the landlord, I believe that part of the plan is not fully developed yet) will be subsidizing the rent. Pretty sure the rent from these retail shops will be subsidizing the parking garage, not the other way around. Not to mention they'd ALSO be contributing retail sales tax revenue. If anything, these neighboring businesses will be getting a very low cost boost to business from the added amount of potential customers brought in by the additional businesses (few people visit just one shop on a shopping trip), and the city has figured out a way to get the Feds to foot 80% of the investment.
"All I can say is wow."
- Well, on this one we agree.
And yet, after all this nonsense, you clown on League City Politics is a Full Contact Sport ate this crap up. Here's a sampling of the brilliant replies:
Holly Shelden: "The city has lost their mind! Something is very fish"
- Yes, Holly, the deceitful post from Marc was VERY fishy!!
Byram Lass: "You 'll need a lot of drinking establishments to pay that bill. Which means a lot of people stumbling out onto 518. That won't last long"
- Byram, I seriously am amazed at your ability to waffle between theocratic fascist and self-professed Libertarian. Talk about jumping to conclusions... 1) Why would you need bars, sorry, "drinking establishments" to generate tax revenue? Retail shops, coffee shops, restaurants, even Upcycling Boutiques all generate tax revenue, why do you assume it needs to be "drinking establishments"? 2) Most all "drinking establishments" in the area are located near major roadways... I've yet to see people "stumbling out onto" the streets. Where have you witnessed this, please let me know, I'm going to bring some popcorn and enjoy the show this weekend.
Cara Herr: "Stupidest thing they can do. This is ridiculous. They are off their rockers. More wasted tax dollars and space. Just stop building anything for a while. Quit ruining league city. We used to love this town... now it's hard to when its over populated and it's getting over run by house apartments fast food places and gas stations. How much crap can one town hold."
- Prone to hyperbole much? I can think of a LOT of worse things they could do, without even reaching to extreme examples. For starters, they could be wasting space in City Hall for our Mayor to have a full-time office for a part-time position, or doing nothing to revitalize the rather run-down downtown. What's ridiculous is the amount of commentary on it when the plans aren't even finalized and the city is simply trying to study the feasibility and possible return-on-investment. That's called being proactive - looking to bring in tax revenue from someone other than all the homeowners (and getting the Feds to foot 80% of the bill, no less!). But then you REALLY go "off [your] rocker" when you show your true colors - you miss the way things were and you're refusing to accept that this city has grown up around you. It's not the sleepy little bedroom community any more. League City is the 2nd fastest growing city in the country, and if you don't like that, you should probably move. Unless you're rich enough to buy up the rest of the land and keep it the way it is. Can you do that? I doubt it, else you'd be much more excited about the city taking steps to attempt to increase revenue from sources other than homeowners. But seriously, there's plenty of open space over in Rosharon or Damon if you can't handle the growth and can't afford the land.
In summary, everyone chill out. Stop listening to Marc Edelman and his Democrat allies. Do your own research, find out the pros and cons.
"So let me get this straight, we are going to build a parking garage to revitalize the old downtown area, however the majority of the parking spaces are going to have to be reserved for a park and ride so we can get the federal government to pay for 80% of the cost. Then the majority of the parking spaces are going to be available at night when the majority of the adjacent businesses are closed, but we are going to have to create a new tax called a Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone (TIRZ) to levy against all the adjacent businesses to help pay for the 20% of the cost that the federal government will not cover. Then there will be some ground floor shops built into the parking gareage to increase revenue to the city who will compete with the businesses who will pay taxes to subsidize these new businesses rent. All I can say is wow."
Please keep in mind, I'm not entirely sold on the parking garage yet; however, I'm not opposed to it yet. I don't have enough information about it yet to have an opinion on it, and I'd like to know more about what the anticipated economic benefit is, the margins of error on that estimate, etc. But then again, I'm a rational person, which isn't something I can say for sure about Marc at this point. That being said, this post needs to be analyzed line by line.
"So let me get this straight, we are going to build a parking garage to revitalize the old downtown area, however the majority of the parking spaces are going to have to be reserved for a park and ride so we can get the federal government to pay for 80% of the cost. "
- Yes, getting the federal money requires this parking garage to be used for more than a place to park when the city hosts events in the parks downtown. Setting it aside for a park and ride would meet the qualifications. This is an opportunity for League City to get back some of the money the residents pay to the Feds instead of all our money being shipped off to other cities/countries. Sounds great to me. There's nothing "Libertarian" about failing to make use of programs that the Fed has set up simply because you disagree with the programs. League City residents wouldn't be getting a refund of Federal taxes if we don't get this money from the Feds.
" Then the majority of the parking spaces are going to be available at night when the majority of the adjacent businesses are closed, but we are going to have to create a new tax called a Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone (TIRZ) to levy against all the adjacent businesses to help pay for the 20% of the cost that the federal government will not cover. "
- Nights, weekends, holidays the parking spaces would be available to residents and visitors for any use. This part of the statement is true. These are also the times when most shopping and dining are done. These are also the times when the city likes to host events at the parks (like the 4th of July event). In other words, these are the times when the additional parking would be needed. Your statement is predicated upon the assumption you made that this is "when the majority of the adjacent businesses are closed". Please clarify which businesses you are referring to. The desire is to create a hotbed for restaurants and retail shops, all of which would likely be open at night (you know, when us productive members of society are typically free from the entanglement we lovingly refer to as "work").
- You pretend ignorance about how a TIRZ functions, and I find it hard to believe. The council discussed this to a level that could best be described as beating a dead horse, and you were previously on the Planning and Zoning commission, so I highly doubt you can be so ignorant as to think of the TIRZ as a new tax being levied. It should more accurately be described as an allocation of taxes to be spent closer to home. It's no additional tax rate on the properties. It's not an increase in appraised value on the properties. It's simply earmarking any future tax increases due to appraisal increases to go towards development in that area. Some have pointed out that the County has tended to oppose creation of TIRZ as if that's an argument to oppose it. That's a good thing, and of course the county will oppose it - it's robbing them of added revenue in the future by earmarking the funds for the TIRZ to be used only in that location. No more shipping money to the island from League City. Sounds great to me. Please comment if you can dispute this explanation of a TIRZ.
"Then there will be some ground floor shops built into the parking gareage to increase revenue to the city who will compete with the businesses who will pay taxes to subsidize these new businesses rent. "
- Yes, ground floor shops will increase revenue to the city - giving the city the opportunity to fund infrastructure and improvements throughout the city without increasing our taxes. Sounds good ot me... yet you've deceptively implied that neighboring businesses will be subsidizing the rent for the new businesses. First, you assume that these will be "new" businesses, and ignore the possibility that existing local businesses might move into these locations. Perhaps a second location of Barry's Bistro would be perfect in one of these slots. Secondly, you assume that the city (or whoever ends up being the landlord, I believe that part of the plan is not fully developed yet) will be subsidizing the rent. Pretty sure the rent from these retail shops will be subsidizing the parking garage, not the other way around. Not to mention they'd ALSO be contributing retail sales tax revenue. If anything, these neighboring businesses will be getting a very low cost boost to business from the added amount of potential customers brought in by the additional businesses (few people visit just one shop on a shopping trip), and the city has figured out a way to get the Feds to foot 80% of the investment.
"All I can say is wow."
- Well, on this one we agree.
And yet, after all this nonsense, you clown on League City Politics is a Full Contact Sport ate this crap up. Here's a sampling of the brilliant replies:
Holly Shelden: "The city has lost their mind! Something is very fish"
- Yes, Holly, the deceitful post from Marc was VERY fishy!!
Byram Lass: "You 'll need a lot of drinking establishments to pay that bill. Which means a lot of people stumbling out onto 518. That won't last long"
- Byram, I seriously am amazed at your ability to waffle between theocratic fascist and self-professed Libertarian. Talk about jumping to conclusions... 1) Why would you need bars, sorry, "drinking establishments" to generate tax revenue? Retail shops, coffee shops, restaurants, even Upcycling Boutiques all generate tax revenue, why do you assume it needs to be "drinking establishments"? 2) Most all "drinking establishments" in the area are located near major roadways... I've yet to see people "stumbling out onto" the streets. Where have you witnessed this, please let me know, I'm going to bring some popcorn and enjoy the show this weekend.
Cara Herr: "Stupidest thing they can do. This is ridiculous. They are off their rockers. More wasted tax dollars and space. Just stop building anything for a while. Quit ruining league city. We used to love this town... now it's hard to when its over populated and it's getting over run by house apartments fast food places and gas stations. How much crap can one town hold."
- Prone to hyperbole much? I can think of a LOT of worse things they could do, without even reaching to extreme examples. For starters, they could be wasting space in City Hall for our Mayor to have a full-time office for a part-time position, or doing nothing to revitalize the rather run-down downtown. What's ridiculous is the amount of commentary on it when the plans aren't even finalized and the city is simply trying to study the feasibility and possible return-on-investment. That's called being proactive - looking to bring in tax revenue from someone other than all the homeowners (and getting the Feds to foot 80% of the bill, no less!). But then you REALLY go "off [your] rocker" when you show your true colors - you miss the way things were and you're refusing to accept that this city has grown up around you. It's not the sleepy little bedroom community any more. League City is the 2nd fastest growing city in the country, and if you don't like that, you should probably move. Unless you're rich enough to buy up the rest of the land and keep it the way it is. Can you do that? I doubt it, else you'd be much more excited about the city taking steps to attempt to increase revenue from sources other than homeowners. But seriously, there's plenty of open space over in Rosharon or Damon if you can't handle the growth and can't afford the land.
In summary, everyone chill out. Stop listening to Marc Edelman and his Democrat allies. Do your own research, find out the pros and cons.
A Lesson in Demographics for League City Council Candidate Greg Gripon
Before I get to the meat of this post... please allow me to address a couple comments from the League City Politics is a Full Contact Sport peanut gallery today, in particular, those from Candidate Greg Gripon's son, Justin Gripon. Justin, I had a previous post (I guess you and your father are choosing to ignore the citizens in League City, since you didn't bother to read the post) where I addressed the claim by Mel Kelly that there is slander on this blog. First and foremost, get a dictionary - the word you mean to use was libel (the written form of defamation, as opposed to slander, which is spoken). But ignoring your limited vocabulary, I'll address your amateur lawyering - you've actually bordered closer to defamation than I have. See, I've made no proclamations of factually untrue information. I've made reference to facts, I've presented logic, and I've presented opinions. None of these could be considered defamation. Now your accusations of slander, that might actually border on it. But go ahead and dismiss this blog as "poor discussion"; however, unless you address the questions and positions I've raised, you can't achieve any "unity" in this city "to steer our city towards a planned sustainable future" - I'll get back to your use of the word sustainable later.
Now, let's get onto demographics and what matters to the voters of League City. According to your clowns in the LCPIAFCS group (which is really nothing more than the propaganda arm of the Green Team - Hallisey/Salcedo/Gripon/Millican), here's what makes for a good councilmember (please reference the quotes I have at the bottom of the post to see where I compiled this list from if you dispute the list)
1. Show up/Be Active in council meetings/workshops, be active in the city (committees, leadership roles, volunteering), Take a Stand
2. Be involved in our city for a long time/Have good roots in this town
3. Heart in the right place/Not looking to build a resume/Positive sense of community
4. Ability to communicate effectively
5. Focused on citizen needs vs new businesses yet understanding of challenges businesses face in League City
6. Volunteering time not money
7. Possessing "original" thoughts
So let's discuss all of these, and how much they matter to the typical League City voter (this is called your "demographic"), and also what REALLY does (and should) matter to the League City voter.
1. If we're happy with the city, the direction it's taking, and living busy, productive, enjoyable lives taking advantage of the many benefits this great city offers us, then we aren't going to attend council meetings/workshops. Sure, y'all love to attend them, just ask Bill Heins how much time he wastes trying to attend the ethics council meetings since he isn't allowed to serve on the board. And while, on the surface, this may seem like a positive contribution to the community, I ask, "Is it?" See, I'd rather you spend your time working, earning money you can spend on a nicer house, and paying more taxes so my share of the total bill seems a little smaller. Perhaps we'd have less politicking and a more productive improvement schedule if a few less of you clowns showed up to city council meetings to stop wasting our council's time as you whine about things like the mayor not having an office fancy enough to fit your friend Pat Hallisey, or complaining about the city logo being sailboats instead of an oak tree, as if that makes a whole hill of a beans of difference to the average voter. We want infrastructure improvements, we want to make sure we have a water supply that will meet our needs. We want traffic problems solved. And most importantly, we want the taxes lower for every homeowner while accomplishing all of this. Justin and Greg Gripon have said a lot of liberal buzz-words, like hope, change, unity, and most importantly - green and sustainable. Sure sounds a lot like they desire to bring Obamanomics to play in League City. I for one don't want a "community organizer" or "community leader" on my city council. I want a business-minded problem solver.
2. Being involved with our city for a long time and having good roots in this town. This sure sounds like a euphemism for "Keep League City for us". The question is - who is the us. In Greg Gripon and Pat Hallisey's case, this is the people who've lived here for their entire lives. Now I'm not saying there's anything wrong living in League City your entire life. I hope to spend the rest of my life here, and I hope my kids find great jobs that enable them to live here too. But when you word your desires this way, it comes across as "for us, not those people who moved here in the last 10-20 years in those new developments". But we're here now. Pat Hallisey and all the other city "leaders" who financed their campaigns with money from developers created this situation. Now the only thing to do is accept it. And a lot of these "new" people in town have good, fresh, new ideas that clearly you old-timers lack. After all, if you had such great ideas, our downtown wouldn't need revitalized, it'd already be a shining gem in Galveston county.
3. I don't know anyone (and yes, this even includes the Green Team candidates that I don't support) who has their "heart in the wrong place". I think they actually believe they'll improve this city. I find them to be misguided, maybe not very bright, but I do believe their heart is in the right place. And I believe their opponents have their hearts in the right place. So, congrats, this is like saying you insist on a candidate that is human. Now, as for "looking to build a resume"... what's the problem in this? You don't build a resume by doing a bad job. You don't build a resume on failures. You build a resume on success. Avoiding people who have higher aspirations or are looking to build a resume is just a way of saying you seek mediocrity. Only mediocrity stagnates and isn't looking to build a resume. I would LOVE to have this city run by people who are building their resumes - that means they have the courage and ambition to take action and the follow-through to accomplish something great for this city.
4. Ability to communicate effectively - this one I'll firmly agree with. Unfortunately, Greg Gripon's posts have demonstrated he cannot communicate clearly. His posts on Facebook are often barely able to be read due to the grammatical mistakes and creative use of capitalization and punctuation. That's not how I define "effective communication". That being said, I'll agree with the Green Team on this one - the City should do a better job of communicating with the citizens. The City Manager hasn't effectively communicated his plan for the downtown revitalization to the citizens, and it's enabled the Green Team propaganda machine to distort the message (lying about the associated costs, acting as if it's going to be entirely funded by our property tax money, hiding any potential tax relief that would come from the increased commercial activity, failing to discuss the increased access to functions such as the 4th of July celebration downtown - I for one have turned around and gone home after finding nowhere to park). Don't worry - I'll add more about downtown revitalization in a separate post.
5. Only a through-and-through liberal could believe that there is a dichotomy between attracting businesses and representing the citizens. Mock the City Manager's "3-legged stool" all you want, but the fact is - running a city costs money. We need traffic improvements, we need our water supply boosted to accommodate the anticipated growth of this town, we need services and parks to continue making this a top targeted neighborhood for families as they choose where to buy a house. All of this has to be funded. The options essentially boil down to - tax the homeowners, or lure in businesses and allow hotel occupancy tax, sales tax, and business taxes to fund the improvements. We can debate the merits of the downtown revitalization plan as to whether or not it will prove effective at attracting business and tax money raised from somewhere other than the homeowners' property taxes; but I'll say this: I've seen NO plans from the Green Team to address these costs. I've seen a lot of talk about saving 30 Oak trees, and fighting anything that costs money. But any businessman will tell you that it's not "spending" money when you're "investing" in something that is going to return you far more money. What the tax and spend liberal Green Team doesn't tell you is that they most likely love the property tax funding this city the way it is. The lower income people still have access to all this city offers, and the people in those expensive new houses foot the bill. But the fact is, this is a conservative-dominated demographic now. Moving on to a second point, pretending that running a small-time landscaping business translates to an understanding of the challenges businesses face in League City is laughable. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with small, local businesses. I think they're great. But it's the big out-of-town business money that will enable the city to shift the expenses off the homeowner while continuing to improve this city. Anything that can do that is great.
6. Volunteering time not money. This is absolutely shameful. To pretend that either form of contribution is more valid than the other is simple arrogance. While some of us may not have time to volunteer our time because we're busy working or raising families, if we're giving back to our community with the fruits of our labor, it is JUST as beneficial to the community. Think of it this way - If I make $100 per hour working, and I donate 10% to charities that benefit the community, then I'm donating $10 per hour. If, instead, I were to work less and donate my time, then I'd need to be doing work that couldn't be hired for $10 per hour. Collecting tickets at fundraisers, working the gate at the boat show, and walking dogs are all things that can be hired out for less than $10 per hour. In other words, I'd be cheating the community if I gave my time instead of my money. Furthermore, if I were to work less so that I'd have time to volunteer, I'd also have less money to contribute to the put towards my house, and I'd be paying less in property taxes, thus robbing the community of even more contribution. Some of us have time we can contribute, some have money. Neither is less valuable to the community.
7. We should care more about which positions a person supports and how they'll vote than whether they have "original" thoughts. A lot of "original" ideas that I've heard thrown about are just terrible. But more importantly, please oh PLEASE tell me one single original thought Greg Gripon has originated. He's simply a Hallisey puppet. Y'all should be more careful when you criticize Kinsey as simply echoing what the rest of Council has said until Greg ever has a thought that wasn't first spoken by Hallisey.
See y'all at the council meeting tonight!
References
From LCPIAFCS:
Holly Shelden - "How many times have we seen people up for election that show up for events, or create events, only when running and have never had anything to do with anything LC before? Then once elections over, we never see them again? This is not the kind of people we want representing or in governing positions for LC! These are people, who only have self interest or self business or self promotion in mind! Why would anyone vote for them? We have seen the end result so many times. And it has never been positive but brutally destructive for the good of government in LC. I am about people who show up, care, and have been involved in our city for a long time before they are called to run because their heart is in the right place!"
John Bowen - "If you are running you should speak to the council to help the people know who you are and where you come down on issues."
Laura Teatsworth - "i think its more than just attending city council meetings that makes a viable candidate for me to consider a vote (imo). I ask myself-are they an active in the city (on committees, leadership roles in the community, volunteer (coach, mentor, aid and/or assist) and do the have a postive sense of community. They have (imo) to have the ability to communicate effectively and voice their opinions/take a stand when there is a difference of opinion. To me-its more than attending a meeting...."
Jerry Jones - "Let's get back to focusing on citizen needs,versus making it comfortable and too easy for new businesses to come into town. We have what they want,so we don't need to give it away."
Byram Lass - "Greg's integrity and commitment to LC as demonstrated through his volunteer efforts. Additionally as the owner of one of LC's most successful small businesses, Greg understands the challenges that business owners in LC face. If we want to increase business growth, we need someone who understands those issues."
Karl Wankowicz - "I will not vote for a candidate because they are a man or because they are a woman.
I could care less as to how many awards they've won.
Ordinarily, individual endorsements for a candidate don't sway me though in this years council race, seeing current members of the council cabal endorse a candidate is enough to cause me to look elsewhere. League City is really behind the eight ball insofar as infrastructure projects and property taxes are concerned and I blame the current and past council directly.
True involvement in our city makes a difference. Not bragging about themselves showing up or throwing money to organizations. Serious involvement in various causes and events matters.
Regular attendance and active participation at council meetings and workshops matters. Not merely showing up suddenly because it helps their campaign.
When I attended the recent LCPOA candidate forum it became crystal clear as to who took things seriously and and who worked it for PR purposes. Some candidates spoke from their heart, some listed facts and accomplishments around town. One was there because they seemed to feel obligated to be there and yet another spoke not of local issues or positions at all but turned it into a self promotion.
So, what really matters? The health and well being of our great city REALLY matters!"
Karl WAnkowicz - "I really don't care if a city council person has shaken hands with a senator, congressman, or even the Pope.
Show me what you've personally accomplished in League City.
Tell me what local organizations you belong to and actively participate with.
If you are an incumbent, I look for active participation and original thoughts and expression (Kinsey loses major points here).
If someone feels that taking pictures with big-wigs or splashing money around town makes them worthy of being on city council, they are sadly delusional."
In reference to Debbie Drury (Still from LCPIAFCS) -
Sebastian Lofaro - Also her comment about all the giving back she does in the community. Writing a check is not the same as giving your time and effort! $40k a year, big whoop... I bet she will spend that much or more during this election.
Byram Lass - Unfortunately she was poorly rehearsed as she had to keep looking down to read her script. I was disgusted with her $40K statement. Christians should not be boastful of their giving. Rather we should give humbly and quietly without trying to glorify ourselves, for the Father receives no glory when we boast in pride.
Tim Paulissen - "As all of you have been saying, it's time to take back our city back from this outsider and send him packing. Research your candidates, look at their handlers and pick fresh faces that have good roots in our town and look out for us, not someone building his resume."
Now, let's get onto demographics and what matters to the voters of League City. According to your clowns in the LCPIAFCS group (which is really nothing more than the propaganda arm of the Green Team - Hallisey/Salcedo/Gripon/Millican), here's what makes for a good councilmember (please reference the quotes I have at the bottom of the post to see where I compiled this list from if you dispute the list)
1. Show up/Be Active in council meetings/workshops, be active in the city (committees, leadership roles, volunteering), Take a Stand
2. Be involved in our city for a long time/Have good roots in this town
3. Heart in the right place/Not looking to build a resume/Positive sense of community
4. Ability to communicate effectively
5. Focused on citizen needs vs new businesses yet understanding of challenges businesses face in League City
6. Volunteering time not money
7. Possessing "original" thoughts
So let's discuss all of these, and how much they matter to the typical League City voter (this is called your "demographic"), and also what REALLY does (and should) matter to the League City voter.
1. If we're happy with the city, the direction it's taking, and living busy, productive, enjoyable lives taking advantage of the many benefits this great city offers us, then we aren't going to attend council meetings/workshops. Sure, y'all love to attend them, just ask Bill Heins how much time he wastes trying to attend the ethics council meetings since he isn't allowed to serve on the board. And while, on the surface, this may seem like a positive contribution to the community, I ask, "Is it?" See, I'd rather you spend your time working, earning money you can spend on a nicer house, and paying more taxes so my share of the total bill seems a little smaller. Perhaps we'd have less politicking and a more productive improvement schedule if a few less of you clowns showed up to city council meetings to stop wasting our council's time as you whine about things like the mayor not having an office fancy enough to fit your friend Pat Hallisey, or complaining about the city logo being sailboats instead of an oak tree, as if that makes a whole hill of a beans of difference to the average voter. We want infrastructure improvements, we want to make sure we have a water supply that will meet our needs. We want traffic problems solved. And most importantly, we want the taxes lower for every homeowner while accomplishing all of this. Justin and Greg Gripon have said a lot of liberal buzz-words, like hope, change, unity, and most importantly - green and sustainable. Sure sounds a lot like they desire to bring Obamanomics to play in League City. I for one don't want a "community organizer" or "community leader" on my city council. I want a business-minded problem solver.
2. Being involved with our city for a long time and having good roots in this town. This sure sounds like a euphemism for "Keep League City for us". The question is - who is the us. In Greg Gripon and Pat Hallisey's case, this is the people who've lived here for their entire lives. Now I'm not saying there's anything wrong living in League City your entire life. I hope to spend the rest of my life here, and I hope my kids find great jobs that enable them to live here too. But when you word your desires this way, it comes across as "for us, not those people who moved here in the last 10-20 years in those new developments". But we're here now. Pat Hallisey and all the other city "leaders" who financed their campaigns with money from developers created this situation. Now the only thing to do is accept it. And a lot of these "new" people in town have good, fresh, new ideas that clearly you old-timers lack. After all, if you had such great ideas, our downtown wouldn't need revitalized, it'd already be a shining gem in Galveston county.
3. I don't know anyone (and yes, this even includes the Green Team candidates that I don't support) who has their "heart in the wrong place". I think they actually believe they'll improve this city. I find them to be misguided, maybe not very bright, but I do believe their heart is in the right place. And I believe their opponents have their hearts in the right place. So, congrats, this is like saying you insist on a candidate that is human. Now, as for "looking to build a resume"... what's the problem in this? You don't build a resume by doing a bad job. You don't build a resume on failures. You build a resume on success. Avoiding people who have higher aspirations or are looking to build a resume is just a way of saying you seek mediocrity. Only mediocrity stagnates and isn't looking to build a resume. I would LOVE to have this city run by people who are building their resumes - that means they have the courage and ambition to take action and the follow-through to accomplish something great for this city.
4. Ability to communicate effectively - this one I'll firmly agree with. Unfortunately, Greg Gripon's posts have demonstrated he cannot communicate clearly. His posts on Facebook are often barely able to be read due to the grammatical mistakes and creative use of capitalization and punctuation. That's not how I define "effective communication". That being said, I'll agree with the Green Team on this one - the City should do a better job of communicating with the citizens. The City Manager hasn't effectively communicated his plan for the downtown revitalization to the citizens, and it's enabled the Green Team propaganda machine to distort the message (lying about the associated costs, acting as if it's going to be entirely funded by our property tax money, hiding any potential tax relief that would come from the increased commercial activity, failing to discuss the increased access to functions such as the 4th of July celebration downtown - I for one have turned around and gone home after finding nowhere to park). Don't worry - I'll add more about downtown revitalization in a separate post.
5. Only a through-and-through liberal could believe that there is a dichotomy between attracting businesses and representing the citizens. Mock the City Manager's "3-legged stool" all you want, but the fact is - running a city costs money. We need traffic improvements, we need our water supply boosted to accommodate the anticipated growth of this town, we need services and parks to continue making this a top targeted neighborhood for families as they choose where to buy a house. All of this has to be funded. The options essentially boil down to - tax the homeowners, or lure in businesses and allow hotel occupancy tax, sales tax, and business taxes to fund the improvements. We can debate the merits of the downtown revitalization plan as to whether or not it will prove effective at attracting business and tax money raised from somewhere other than the homeowners' property taxes; but I'll say this: I've seen NO plans from the Green Team to address these costs. I've seen a lot of talk about saving 30 Oak trees, and fighting anything that costs money. But any businessman will tell you that it's not "spending" money when you're "investing" in something that is going to return you far more money. What the tax and spend liberal Green Team doesn't tell you is that they most likely love the property tax funding this city the way it is. The lower income people still have access to all this city offers, and the people in those expensive new houses foot the bill. But the fact is, this is a conservative-dominated demographic now. Moving on to a second point, pretending that running a small-time landscaping business translates to an understanding of the challenges businesses face in League City is laughable. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with small, local businesses. I think they're great. But it's the big out-of-town business money that will enable the city to shift the expenses off the homeowner while continuing to improve this city. Anything that can do that is great.
6. Volunteering time not money. This is absolutely shameful. To pretend that either form of contribution is more valid than the other is simple arrogance. While some of us may not have time to volunteer our time because we're busy working or raising families, if we're giving back to our community with the fruits of our labor, it is JUST as beneficial to the community. Think of it this way - If I make $100 per hour working, and I donate 10% to charities that benefit the community, then I'm donating $10 per hour. If, instead, I were to work less and donate my time, then I'd need to be doing work that couldn't be hired for $10 per hour. Collecting tickets at fundraisers, working the gate at the boat show, and walking dogs are all things that can be hired out for less than $10 per hour. In other words, I'd be cheating the community if I gave my time instead of my money. Furthermore, if I were to work less so that I'd have time to volunteer, I'd also have less money to contribute to the put towards my house, and I'd be paying less in property taxes, thus robbing the community of even more contribution. Some of us have time we can contribute, some have money. Neither is less valuable to the community.
7. We should care more about which positions a person supports and how they'll vote than whether they have "original" thoughts. A lot of "original" ideas that I've heard thrown about are just terrible. But more importantly, please oh PLEASE tell me one single original thought Greg Gripon has originated. He's simply a Hallisey puppet. Y'all should be more careful when you criticize Kinsey as simply echoing what the rest of Council has said until Greg ever has a thought that wasn't first spoken by Hallisey.
See y'all at the council meeting tonight!
References
From LCPIAFCS:
Holly Shelden - "How many times have we seen people up for election that show up for events, or create events, only when running and have never had anything to do with anything LC before? Then once elections over, we never see them again? This is not the kind of people we want representing or in governing positions for LC! These are people, who only have self interest or self business or self promotion in mind! Why would anyone vote for them? We have seen the end result so many times. And it has never been positive but brutally destructive for the good of government in LC. I am about people who show up, care, and have been involved in our city for a long time before they are called to run because their heart is in the right place!"
John Bowen - "If you are running you should speak to the council to help the people know who you are and where you come down on issues."
Laura Teatsworth - "i think its more than just attending city council meetings that makes a viable candidate for me to consider a vote (imo). I ask myself-are they an active in the city (on committees, leadership roles in the community, volunteer (coach, mentor, aid and/or assist) and do the have a postive sense of community. They have (imo) to have the ability to communicate effectively and voice their opinions/take a stand when there is a difference of opinion. To me-its more than attending a meeting...."
Jerry Jones - "Let's get back to focusing on citizen needs,versus making it comfortable and too easy for new businesses to come into town. We have what they want,so we don't need to give it away."
Byram Lass - "Greg's integrity and commitment to LC as demonstrated through his volunteer efforts. Additionally as the owner of one of LC's most successful small businesses, Greg understands the challenges that business owners in LC face. If we want to increase business growth, we need someone who understands those issues."
Karl Wankowicz - "I will not vote for a candidate because they are a man or because they are a woman.
I could care less as to how many awards they've won.
Ordinarily, individual endorsements for a candidate don't sway me though in this years council race, seeing current members of the council cabal endorse a candidate is enough to cause me to look elsewhere. League City is really behind the eight ball insofar as infrastructure projects and property taxes are concerned and I blame the current and past council directly.
True involvement in our city makes a difference. Not bragging about themselves showing up or throwing money to organizations. Serious involvement in various causes and events matters.
Regular attendance and active participation at council meetings and workshops matters. Not merely showing up suddenly because it helps their campaign.
When I attended the recent LCPOA candidate forum it became crystal clear as to who took things seriously and and who worked it for PR purposes. Some candidates spoke from their heart, some listed facts and accomplishments around town. One was there because they seemed to feel obligated to be there and yet another spoke not of local issues or positions at all but turned it into a self promotion.
So, what really matters? The health and well being of our great city REALLY matters!"
Karl WAnkowicz - "I really don't care if a city council person has shaken hands with a senator, congressman, or even the Pope.
Show me what you've personally accomplished in League City.
Tell me what local organizations you belong to and actively participate with.
If you are an incumbent, I look for active participation and original thoughts and expression (Kinsey loses major points here).
If someone feels that taking pictures with big-wigs or splashing money around town makes them worthy of being on city council, they are sadly delusional."
In reference to Debbie Drury (Still from LCPIAFCS) -
Sebastian Lofaro - Also her comment about all the giving back she does in the community. Writing a check is not the same as giving your time and effort! $40k a year, big whoop... I bet she will spend that much or more during this election.
Byram Lass - Unfortunately she was poorly rehearsed as she had to keep looking down to read her script. I was disgusted with her $40K statement. Christians should not be boastful of their giving. Rather we should give humbly and quietly without trying to glorify ourselves, for the Father receives no glory when we boast in pride.
Tim Paulissen - "As all of you have been saying, it's time to take back our city back from this outsider and send him packing. Research your candidates, look at their handlers and pick fresh faces that have good roots in our town and look out for us, not someone building his resume."
Wednesday, October 5, 2016
League City Police Officers Association Endorsement
The "Green Team" is wetting themselves in excitement that the League City Police Officers Association has endorsed their cluster of Hallisey puppets for City Council. Why are they so surprised that a union has endorsed the lefties? It's really not a shocker. However, I'd wager more than half of the police officers won't vote for Gripon/Salcedo/Millican (particularly once they discover the anti-NRA positions embraced by Greg Gripon. Sorry to burst your bubble, George Turski!
Tuesday, October 4, 2016
Open Letter to League City Council Candidate Greg Gripon #LeagueCityProud
(or any one of the other Hallisey puppets who are supporting him)
Let's start by summarizing any points Greg Gripon has made on the internet:
From his website (www.votegripon.com)
- A lot of platitudes about how great League City is (this applies to all of the candidates, they're all running in League City)
- "Dealing with... growth takes serious attention in communicating the much needed foresight in planning." - Actually, I would think the serious effort would be better spent in the planning than in communicating the foresight. Focus on the planning, less on communicating. But hey, that's just how I'd do it.
-"We must have knowledgeable, happy employees working for our great city..." - We have those, is Greg Gripon suggesting changing our city staff? Which people does he feel aren't knowledgeable or happy? Does he feel that his friends' constant attacks on the City Attorney and City Manager will somehow make our city employees happy or knowledgeable? His friends continue to berate the "golden handcuff" contract that the City Manager has - however, these have become commonplace in employing City Manager's specifically because of the vindictive politics of people like Pat Hallisey and his puppet, Greg Gripon.
-"Planning our future belongs to the community and those who live and play here." - Does it? Are you committed to this? Does it belong to all of us, or just those of you who grew up here? Your next sentence is rather telling, "...I will continue my love and dedication towards League City, as I have done for the past 50 years."
-"I will always be accessible with all the citizens of League City." - Will you? Your supporters have tried to silence my voice, and insist that nobody engage in discussion with me. Will you comment on this post?
-"I... will listen to and hear the desires of all our citizens, and will strive to attend to all the concerns and dreams of League City's proud community." - This is setting yourself up for failure, as I mentioned previously - your group of supporters are all the misfit special interests in this city. The militant animal activists, the Pagans who insist we waste money returning to an Oak Tree symbol, the jaded Democrats who are sad that this town turned red as a result of the new residents in all the houses built on lots set up by developers who funded Pat Hallisey's past failed campaign efforts (but don't worry, he's supposedly an independent thinker now), and Republicans who are bitter because of some perceived slight in the past from Elaine Kosty (yes, you, Marc Edelman, and you, Mick Phalen). There is ZERO chance you could possibly strive to attend to all those concerns, as they are inevitably going to conflict with the concerns of other members of the group. After all, the surest way to end up pleasing nobody is to try to please everybody. Then what will you do? I haven't heard any single idea from you or position that you support. Perhaps instead of pictures of your family and extensive biographical information, you should have a section on your webpage where you specify any positions you actually support.
-"I... have been fortunate enough to instill the same great attributes of my father, into our family values." - I've asked before and never received a reply (here's a reminder, it's in Section 3 of this post - https://leaguecityoutsiders.blogspot.com/2016/09/whats-in-name-or-letter-even.html) Your fathers values involved opposing gun rights and the NRA and a belief in redistribution of wealth. Are these the values you've passed on? Your father was also a proud Democrat; why have you voted as one like your father and yet show up at meetings and present yourself as a Republican? Do you think you can pander to the now Republican-majority population of League City despite your values?
From your Facebook Page (www.facebook.com/votegripon)
"Keeping in touch with our local history is so very important. We must always hold tight to our past as we pave the way to our future." Standard baby-kissing, hand-grabbing politicking aside - what does this quote mean? Does it mean we need to stagnate our downtown as the run-down blight it currently is? Does it mean we need to oppose any outside interests seeking to invest in creating businesses here? Does it mean the old families in this town should keep the power, despite clearly being out of touch with the values and issues that matter to all the people who have swelled the population of this city in the last 10-20 years?
"Let's make League City the Leader of Galveston County and bring back the respect to our city! #VoteGripon #LeagueCityProud" Did you trademark the phrase League City Proud? Do you feel your opposition isn't proud of this city? If the respect is gone, as you and your supporters claim, I ask this - why are you proud, and why are so many families seeking to move here? See, I consider myself ACTUALLY proud of League City, and I don't need a certain candidate to change that. We don't need to bring back any respect - and I don't know that you can do that. You seem to be just a puppet for Pat Hallisey (please tell us how you're different, if you can). Pat Hallisey ran for Mayor with a promise to oppose our City Council which was elected by the people. That's not very respectful. But here's what I respect about our Council and City Manager - they realize that the future of our City is going to be expensive. It's going to cost money to keep up with growth. We have an option - support people who will bring in businesses that will ultimately fund the growth and take the burden off the homeowners, or attempt a way-too-late isolation that preserves League City as it was in the 80's for those who want to relive the glory days of their childhood. If we do that, if we oppose downtown revitalization, if we reject the tax abatement deals (which really are the only way to attract the businesses that will fund our tax revenues for many years after the abatement deal expires), then we shift the burden for all the infrastructure improvement required to support the anticipated population growth to the homeowners. I for one, don't want that kind of "respect".
-You've embraced a very biased and distorted view of the city vs. League City United Methodist Church issue. I've presented a timeline that shows the Church has let a member/developer drive the discussion for them. He played the deal to ultimately benefit himself. The church was a pawn, and the City was trying to simply get a fair deal to land the Church didn't need. But instead, you present it as the city versus the Lord. Please explain your version of the timeline and how the city was in the wrong, and be ready to have a discussion about it, so don't simply provide bumper sticker slogans.
From League City Politics is a Full Contact Sport
When a citizen said they were voting for your opponent, you responded with the following: "I'm Home Grown and League City Proud! I spent my life grooming myself for the League City Council Position #5 by attending the League City 1st University, League City Citizen Police Academy and spending my life giving back to our community!!! #VoteGripon #CommuintyLeader #LeagueCityProud"
1 - Being "Home Grown" means what, besides "Let's keep League City for us old family names around here"? I know I didn't grow up here, and I'm VERY happy that my kids get to. But how does that qualify you to make decisions required of a leader of a city of this size? If anything, I keep hearing about League City's history of terrible politics, and I wonder - since you've been here this long and voting for these people, maybe you're part of the problem. I'm sure this line will get Gaylynne and some of the other old curmudgeons on League City Politics is a Full Contact Sport to come out and vote for you, but given that a substantial majority of this city are people who didn't grow up here, how do you expect this to convince us of your qualifications?
2 - You spent your life grooming yourself to run for City Council? Does this mean you're power-hungry? Does it mean you've got ambitions of higher office and this is just a stepping stone? What does this mean? Also, seriously? Who "grooms" himself to run for City Council? I thought you were volunteering because you love this city and the people in it. Were you just building a resume to run for office? Takes the altruism down a notch since you were just grooming yourself for politics.
3 - How does attending Citizen Police Academy groom someone to make decisions regarding taxes, attracting businesses, and managing infrastructure improvements and repairs?
4 - Please spell-check your posts, I prefer my "Commuinty" leaders to at least appear moderately intelligent.
5 - Your son chimed in "A vote for Greg is a Vote for League City" - ignoring his creative use of upper-case V in vote (seriously, get an editor), what are y'all implying? Is a vote for your opponent a vote for Friendswood or some other city? Or perhaps it's a vote against League City? That's a pretty low-blow.
On another post, you commented: "With my leadership on council we will have a check and balance for our City manager with a open form of government. The city manager must work under the direction of the Mayor and Council. If Rohr cannot reform then he must go it's that simple. Mayor and council represent the voice of the citizens and what's best for the future of our City. I feel we have a City that is working for the needs of the City and not the citizens. It's time for change!!! #VoteGripon #LeagueCityProud"
1 - Please refer to my Civics for Dummies course, it has some good points on the merits of a City Manager. https://leaguecityoutsiders.blogspot.com/2016/09/league-city-politics-civics-for-dummies.html
2 - When you state the manager must work under the direction of the Mayor and Council - are you implying that he isn't? After hearing your supporters state how vicious and controlling Becker/Kinsey/Hansing/Bentley are, how could you possibly now imply that the City Manager isn't working under their direction? Clearly he's opposed the Mayor, but he has to work for a committee, and the majority of the committee isn't on the Mayor's side, so he's answering to his bosses. Please explain why you think he's gone rogue, and why you think the Council hasn't done anything about it.
3 - Please be specific - what has Rohr done that he needs to reform? His employers (the Council) seem rather happy with his performance. Just because the Mayor doesn't like what they want to do doesn't mean he has to somehow also appease the Mayor.
4 - Please define what you mean by "working for the needs of the city and not the citizens". They're not out campaigning for the land, and considering a city is nothing but the land and the people in it, they're obviously working for the citizens. You may disagree with their plan to improve the city, and that's something you can discuss and debate, but it's absolutely ugly politics to imply they're not working for the city (which IS the citizens).
You went on to state: "I'm a little confused because Debbie platform is all about bring business to League City. She talks about making it easy to grow business in League City! I'm for clean cooperate business parks for the growing need coming for Large Shipping Companies to grow our tax base. I will bring my passion for League City to give the citizens a voice and represent the heritage and roots of League City! It's time for change to focus on the citizens! #LeagueCityProud
I'd love to comment on this one, but it seems to be a butchered job of copy and paste (or your grammar is simply atrocious) and I can't make any sense out of it.
In summary, Mr. Gripon, I've seen NO view on any issues from you, other than an opposition to the current Council and the City Manager. So please respond to this post.
Let's start by summarizing any points Greg Gripon has made on the internet:
From his website (www.votegripon.com)
- A lot of platitudes about how great League City is (this applies to all of the candidates, they're all running in League City)
- "Dealing with... growth takes serious attention in communicating the much needed foresight in planning." - Actually, I would think the serious effort would be better spent in the planning than in communicating the foresight. Focus on the planning, less on communicating. But hey, that's just how I'd do it.
-"We must have knowledgeable, happy employees working for our great city..." - We have those, is Greg Gripon suggesting changing our city staff? Which people does he feel aren't knowledgeable or happy? Does he feel that his friends' constant attacks on the City Attorney and City Manager will somehow make our city employees happy or knowledgeable? His friends continue to berate the "golden handcuff" contract that the City Manager has - however, these have become commonplace in employing City Manager's specifically because of the vindictive politics of people like Pat Hallisey and his puppet, Greg Gripon.
-"Planning our future belongs to the community and those who live and play here." - Does it? Are you committed to this? Does it belong to all of us, or just those of you who grew up here? Your next sentence is rather telling, "...I will continue my love and dedication towards League City, as I have done for the past 50 years."
-"I will always be accessible with all the citizens of League City." - Will you? Your supporters have tried to silence my voice, and insist that nobody engage in discussion with me. Will you comment on this post?
-"I... will listen to and hear the desires of all our citizens, and will strive to attend to all the concerns and dreams of League City's proud community." - This is setting yourself up for failure, as I mentioned previously - your group of supporters are all the misfit special interests in this city. The militant animal activists, the Pagans who insist we waste money returning to an Oak Tree symbol, the jaded Democrats who are sad that this town turned red as a result of the new residents in all the houses built on lots set up by developers who funded Pat Hallisey's past failed campaign efforts (but don't worry, he's supposedly an independent thinker now), and Republicans who are bitter because of some perceived slight in the past from Elaine Kosty (yes, you, Marc Edelman, and you, Mick Phalen). There is ZERO chance you could possibly strive to attend to all those concerns, as they are inevitably going to conflict with the concerns of other members of the group. After all, the surest way to end up pleasing nobody is to try to please everybody. Then what will you do? I haven't heard any single idea from you or position that you support. Perhaps instead of pictures of your family and extensive biographical information, you should have a section on your webpage where you specify any positions you actually support.
-"I... have been fortunate enough to instill the same great attributes of my father, into our family values." - I've asked before and never received a reply (here's a reminder, it's in Section 3 of this post - https://leaguecityoutsiders.blogspot.com/2016/09/whats-in-name-or-letter-even.html) Your fathers values involved opposing gun rights and the NRA and a belief in redistribution of wealth. Are these the values you've passed on? Your father was also a proud Democrat; why have you voted as one like your father and yet show up at meetings and present yourself as a Republican? Do you think you can pander to the now Republican-majority population of League City despite your values?
From your Facebook Page (www.facebook.com/votegripon)
"Keeping in touch with our local history is so very important. We must always hold tight to our past as we pave the way to our future." Standard baby-kissing, hand-grabbing politicking aside - what does this quote mean? Does it mean we need to stagnate our downtown as the run-down blight it currently is? Does it mean we need to oppose any outside interests seeking to invest in creating businesses here? Does it mean the old families in this town should keep the power, despite clearly being out of touch with the values and issues that matter to all the people who have swelled the population of this city in the last 10-20 years?
"Let's make League City the Leader of Galveston County and bring back the respect to our city! #VoteGripon #LeagueCityProud" Did you trademark the phrase League City Proud? Do you feel your opposition isn't proud of this city? If the respect is gone, as you and your supporters claim, I ask this - why are you proud, and why are so many families seeking to move here? See, I consider myself ACTUALLY proud of League City, and I don't need a certain candidate to change that. We don't need to bring back any respect - and I don't know that you can do that. You seem to be just a puppet for Pat Hallisey (please tell us how you're different, if you can). Pat Hallisey ran for Mayor with a promise to oppose our City Council which was elected by the people. That's not very respectful. But here's what I respect about our Council and City Manager - they realize that the future of our City is going to be expensive. It's going to cost money to keep up with growth. We have an option - support people who will bring in businesses that will ultimately fund the growth and take the burden off the homeowners, or attempt a way-too-late isolation that preserves League City as it was in the 80's for those who want to relive the glory days of their childhood. If we do that, if we oppose downtown revitalization, if we reject the tax abatement deals (which really are the only way to attract the businesses that will fund our tax revenues for many years after the abatement deal expires), then we shift the burden for all the infrastructure improvement required to support the anticipated population growth to the homeowners. I for one, don't want that kind of "respect".
-You've embraced a very biased and distorted view of the city vs. League City United Methodist Church issue. I've presented a timeline that shows the Church has let a member/developer drive the discussion for them. He played the deal to ultimately benefit himself. The church was a pawn, and the City was trying to simply get a fair deal to land the Church didn't need. But instead, you present it as the city versus the Lord. Please explain your version of the timeline and how the city was in the wrong, and be ready to have a discussion about it, so don't simply provide bumper sticker slogans.
From League City Politics is a Full Contact Sport
When a citizen said they were voting for your opponent, you responded with the following: "I'm Home Grown and League City Proud! I spent my life grooming myself for the League City Council Position #5 by attending the League City 1st University, League City Citizen Police Academy and spending my life giving back to our community!!! #VoteGripon #CommuintyLeader #LeagueCityProud"
1 - Being "Home Grown" means what, besides "Let's keep League City for us old family names around here"? I know I didn't grow up here, and I'm VERY happy that my kids get to. But how does that qualify you to make decisions required of a leader of a city of this size? If anything, I keep hearing about League City's history of terrible politics, and I wonder - since you've been here this long and voting for these people, maybe you're part of the problem. I'm sure this line will get Gaylynne and some of the other old curmudgeons on League City Politics is a Full Contact Sport to come out and vote for you, but given that a substantial majority of this city are people who didn't grow up here, how do you expect this to convince us of your qualifications?
2 - You spent your life grooming yourself to run for City Council? Does this mean you're power-hungry? Does it mean you've got ambitions of higher office and this is just a stepping stone? What does this mean? Also, seriously? Who "grooms" himself to run for City Council? I thought you were volunteering because you love this city and the people in it. Were you just building a resume to run for office? Takes the altruism down a notch since you were just grooming yourself for politics.
3 - How does attending Citizen Police Academy groom someone to make decisions regarding taxes, attracting businesses, and managing infrastructure improvements and repairs?
4 - Please spell-check your posts, I prefer my "Commuinty" leaders to at least appear moderately intelligent.
5 - Your son chimed in "A vote for Greg is a Vote for League City" - ignoring his creative use of upper-case V in vote (seriously, get an editor), what are y'all implying? Is a vote for your opponent a vote for Friendswood or some other city? Or perhaps it's a vote against League City? That's a pretty low-blow.
On another post, you commented: "With my leadership on council we will have a check and balance for our City manager with a open form of government. The city manager must work under the direction of the Mayor and Council. If Rohr cannot reform then he must go it's that simple. Mayor and council represent the voice of the citizens and what's best for the future of our City. I feel we have a City that is working for the needs of the City and not the citizens. It's time for change!!! #VoteGripon #LeagueCityProud"
1 - Please refer to my Civics for Dummies course, it has some good points on the merits of a City Manager. https://leaguecityoutsiders.blogspot.com/2016/09/league-city-politics-civics-for-dummies.html
2 - When you state the manager must work under the direction of the Mayor and Council - are you implying that he isn't? After hearing your supporters state how vicious and controlling Becker/Kinsey/Hansing/Bentley are, how could you possibly now imply that the City Manager isn't working under their direction? Clearly he's opposed the Mayor, but he has to work for a committee, and the majority of the committee isn't on the Mayor's side, so he's answering to his bosses. Please explain why you think he's gone rogue, and why you think the Council hasn't done anything about it.
3 - Please be specific - what has Rohr done that he needs to reform? His employers (the Council) seem rather happy with his performance. Just because the Mayor doesn't like what they want to do doesn't mean he has to somehow also appease the Mayor.
4 - Please define what you mean by "working for the needs of the city and not the citizens". They're not out campaigning for the land, and considering a city is nothing but the land and the people in it, they're obviously working for the citizens. You may disagree with their plan to improve the city, and that's something you can discuss and debate, but it's absolutely ugly politics to imply they're not working for the city (which IS the citizens).
You went on to state: "I'm a little confused because Debbie platform is all about bring business to League City. She talks about making it easy to grow business in League City! I'm for clean cooperate business parks for the growing need coming for Large Shipping Companies to grow our tax base. I will bring my passion for League City to give the citizens a voice and represent the heritage and roots of League City! It's time for change to focus on the citizens! #LeagueCityProud
I'd love to comment on this one, but it seems to be a butchered job of copy and paste (or your grammar is simply atrocious) and I can't make any sense out of it.
In summary, Mr. Gripon, I've seen NO view on any issues from you, other than an opposition to the current Council and the City Manager. So please respond to this post.
Sunday, October 2, 2016
Village Idiot Found - Thanks League City Politics is a Full Contact Sport
I struggle with writing this post, as I would prefer to focus specifically on issues. However, as the League City Politics is a Full Contact Sport has chosen instead to focus on identity and personalities, I will follow suit. Furthermore, as certain loudmouths have appointed themselves the spokesmen for "We the People" in League City, I feel they need to be identified and challenged in this self-appointed title. Y'all don't speak for me, and you don't speak for the majority of League City residents. But since you silence everyone who speaks against you, or question whether they are real (because, in your deluded minds you are convinced that everyone MUST think JUST like you), I have decided to call out a few of y'all. And unlike John Bowen and Bill Heins, who apparently think the threat of physical intimidation from a couple grumpy old men is a legitimate call out, I prefer to call y'all out to honestly discuss your positions. Since that is something which gets people kicked out of Mr. Mallios's Facebook group, I challenge you to do so here in the comments on my blog. Don't worry, I won't tell Holly Shelden or George Turski that you've "given forum" to "the enemy". So without further prologue, I would like to introduce everyone to the village idiot of League City politics. Mr. Karl Wankowicz, congratulations, I've found you a new title (perhaps it's as fancy as the office you'd like to give the Mayor). For those who aren't familiar, this is our village idiot:
So I end with this... Karl Wankowicz, you are NOT someone I will be listening to for electoral advice. In fact, I think it'd be far more accurate to say I will simply look at which candidates you endorse, and then vote the opposite. You are qualified to serve as the village idiot, and nothing else that I can determine. But please, keep telling us who put up signs where they shouldn't, <sarcasm font> that will REALLY help determine the outcome of the election in November.
(Photo Credit - Assumed selfie publicly available from Mr. Wankowicz's Facebook Profile)
So what makes Mr. Wankowicz the village idiot? I've taken a stroll through his public Facebook comments and posts since the beginning of this year, and here's a summary of his idiotic commentary:
- General cheerleading for Pat Hallisey and Tim Paulissen (despite any sound rationale for supporting either candidate... in fact, his arguments for supporting the one would explain NOT supporting the other). Karl, you supported Tim Paulissen for County Commissioner on the grounds that he has been a life-long Republican. Yet you supported Pat Hallisey for mayor, who has been a life-long flip-flopper in an attempts to gather votes however he can, when he ran against a true life-long Republican. Please explain this contradiction.
- You criticized Kranz for making the following statements when she was running for Mayor: "I prefer working behind the scenes", "I don't want to be visible", "I don't want to be the person up front". You said these aren't the kind of things a true leader would say. I say the opposite - these are EXACTLY the kinds of things a true leader would say. A glory-seeking attention hog would say the opposite, and that's exactly what we get far too often for leaders. A guy who feels he needs a fancy office to be the mayor of city, a guy who seeks to undermine the authority of the city manager by blind copying the directors of city departments while challenging the city manager, a guy who threatens people on blog sites, that's the type of person who wants to be up front and visible, and that's what we don't need as a leader. A leader is one who rises to the challenge, who gets the job done and takes charge because it's needed, not because they want to be in charge. You can keep your demagogue to yourself, I prefer to follow the philosophy that government governs best which governs least, and that doesn't require attention seeking glory-hounds.
- You really seem to enjoy pointing out things that you believe to be a conspiracy. Such as how much or little a council member speaks at a certain meeting, or, even more comically - how Facebook orders comments on posts. You seriously need to start wearing a Tin Foil hat, I think Elaine Kosty can read minds.
- You complained that the Council chose to "neuter" the office of Mayor. The office of Mayor was neutered by the people in the propositions from 2010. This Mayor y'all managed to squeak into office in a special election that drew out barely 2% of the population to vote, and was won 51%-49%, doesn't seem to understand this. We chose to neuter the mayor to end the spoils system and machines which have run this city for far too long. Machines that Pat Hallisey has sucked up to for his entire life.
- You claimed that Kinsey/Becker/Long/Gross/Hansing/Bentley/Paulissen (interesting, you didn't really care for him back in February, then backed him for County Commissioner) "created an atmosphere of distrust and embarrassment with the citizens of League City". Even Chris John Mallios would tell you that the distrust and embarrassment began LONG before this crowd was on council. You make a big deal out of nothing complaining that they use "electronic devices" during council meetings. What is wrong with that? Have you sat through any business meetings in the last 10 years? I haven't been at a meeting where everyone wasn't on electronic devices. Multi-tasking is efficient. Furthermore, active listening sometimes involves fact-checking and confirming claims. Electronic devices are GREAT for this. So chill out with such trivial stuff. But of course, since you're so vain and want your leaders to be vain, I'm sure you're troubled they don't stare at your mug while you're speaking. However, that won't help them govern at all, so please focus on real issues.
- How many hours have you spent on "sign patrol"? Well aren't you just AWESOME for donating your time to ensure our city is safe from... signs that don't follow all the rules regarding where they're posted. Imagine if you'd put that time towards something productive. Of course, you seem to lack any real ambition so, I guess you consider this a worthy cause. Here's a tip though - 99% of us don't really care if a sign is posted according to the rules. Most people don't even notice them as we drive about this town in our busy lives. Those who do, usually already have their minds made up about who they'll vote for. The rest who see them, and might actually be influenced by them, care about what they say, not where they're placed. But hey, if you want to get down in the weeds to such a level over such silliness, please do so. It only serves to highlight how off the deep end your sycophantism has gone. Thanks for making the case for your idiocy for me.
- You also make a big deal about studying the fashion choices of our council members. You complained that Becker has shown up "...in a wrinkled untucked denim shirt. Not an image I'd want for an elected official." Well, what "image" do you want? Personally, I don't want ANY image of my elected officials. I want them to be part time and be as minimally involved in my life as possible. The fact that he has an actual job and shows up from work proves that he isn't some career politician looking to continue sucking off our collective teats (you know, like Hallisey has). As long as they aren't showing up in various states of un-dressed, I really don't care HOW our council "looks", and I bet the majority would agree with me. I'd be more concerned about a guy who shows up at public outreach events in the city when it's 100 degrees in the shade and sweats through their polo shirt while hanging out at the Mayor's VIP tent. I question that guy's judgment (hint, I'm talking about you), and certainly wouldn't take political advice from that guy. Furthermore, you complained that he was elected to represent our community, well, what would be more representative of our community than wearing his work coveralls after a long day at work? Have you been out in the community? I sure see a lot of people dressed similarly as they take their kids to soccer practise. It's a sign we have a healthy community with lots of employment opportunities available in the area.
- You can reference all my other posts to see how silly you sound complaining about how fancy of an office the mayor needs. You haven't explained any valid rationale on WHY he needs that. But hey, you want your demagogue rewarded. Should we start building a statue to Pat Hallisey too?
- You and the rest of the LCPIAFCS group have created an anti-intellectual atmosphere with comments about the council and the people you endorse. You posted "Don't be impressed by money, followers, degrees, titles. Do be impressed by generosity, integrity, humility, kindness". You've attacked all of the better educated members of our council (An engineer, a lawyer, a business leader who wasn't handed the family lawn mower, and a project manager/writer/veteran) and tried to shove us some landscapers and a career politician. I feel we SHOULD be impressed by degrees. It says a lot about a person's willingness to stick to something, their ability to learn, and their intellectual capacity to solve a problem. Furthermore, if you value humility and kindness, why would you vote for Pat Hallisey. Having seen things he's said to neighbors in the past, what he's called members of our council, and how he's tried to bully the city staff, I wouldn't exactly call him humble or kind. Also, how can you praise humility after having trashed Kranz exactly for having humility?
So I end with this... Karl Wankowicz, you are NOT someone I will be listening to for electoral advice. In fact, I think it'd be far more accurate to say I will simply look at which candidates you endorse, and then vote the opposite. You are qualified to serve as the village idiot, and nothing else that I can determine. But please, keep telling us who put up signs where they shouldn't, <sarcasm font> that will REALLY help determine the outcome of the election in November.
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