Tuesday, March 31, 2015

A New Twist to Richardson Politics



This year’s council elections may be something to yawn at. Only 2 contested races. But it seems the real events will begin after the official elections.

 
 
 


There is a rumor floating that after May, Laura will no longer be mayor. It seems she has gotten herself into a particularly uncomfortable situation that she doesn’t quite know how to handle.

It seems to have begun quite some time ago. She is “very good personal friends” with a developer for the Palisades development. Things seem to have begun to get more complicated after the taxpayer funded Mayor’s Christmas party where her hubby was absent but her very good personal friend was in attendance.

A little bit after the party, she began getting questioned about what’s the deal by other council members. This gave rise to questions about a conflict of interest, and other questions, given that she voted to increase the number of apartments from ZERO to 600 in a December 2013 council meetings. http://richardsonblog.dallasnews.com/2013/12/palisades-village-development-overcomes-neighbors-to-add-more-apartments.html/

Somewhere around June of 2014, JP Realty proposed an increase from the 600 apartments to 1200 apartments. This move once again stirred things up with the Canyon Creek and Prairie Creek neighborhoods. At the request of Mayor Laura Maczka, the developer, ark Jordan, agree to scale down the number of apartments to 1090. http://richardsonblog.dallasnews.com/2014/06/richardson-city-council-once-more-approves-more-apartments-at-palisades.html/

Being “very close personal friends” started raising some eyebrows.

This appears to me to be a conflict of interest, as it does to others. Since she is such a good and close personal friend to the developer, it seems she should have recused herself from all vote concerning this matter. She did not.

Before the filing period was over, there was lots of whispering about Maczka not running for reelection, which is probably why she filed so late. She knows there is trouble brewing and doesn’t seem to know how to get out of it.  

Now, instead of not running, she will go through the election and then resign. This is where things will begin to get interesting. As long as there are no more than 2 vacancies on the council, the council members can then selection who they want to for the place 7 seat. Since place 7 is also the mayor’s seat, the person they select will become new mayor.

I would expect one of the current council members to also resign and then be selected for the mayor’s seat. After that, the council will then fill the second seat for the one who resigns to become mayor. In typical Richardson fashion, I would also expect all of this to be worked out in private and expect almost no discussion.

All of this scheming could probably have been avoided if people would have stood up and done the right thing to begin with.

The kingmaker is probably having a tough time holding things together and maintaining control. Richardson does deserve better than this.

39 comments:

  1. Your last sentence says it all.

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  2. Isn't this an ethics problem for the rest of the council as noted in the charter for not doing anything about it?

    Section 3.06. - Council misconduct.
    Willful violation of any provision of this Charter by any member of the council shall constitute official misconduct, and shall authorize the council, by a vote of two-thirds of the total membership, to expel such offending member from the council, if found guilty after a public hearing, and thereby create a vacancy in the place held by such member.

    None have reported and held her accountable when they all know and have know for a while. They are equally as guilty of misconduct.

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  3. I saw a presentation just last week the number of apartments will be 1483, not 1200

    CDH

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  4. If they knew about her special friendship at the time and did not ask her to recuse herself, that have a bigger problem than they already have. Disgusting.

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  5. That all presumes that this relationship even exists. All we have is rumor and innuendo and those are not reliable indicators. If this all turns out to be unfounded, then you bear some responsibility for spreading unfair and slanderous rumors of the worst kind.

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    1. Anon of March 31 1:42 PM

      How do you like those apples now ?

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    2. Well, it turned out to be true, and much much worse.

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  6. Anonymous @1:42, she told me directly they are very good personal friends and she frequently went with him to have meals. The is not slanderous or rumor.

    Voting on business before the council for a "very good personal friend" would qualify to me as a conflict of interest. I think she should have recused herself. Would that also make sense to you for that to be done?

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  7. not slanderous or rumor but scandalous! this should be fun to watch

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  8. There is not only definitive "proof" of an affair...there is also proof of "manipulation" of the council...fortunately the TRUTH will set the city of Richardson free...

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  9. I think it's a travesty. For her, for her family, for the residents of Richardson who deserve so much more. If we can't trust full accountability and transparency in how business is being done and be able to count on the process of how city government will work, what is left?

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  10. J.A., it is well past time for the people of Richardson to organize in numbers to address the problems. A bunch of individuals is much less effective than a group of citizens. With a group the efforts can be spread around and all of the work is not place on one person. This latest thing of going through the election and then resigning is just another ploy, scheme, manipulation of the citizens. If as many have said, she wants out, she should have gotten out before the election and let someone else step in an be elected by the people.

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  11. Salacious bilge. Stooping to the level of Nathan Morgan and his Richardson City News.

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  12. The rules of the game say one having a conflicting interest or competing loyalty is prohibited from even engaging in discussions with the other voting members. Clearly, if twinkle toes has engaged in relations of a personal nature with a city customer, she should have put something unofficial in her mouth to help stop promoting his business in her official capacity.

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  13. Cheezy Chuck is surely so steamed that he won't have to have plastic surgery (again) to remove the latest wrinkles pruning up. It is long overdue for people to know what sway lanky lord Eisemann holds over the community. Has he somehow co-opted so many of the civic operatives that KGB style intimidation tactics are souring society? Is he the one covertly coordinating secret investments and inside information plays by members of the inner circle? Is he the Swiss banker for this municipality?

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  14. There's a huge obstacle for the City Council to overcome if they think the Charter provision that prescribes filling a vacant Council seat translates into a license to fill a vacant Mayor's seat they way they did before they got pinched for violating the State law.

    The State law clearly mandates the Mayor is to be elected by the proletariat, not selected by the politicians. Even though they may get away with filling an empty Council seat, the designation of Mayor cannot be lawfully attached to their chosen one without a proper public election. The only language regarding filling the position of Mayor prescribes an election by the citizenry.

    Now, let's hide and watch. Will Laura retake her maiden name and stop sullying the Maczka family name? Will Eisemann quietly coerce her using personal secrets or attempt another Slagel-like petition of community leaders begging her to stay, or both? Has he held one of his infamous dressing down private threats to scare Laura into compliance?

    Methinks all of the above. The mystique of how public officials are both rewarded and controlled in this little town defies the imagination. We have witnessed enough instances to know someone very clever is orchestrating the public corruption among willing participants.

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  15. An Aggie does not lie. Ooops. Okay, ummmm...an Aggie does not cheat. Dang! Our mayor didn't learn the Aggie Code of Honor very well.

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    1. did she cheat on her husband, or just the voters that elected her? Do her kids know?

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  16. Can you hear the silence from Coalition on what she has done? Can you imagine what kind of noise they would be making if it wasn't one of their own that had done the same thing?

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  17. In your "Sites of Interest" there's a link to Richardson City News (cornews.net), and the article "Trading Partners". I can't figure out who owns/oversees the website, or who wrote the article. Is it entirely anonymous, where anyone can write anything, true or untrue? If that's the case I wonder why you provide the link? - Doug

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    1. Nathan Morgan runs it under the name "JBA Group". He's a former Richardson resident, now in San Antonio.

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  18. The greater issue is the rest of the Council knew months before this and did not question her or the city client. The can claim ignorance, but that private party the tax payers paid for in the Mayor's home the last Christmas removed all doubt. Developer was there. Husband was not. Lucy has some real splainin' to do!!!

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  19. And so with a giggle and a shrug she will just walk away from the mess she created. Leaving the other city council members to engage in a room-wide search for which of them will be The Coaltion's new favorite toy. Meanwhile, Richardson looks as organized as a junior-high lunchroom.

    Richardson has an astonishing bounty of resources: huge new office developments, DART line, 75 corridor, skads of high tech companies, UTD, a thriving multicultural community, the list goes on and on. Such a city, blessed with hardworking people and overflowing with an abundance of opportunity and resources, deserves better than a  small-minded, insular, cliqueish city government on the leash of a few unaccountable, self-dealing vampire octopuses who are sucking the life out of the community with their inept attempts to run the whole show without being held accountable.

    It seems clear now that the small club that fancies itself the puppet masters of Richardson city politics is in fact nothing more than a lonely, frightened old man desperately pulling at levers behind a curtain. Too bad one of the flying monkeys, falling from the sky, has pulled back the curtain to reveal the pathetic, incompetent reality of it all.

    Richardson citizens voted against professionalism and integrity and in favor of this junior-high level BS. All because the Grand Poo-Bahs of the city lied and smeared and bought their annointed candidate the mayor's office.

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    1. Excellent comment anonymous 10:37. You should have signed your name to a comment like that. Thanks.

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    2. This is me, Todd Jones, anon 10:37. Couldn't get logged in earlier.

      All I really want is a city government that is  commensurate with the outstanding citizens and amazing companies that call Richardson home.

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  20. Thank for the ID Todd. Really didn't mean you have to ID yourself, but with a comment like that, who wouldn't want to sign it.

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  21. Perhaps you missed my question, or I didn't explain well. Can you please respond to this: In your "Sites of Interest" there's a link to Richardson City News (cornews.net), and the article "Trading Partners". I can't figure out who owns/oversees the website, or who wrote the article. Is it entirely anonymous, where anyone can write anything, true or untrue? If that's the case I wonder why you provide the link?

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  22. Hi Anonymous 5:37. I didn't miss your question. Some of those sites on the left, I know who they are, and some I don't. I figure if they want to identify themselves, it is their option, much like you have the option to identify yourself here, or be anonymous. I don't really care who says what, but I do care what it said. Most of the anonymous posts, when posted, stay up on my site. Some are just way too bad to leave. Content is what is important.

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    1. Content sure. Questioning timelines, motives etc, great. But I think "Trading Partners" clearly crosses the line.

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    2. Anonymous 7:52. I see your point. I just read the article. I see how people can be offended. But there is no identifiable information on specifically what or who they are talking about or referencing. While I can read between the lines, all I can do is make a guess on that matter. While I am not an English major, I would guess that writing would be referred to as satire since it lacks specificity. It appears to be written in a cleaver manner. Points for creativity even if it may be found offensive to some. Hope that helps answer your question and bring a resolution to your points.

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  23. Divorce final and sealed, December, 2014; ex-husband paid 100K plus for his share of residence; $$$$$$$???spent on home renovation; Laura unemployed other than $50 per meeting honorarium: Laura knows, or should have known immediately post divorce she needed to "provide" for her family and how much time mayoral duties took. Still, late February, Laura files for re-election one and a half hours before filing deadline.

    Only on March 19,2015, does she file conflict of interest indicating employment with JB Realty Partners/Sooner Management then. Ostensibly, she should begin receiving compensation only from that date.

    So where did the money come from to payoff the ex spouse and pay for the home renovations? Does this look bad? Yes. Does it smell worse?
    Yes. To quiet the rampant suspicions swirling about this situation, Ms. Maszcka should make public the source of those funds-unless doing so would confirm those suspicions.

    And what about every one of her colleagues on the Council - some of whom claim they just became aware of her connection with developer Jordan when he was in attendance at Laura's side at the city Christmas party? Their response was typical of that group-they heard no evil, they saw no
    evil, and they are speaking no evil - in public, anyway. For such a close knit group, it seems implausible they were not aware of Ms. Maczka's longer term very personal relationship with Mr . Jordan, and did not question her about it. These individuals seem satisfied to indulge in and enjoy free outings, entertainment, food, and following management proposals with perfunctory or no questions before approval of said proposals. Integrity and the public interest as evidenced by their lack of action/inaction must rank too far down the list for them to consider.

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    1. Some say there is no record of the divorce. How does someone get a divorce sealed? What county? What Judge?

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    2. City of Richardson needs to be looking into all the leaders they have running this city. I know for a fact that every last one of them are liars, cheats , manipulators and spend the tax payers money in way they should all loose their jobs. Start looking into this.

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  24. Trace the home renovations to Jordan.

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    1. Danged if that wasn't one of the things that got them.

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