Adrian Murray Has Some Questions For Fort Worth's Next Mayor Jim Lane

The distinguished looking gentleman you are looking at in the picture is Adrian Murray.

Adrian Murray was in the most recent race to get elected to the Tarrant Regional Water District. Instead of electing Adrian Murray, the few people who voted chose to keep Jim Lane on the water board.

Jim Lane is currently running against Betsy Price, hoping to become the new mayor of Fort Worth.

Adrian Murray was supporting Cathy Hirt for mayor. When the voters chose not to support Cathy Hirt, Cathy Hirt threw her support to Jim Lane.

Most Cathy Hirt supporters became Jim Lane supporters.

But not the rebel known as Adrian Murray. Adrian Murray endorsed Betsy Price for mayor.

And then proceeded to have some interesting questions for Jim Lane, questions asked on Facebook...

Question for Jim Lane: In June 2010, Carl Bell, owner of the FW Cats was in default on his loans and teetering on the edge of bankruptcy and foreclosure when the Tarrant Regional Water District handed him $17.5 million for 41 acres of environmentally contaminated land around LaGrave Field, allegedly for the TRV "flood control project". Since Carl Bell is a friend of yours, how do you explain your vote on this?

Question for Jim Lane: The Tarrant Regional Water District has earned hundreds of millions of dollars in gas royalties that are shared with developers and lobbyists for the TRV but not with the people in the district. You say the law prohibits water districts from using royalties to offset property taxes or water rates. If you are for the people, why have you not fought to overturn this exemption?

Question for Jim Lane: Why is the Tarrant Regional Water District exempt from the state's Open Meetings law. If you're for the people why would you not champion open meetings so all the financial skullduggery happening with the TRV could be exposed?

If Jim Lane answers Adrian Murray's questions, I will let you know.....

Betsy Price & Jim Lane In A Race For Mayor In The Fort Worth Stockyards

One of Jim Lane's ex-girl friends sent me this picture of her ex in a horse race with Betsy Price at some location in the Fort Worth Stockyards.

It appears, in the picture, that Jim Lane has a slight lead over Betsy Price. I don't know if that is currently the case in their horse race to become Mike Moncrief's replacement as mayor of Fort Worth.

Betsy Price is the Fort Worth Ruling Oligarchy's choice to be mayor. Jim Lane is also a member of the FWRO. But not the chosen one.

In the May 14 election that eliminated the non-FWRO candidates, Betsy got 43.3% of the vote, while Jim got 26.3%. Together, Betsy and Jim got 69.6% of the vote.

In the last mayoral election Mike Moncrief won by getting 70% of the 6% of the votes of the voters who bothered to vote. In the May 14 election more than 10% of the voters bothered to vote. With the percentage of votes going to the FWRO candidates virtually at the same 70% level as when only 6% voted.

This would seem to negate the theory that the way to overturn the FWRO is to get people to vote. If there was a 50% turnout would the FWRO still get around 70% of the vote? It would be interesting to find out. But, sadly, it will never happen.

There are too many fun things to do on a Saturday in Fort Worth, competing with voting, like going wakeboarding on the world's premiere wakeboard lake, for example.

Even though he is a charter member of the Fort Worth Ruling Oligarchy, I'm voting for Jim Lane. I think he may make an amusingly goofy replacement for the amusingly goofy Mike Moncrief.

Jim Lane has a Facebook page for his mayoral campaign. I gleaned a few good comments that I will share below...

 Best quote of the day regarding supporting Jim Lane for Mayor:

"It's time to coalesce around a real leader for Fort Worth. Besides, Best Buy wants their logo back."

--Todd Hill, Democratic Activist

Fort Worth has taken the wrong path of leadership for years, it's time to "Get in the right Lane" besides; "The Price ain't Right"

---Joycia Sunshyne Johnson

I wish I lived in Fort Worth for this election. Betsy Price is a great lady, but there is nothing in her resume that qualifies her for mayor. Mayors have to think forward and VOTE ON MATTERS concerning: public safety, parks and recreation, setting property tax rates, street maintenance, water and sewer system maintenance, libraries, bond issues, employee salaries and benefits, long-range planning, attracting new businesses and on and on. So...Who talked Betsy Price into giving up a nice salary and why?

---Joe Forsythe

The gas drilling industry perhaps? Fort Worth needs a mayor that will regulate the excesses and public abuse caused by the gas drilling industry. I agree that Betsy Price is in no position to afford any protection or review of regulation to protect the Fort Worth public. I was looking to Cathy Hirt for that. I can only hope that Jim Lane is in a position to protect Fort Worth and it's residents should he be elected.

---Paul Philip Holt

____________________________________________________

A lot of people seem to be wondering why Betsy Price is willing to give up a job that pays over $100,000 a year for one that pays considerably less.

I have asked if maybe Betsy Price is independently wealthy so the change in income is meaningless. Or maybe she is married to someone who makes a lot of money, rendering the change in income meaningless.

Mayor Mike Moncrief made millions during his tenure as mayor from the gas companies poking holes all over his town. Maybe Betsy Price has figured out her own way of getting money from the gas drillers. I understand she is very good at handling large amounts of money.

When asked why she was running for mayor, Betsy Price said she was doing so because the Queen of the Fort Worth Ruling Oligarchy, Kay Granger, asked her to. Maybe Kay also promised to make up the income difference after Betsy's installation as mayor.

A Sunny May Sunday The Day After The Fort Worth Ruling Oligarchy Wins Again

The 15th day of May has dawned both sunny and Sunday. It is a chilly 50 degrees out in outdoor world. Same as yesterday's morning.

The chilly 50, yesterday, made the pool feel as if the water was heated. I suspect that will also be the case this morning.

Well. We have had part one of our election here in Fort Worth. Part two is on June 18.

I can not tell you how shocked I am that the Fort Worth Ruling Oligarchy's picks won.

Betsy Price got 43.3% of the vote. Jim Lane got 26.3%. Cathy Hirt trailed at 21.4%. While Dan Barrett trailed even further at 8.3%.

The number of registered voters voting was up from the 6% who voted to re-elect Fort Worth's current corrupt mayor, Mike Moncrief, with 70% of the vote.

This election a whopping 33,860 registered voters voted, out of a total of 326,623 registered Fort Worth voters.

I am really no good at all when it comes to math, but it appears to my rudimentary math skills that over 10% of Fort Worth's registered voters bothered to vote. A massive increase of 4% over the 6% who bothered to re-elect the aforementioned corrupt Mike Moncrief.

So, congratulations to Kay Granger's and the FWRO's pick for mayor, Betsy Price.

I guess I'll be voting for Jim Lane now. If I bother to vote. Which is sort of unlikely.

Up Before The Sun The Day After Mother's Day Thinking About Fort Worth Politics & The FW Light Rail Transit System

The Shadow of the Skinny Dipping Thin Man got up real early on this second Monday of May.

I talked not to a single mother yesterday on Mother's Day.

Actually, technically, the above sentence is not quite true because I did talk to Alex yesterday and Alex is a single mother. But that is a different meaning of 'single mother' than was intended in the second paragraph.

Don Young, via FW CAN DO, has endorsed Cathy Hirt to replace the corrupt regime of the current Fort Worth mayor, Mike Moncrief.

A couple days ago the Fort Worth Star-Telegram's Bud Kennedy did an easy assessment of the FW mayor's race, which goes sort of as follows.

If you think everything in Fort Worth is hunky dory then Betsy Price or Jim Lane are you choices, with Betsy leaning to the R side and Jim to the D's. If you think the Trinity River Vision is a boondoggle and that the Moncrief regime has been a corrupt nightmare for Fort Worth then Cathy Hirt and Dan Barrett are your choices, with Cathy leaning to the R side and Dan to the D's.

The 5th guy in the race, I can't remember his name, is irrelevant.

Speaking of FW. I read this morning that the regional light rail system and express bus service which was expected to expand light rail to FW by 2023, as part of the Sound Transit 2 package approved by voters in 2008, will not meet its expected timeline due to tax revenue being down due to the recession which began soon after voters approved the light rail expansion.

Oh, I'm sorry, I'm probably confusing locals by referring to FW getting light rail and the voters approving of the project. No, the FW I am talking about is Federal Way in Washington, not Fort Worth in Texas. Everyone knows that the citizens in Fort Worth are not allowed to vote on public works projects. Everyone also knows there is no regional transit plan in the D/FW Metroplex zone.

I need to go swimming now and cool off.

Fort Worth's Boss Hogg Jim Lane's Latest Mailing Where We Learn Of His Troubles With Breast Cancer, Brain Surgery, Reproductive Woes & A Kid In His Terrible Twos

Yet one more big advertisement from Fort Worth's Boss Hogg, also known as Jim Lane. Jim Lane is trying to replace Mike Moncrief as Fort Worth's mayor.

Jim Lane is a member of the Fort Worth Ruling Oligarchy. The FWRO has already announced its choice for mayor, making the announcement in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram via their Editorial Board mouthpiece.

The FWRO's chosen one is Betsy Price.

Why Jim Lane continues to spend what must be a small fortune on his huge, color, slick campaign ads is a mystery to me.

The most recent Jim Lane mailing is twice as big as the previous ones. It is one big piece of paper, folded in two.

When you unfold the mailing you see, on the front page, Jim Lane without his cowboy hat, wearing a white t-shirt with a lot of pink on it. There is also a picture of Jim Lane wearing his cowboy hat while staring at "The Moving Wall" replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall when it was in Tarrant County.

Under the picture of Jim Lane staring at the wall there is a letter from a soldier in Iraq.

The reason why Jim Lane is wearing a pink t-shirt has to do with Jim Lane and his wife, Janet's, support for a local breast cancer support group called "Andrew's Angels."

We learn one of the reasons Jim and Janet support a breast cancer support group when we flip the ad over to page 2.

Page 2 is a replica of an article from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram with the headline being "Surviving breast cancer and a dangerous brain operation, Janet and Jim Lane are excited for the future of their family and all families in Fort Worth."

In the article we learn that it was Janet, not Jim, who is a breast cancer survivor. While Jim had a dangerous brain operation.

We also learn that Jim and Janet got married 9 years ago. Since Jim is now 65 that would make him 56 when he married 40 year old Janet. I'm calculating Janet's age from info gleaned in a sub-headline in the Star-Telegram article that says "At age 46, Janet underwent a double mastectomy in September 2008."

Soon after they got married Jim and Janet tried everything they could think of to get in the family way. Years of hard work had Jim doing a lot of praying. A short paragraph on all this praying from the article...

"I started wartin' God," he said. "I prayed and prayed, morning, noon and night."

What in the world is wartin' I am wondering?

So, Janet had breast cancer, Jim then found out he had something called a Chiari malformation. This required brain surgery where the surgeon discovered Jim had the thickest skull he had ever operated on.

Jim and Janet's little boy, Jake, is only 2, which I guess we can extrapolate from that that after years of trying, cancer and a brain operation, Jim and Janet finally got pregnant.

That is sort of impressive.

Little Jake sounds real precocious. The article ends with the tale of Janet's keys going missing multiple times, with Jake finally confessing to being the culprit, saying, "I can't help it. I'm in my terrible twos."

What 2 year old knows of the concept of the terrible twos? I suppose at other times Jake excuses his bad behavior by saying, "I can't help it. I'm an only child."

Now, doesn't Jim Lane sound like he'd make a fun mayor for Fort Worth?

The Durango Texas Editorial Board Recommends Anyone But Betsy Price & Jim Lane For Mayor Of Fort Worth

In the picture you are looking at the backside of a mailing that was in my mailbox this morning from the Fort Worth mayoral campaign of Dan Barrett.

Dan Barrett says he want to change business as usual at city hall.

I don't know if by changing business as usual Barrett means he wants to end the Fort Worth Way.

What he specifically was referring to, in the mailing, was the business of the city closing Fort Worth's public pools to save the city $445,000 and then a couple months later the city proposed spending a million dollars to build a downtown Heliport for the convenience of incoming millionaires.

Meanwhile, speaking of the Fort Worth Way.

The Fort Worth Ruling Oligarchy has made it official, via their mouthpiece, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, that Betsy Price is the FWRO's pick to be the next mayor of Fort Worth.

In the article announcing the Star-Telegram Editorial Board's decision we are told that "Two candidates in this race stand out -- Betsy Price and Jim Lane -- and their different approaches to what will be the first item on the to-do list for the new mayor and council provide a clear distinction between the two."

Dan Barrett, Cathy Hirt and Nicholas Zebrun are mentioned, but not given serious consideration. Because all three represent a threat to the Fort Worth Way and the Fort Worth Ruling Oligarchy.

Now that the Fort Worth Ruling Oligarchy has made their pick official, there is very little time for the few people who vote, who are not part of the FWRO, to encourage Fort Worth voters to get off their lazy butts and stage a revolution in this town.

Methinks the Anti Fort Worth Ruling Oligarchy Group needs to pick between Cathy Hirt and Dan Barrett and then somehow cause a miracle to happen, with Betsy Price not being the next mayor of this company run town.

I Think Jim Lane May Be Fort Worth's Best Hope For A New Goofy Mayor

For the second Saturday in a row I opened my mailbox to find a political campaign mailing from Jim Lane that is too big for my scanner, so I can only scan part of the political campaign mailing.

Jim Lane is one of the dozens of candidates hoping to replace Fort Worth's goofy mayor, Mike Moncrief.

After years of living under the goofy Moncrief regime I have grown to become a big fan of having a goofy mayor.

Of those running, near as I can tell, Jim Lane shows the best potential to give Fort Worth a new goofy mayor.

My scanner cut off the bottom of Jim Lane's latest ad.

At the bottom it says "A Mayor who will fight for all Fort Worth families!"

And then, under that inspiring slogan...

"It takes a fighter to know a fighter...that's why I'm supporting Jim for Mayor." Signed by "Paulie Ayala, Former Two-Time World Champion."

Now that explains why Jim Lane is in a goofy pugilist pose in the picture.

Since I blogged about last week's Jim Lane mailer I've learned I was erroneous in assuming Jim Lane is the Fort Worth Ruling Oligarchy's pick for mayor, thus guaranteeing him a win with 70% of the 6% of Fort Worth voters who bother to vote.

Apparently the Fort Worth Ruling Oligarchy's pick for mayor is Tarrant County tax assessor and collector, Betsy Price.

I have received nothing in the mail from Betsy Price. But if I remember right, she is following me on Twitter. That is slightly goofy, following me on Twitter.

But, I'd like to know both Betsy Price's and Jim Lane's positions on shooting guns in downtown Fort Worth, dyeing the Trinity River unnatural colors and rappelling down Fort Worth skyscrapers.

Just looking at pictures of him I get the idea Jim Lane has a high goofiness quotient. I have read that he is quite amusing with an actual sense of humor. I don't think Fort Worth's current goofy mayor, Mike Moncrief has an actual sense of humor, but he makes up for that by being accidentally amusing, like when he rappelled upside down a Fort Worth skyscraper.

Jim Lane Will Closely Monitor Barnett Shale Drilling Because He Will Be A Mayor For All Fort Worth Families

Yesterday in my mailbox I found a 13 x 11 inch Political Advertisement that was too big for my scanner to completely scan.

The politician being advertised, in the Political Advertisement, is Jim Lane. He is running for Mayor of Fort Worth.

Near as I can tell the Fort Worth Ruling Oligarchy has picked Jim Lane as the successor to Fort Worth's current mayor, the goofy Mike Moncrief.

With Jim Lane being the FWRO's chosen one, I think it can be safely be predicted he will win the mayoralty with around 70% of the 6% of Fort Worth voters who will bother to vote.

Unless somehow the multiple candidates who do not have the backing of Fort Worth's Ruling Oligarchy manage to convince the 94% of Fort Worth's voters who don't vote, that it is in their interest to stage a voting revolt against the FW Ruling Oligarchy.

Jim Lane is all about being Mayor for all Fort Worth families. Even those who don't vote.

Jim’s 12 Point Platform for Fort Worth Families...

    * Have all citizen calls to City Hall returned within 24 hours
    * Improve/Expand City – School Partnership Programs
    * Balance City Budgets with NO tax increases
    * Reform City Employee Pension Plan
    * Protect neighborhood integrity from undesirable encroachments
    * Improve Citywide Traffic Flow & Bus/Light-rail Mobility
    * Promote Citizen Volunteerism (Youth, Families & Seniors)
    * Ensure responsive City departments & City services
    * Support Fort Worth Police and Citizens on Patrol programs
    * Support Fort Worth Fire Fighters and Emergency Medical Responders
    * Support strong Fort Worth economy and job opportunities
    * Closely monitor Barnett Shale drilling activity

Jim's 12 Point Platform is on the flip side of the Political Advertisement, along with a list of reasons Jim Lane is "A Leader You Trust", plus reasons Jim Lane is "A Friend You Know."

So, if you really want the Fort Worth Ruling Oligarchy to finally install a mayor who will "Closely monitor Barnett Shale drilling activity" Jim Lane is your man.

Fort Worth Democracy Now: Vote Out The Incumbent and the Ruling Junta

Tomorrow, Saturday, May 9, 2009, is the people of Fort Worth's best opportunity to overthrow Fort Worth's Ruling Junta and establish democratic rule.

As near as I can tell, and people tell me, the current political mood, among many in Fort Worth, is the most rebellious in Fort Worth history.

Thomas Jefferson once opined that it is good for a democracy to have a revolution every once in awhile.

It's time for Fort Worth's Revolution. More Fort Worth people are sick and tired, than ever before of being ruled by an oligarchy. Even if most of them don't know what an oligarchy is. They do know what a good ol' boy (and girl) network is. They do know what special interests are. They do know what doing business the "Fort Worth Way" means and they don't want to operate that way anymore.

Are those who want to revolt in the majority? I suspect so. Will those in the majority take control and revolt? I suspect not. Why not? I don't know. All you have to do is get yourself to a ballot box and vote against the Incumbent and the Ruling Junta.

Would you like to be able to go to a city council meeting to air a grievance and have more than 3 minutes to do so? Then vote out the Incumbent and the Ruling Junta.

Would you like to be able to go to a city council meeting and express yourself in any manner you choose, like you could if you lived in a free speech democracy? Then vote out the Incumbent and the Ruling Junta.

Would you like to have more say regarding things like Barnett Shale drilling? Then vote out the Incumbent and the Ruling Junta.

Would you like to have a corruption free, ethically clean city government? Then vote out the Incumbent and the Ruling Junta.

Would you like to vote on things like River Visions, Convention Center Hotels, Mercados, Santa Fe Rail Markets and other Ruling Junta type projects? Then vote out the Incumbent and the Ruling Junta.

Would you like to see Fort Worth become a vibrant, modern city that takes care of all its people, in all its neighborhoods? Then vote out the Incumbent and the Ruling Junta.

It is time for Fort Worth Democracy. Now.

Go Vote Tomorrow!