Mary Kelleher for Fort Worth City Council 5

Yesterday a Facebook notification showed up notifying me that something had changed...

A Page you follow, Elect Mary Kelleher, changed its name to Mary Kelleher for FW City Council 5

This was new news to me. I am assuming Mary Kelleher's current term on the Tarrant Regional Water District Board is coming to an end, and thus, now, Mary Kelleher is running to become a Fort Worth city councilwoman.

Ironically, well, maybe it is not ironic, more coincidental, but the same day I learned Mary is likely going to become a councilwoman, a Microsoft OneDrive Memory showed up which also reminded me of Mary Kelleher.

That is me you see above, on my way to D/FW International Airport, picking up an ostrich egg from Mary Kelleher's mailbox, on the way.

Switching from ostrich eggs back to the previous subject.

If my memory is serving me correctly, I first learned of Mary Kelleher, decades ago, via an article in Fort Worth Weekly, about Mary's issues regarding the Trinity River regularly flooding in her area of Fort Worth.

Prior to that, the entity who goes by the name Layla Caraway, who some know as Elsie Hotpepper, had been in the news---local, state and national, due to her home in Haltom City teetering precariously above a flooding creek.

Fort Worth's Congresswoman, Kay Granger, visited the site of Elsie Hotpepper's teetering home, causing Elsie to have some hope that maybe that local politician might be of some help. A hope history would prove to be erroneous.

This was all happening early on during the first decade of what has become an embarrassing Boondoggle, which has been Boondoggling along now for three decades, with little to show for what was purported to be a vitally needed flood control and economic development scheme.

The fact that no attention was being paid to actual vitally needed flood control, both in the flooding creeks in Haltom City, and the Trinity River in East Fort Worth, motivated both Elsie Hotpepper and Mary Kelleher to become what are known as political activists.

After reading about Mary's flood woes in that FW Weekly article, Elsie Hotpepper met with Mary, and convinced her to run for the TRWD Board.

I remember I was on a bike ride on the Trinity Trail when I got a call from Elsie Hotpepper, telling me about the meeting with Mary, and the hope Mary would run and win.

Mary did so, she ran and won. By a landslide.

I recollect my first time meeting Mary was when I went to vote at the Handley/Ederville polling location, where Mary was outside the polling location, greeting voters. I introduced myself.

It is sort of hard to believe this was such a long time ago, and, all these years later, the Trinity River Central City Uptown Panther Island District Vision has yet to come to any sort of useful visible fruition. That and nothing much has been done to mitigate flooding in Tarrant County areas actually prone to deadly, serious flooding.

If I remember correctly, and sometimes I do, the last time I saw Mary and Elsie, in person*, was back in early 2016. Mary took Elsie and me out to lunch at an Outback Steakhouse, I think that was the location. 

And then after lunch we drove to Mary's farm where I met a large collection of animals, including an ostrich, one of whose eggs ended up getting picked up by me out of Mary's mailbox, a few days later.

Methinks it will greatly benefit Fort Worth having Mary Kelleher on the city council. And then, eventually, Fort Worth Mayor. Or Kay Granger's position. As a congresswoman...

*I was erroneous regarding Outback Steakhouse being the last time I have seen Elsie Hotpepper. I forgot about a year before COVID struck, I pedaled my bike to Sikes Lake to meet up with Elsie at a Sikes Lake gazebo.

TRWD Board Violates Texas Open Meetings Law Again

Yesterday Elsie Hotpepper emailed me a link to an article in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram titled Did Tarrant water district directors violate open meetings law when they discussed manager?

This is a long article containing a lot of what seem like obfuscations trying to deny the obvious fact that Texas law regarding open meetings had been violated.

This is not the first time the TRWD Board has been accused of this type thing. Plotting shenanigans behind closed doors with the public and press shut out.

This current instance involves discussing the hiring of a manager to replace the controversial current TRWD general manager, Jim Oliver. 

The controversy stems from doing this before the newly elected TRWD Board member, Mary Kelleher, once again is sworn in as a board member.

The current TRWD board president, who Mary Kelleher defeated in the recent election, Jack Stevens, wants to make the selection of the new general manager before Mary comes on board.

Mary Kelleher tends to asks questions, which make those who like their shenanigans not to be questioned, a bit uncomfortable.

Now those living in parts of America where something like a water board is of no consequence, well, such is not the case in Fort Worth and Tarrant County.

Where water is gold.

Basically the situation is a 21st century version of the early 20th century California Water Wars.

For example, this line from the Wikipedia article about the California Water Wars could be applied to the Tarrant Region Water District (TRWD) Board...

The water rights were acquired through political fighting and, as described by one author, "chicanery, subterfuge ... and a strategy of lies".
 
In the California Water Wars it was the chicanery, subterfuge and lies involved in taking water from the Owens Valley which sparked the war. 

In the TRWD Water Wars it is the chicanery, subterfuge and lies involved in things like building a reservoir east of Dallas, in cooperation with Dallas, along with a pipeline, all costing a lot of money. We are talking a lot of money in the billions type of a lot of money. The deal struck with Dallas regarding this reservoir and pipeline and who gets the water and how and when they get it, is the core of that particular controversy.

And then there is the TRWD's Trinity River Vision Boondoggle, which has been limping along for most of this century, spending money with little to show for the spending. And what one can see are things like unfinished little freeway overpass type bridges, being built over dry land, to connect the Fort Worth mainland to an imaginary island, with that imaginary island made possible only if a cement lined ditch is ever dug under those little bridges, with Trinity River water diverted into the ditch.

A less expensive example of  TRWD TRV chicanery is an item such as the "work of art", at an almost million dollar cost, installed years ago at the center of a roundabout, installed years before that roundabout become functional. Why was money spent on this "work of art" which some have described as an homage to an aluminum trash can, and others as a giant cheese grater? Did the artist have a friend on the TRWD or TRV board who was helping this artist by directing this art project to its almost million dollar beneficiary? Why was there no design competition? Or some sort of open call for ideas of what to install at the center of that roundabout? And why was it installed years before the roundabout was serving its roundabout function?

Another example of this type TRWD chicanery was when the TRWD finagled to buy the property on which Lagrave Field was located. Board member, Jim Lane, railroaded this one, to help his financially beleaguered friend who owned the property. If I remember right something like $21 million was paid by the TRWD for this chunk of land. And then part of that chunk was turned into the world's first drive-in movie theater of the 21st century.

Chicanery, subterfuge and a strategy of lies, yes, that sort of sums of the modus operandi of the TRWD over the years I have watched it in action.

I suspect soon Mary Kelleher will be getting answers to those questions she was blocked from getting her first time around on the TRWD Board.

Maybe we will learn why J.D. Granger has not been fired. And how that homage to an aluminum trash can came to be. And how much has been spent on junkets and other nonsense by J.D. Granger and his merry band of grifting river floaters...

Way Back Machine To 2014 TRWD Mary Kelleher Censure Scandal Protest

Last night my phone chirped with a text message from an inquiring mind inquiring if I could find photos of the time the TRWD (Tarrant Region Water District) Board made a spectacle of itself censuring Mary Kelleher. This resulted in a near riot of protesters inside and outside the TRWD's palatial headquarters on the Trinity River.

To find the requested protest photos I went to this blog you are reading right now and entered "Mary Kelleher Protest" into the search tool.

This brought up multiple posts on the subject, with the latest one being from July 4, 2014, titled Mary Kelleher Has Had Enough Of The TRWD's Jim Oliver's Attempts To Bully, Intimidate And Harass Public Officials. You see part of that blog post screen capped at the top.

Jim Oliver was the Executive Dictator of the TRWD during Mary Kelleher's first term on the TRWD Board. As the title says, Jim Oliver acted like a bully, one with what is known as typical of Little Man Syndrome. Men with Little Man Syndrome are intimated by a woman like Mary Kelleher.

Jim Oliver will not be a problem for Mary Kelleher this time around serving on the TRWD Board.

The blog post with the protest photos was from the day Mary Kelleher was censured, April 29, 2014.

You can go to the A Packed Meeting Room With Protesters Outside Greets TRWD Board Mary Kelleher Censure Hearing post (screen capped above) and see an additional photo of this protest.

I was surprised to see this took place way back in 2014. It seems so recent, as in not way back seven years ago.

I do not remember why I did not go to this protest. I recollect there was a good reason at the time, but I forget what it was.

This time around I suspect if Mary Kelleher chooses to talk to the press about some frustration she is having over trying to obtain some TRWD documents she will not be censured by the other members of the TRWD Board...

Mary Kelleher Wins Back TRWD Board Seat

Above you are looking at Mary Kelleher, on the right. On the left is the D/FW legend known, by some, as Elsie Hotpepper.

It seems like a long time ago I was hiking in Fort Worth's Gateway Park when the infamous Elsie Hotpepper called me whilst she was being in thrilled and happy mode, due to having met with someone with serious Fort Worth flood issues who had agreed to run for a seat on the Tarrant Region Water District Board.

That someone was Mary Kelleher.

In that water board election Mary Kelleher won in a landslide, with what, at that point in time, was the most votes any water board candidate had ever received.

What followed was a tumultuous four years as Mary Kelleher tried to bring to light that which the TRWD had kept hidden in the dark, for years.

Mary Kelleher was frequently blocked in multiple ways. Denied an entry key to TRWD headquarters. Not allowed in the 'secret room' where the longtime board members met. Denied requested information.

Eventually Mary Kelleher was censured by the TRWD Board. A ridiculous attempt to shut her up which resulted in a big throng of protesters bringing shame to those who tried to intimidate Mary Kelleher into going along with the shenanigans she had vowed to put to a stop.

Things like the Trinity River Central City Uptown Panther Island District Vision, which had, even then, way back years ago, become an obviously idiotic, ineptly managed, slow motion boondoggle doing damage to the heart of Fort Worth.

Damage such as three simple little bridges being built over dry land, ever since 2014, causing traffic disruption, ruining businesses, stealing property by abusing the perfectly legal, if properly used, concept of eminent domain.

The Trinity River Vision was sold as a vitally needed flood control/economic development scheme.

Where there had been no flooding for well over half a century. With the economic benefit going to those who owned property in the area of the scheme.

And yet this vitally needed flood control scheme is actually so vitally un-needed that the project has limped along the length of this new century, with nothing done regarding the imaginary flood control problem.

While Mary Kelleher's east Fort Worth neighborhood regularly floods, due to Fort Worth's criminally inept urban planning. 

When Mary Kelleher ran for re-election, she lost, in what seemed to be an actual obvious fraudulent election. With that obviousness leading to a investigation by the state which resulted in a few low level perpetrators being held to account, but with the actual fraud perpetrators left untouched.

And now, another four years later. Or is it eight? Time flies so fast. Mary Kelleher is back on the TRWD Board. 

The next four years should be interesting for Fort Worth.

The times they are a'changing...

Talking To Elsie Hotpepper About Going To Hawaii With Mary Kelleher

My morning adventure for today was driving an elderly person to his various drug dealers so as to secure items like insulin and pain killers. Whilst waiting at the various drug dealing pharmacies I occupied my time by texting various people.

Such as Elsie Hotpepper. 

With a couple texters, including the Hotpepper, I made mention of thinking it would be a good idea to go to Hawaii, or some similar tropical location, once this COVID nightmare ends, and maybe rent a condo for a month, or some such thing.

Miss Elsie made mention of the fact that she is so busy with her various busy things that thinking about a tropical escape is beyond her current capability. 

Among the many busy things Elsie Hotpepper is busy doing is working hard to get Mary Kelleher elected to the Tarrant Region Water District board again.

Those not familiar with North Texas and Fort Worth politics likely think what's the big deal with being on a water board.

Well.

It is sort of like Los Angeles during the era where water was being fought over due to that liquid being such a needed commodity. This resulted in a lot of corruption in Los Angeles and surrounding areas back in the 1920s and 1930s. The movie Chinatown did a good job depicting this corruption.

So.

This water board which operates out of Fort Worth is a multi-billion dollar operation, supposedly only responsible for things like providing water and flood control.

The TRWD board is famously inept at the flood control aspect. Which is why Mary Kelleher wants to be back on the water board. Due to the fact that her East Fort Worth location regularly floods due to the inept urban planning for which Fort Worth is infamous.

While deadly property destroying floods wreak havoc in parts of Fort Worth, the TRWD has been focusing way too much attention (and money) on imaginary flood control in an area of the Trinity River which has not flooded in well over half a century.

The TRWD came up with an un-needed flood control scheme, which masked an inept economic development scheme, which, after over two decades of Boondoggling along, has managed to build one pitiful simple little bridge over dry land, along with two more un-completed bridges, built to one day possibly connect the Fort Worth mainland to an imaginary island.

It is this type bizarrely weird corruption which Mary Kelleher hopes to do something about by once again being on the TRWD board.

Times have greatly changed since Mary Kelleher's last bout on the TRWD board. For instance her longtime nemesis, Jim Oliver, will no longer be there, with one result being that Mary might finally get a key to the building and access to the secret part of the TRWD building which was denied her whilst she previously served.

If Mary Kelleher gets elected again, and if obfuscating obstructions are again deployed, I suspect there will be protests of a size which will dwarf the HUGE protest which erupted when the TRWD board had a meeting to censure Mary over some fool thing which turned the entire absurdity into an embarrassing circus.

I forgot to mention, that in addition to texting with Elsie Hotpepper today, when I returned to my computer I saw that Elsie Hotpepper had Facebooked the ringing endorsement of Mary Kelleher you see screen capped at the top.

I don't know if I have enough time to move back to Fort Worth so I can vote for Mary in May. Texas does not make voting easy...

Elsie Hotpepper Has Me Looking At Mary's Plight & Fort Worth's Blight

 

A couple nights ago a late in the day text message came in from Elsie Hotpepper telling me "You should blog about Mary's Plight".

The next morning I texted Elsie asking "How can I blog about Mary's Plight if I don't know what Mary's Plight is?"

To which the Hotpepper replied "Look at Mary's Facebook".

And so I did as the Hotpepper suggested, which is always the wise course to take whenever the Hotpepper suggests anything.

Well, turns out I already knew about Mary's Plight. But I was not aware of the current status of Mary's Plight.

Years ago Mary Kelleher's Plight first came to my notice when Fort Worth Weekly did a cover story about Mary's Plight. Which at that point in time the plight was flooding of her property caused by a mismanaged shale fracking site. The inability of Mary to get the city of Fort Worth to do anything about the fracking causing flooding eventually morphed into Mary winning election to the board of the Tarrant Regional Water District.

Once she was on board that board Mary soon found herself stonewalled as she attempted to get something done about the flooding. Soon it became apparent this was a hopeless cause, with the fact becoming clear that there was an institutional lack of concern about the damage being done by bad urban planning which resulted in serious flooding issues, often of the deadly sort.

But all that was years ago. Let's move to 2021 and the current status of Mary's Plight.

Well, Mary's Plight remains a flooding issue. And the city of Fort Worth's inept inattention to what is known as urban planning in modern towns in America. But, sensible things like intelligent urban planning is just not the Fort Worth Way of doing things. Prime example being the ultra embarrassing Trinity River Vision Boondoggle, which has been Fort Worth's Blight for most of this century.

Let's let Mary's own words describe her current plight. These words are from the Facebook post I was directed to by Elsie Hotpepper...

This is a photo of our farm after LGI Home Builders clear cut about 100 acres on the hill above us (outlined in black).  It goes underwater like this every time we get a hard rain.  We were underwater for more than a year!  Our neighbors’ properties suffered flooded acreage, workshops, barns, washed out driveways, and cracked floors and retaining walls.  We have filed a lawsuit against LGI and need financial help in paying for our legal fees.  LGI should be held responsible for their actions. Any amount will help us!  Thanks in advance!

The photo referred to is that which you see at the top.

A GoFundMe page has been set up to raise money to help Mary and her neighbors with the legal fees resulting from their lawsuit against the perpetrators of the damage to their property.

On that GoFundMe page you will find additional verbiage describing Mary and her neighbor's plight...

Have you ever had a bad neighbor?  A really bad neighbor?  We have one, LGI Homes.  We've tried to do what good neighbors should and expressed our concerns and issues directly.  We've incorporated the media, the city, and our government representatives in our efforts.  We have exhausted our options and run out of time.  At this juncture homebuilder LGI can continue their homebuilding practices without conscience for the neighborhoods and families that they impact.  We are going to hold them accountable. We are neighbors banding together in a  lawsuit against LGI Homes.

________________________

Over the years I have been asked a time or two why it is I have, a time or two, verbalized disdain regarding various issues I have eye witnessed in Fort Worth which I have found difficult to understand, appalling, embarrassing, downright stupid, or a combination of various elements of disdain.

But, it is an issue like Mary's Plight which is the Fort Worth type thing which appalls me the most. A well run modern American city would not allow a clear cut on a hill above an area already known to be flood prone. 

If a well run modern American city somehow made the mistake of allowing a damaging clear cut to take place, which then resulted in damage to citizen's property, that well run modern American city would be who initiates a lawsuit against the perpetrators of the damage, in behalf of the damaged citizens.

If Mary and her neighbors lived in a well run modern American city they would not have to hire a lawyer to help them recover from the damage, that well run modern American city would take up the cause in the damaged neighbor's behalf.

And thus, this is just one more example of why I have long said Fort Worth is a blighted backwards backwater pretending to be something it is not, in so many ways...

Fort Worth Star-Telegram Bizarre TRWD Board Endorsements

A couple days ago, when I first heard of it via Facebook, I thought someone was making a late April Fool's Day joke posting that the Fort Worth Star-Telegram had endorsed the incumbent octogenarian, Marty Leonard, along with C.B. Team, as their recommendation regarding how those few allowed to vote should vote to represent them on the Tarrant Regional Water District board.

Read the entire Endorsement: Leonard, Team, for TRWD board editorial to get the full ridiculous illogical nonsense spouted in this typically embarrassing bit of Star-Telegram propaganda.

The endorsement starts off by stating the obvious fact that water is important.

And then goes from that bit of obviousness to telling us why this election is important....

That’s just one big reason why the impending election for the Tarrant Regional Water District Board of Directors — early voting in the May 4 election starts Monday, April 22 — should command your attention. We’ll give you another reason — in fact, over one billion of them: the Central City/Panther Island project, a $1.17 billion flood control and economic development program overseen in large part by the water board.

Yes, this is true, America's Biggest Boondoggle, also known as the Trinity River Central City Uptown Panther Island District Vision, has been boondoggling along for most of this century, and that absurd boondoggle, brought upon Fort Worth by the TRWD board, should motivate sensible people to vote to replace those responsible, when given the opportunity to do so.

This boondoggle, when first first foisted on the not allowed to vote for it public, was touted as a vitally needed flood control project, and economic development scheme. This ill-conceived, ineptly implemented mess began near the start of this century, and is currently projected to possibly be completed sometime late in the next decade.

Yes. This is one "vitally needed" flood control project. To control floods where there has been no flooding in well over a half a century due to flood control levees already doing their job. Meanwhile multiple areas of Tarrant County regularly flood, as recently as today, due to irresponsible development, which was not required to properly mitigate the increased water run-off the development has caused.

I eye witnessed this development caused flooding yesterday on my once a month return to the Dallas/Fort Worth zone. I was heading south on 820, intending to exit to Randol Mill Road to check in on Mary Kelleher, but was unable to do so because Randol Mill Road was closed due to that aforementioned bad development caused flooding.

Now, let's take a look at why the Star-Telegram recommended re-electing Marty Leonard...

After interviewing and discussing each of the five candidates for the five-member board’s two available seats — you vote for two of the five — we recommend board veteran Marty Leonard and newcomer Charles “C.B.” Team.

Incumbency isn’t often thought of as a positive anymore, but the truth is that experience and knowledge have to count for something — especially when it comes to providing water to well over 2 million. In this regard, Marty Leonard is, frankly, a gem.

The 82-year-old businesswoman and daughter of the Leonard’s Department Store founder has been key plank of the TRWD board since 2006. Besides riding herd on the Central City flood control project, she has, for instance, been among those overseeing the $2 billion-plus Integrated Pipeline Project being built to eventually supply 200 million more gallons a day to TRWD customers and another 150 million gallons to Dallas.

You don’t learn how to do all this overnight.

Okay, well, I know Marty Leonard is a nice lady. Easy to get along with. I have been told this by person's with first hand experience with Marty Leonard. Those same people have also told me that Marty Leonard pretty much just goes along with what she is told to go along with, at the direction of the TRWD's un-elected boss, Jim Oliver.

Marty Leonard may also be a gem. But, she is not a gem at overseeing anything to do with what the TRWD is charged with overseeing.

The Star-Telegram is actually suggesting Marty Leonard has been riding herd on the TRWD's imaginary flood control project? If so, shouldn't the Star-Telegram be recommending instead that Marty Leonard be removed for being part of creating America's Biggest Boondoggle, and for the dawdling slow motion reality of this un-needed imaginary flood control project?

Marty Leonard has been a "key plank of the TRWD board"? What does that even mean? That integrated pipeline project is another problematic TRWD project, which has long been controversial.

Now, I have been told multiple instances of 82 year old Marty Leonard being charmingly doddery. My favorite is the time at a TRWD board meeting when Marty Leonard told her fellow board members she was walking the Trinity Trail and saw signs warning people not to eat the fish they caught. Marty Leonard asked why we would put up such signs. Unaware, apparently, of the polluted status of the Trinity River and its regularly elevated e.coli levels.

And then we have this ridiculous newspaper's endorsement of C.B. Tram.

Though a first-time candidate, Team, 36, has been attending TRWD meetings for three years and, as one board observer put it to us, is running for the right reasons and “doing his homework.” The son of a well-known ranch family, he teams a land-loving background with experience as a real estate broker — an exquisite combination for this board at this particular time. And despite his real estate background, he wants Panther Island to be a flood-control project first and foremost.

A real estate broker. Who the Star-Telegram tells us is running for the right reasons and who has done his homework via attending TRWD meetings for three years. And he comes from a well-known ranch family, which supposedly gives him a land loving background. And even so he wants the imaginary Panther Island to be a flood control project (where there has been no flooding for way over half a century) before considering anything else, like developing the real estate on the imaginary island.

The Star-Telegram opines Team has the needed experience. But does not endorse Mary Kelleher, who served a four year TRWD board term, and who the Star-Telegram endorsed the last time she ran.

And why did the Star-Telegram choose not to endorse incumbent Jim Lane? Or Gary Moates?

When the Star-Telegram interviewed Mary Kelleher she indicated she would advocate for the resignations of TRWD dictator boss, Jim Oliver, and TRVA executive director, J.D. Granger. And also advocated a thorough forensic audit of the entire Panther Island Boondoggle mess.

While Gary Moates told the Star-Telegram that he thought the ridiculously wasteful Trinity River Panther Island Vision installation on the ground floor of the Star-Telegram building should be removed.

Apparently the Star-Telegram does not think Mary Kelleher or Gary Moates have the "right reasons" to be running.

So, the Star-Telegram basically endorsed a pair of lackeys who will just go along with the incompetent mess which has been an ongoing Fort Worth eyesore for most of this century. With no current end in sight, and the only hope for a fix being booting those responsible...

Mary Kelleher & Gary Moates Must Win May 4 TRWD Board Election

Last night I listened to a town meeting sort of event where Tarrant Regional Water District board candidates, Mary Kelleher and Gary Moates, answered a few questions from citizens concerned about all the issues associated with the TRWD, including America's Biggest Boondoggle, also known as the Trinity River Central City Uptown Panther Island District Vision.

Many aspects of the TRWD's mismanagement were addressed, in addition to the central Trinity River Vision Boondoggle issue.

Listening to the candidates responses it seems clear that among the things they would like to see changed is the employment of TRWD General Manager, Jim Oliver, and TRVA Executive Director, J.D. Granger, with both needing to be removed for multiple reasons.

The TRWD incumbents up for re-election are once again Jim Lane and Marty Leonard. The last time a TRWD board election featured this pair the voting results were part of what brought about the supposedly biggest election fraud investigation in Texas state history.

The election fraud in that particular election seemed obvious for multiple reasons. Such as in the previous TRWD board election Mary Kelleher was elected with the then biggest vote total in TRWD election history. In the following election, if two opponents succeeded in booting Jim Lane and Marty Leonard, then Mary Kelleher would have had two allies on the TRWD board, and thus would no longer be thwarted in bringing about big changes, such as opening the books, transparency, and questioning issues of nepotism, such as the employment of J.D. Granger and relatives of Jim Oliver.

Hence, the TRWD insiders had multiple reasons to resort to any means available to insure they did not lose control of the TRWD board.

Hence, the alleged election fraud.

Now, it clearly sounds ridiculous to allege something like election fraud to explain losing an election. Usually those making such claims make absurd assertions, such as illegal aliens voted.

But, in the TRWD board election in question there were multiple red flags. Such as Lane and Leonard received more votes than Mary Kelleher did in the previous record breaking election.

Lane and Leonard needed to get more votes than Kelleher received, to insure that the challengers did not also get a Kelleher vote level, and thus win the election, booting Lane and Leonard.

That election, which re-elected Lane and Leonard the last time, also had a statistically absurd high level of absentee ballots, which was one of the triggers raising suspicion, in addition to the unlikely vote totals.

Nothing of substance came from that biggest election fraud investigation in Texas history. If I remember right one low level worker was charged with something.

Clearly multiple levels of Texas government had reason to not strongly pursue a fraudulent low level election, what with this happening in a Republican district under the sway of congresswoman Kay Granger, whose son, J.D., was installed in that TRVA Executive Director job for which it is now painfully, pitifully obvious he was not qualified.

And now, once again, Jim Lane and Marty Leonard are up for re-election. And this time, unlike the last time, they face strong opponents in Mary Kelleher and Gary Moates. And this time the stakes are even higher for Jim Oliver and J.D. Granger.

And J.D.'s mother.

If Jim Oliver loses control of the TRWD board there will be multiple consequences.

If whoever committed the election fraud previously, and who succeeded in doing so, why would they not attempt to do so again, what with the stakes being much higher?

May 4 is going to be an interesting day...

Attending Mary Kelleher Cooper's BBQ Shotgun Birthday Party Fundraiser Plan Thwarted

I was part way on my way to Fort Worth, heading to Cooper's BBQ, in the Fort Worth Stockyards, due north of Billy Bob's, when I learned via a text message that Elsie Hotpepper was going to be in attendance, and contagious.

So, with myself having an irrational fear of being exposed to germs and viruses which can cause coughing, congestion and headaches, I took the first opportunity to turn around and make my way back to a contagion free space.

I was looking forward to helping Mary Kelleher celebrate the latest anniversary of the day she turned 30, at her combo Birthday Party and Fundraiser.

I heard rumors there would be coconut cake. I like coconut cake. A lot.

I also was hoping to have the winning raffle ticket getting me a Mossberg 410-500 Pump Shotgun, including a box of shotgun shells. And a case to carry it all.

I was looking forward to mounting this on my pickup window. If I was able to get the appropriate licenses, permits and what not needed.

A lot of tickets have been sold to the Mary Kelleher Cooper's Old Time Pit Bar B Que Happy Birthday Party.

Cooper's is a large venue, with plenty of outdoor space for the crowd to spill into, what with the outer world heated to an extremely pleasant temperature, sort of a Mother Nature birthday present for Miss Mary after the recent bout of unseasonable chilliness...

Toast & Jam With Mary Kelleher And A Fort Worth Prince

Now this is gonna be in the isn't that a strange coincidence category.

Earlier today I had reason to look for a long ago blog post from way back in 2014, looking for photo documentation of J.D. Granger with his children holding embarrassing, inappropriate signs.

I found that and then noticed two blog comments I had long forgotten, both mentioning someone named Jeff Prince.

I do not remember the incident, but, apparently I spoke to this Jeff Prince person. Following is one of the two comments mentioning Jeff Prince...

Bob has left a new comment on your post "Today We Learn How TRWD Nepotism Can Lead To Tacky Cheesy Signs":

The great Jeff Prince is a reader of your blog? Wow, he must really enjoy keeping up with your daily schedules and weather reports.

_______________

I read a comment like the one from Bob and wonder why Bob himself keeps up with my daily schedules and weather reports, since knowing such makes obvious Bob must regularly read this blog and thus able to make such an apropos comment.

Okay, avoiding the daily schedule and weather reports and back to the aforementioned coincidence.

So, a couple hours after reading the blog post and comments about Jeff Prince I get a new comment to a blog post from a couple days ago, also mentioning Jeff Prince...

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Huge No Moat Transparency Accountability Reward Re-Electing Mary Kelleher":

Mary Kelleher and Fort Worth Weekly's Jeff Prince singing Proud Mary for Prince's Toast & Jam piece. 

_________________

The above was seen via FW Weekly's Toast & Jam, which I assume must be a new feature which has arrived since I lost access to Fort Worth's closest thing to a real newspaper.

In the video you get a look at Mary Kelleher's farm. I had a look at Mary Kelleher's farm a few years ago. I ended up with an ostrich egg from the visit. I had no idea Miss Mary is so melodious til I listened to her duet with the legendary Jeff Prince.

Best duet chemistry since Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga...

Huge No Moat Transparency Accountability Reward Re-Electing Mary Kelleher

That which you see here arrived on my phone last night, sent by the Hotpepper Coalition of Concerned Citizens.

There was no text accompanying that which you see here, other than two of those emoticon things which I usually am unable to tell what is being emoted. As was the case in this case.

I am assuming what we see here is a political advertisement which arrived in the mailboxes of those few who are allowed to vote in a Tarrant Regional Water District board election.

Apparently there was a drawing to determine ballot placement, and Gary Moates came in last place, as in, as the advertisement advises us, at "THE BOTTOM OF THE TRWD BOARD CANDIDATES".

I do not know what to think of the line which says "JUST THINK OF "MOATS" AROUND PANTHER ISLAND AND GO TO THE BOTTOM..."

Moats in olden times were water barriers around castles, filled with disgustingly dirty water, thus providing a barrier against those who wanted to storm the castle.

So, in this instance are we being advised to think voting for this Moates guy will somehow affect the moat around the industrial wasteland known as Panther Island? That being an imaginary island which may one day have a cement lined ditch filled with polluted Trinity River water, and thus, surrounding that industrial wasteland with water.

I do not think any of those who built castles surrounded by a moat thought the moat turned their castle into an island.

So, is this Gary Moates guy in favor of continuing with that which has become America's Biggest Boondoggle, also known as the Trinity River Central City Uptown Panther Island District Vision? Or is he in favor of literally draining the moat and firing J.D. Granger?

And what has become of the biggest Texas investigation ever conducted into election fraud, triggered in part by the bizarre results the last time TRWD board members, Jim Lane and Marty Leonard, ran for re-election?

The recent revelations of Republican election fraud in a North Carolina district seemed to be from the same playbook as the Tarrant County election fraud allegations.

There is someone else on the May 4 TRWD board election ballot.

Mary Kelleher.

I saw this WANTED poster wanting Mary Kelleher this morning on Facebook.

The Mary Kelleher poster does not explicitly indicate if she is in favor of pulling the plug on America's Biggest Boondoggle, and firing J.D. Granger.

But, I think we can assume with the reference to "TRANSPARENCY" and "ACCOUNTABILITY" that neither the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle, or J.D. Granger could survive either transparency or accountability...

YouTubing Mary Kelleher Announcement Video

Last night a video showed up in my email. Nothing in the subject line. No message in the message area of the email. Just an attached video.

Due to a couple phone text messages earlier in the day I had reason to think this video might be showing up in my email. And that I might be converting this video into a YouTube video and then putting this video on a blog.

At that point in time I did not think that blog would be my blog, but this morning I figured why not put this YouTube video on my blog.

And so I did.

If you did not already know it, this video with the title of Mary Kelleher Announcement Video announces the fact that Mary Kelleher is in the running to take back her rightful seat on the Tarrant Region Water District Board.

Will Mary Kelleher win in a landslide like the first time she was elected to the TRWD Board?

This time current board members, Jim Lane and Marty Leonard, are also on the ballot. The last time Jim Lane and Marty Leonard got themselves re-elected the shady vote total results resulted in being part of the biggest election fraud investigation in Texas history.

Anyone have any clue what happened with that election fraud investigation? It sort of surprises me that Jim Lane and Marty Leonard are back on a TRWD Board election ballot.

But, such is just part of that which is known as The Fort Worth Way...

I won't be voting for Mary Kelleher this time. I also won't be voting for Jim Lane or Marty Leonard. Only voters living in a small slice of the area in which the Tarrant Region Water District operates are allowed to vote. This sort of odd version of gerrymandering may be yet one more subset of that notorious Fort Worth Way...

Fort Worth Business Press Up A Creek Regarding Mary Kelleher

Last night my phone received a perplexing text message from a message texter I will call "TEXTER".

The text message from TEXTER and followup text messages from ME.

TEXTER: I thought you said Mary Kelleher had filed to run for the TRWD water board again?

ME: Yes, that is correct, she filed on the first day it was possible to do so. Why are you asking me this?

TEXTER: Because I read a good article about Fort Worth's embarrassing boondoggle and it mentioned other people running, with no mention made of Mary running.

ME: Well, that makes no sense. Was this in the Star-Telegram? I think we have fairly well established that that make believe newspaper is not to be relied on.

TEXTER: No, I read this in an article in the Fort Worth Business Press.

ME: Really? That publication is the closest Fort Worth comes to having a real newspaper. Can you email me the link to this article?

TEXTER: Okay.

And by this morning TEXTER had emailed me the referenced link to Richard Connor: Up the creek and headed nowhere – Panther Island redux

Well, reading the article I first have to say, it is a good article detailing much of what is so wrong about what used to be the Trinity River Vision, til it morphed into being America's Biggest Boondoggle.

The article mentions that two men have filed to run in the May 4 election for a spot on the TRWD board. And the article mentions that the pair of current board members up for re-election, Marty Leonard and Jim Lane, have not yet filed.

But the article makes absolutely no mention of former TRWD board member, Mary Kelleher, having filed to run again.

However two comments to the article do point out this odd omission. I'll get to those comments later.

First let's look at the mention made of the two men who have filed, C.B. Team and Gary Moates.

Both Charles “C.B.” Team, vice-president and principal at the real estate company Ellis & Tinsley, and Attorney Gary M. Moates plan to run.

Fort Worth, as we all know, is a small/big city. And on the day he filed, there was Moates shopping at Central Market. He is energetic and full of ideas for change and he was more than willing to stop traffic at the checkout counter to talk about the river project and his hopes to alter the winding course it has taken.

I have yet to be told anything troubling about Gary Moates. I can not say the same for C.B. Team. We learned about the concerns about C.B. Team when we learned Deep Moat II Was Concerned CB Team Not Fit For TRWD Board.

This FWBP article also makes positive mention of the TRWD board's new members, elected in the last TRWD board election.

Candidates are filing to run for the water board, folks who have had enough and who know this problem can begin to be fixed by the voters in the May 4 election. The board has five members and two have emerged as leaders for good government, James Hill and Leah King. One more vote and a flood of change could happen, a virtual cascade of solid procedures and good management.

Til reading the above I had read nothing about James Hill and Leah King having any sort of good impact on the TRWD board. The pair certainly have made no news doing so, of the sort Mary Kelleher regularly made.

Now, let's look at some of  what this article has to say about that which has become America's Biggest Boondoggle. The first four paragraphs...

The folks responsible for running the Panther Island project – running it into the ground, some might say – are giving new meaning to that old saying about “being up the creek without a paddle.”

They don’t even have a boat.

Here we are nearly a month into 2019 and we’re still dogged by a story that was not new but had mostly lain dormant until exploding into public awareness late last year: Panther Island, originally called and more commonly known as the Trinity River Vision project, has been horrendously mismanaged and is totally out of control.

A better name might be: Trinity River Lack of Vision.

I thought the above four paragraphs were almost poetic. Though I have to take some exception to the statement saying the story had mostly lain dormant til exploding last year. Seems like myself, and many others, have been pointing out the fact that the Trinity River Vision has been a failing mismanaged Boondoggle for years. And an ongoing embarrassment for Fort Worth, which keeps getting worse, as in more and more embarrassing.

And then this about the Boondoggle's three pitiful little bridges stuck being built in slow motion, over dry land...

The latest news is that construction of the project’s three infamous bridges over not troubled water but in fact no water has fallen further behind schedule. The earliest projected completion date for any of the bridges is late summer 2020. That would be the bridge on White Settlement Road. The nearby Henderson Street bridge won’t be finished before spring 2021, officials say, while the North Main Street leg of the waterless triumvirate is not expected to be ready for traffic until at least late winter 2021.

It is incomprehensible to me why this slow motion bridge building fiasco has not dealt the death blow to the entire embarrassing, mis-managed, corrupt Boondoggle

And then the following two paragraphs hit a particularly loud BINGO...

The Panther Island debacle is managed, or mismanaged, by the Trinity River Vision Authority, which is an offshoot of the Tarrant Regional Water District, the agency charged with overall responsibility for the plan when it was conceived decades ago as a flood control project. Since then, it has grown into a massive economic development undertaking that involves rerouting the Trinity River to create recreational and business activities along a San Antonio-like riverwalk with a newly created island as the centerpiece.

The water district’s board of directors, its general manager Jim Oliver and River Vision Authority executive director J.D. Granger have brought precious little expertise and efficiency to the project but they have managed to bury it in arrogance, obfuscation and even flat-out deception.

Well, nothing to add to what is being said in the above two paragraphs. Except maybe to say the above is the reason #FIRE JD stickers are appearing all over Fort Worth in various locations, including car bumpers and toilet seats.

The following two paragraphs contain an element we blogged about recently...

Water board elections historically draw low voter turnout, which tends to favor incumbents rather than challengers. The two seats up for election this time are currently held by longtime board members Jim Lane and Marty Leonard, who bought a full-page ad in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram Jan. 9 to “set the record straight” on Panther Island. The ad was self-serving palaver, a tedious rehash of official explanations and rationalizations for the mess the project has become.

A better tack would have been for Lane and Leonard to apologize for wasting taxpayer money, for being rubber stamps for errant policies and executive arrogance: “We apologize and will do better.”

That full page propaganda advertisement in the Star-Telegram was so absurdly self-serving we felt compelled to Set The Crooked TRWD Record Straight.

Unlike articles in the Star-Telegram, which rarely generate any comments, the Fort Worth Business Press regularly generates worthwhile comments worth reading, including the three below, two of which mention the error of not mentioning the fact that Mary Kelleher is running again for the TRWD board....

Clyde Picht Jan 18, 2019 4:45pm
We can be sure that Oliver's competence was questionable when he hired Granger for what was then a $435M project. He should have been fired by the board when he refused new board member, Mary Kelleher, access to the building and documents she had every right to. Granger on the other hand probably wasn't much of a lawyer if he thought he could walk into a job for which he should have known he was unqualified and unprepared to accept. Well what the heck, it's all taxpayers' money so who's going to complain?

johnmac70 Jan 19, 2019 3:27pm
Richard Conner, you forgot to mention in the article that Mary Kelleher has filed for candidacy on the TRWD. She will fight for accountability and transparency on a board that is famous for the opposite. The Panther Island project is in reality a developers project. Who will benefit the most from the project? Not not the citizens of Fort Worth but developers who will make millions on condos, multi use developments and townhomes. This project is a debacle and an embarrassment for FW!! Stop it now!

kafcampbell Jan 22, 2019 7:56am
I'm not a meteorologist or agronomist, but I do know what the weather is like. I'm baffled as to why the current flood control system, put in place after the 1949 Flood Disaster, is no longer viable. Have we had catastrophic flooding that the Trinity River project thingy is going to prevent? We've had the same weather for decades: hot summers, cold winters, rain that comes all at once, occasional catastrophic winter storms. Yes, Fort Worth has struggled with street and neighborhood flooding, including tragic loss of life. But this project thingy isn't slated to resolve any of those issues... Could it be because those other actually street and neighborhood flooding issues are in lower income parts of town? Hmmm. Exactly what civil engineering problem are we needing fixed? Those levees around the Panther Island thingy and 7th Street have been working marvelously. I drive over them every day and I've not seen a weather event in 30 years that even started to tax the system we set up decades ago and already paid for. Can someone dispute me? Also, put back White Settlement Road as a critical thoroughfare into and out of downtown.
___________________

I also noticed that this FWBP article used the verbiage "Up the Creek". That verbiage is quite close to the title of the award winning documentary, "Up a Creek".

Up a Creek documents that which turned one Tarrant County resident into a community activist working to get the local, state and federal governments to do the right thing regarding flooding issues in Tarrant County, rather than wasting resources on an ill-conceived, ineptly implemented pseudo public works project the public did not approve of via the voting method.

In the Up a Creek video you will meet that community activist, and others, such as Clyde Picht, he being the author of the first comment, above. Clyde Picht famously opines in the video that the Star-Telegram could put an end to the Trinity River Vision nonsense if it wanted to do the right thing. I may be slightly paraphrasing from memory regarding Mr. Picht's words.

I also show up in this documentary. But, blink and you will miss it. Elsie Hotpepper can also be seen, if you know where to look.

And here is part one of the Up a Creek documentary video...

Does Something In The Water Stupify Too Many Fort Worth Voters?

Way back last year, on October 18, I blogged about what was supposedly the biggest election fraud investigation in Texas history.

One of the instances of alleged election fraud was the allegedly fraudulent re-election of TRWD Board Directors, Jim Lane and Marty Leonard, beneficiaries of a statistically impossible number of absentee ballots.

Jim Lane and Marty Leonard are what are known as insiders, part of the Fort Worth Political Machine which runs Fort Worth in what is known as the Fort Worth Way.

Fort Worth's Political Machine is not well known, unlike other town's political machines, such as the Chicago Political Machine, the corrupt shenanigans of which sort of ebbs and flows. I do not know if currently a Daley family member is in charge of the Chicago Machine.

One of the all time most famous political machines was known as Tammany Hall. Tammany Hall, in its heyday, controlled New York, both the city and the state.

Another famous political machine was the one run by Huey Long in Louisiana.

I do not know who is the head of the Fort Worth Political Machine.

Is it Kay Granger?

Fort Worth's Political Machine is a rather low rent version of the genre, so Kay Granger being its Godmother would seem likely. One piece of evidence pointing to Kay Granger as the Fort Worth Machine's Godmother is when Betsy Price was asked why she was running to be Fort Worth's Mayor, Betsy infamously replied, "Because Kay asked me to..."

Another piece of evidence pointing to Kay Granger being the Fort Worth Political Machine's boss is she was able to finagle getting her son, J.D., the job of running a Fort Worth public works project for which he had zero qualifications.

J.D. was given that job with the quid pro quo being J.D.'s mom would then finagle federal money to funnel to J.D.'s public works project, known as the Trinity River Central City Uptown Panther Island District Vision, which, after many many years of J.D.'s inept mis-management, has evolved into being known as America's Biggest Boondoggle.

Currently stuck for well over a year trying to figure out how to build three simple bridges over dry land to connect Fort Worth's  mainland to an imaginary island.

The Fort Worth Political Machine came to mind today when I noticed a blog comment I had not noticed previously, and on which I had not hit the publish button til today. This comment was from someone with the odd lower case name of moncorpl....

moncorp1 has left a new comment on your post "Evidence Corrupt Tarrant County Political Machine Steals Elections":

Kelleher was no saint either. She was in the hip pocket of Marty Bennett of Dallas. 

Mary Kelleher is the former TRWD Board Director who beat the Fort Worth Political Machine, to become a TRWD Board Director two TRWD Board elections ago.

Mary Kelleher getting elected was a threatening anomaly the Fort Worth Political Machine could not let happen again, allowing some upstart to beat the Fort Worth Political Machine's chosen candidates.

And so, in the TRWD Board Election two years after Mary Kelleher's upset win, the Fort Worth Political Machine went into overdrive, spending a ridiculous amount of money spewing out a ridiculous volume of propaganda misinformation attacking the non Fort Worth Machine candidates, Craig Bickley and Miki Von Luckner, accusing the pair of upstarts of being  tools of an evil Dallas bogeyman who the Fort Worth Political Machine propagandized was trying to take control of Fort Worth's water.

Yes, I realize you reading this in other parts of America are thinking to yourself are Fort Worth voters actually this stupid that they would fall for such a ridiculous imaginary bogeyman ploy.

Well, the sad truth is they are that easily duped. That and not enough voters vote.

Or are allowed to vote in the TRWD Board Elections.

And the Fort Worth Political Machine will to go to absurdly extreme measures, in addition to propaganda lies, to insure their desired outcome, hence the biggest Election Fraud Investigation in Texas history, triggered by that aforementioned statistically impossible number of absentee ballots which re-elected Jim Lane and Marty Leonard.

Because Fort Worth is run by a corrupt Political Machine, in the ensuing two plus years since their bogus re-election there have been no demands that Jim Lane and Marty Leonard resign from their ill gotten TRWD board seats.

Because that is not the Fort Worth Way. That and until an intervening out of town political force intervenes, the Fort Worth Political Machine is in full corrupt control.

Back to that comment from moncorpl. Such a comment is indicative of the insidiousness of the Fort Worth Political Machine's manipulation of easily duped sheep. Moncorpl apparently bought into the propaganda that Mary Kelleher was a bad person, somehow under the control of that imaginary Dallas bogeyman out to steal Fort Worth's water, Monty Bennett.

Yes, moncorpl, it's Monty, not Marty. One would have thought the reams of propaganda spewed by the Fort Worth Political Machine would have correctly implanted Monty into moncorpl's memory.

In the most recent TRWD Board Election the Fort Worth Political Machine did not dare to use the same tactic which re-elected Jim Lane and Marty Leonard. In this most recent TRWD Board Election we saw a HUGE drop in the number of absentee ballots, yet there was still an inexplicable anomaly.

Moncorpl fell for the propaganda that Mary Kelleher was in Monty Bennett's hip pocket.

Mary Kelleher's campaign received, from Bennett, what amounted to a small pittance, compared to the thousands of dollars the Fort Worth Political Machine received from Dallas donors to pay for the propaganda which led to Mary Kelleher's defeat and the election of the Fort Worth Political Machine's candidates, Jack Stevens, James Hill and Leah King, giving the Fort Worth Machine total control of the TRWD Board.

I am always an optimist. I think the days of the Fort Worth Political Machine's corruption are near their end, that the Fort Worth Way will soon be going the way of Tammany Hall and Huey Long.

I am always an optimist. But I am also frequently disappointed....

Congrats Mary Kelleher For Four Years Of Being An Honest Fort Worth Public Servant

Always a class act, Mary Kelleher graciously thanks those who have supported her efforts these past four years for endeavoring to shine a bright light on shady darkness.

What you see here is a partial screen cap of Mary's message to her FB friends on Facebook.

One of those FB friends thanked Mary for making a difference in Crookedtown.

I had not heard Fort Worth referred to as Crookedtown before. The name fits.

I have read no suggestions that the results of this latest TRWD Board Election are fraudulent, which was quickly the case the previous TRWD Board Election, which saw Craig Bickley and Miki Von Luckner defeated by incumbents Jim Lane and Marty Leonard, whose vote totals broke TRWD election records, with a ridiculous number of absentee ballots.

With that ridiculous number of absentee ballots triggering the biggest election fraud investigation in Texas history.

While so far there have been no allegations of election fraud with this most recent TRWD Board Election, there have been plenty of allegations that Crookedtown's favored trio of candidates, picked by the Fort Worth insiders, were helped by a HUGE amount of money, much of which was donated by Dallas donors.

And, with all that money, Crookedtown's candidates paid for an unseemly smear campaign of mailers besmirching the character of Mary Kelleher and Andra Beatty.

With Fort Worth lacking a real newspaper of record, engaging in anything remotely resembling investigative journalism, the smear tactics by Crookedtown's candidates were not reported.

Fort Worth's sad excuse for a newspaper actually participated in the Crookedtown candidate's smear tactics by publishing an editorial hit piece supposedly written by word challenged retiring TRWD president Vic Henderson, attacking Mary Kelleher, with the hit piece full of distortions, smears and lies.

The Star-Telegram, not subscribing to a doctrine of fairness, refused to publish a reply to the Vic Henderson hit piece.

And now, just as I was typing the above sentence I got a text message telling me that in yesterday's election the TRWD's favored trio received approximately 6,000 fewer mail-in absentee ballot votes than the previous TRWD Board Election, where thousands of ill gotten absentee ballots were used to fraudulently re-elect Jim Lane and Marty Leonard.

Why has there been no demand from anyone insisting Jim Lane  and Marty Leonard resign from their fraudulently obtained TRWD Board positions?

It's all perplexing, and just one more thing which makes Crookedtown so pitiful in so many ways, and so crooked...

Corruption Crusader Asks If You Can Believe That Mike Moncrief Quote About James Hill

A few minutes ago that which you see here arrived at my location, sent by someone calling him or herself "Corruption Crusader".

The only text in the message said...

Can you believe that quote?

The only quote quoted on that which you see here is...

"Don't let a Dallas businessman control our water. Support James and the local water team!"

 -Rosie & Mike Moncrief

______________

The James referred to by Rosie & Mike is James Hill, he being one of the Favored Trio, along with Leah King and Jack Stevens, favored by the Oligarchy Gang which runs Fort Worth like a Medieval Fiefdom.

The Favored Trio are the three TRWD Board candidates, favored by the aforementioned Oligarchy Gang, in tomorrow's election, with the Oligarchy Gang helping the Favored Trio with thousands of dollars, many of which were donated by Dallas donors, which renders the Rosie & Mike quote ironically hypocritical.

Ironically hypocritical, what with all that money buying a massive propaganda campaign full of deceptions and lies, playing on irrational fears, much of which has targeted senior citizens.

There is no Dallas businessman trying to control Fort Worth water. There is a man who owns businesses in Fort Worth and Dallas who has helped with a relatively puny amount of money, the campaign of Mary Kelleher, the current TRWD Board Member who the Oligarchy Gang desperately wants off what they think of as "their" TRWD Board.

I have no way of knowing if this James Hill guy is a willing dupe, fully aware of the defamatory deceptions the Oligarchy Gang has been spewing regarding the imaginary Dallas bogeyman, or if this James Hill guy is just a naive, relatively young man, relatively clueless about the corruption he is now involved in.

Don't let the corrupt Oligarchy Gang win tomorrow. Vote for Mary Kelleher and Andra Beatty.

TRWD Slandering Corruption Enablers Ordered To Cease & Desist Defamatory Deceptions

In Fort Worth and parts of Tarrant County tomorrow is TRWD Board Election Day.

The previous TRWD Board Election Day resulted in a scandal which is still being played out. In that election Marty Leonard and Jim Lane were the beneficiaries of thousands of bogus absentee ballots enabling the stealing of the election from the actual winners, Craig Bickley and Miki Von Luckner.

That scandal has not caused the apparently shameless Marty Leonard and Jim Lane to resign in shame from the TRWD Board.

Using bogus absentee ballots is not available to the TRWD racketeers this election, due to that aforementioned scandal and it resulting in the biggest election fraud investigation in Texas history.

So, for this election the TRWD racketeers racked up huge sums of money, with much of the money coming from Dallas donors, then using that money to finance mailing multiple slanderous mailers attacking Mary Kelleher and Andra Beatty with lies and innuendo.

The TRWD's chosen trio has sent out multiple attack mailers spewing the lie that Mary Kelleher and Andra Beatty are bought and paid for stoolies for the evil Dallas billionaire bogeyman, Monty Bennett.

Andra Beatty fought back with the filing of a cease and desist order against former Fort Worth Mayor, Mike Moncrief's Out Water Our Future PAC, with Beatty asserting the PAC's mailer maliciously intended to defame.

Meanwhile Mary Kelleher sent out a mailer, one side of  which you see above, which lists some of the Dallas (and Colorado) donors donating to the TRWD's favored trio, James Hill, Leah King and Jack Stevens.

Mary Kelleher's campaign has received less than $10,000 from the imaginary Dallas bogeyman.

Looking at the above list of donors donating to James Hill, Leah King, Jack Stevens and their enabling PACs, can you believe the raw gall of these racketeers claiming Mary Kelleher is in cahoots with an evil Dallas businessman trying to wrest control of Fort Worth's water?

A higher than average turnout for early voting as water district race heats up article published yesterday in the Fort Worth Business Press is a must read for anyone who is confused by the slanderous mailers mailed by Hill, King, Stevens and their support PACs.

A few  paragraphs from the FWBP article...

This year’s race has been uncharacteristically peaceful as five candidates have campaigned to become the three top-vote getters in Saturday’s election. Running for the board are incumbents Mary Kelleher and Jack Stevens. Also running is banker James Hill, Realtor Andra Beatty and Leah King, chief development officer of United Way of Tarrant County. The three candidates with the largest vote totals will have seats on the board. Victor W. Henderson, president of the TRWD board who has been on the board since 1985, did not seek re-election.

But then a political action committee called Our Water, Our Future released campaign fliers supporting Stevens, King and Hill that charge their opponents, Kelleher and Beatty, of accepting campaign contributions from wealthy Dallas businessman Monty Bennett through MJB Operating L.P.

The PAC has sent out a several mailers that target Kelleher and Beatty as “puppet candidates” of Bennett.

One mailer states that Kelleher and Beatty have been helping “Bennett with his ongoing efforts to disrupt and take over control” of the local water supply.

Beatty, running as an independent candidate, responded with a legal filing of a cease and desist order against Our Water, Our Future, claiming that PAC’s mailers are false and defamatory. The order states that Beatty has “never met or spoken with Bennett.”

“Ms. Beatty’s campaign finance statements clearly indicates no donations by Mr. Bennett or any organization related to him,” the order states. “The mailer sent was maliciously intended to defame Ms. Beatty, and cause damage to her business reputation.”

The order also insists that the PAC, Stevens, King and Hill as well as political consultants Tim Reeves and Brian Epstein stop “making or publishing the false allegation that Ms. Beatty is associated with or influenced by Mr. Bennett.”

_______________

I believe I have mentioned a time or two that there really needs to be a Federal RICO Racketeering Investigation into the Corrupt Shenanigans known as The Fort Worth Way...

Woodard Posts Truth About TRWD President's Dallas Cover Up

Way back last month, on April 22, I blogged a blogging titled More Local Control Over Fort Worth Star-Telegram Hit Pieces in which I referenced a guest editorial in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram supposedly written by retiring TRWD Board President, Vic Henderson.

This Star-Telegram guest editorial was a hit piece of wanton propaganda attacking TRWD Board Member, Mary Kelleher.

As soon as I read the aforementioned hit piece I messaged someone who would know the answer to ask if someone was going to write a fact based counter-editorial to counterpoint Vic Henderson's shameful hit piece.

I was told that a counter-hit piece had been written and submitted to the Star-Telegram, with publication expected last Sunday. However, publication of the counter-hit piece did not happen. The Star-Telegram claimed the counter-hit piece could not be published because it had been written by Blake Woodard who happens to serve as the campaign treasurer for Mary Kelleher's re-election campaign.

Apparently, when it suits their biased interests, the Star-Telegram can pretend to have high minded journalistic ethics.

Somehow publishing a hit piece full of lies and innuendo, written by retiring TRWD Board President, Vic Henderson, is okey-dokey okay in the Star-Telegram's murky ethics world, but publishing an editorial counter-opinion  is not okey-dokey okay, when written by the campaign treasurer of a TRWD Board Incumbent.

Well, the Fort Worth Business Press has a different set of journalistic ethics than the Star-Telegram and yesterday published a lengthy opinion piece by Blake Woodard which spoke the truth to Vic Henderson's slander and lies.

Go to Water Board election: Blake Woodard's letter to voters to read Blake Woodard's "letter" in its entirety.

Following are a few choice paragraphs from the "letter"....

So if the other four TRWD directors are the ones helping Dallas tap into our lakes, why are Henderson and Moncrief telling us that re-electing Mary Kelleher will jeopardize control of Fort Worth’s water? Of course it’s a nonsensical statement, as Mary is but one of five directors. The other four still can win every vote 4-1. When the expensive mailers hit your mailbox, let logic guide your reading.

I think Henderson and Moncrief are telling you that Mary is a threat to Fort Worth water, because they can’t stand having an outsider in their exclusive club. Mary Kelleher is your candidate. She is our only sunlight on a shadowy government body with a long history of backroom, good-ol’ boy behavior. Let me be clear that I am not speaking of the dedicated TRWD employees who operate the lakes and pipelines and take care of the district’s daily business.

You may be familiar with some of the legendary TRWD management shenanigans, which are beyond the scope of this letter. The local media cannot keep an eye on these guys constantly. Mary Kelleher’s eyes are your eyes. Mary is you.

If we fail to re-elect Mary, we have lost our seat at the table of a Board whose other four directors all are recruited by the same people, funded by the same people, and influenced by the same people. The only way we can retain one seat at the table is if we vote in droves this TRWD election. The special interests will vote. Will you?

Shocking TRWD Board Election Campaign Finance Reports

Yesterday someone anonymously sent me seven documents documenting TRWD Board Election Candidate Campaign Finance Reports, along with the Finance Report for one of the multiple PACs funneling funds to three of the candidates.

The seventh document, which you see at the bottom left of the screen cap, documented the Specific-Purpose Committee Report regarding something called the Clean Water Committee.

The people on the Clean Water Committee are all the current board members of the TRWD, except for Mary Kelleher, plus candidates James Hill and Leah King, as if they had already been elected, which indicates, clearly, that Hill and King are the chosen candidates of the Fort Worth oligarchy which feels endangered by any usurpation  of their control of the TRWD Board, as evidenced by the amount of money raised and spent by the incumbent, Jack Stevens, and the chosen two, James Hill and Leah King.

Four years ago, in the previous TRWD Board Election, fearing losing control of the TRWD Board, ballot shenanigans took place to insure the re-election of Jim Lane and Marty Leonard. Shenanigans so obvious the result eventually triggered the biggest Election Fraud investigation in Texas history. An investigation which is ongoing.

And yet, in the four years since that fraudulent election, there has been no demand, from anyone in a position to demand such, that Jim Lane and Marty Leonard resign from their ill gotten board seats, with the actual winners, Craig Bickley and Miki Von Luckner, installed to their rightful TRWD Board positions.

With the ballot shenanigans option temporarily closed, for obvious reasons, the fear of losing control of the TRWD Board has brought the ruling oligarchy to a different tactic.

That tactic being a flood of money and amping up their misinformation propaganda scare tactics.

About that flood of money.

Let's look at the Finance Reports for James Hill, Leah King and Jack Stevens..

The Finance Report documents for Hill, King and Stevens include page after page after page detailing the sources of donations. Many people donate to all three, and also donate to Fort Worth's ex-mayor, Mike Moncrief's Our Water Our Future PAC, which itself makes a HUGE donation to all three. Many donate in the $50-100 range. Most donate way above that low range. The number $250 seems to be very popular.

The following make the same donation to each of the TRWD's favored trio...

Freese & Nichols PAC $2,500
AECOM PAC $1,500
HDR, Inc. PAC $1,000
Halff Associates PAC $250
Our Water Our Future PAC $20,000
Kay Granger Campaign Fund $2,700

What has been the total take of the TRWD's favored trio?

Leah King Total Political Contributions $34,915
James Hill Total Political Contributions $46,850
Jack Stevens Total Political Contributions $30,575

How about Mike Moncrief's Our Water Our Future PAC?
Total Political Contributions $152,245.00
Total Political Expenditures $71.858.15

In Sunday's Fort Worth Star-Telegram Bud Kennedy authored an opinion piece in which the political contributions of Andra Beatty and Mary Kelleher were mentioned, but not the contributions made to the TRWD's favored trio. Bud Kennedy appears to be acting as a shill for the TRWD's favored trio, as evidenced by what he had to say about the TRWD's unfavored duo...

Meanwhile, at the very bottom of the local election ballot in Fort Worth and five suburban cities, new campaign finance reports show that Tarrant Regional Water District critic Monty Bennett of Dallas is once again paying the way for contrarian Director Mary Kelleher’s board election campaign.

Bennett doesn’t want a $2 billion water pipeline to Lake Palestine dug across his East Texas ranch. He provided Kelleher $9,680 in mailers, but under the name “MJB Operating.”

She received one other donation, for $50.

Kelleher had said last month she expected Bennett’s help “but I don’t know how much.”

Challenger Andra Beatty of Fort Worth reported $5,201, all of it from Bedford Republican state Rep. Jonathan Stickland, a Tea Party and Freedom Caucus participant.

Former Mayor Mike Moncrief’s Our Water, Our Future PAC raised $152,245 from a long list of donors for incumbent Vice President Jack L. Stevens of Azle and challengers James Hill and Leah King of Fort Worth.

Sadly, TRWD doesn’t post those reports.

_______________

Oh,  I see, according to Bud Kennedy, sadly the TRWD doesn't post the reports of the TRWD's favored trio, and yet somehow someone anonymous was able to get those reports and send them to me. Unable to get the Finance Reports of the favored trio, but somehow Bud Kennedy was able to get the Campaign  Finance Reports of Mary Kelleher and Andra Beatty.

And, just like the last TRWD Board Election, the TRWD Board's propagandists are trotting out the bogus bogeyman myth to try to scare voters that a Dallas businessman is trying to take control of their water.

This brings to my mind the Army-McCarthy hearings where Joseph Welch famously said to Joe McCarthy, "Have you no sense of decency, sir? At long last, have you left no sense of decency?"

The Dallas bogeyman, Monty Bennett, is also a Fort Worth businessman, owning hotel properties in downtown Fort Worth. The TRWD propagandists always fail to mention that fact.

*I have been told by a reliable source that many of the large donors to Hill, King, Stevens, and the Moncrief PAC, are wealthy Dallas people with a stake in keeping the TRWD Board under insider control. But no mention is made by Bud Kennedy of all those Dallas bogeymen and bogeywomen.

To understand why the TRWD insiders fear losing control to outsiders, losing that which they think of as their Board, all one needs to do is look at the main donors.

Freese & Nichols, AECOM, Halff Associates and HDR, Inc. are engineering firms, some of which are used to winning no-bid contracts with the TRWD and its step-child the TRVA (Trinity River Vision Authority).

And then there is Kay Granger donating $2,700 to each of the TRWD's favored trio. If control of the TRWD Board is lost it is fairly obvious that Kay Granger's boy, J.D., will quickly lose the job of TRVA Executive Director, overseeing what has become America's Biggest Boondoggle.

If control of the TRWD Board is lost, soon to follow would likely be an investigation into what has gone wrong with the construction of the TRVA's three simple little bridges being built over dry land to connect the Fort Worth mainland to an imaginary island, exposing who is responsible for the bridge building foul up.

Like maybe one, or all, of those engineering firm's donating money to the chosen trio have been responsible for the bridge engineering debacle.

And then there is America's  Biggest Boondoggle, otherwise known as the Trinity River Central City Uptown Panther Island District Vision.

Many stand to lose if insider control of the TRWD Board is lost. All those insiders who stand to gain if the Trinity River Vision ever becomes anything anyone can see.

If insider control of the TRWD Board is lost there would soon be a reckoning regarding the entire Trinity River Vision Boondoggle. Likely many people would lose their cushy jobs for which they have been well paid, for so long, for doing so little, so badly.

And then there is the General Manager of the TRWD, Jim Oliver, and all his nepotistic hires. Should the insiders lose control of the TRWD Board I can guarantee Jim Oliver's employment would quickly be terminated. Along with all his relatives.

So, do you see how it is so many have a motivation to do just about anything to keep control of the TRWD  Board? Lie, steal, as in  steal elections, lie some more, cover up, spend a lot of money spewing a lot of propaganda lies.

And the saddest thing, to me, is it is highly likely the TRWD Board insiders are going to win again. The results are stacked in their favor.

Sad, perplexing, appalling and pitiful...

*UPDATE: An entity called the Dallas Citizens Council has donated $20,000 to the Mike Moncrief Out Water Our Future PAC...

ALSO:  And Now A Special Purpose TRWD Committee Report

PLUS: A Motherly Letter From Kay Granger About A TRWD Election