Tarrant Regional Water District Corruption: The Website

Yesterday, on Facebook, I was told, more than once, that I needed to like someone named Michele Von Luckner.

It was via one of the like messages that I could tell why I was being told to like Michele Von Luckner...

"Newly announced anti-establishment TRWD candidate! Please like her page. You'll want to meet this lady! Put her next to Mary Kelleher!"

I do not know Michele Von Luckner, but, since I always do what I am told to do, I hit the "like" button.

After I liked Michele Von Luckner I checked out her Facebook page where I found a link to a Tarrant Regional Water District Corruption website, part of which you see screencapped above.

Til yesterday I was unaware of the existence of a website dedicated to the blatant corruption of the TRWD.

The TRWD board election is fast upon us, this coming May. This time it is Jim Lane and Marty Leonard being the TRWD incumbents up for re-election.

The main corruption accusation, that I am aware of, regarding Jim Lane has to do with #4, that you see above, that being "Friends with Benefits".

Jim Lane engineered funneling millions of dollars to a bankrupt friend, with the TRWD paying top dollar for a chunk of land on which the world's first drive-in movie theater of the 21st century was built.

I don't know anything corrupt about Marty Leonard. She seems to me to be a nice lady who is on the TRWD board as some sort of hobby.

So, currently, as far as I know, we have two candidates hoping to replace Jim Lane and Marty Leonard, the aforementioned Michele Von Luckner and the not aforementioned Craig Bickley.

If the Luckner/Bickley tickets wins, joining Mary Kelleher, that would give the good guys a majority on the TRWD board.

A majority of good guys on the TRWD  board would likely have all sorts of interesting ramifications.

It will also be interesting to see what lengths the existing TRWD board will go to, this time, propaganda-wise, slick mailed campaign advertisements-wise, what with the existing TRWD board having a lot to lose should the good guys take over.

I can think of a TRWD associated person or two who would likely feel a bit uncertain about their job security should the Kelleher/Von Luckner/Bickley triumvirate triumph in May......

Rooting Out Tarrant Regional Water District Corruption Is A Right Wing/Left Wing Cooperative Operation

A few minutes ago whilst perusing Facebook I saw that the TRWD's #1 Board Member, Mary Kelleher, was liking something someone had posted on Facebook.

The posting intrigued me when it mentioned something "weird" was going on here, as in...

"There is something very weird going on here. Breitbart, Jonathan Strickland, Matt Krause and I all want to support TRWD board member Mary Kelleher. It is just a little beyond strange."

What could be weird and a little beyond strange, I could not help but wonder?

Well, it did not take long to figure out that that which was weird was the fact that people all across the political spectrum are getting fed up with the corruption of the Tarrant Regional Water District and its increasingly embarrassing Dunce Confederacy Production known at the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle.

The Facebook post linked to an article in the publication which calls itself Breitbart.

Now, I know there are those who think Breitbart is nearer the Tea Party/FOX side of the political spectrum than it is to those who are the opposite end of the spectrum, but that does not mean that Breitbart is wrong in all things.

Breitbart's ROOTING OUT CORRUPTION AT THE TARRANT REGIONAL WATER DISTRICT article by Lawrence Meyers rather succinctly sums up much of what is corrupt about the TRWD.

I particular liked seeing Breitbart use the "Trinity River Vision Boondoggle" nomenclature.

Below are the first three  paragraphs from ROOTING OUT CORRUPTION AT THE TARRANT REGIONAL WATER DISTRICT......

Two members of the Texas TEA Party Caucus, along with a Democratic colleague, demanded that the ethically-challenged Tarrant Regional Water District (TRWD) Board release public documents that a colleague has been after for a year. 

Rep. Jonathan Strickland (R-Bedford) and Rep. Matt Krause (R-Fort Worth) are living up to their Tea Party roots, utilizing a provision under state law that requires public agencies to turn over documents when requested by state legislators. 

The move comes in support of reform-minded Board Member, Mary Kelleher, who believes the documents contain potentially incriminating information regarding the TRWD’s alleged misuse of public funds, cronyism, and numerous other activities surrounding what is known as the “Trinity River Vision Boondoggle.”

Tarrant Regional Water District Management Practices Under Scrutiny

Among this morning's incoming email was an email from one of the Tarrant Regional Water District Board Directors.

No. It was not Jim Lane.

The email pointed me to an article on the Cedar Creek Lake website titled Tarrant Regional Water District management practices under scrutiny.

Four paragraphs from this article should motivate you to read the entire piece...

Gooden said he filed multiple open records requests for information, but TRWD's attorneys "stonewalled" him. "It really leads me to believe they are trying to hide something," he said. "We can't seem to get any answers."

Gooden said he took his concerns to Henderson County District Attorney R. Scott McKee. "It is my belief if he looks hard enough he will find some pretty interesting things."

Gooden said his concerns include allegations that TRWD provides massage therapists for all employees, owns a lake house on Cedar Creek Lake for the use of top managers and members of the board of directors, maintains deer leases for management's use and gives water to fracking operations.

Gooden said he is concerned that TRWD is pumping water out of Cedar Creek Lake to sell in order to divert money to a "slush fund."

I'd not heard the "massage therapists" allegation before. The Deer Lease and its Hunting Lodge, that I have heard of before.

How does the TRWD continue to get away with stonewalling open records requests? It would seem to me that that violation of the Freedom of Information Act, alone, should be enough of a red flag to cause law enforcement to do some heavy duty investigating of the TRWD's shenanigans.

The cliche which I think is appropriate here "where there is smoke there is fire...."

Is Fort Worth Really An Anonymous Boom Town?

Yesterday, after I blogged about yesterday's Tarrant Regional Water District Board meeting, specifically mentioning what I thought to be rather dubious remarks by the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle's Executive Director, J.D. Granger, I got a blog comment from someone calling him or herself Anonymous, which really gave me pause to wonder.

Do I have that "pause to wonder" cliche correct?

Or should it be "pause to think?"

I really am not all that big a fan of pausing to think. Pausing to wonder? Yes, I do like to do that.

Anyway, the comment from Anonymous caused me to  wonder if, unbeknownst to me, Fort Worth is actually a Boom Town....

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "At Today's TRWD Board Meeting We Learn Fort Worth Is The Envy Of Other Cities": 

Look at Fort Worth's growth over the last 12 years. Now look at where NCTCOG projects DFW's greatest growth to occur over the next 10 years.....Fort Worth (west and northwest to be more exact). The City of Fort Worth continues to grow and it has indeed been the envy of other City's regarding the rate of growth and the quality of developments that are being built and that are being planned. There are over 10,000 acres of land being planned for development in Fort Worth. A breath of new life continues to be breathed into our Downtown and inner city areas (Sundance plaza, Near South, Linwood, West 7th, Six Points, etc) Further, we continue to diversify our economy and draw good paying jobs to the area. Alliance area is booming, the Chisholm Parkway has opened vast areas for growth (and good growth at that!)

Why are you so down on Fort Worth? Per capita, our permitting numbers are unparalleled. Only Houston beats our single family starts, but that is a pure numbers to numbers comparison. 

Despite the opinion of Anonymous, I am not down on Fort Worth. I am down on hyping that which is not hypeworthy. I do not think it well serves the locals to pretend that Fort Worth is a paragon of any sort, when it is not.

You want to talk to me about all this "good growth"? With some of that "good growth" being a lot of single family housing starts?

Well, you are not going to talk to me about that without talking to me about the Homeless People City on Lancaster. How many years has it been now since Fort Worth sent a task force to progressive cities out west to learn how they successfully managed their Homeless People Problem?

How about the fact that Fort Worth is so ill-served by something as simple as sidewalks? I cringe every time I see a mom struggling to push a stroller on a dirt path beside an un-sidewalked Fort Worth street.

You want to talk to me about Fort Worth Growth? How about growing up to being a city which has modern facilities, such as restrooms and running water, in your public parks? Amenities which long ago became the norm in more developed, modern parts of America.

Regarding this comment from Anonymous, if I am understanding correctly, Fort Worth is the envy of the civilized world due to its unparalleled permitting numbers? With only Houston having more single family housing starts? And due to the quality of its developments? And due to over 10,000 acres of land being developed? And due to having vast areas for growth?

Where to start?

Does the phrase "URBAN SPRAWL" mean anything to anyone associated with thinking opening vast areas for growth is a really really good thing? Without proper planning? Infrastructure development? And, God forbid we think about public transit.

Quality of development? Really? Quality? Sundance Square Plaza is remarkable only due to the fact that after decades of calling its downtown zone Sundance Square, downtown Fort Worth finally has a square, where parking lots existed, previous to the square.

Most big cities in America do not have parking lots at the core of their downtown because that real estate is too valuable to use to park cars.

Downtown Fort Worth may be the most lifeless big city downtown in America. It certainly is the only downtown of a large American city with not one department store. Not one grocery store. And which is a ghost town on the busiest shopping day of the year, that being the day after Thanksgiving.

Are there any other American towns of Fort Worth's size without a direct public transit connection to its airport?

West 7th? You want to bring that up as an example of being an envy generator? West 7th is remarkable only when one compares it to how bad it was before the Montgomery Plaza renovation sparked a boom in that zone. But, was that boom well designed, well planned?

NO!

The drive through the West 7th zone is through a congested canyon. No setbacks, no wide sidewalks, limited parking. And it ain't pretty when a flood comes to town.

The idea is boggling, to me, that anyone local takes pride in the fact that the urban blight which surrounds downtown Fort Worth is now, after how long, finally being dealt with, albeit, to my eyes, incompetently, as in put on your Big City Pants, Fort Worth, and vote to tax yourselves to fund the public works projects which this town so direly needs, but which are being dealt with like a poor beggar looking for handouts.

Ma Granger, please give us some pork, we needs us some pork. We can't feed ourselves, Ma Granger. If we give your boy, J.D., a job, will you get us some pork, Ma Granger?

The envy of other cities in America? No. The above sentence is more accurate as to how other towns in America view the Fort Worth Way of growing....

At Today's TRWD Board Meeting We Learn Fort Worth Is The Envy Of Other Cities

I returned to my phone and computer after a bike tour of my neighborhood to learn that a meeting of the Tarrant Regional Water District Board was under way.

From TRWD Board Director Mary Kelleher, on Facebook---

"Headed to TRWD Board meeting. Please pray for the Board to do what's right for the people!!"

To which one of Mary's many friends said---

"Mary, I don't think prayer is going to help. An election? Maybe."

Then another of Mary's friends said---

"Mary is hammering them this morning. What Jim Oliver hired his sister in law? Man Jim didn't want to answer that question. Little defensive. Go Mary Go!"

Nepotism associated with the TRWD? I am as shocked as that cop was in Casablanca when he learned gambling took place at Rick's.

And then via text messages on my phone I learned some of what J.D. Granger was telling the TRWD Board.

(That is J.D. Granger in the photo above, used for illustrative purposes, with the photo taken at another meeting attended by Mr. Granger)

The two text message tidbits of interest are that J.D. Granger told the TRWD Board that "140,000 people had attended 39 Trinity River Vision Boondoggle Events."

And that "We are the envy of other cities."

140,000 people attended 39 events? That is almost 6,000 people per event.  Anyone out there see that many people at any of the Boondoggle's events? Anyone see that many people ever floating at one of the Boondoggle's Rockin'  the River Happy Hour Inner Tube Floats?

Did anyone at the TRWD Board meeting ask Mr. Granger by what mechanism the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle's vision had evolved into hosting music events, beer parties, inner tube floats and other goofy stuff which seems to have little to do with controlling floods?

"We are the envy of other cities?"

I thought we had retired this embarrassing "envy of" verbiage being associated with anything to do with Fort Worth due to the absolute ludicrousness of saying such a thing.

You in other towns, Haltom City, Richland Hills, Keller, Arlington, Hurst, Bedford, is there anything about Fort Worth that you envy?

Okay, those are Fort Worth suburbs, or surrounding towns.

If towns which see Fort Worth up close can see nothing to envy, how about other towns?

Dallas? Envy anything about Fort Worth? Jealous of the Fort Worth version of the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle?

Oklahoma City? Envy anything about Fort Worth?

Houston? Envy Fort Worth? Austin? San Antonio?

Chicago? New York City? New Orleans? Miami? Los Angeles? Portland? San Francisco? Seattle? Denver? Boston? Philadelphia? Phoenix? Atlanta?

Or even Albuquerque?

Do any of you in big cities in other states envy anything about Fort Worth? Do any of you reading this in other states even know anything about Fort Worth? Other than the town is in Texas and near Dallas?

What is wrong with people in Fort Worth, like J.D.  Granger, that they say things like "Fort Worth is the envy of other cities"? This seems so bizarre  to me. Who is being fooled by this type propaganda? And what is the point of spewing this type nonsense?

It is all very perplexing. As is the nepotism which hired J.D. Granger.....

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram's Unfair Untrue Irresponsible Editorial Attack On Mary Kelleher

I did not see until today a bizarre editorial in yesterday's Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

The bizarre editorial is titled Tarrant Regional Water District should appoint two members to their current positions but, despite the title the editorial is basically yet one more journalistically unethical, wrongheaded, irresponsible slap at Mary Kelleher.

A Star-Telegram reader named Aaron Harris pretty much hit the bull's eye with his comment regarding this bizarre editorial.

From the Aaron Harris comment's last paragraph I learned I am not alone in knowing Fort Worth has a serious problem due to its lack of a real daily newspaper covering local issues in a fair and unbiased  and responsible manner.

You can read the bizarre Fort Worth Star-Telegram editorial by clicking the link above. You can read the Aaron Harris comment in its entirety below....

Very well done on presenting one side, the incumbent board's side. Now let's address some of the things you fail to mention or disclose, and always will, because it doesn't fit your narrative:

First: You call Mary an obstructionist....last I checked one vote in 5 can not obstruct anything. But since you made the accusation. can the editorial board please name me ONE thing Mary has successfully obstructed during her year on the board? And how was she able to do so with only one vote? Words have meanings and I'll eagerly await simply ONE thing she has obstructed. 

Second: You state Kellerher has bombarded the district with open records request. Really? How many is bombarded? When did asking for information become a bad thing? You failed to mention that numerous State Representatives have also requested information from the board and so far have received NOTHING. I think not releasing information qualifies as obstructionist, that title should go to the remaining board, not Mary. 

Third: You state: "Their terms expired in May" but act like that is no big deal. The Texas Appellate court stated their terms expired. The law does not allow for an appointment of an EXPIRED term, only of an UN EXPIRED term. But let's not let the law get in the way. 

Fourth: Kellerher was censured...yes. She was censured cause she dares to vote differently from the rest who simply rubber stamp whatever comes before them. In their eyes having a differing opinion and vote is grounds for censure. Read the censure, that is what it boils down to. 

Fifth: You suggest that simply appointing Leonard and Lane would solve the "petty squabbles". You know what else would... disclosing the information Mary, 4 state reps and voters are asking for. It's not that hard. I also find it interesting that because Mary took money from a donor she can't possibly be thinking for herself, rather a tool of the donor. So I presume you make the same judgement of the others on the board right? Are they simply tools of the contractors who do business with the TRWD given that is where most of their donations come from? 

Lastly - this is exactly the kind of piece that leaves Ft Worth once again pondering when we might get a decent paper in this town. One that can look beyond its little downtown club and cover local issues fairly. This editorial is simply garbage.

Mary Kelleher Has Had Enough Of The TRWD's Jim Oliver's Attempts To Bully, Intimidate And Harass Public Officials

Photo from FW Weekly Static

On the left you are looking at Mary Kelleher, with a protest sign above her, with the message on the sign being "STOP HIDING DOCUMENTS."

I am assuming this photo was taken at the Tarrant Regional Water District board meeting at which Mary Kelleher's fellow board members censured her. If I remember right the censuring was for doing something totally outrageous like exercising her First Amendment right to free speech at a Fort Worth City Council meeting.

In this week's Fort Worth Weekly Static column titled "Water Disputes" we learn that Mary Kelleher has once again raised the wrath of TRWD Executive Director, Jim Oliver, because Mary had the raw gall to once again exercise her right to free speech by speaking to a group of journalists at the University of Texas in Arlington about her frustrations regarding her inability to be provided public TRWD documents she has requested to peruse.

That's right, Jim Oliver is denying one of the elected TRWD board members access to TRWD documents.

Oliver sent board members, TRWD staff and the TRWD's lawyers an email disputing what Mary Kelleher had to say in Arlington, along with bogus statistics alleging to show that the TRWD has adequately responded to document requests. Fort Worth Weekly did not agree with Oliver's claim. Nor did Mary Kelleher.

Is this all going to lead to another TRWD board meeting censuring Mary Kelleher?

How is it Mary Kelleher gets censured by the TRWD board, while no censuring takes place of a high ranking TRWD official caught flagrante delicto illicitly assignating with a subordinate? A big bad bit of bad boy behavior that is widely known.

How is it that a high ranking TRWD official has not been censured for loudly browbeating Mary Kelleher?

How is it that a high ranking TRWD official has not been censured for multiple acts of nepotism, putting multiple relatives on the TRWD payroll?

How is it that a high ranking TRWD official has not been censured for having little kids hold signs cheering for beer and going nuts for runner's butts?

Changing the subject slightly to something else I have noticed.

Is Fort Worth Weekly being, for want of a better word, censured for daring to be a real newspaper by reporting the TRWD's shady dealings?

I ask this because I have not seen any advertisements in Fort Worth Weekly this floating season for the Panther Island Pavilion Rockin' the River Happy Hour Inner Tube Floats. But, I have seen Rockin' the River ads in the Dallas Observer and DFW.com.........

Today We Learn How TRWD Nepotism Can Lead To Tacky Cheesy Signs

Yesterday morning I blogged This Morning I Learned J.D. Granger Is Promoting Little Kids Cheering For Beer & Going Nuts For Runner's Butts.

By late afternoon, yesterday, Jeff Prince, in Fort Worth Weekly's Blotch, also blogged about this subject in Trinity River Vision's J.D. Granger, Kids Hold Tacky Signs.

I did not know til learning so in FW Weekly that it was J.D. Granger's kids who were letting runners know they go nuts for runner's butts and cheer for beer.

Jeff Prince talked to the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle spokesman, Matt Oliver, from whom he learned the signs were not tacky, but instead were "cheesy".

Four paragraphs from the FW Weekly Blotch blog explaining how these "cheesy" signs came to be...

TRV spokesman Matt Oliver explained the backstory to Blotch: Oliver had learned back in February that the Cowtown Marathon route would pass Panther Island Pavilion, and so he made up signs for he and friends to hold as the runners passed.

He looked online at signs being held up at other marathons, chose some of the "cheesy" ones, and printed up a handful of signs, he said.

Granger and his two children (the boy and girl shown in the enlarged photo) arrived shortly before the runners approached, and they grabbed a few of the signs that weren't being used and held them without paying much attention what was written on them.

“At no point were his kids involved in the making of the signs,” Oliver said. “[Granger] and the kids were walking down there, and there were six or seven signs left over and they picked up some to cheer on the runners.”

Who suggested the Granger kids were involved in making these signs? Why is that straw man being knocked down by this Oliver guy?

Speaking of Matt Oliver. Does anyone know how many of the Tarrant Regional Water District's General Manager Jim Oliver's relatives are nepotistically employed by the TRWD?

So, Matt Oliver came up with these "cheesy" signs by going online to find the "cheesy" slogans?

Okay, let's try that. I Googled "marathon signs" and found none cheesy or tacky.

I then Googled "cheesy marathon signs" and found "Run Fast I Just Farted" "Run Like An Angry Kenyan" "Worst Parade Ever" "The Beer at the Finish Line Won't Drink Itself" and "Mortuary 1 Block Ahead: Look Alive".

So, Googling for "cheesy marathon signs" came up with some that are almost as bad as the ones Matt Oliver claims to have found online.

But, Googling for "tacky marathon signs" quickly came up with one which more closely matched the Matt Oliver "cheesy" taste level with "Nipple Chafing Turns Me On" plus I saw one which looked familiar, saying "I Go Nuts For Runner's Butts". And then I moused over that one to see that Google had already indexed the photo of J.D. Granger and his kids from the FW Weekly Blotch blog.

So, I can not help but wonder what search term Matt Oliver used to find the words he put on those signs.

Matt Oliver claims that J.D.'s kids picked up the signs they were holding with no one paying any attention to what was on the signs. Yeah, that seems believable.

There was an email in my inbox this morning from someone who had read the FW Weekly Blotch blog who reacted in much the same way I did to the TRVB spokesman's "cheesy" explanation regarding the controversial signs.....

The guy who is supposed to be their spokesperson (who happens to be related to The Jim Oliver) swiped the tackiest sign ideas he could find, from someone else. Did he come up with Clean Swimmin' Dirty Livin' all by himself? What do we pay him to steal the worst ideas ever?? AND the guy who is in charge of a billion dollars (that has yet to materialize) didn't read the signs. What else didn't he read? 

So, when is the Censure Hearing scheduled with the Tarrant Regional Water District Board regarding Matt Oliver's "cheesy" bad judgement?

The Tarrant Regional Water District's 2013 Annual Propaganda Report

I think it was a week ago I opened my mailbox to discover the eagerly anticipated Trinity River Vision Boondoggle's 2014 Spring Update.

And now, this Easter morning, I opened my mailbox to find the equally eagerly anticipated Tarrant Regional Water District Annual Report 2013.

Four months into 2014 and we're getting the eagerly anticipated TRWD 2013 Annual Report?

I eagerly anticipated that this particular report would be a bonanza of propaganda. The first paragraph let me know I would not be disappointed...

"Thank you for taking the time to read the 2013 TRWD Board Report. Our board and district staff have been working diligently over the last year to ensure the Water District's service area has ample water to sustain its rapid growth, strong levees and dams to protect us from devastating floods and excellent recreational facilities that promote a healthy, active lifestyle."

Reading through the entire propaganda piece I read nothing about what the TRWD Board has done to protect the people of Haltom City from that town's creeks when they go into devastating killer flash flood mode.

There is no mention in the TRWD Annual Report regarding the Board thwarting the efforts of fellow TRWD Board Member Mary Kelleher's attempts to examine TRWD records and documents.

I have long opined that I wish someone would examine the TRWD records and documents that cover the TRWD Board's decision to hire Fort Worth Congresswoman, Kay Granger's son, J.D., to be the Executive Director of the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle. J.D. went from being an assistant prosecutor to running a construction project, with his only qualification seeming to be that his mother is Kay Granger.

Yes, I now understand that nepotism is an accepted part of doing public business the Fort Worth Way, but it still sort of galls me.

Speaking of the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle, (and who isn't?) part of that boondoggle is taking down the levees that have kept a large part of the Central Fort Worth zone safe from floods for well over half a century. The levees were built to contain the Trinity River after a massive flood wreaked havoc in the early 1950s.

Currently three bridges are scheduled to be built over an unbuilt bypass channel through which future floods may flow, thus allowing the removal of the levees which have done the job assigned to them for decades.

In the page in the TRWD 2013 Annual Report about Flood Control, like I already said, there is no mention made of anything being done to mitigate the Haltom City flood threat, but almost half the Report's Flood Control page was taken up by that which you see below.

The text explaining the above photo says, "LaGrave Field in Fort Worth, after massive flooding tested the floodway levees in the 1950s."

Huh? And the point here is? What?

I am assuming this is a photo of the flood which resulted in the building of the massive levees one sees now by LaGrave Field.

So, really, what information is being imparted by including this photo and its accompanying text in this TRWD 2013 Annual Report?

Another page in the TRWD 2013 Annual Report is titled Reverse Litter.

You have likely already seen the billboards touting the TRWD's new anti-litter plan, those being those billboards asking people to make the pledge to pick up ten pieces of litter each Tuesday.

Yes, that sounds like a very effective anti-litter plan, likely to appeal to those who actually don't litter. A more effective anti-litter plan might be to induce the litterers to cease with their littering ways. I understand in some states one can get fined for driving down a road with a pickup full of litter with a trail of litter flying from ones truck bed.

How much did this slick, full color 12 page report cost the taxpayers to publish and mail, I can't help but wonder? Only about half the publication is actual propaganda verbiage, the other half  is photos and graphics.

How come no mention was made in the TRWD 2013 Annual Report regarding the lawsuit the TRWD lost whilst trying to get water from Oklahoma? That particular TRWD bit of business was a supreme bit of embarrassment in 2013. And yet no mention in the Annual Report.....

Mary Kelleher Takes Legal Action To Obtain TRWD Documents

This morning in the Star Telegraph (please note that is Star Telegraph, not Star-Telegram) blog I was surprised to learn that Tarrant Regional Water District Board member, Mary Kelleher, has still not been able to view TRWD documents which she requested access to soon after assuming office.

In the Star Telegraph blog post titled The records belong to THE PEOPLE, part of what we learn is...

Tarrant Regional Water District Board Member Mary Kelleher has begun legal action in her continuing effort to obtain documents detailing business operations at the agency.

Kelleher has filed a petition in district court in Tarrant County seeking to depose key TRWD officials and force them to turn over an extensive list of documents.

How can a public agency stonewall one of its board member's request to view agency documents?

I have no idea what documents Mary Kelleher is wanting to see.

I long ago opined that the TRWD Board documents that I would be curious to read would be the discussions with took place which lead to the hiring of an assistant Tarrant County district attorney named J.D. Granger to be Executive Director of the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle....

Anonymous Wondering If Kay Granger Loses Her Job Will Mama's Boy J.D. Lose His?

This morning someone named Anonymous commented on a blogging from yesterday.

The commenter asked what seemed to me to be an interesting question about Kay Granger and her boy, J.D....

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "A Texas Story About Wendy Davis For Governor Has Me slightly Optimistic": 

If the Great Republican Purge of 2014 comes to pass and Kay Granger loses her seat in Congress do you think mama's boy JD will be able to keep his job at the Trinity River Vision?

One really can not help but wonder if a Democrat replaces Kay Granger, in what many think will be the Great Republican Purge of 2014, will the Tarrant Regional Water District Board and the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle keep J.D. Granger in their employ as pseudo-project  director if his mama is no longer in a position to hopefully, some day, direct more federal dollars to the TRV Boondoggle?

One can not help but wonder what the current state of the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle might be if a qualified person had been hired as the Executive Director. Would we have seen happy hour inner tube floats in a polluted river? Would we have seen the world's premiere urban wakeboard park? Would we have seen the world's first drive-in movie theater of the 21st century? Would we see an ice rink?

I am currently reading A TRAGIC LEGACY: How a GOOD vs. EVIL Mentality Destroyed the Bush Presidency by Glenn Greenwald.

This morning a little blurb in that book struck me as applicable to the Tarrant Regional Water District Board and the TRV Boondoggle...

"As the American founders well understood, transparent government is critical for detecting errors, uncovering corruption, and ensuring accountability, while political leaders who operate in the dark, wielding vast powers with little oversight, virtually always conceal their mistakes and act to maximize their own interests rather than the country's."

Substitute "county's" for "country's" and the above paragraph could be talking about the TRWD and the TRVB.

If I remember right I have wondered previously if there is a record of the meetings that took place which resulted in J.D. Granger being offered the job of Executive Director of the TRV Boondoggle.

I also can not help but wonder, if there are no records of the meetings which took place which resulted in J.D. Granger being offered the job of Executive Director of the TRV Boondoggle, why are there no records?

What with that transparency in government ethic and the Texas Open Meetings concept.

Early on in Mary Kelleher's term as a new board member of the TRWD she requested access to some TRWD documents. This request was met with stonewalling of an extreme nature in the form of dictatorial dictates issued by TRWD employee Jim Oliver.

What is Jim Oliver trying to hide was my reaction to learning of his ham-handed censoring tactic.

Jim Oliver's roadblocking was soon made official by the other TRWD board members when they actually voted to not allow any member access to any documents unless all the board members agree to grant access.

Again, I wondered, what are these people trying to cover up?

Very perplexing.....

Shocking Revelations Regarding Rockin' The River Happy Hour Inner Tube Float Fecal Matter E.Coli Cancellations

Unbeknownst to many, a couple days ago, for the first time in history, a meeting of the formerly secretive operation known at the Tarrant Regional Water District Board was streamed live over the Internet for the viewing of those who use non-Apple products.

At this meeting the TRWD's newest board member, Mary Kelleher, suggested that it might be a good plan to spend some money studying how it might be possible to make the Trinity River a cleaner body of water suitable for recreational use, saying ,"Since we are inviting people to get in and tube in the river, shouldn't we make sure it's safe?"

Mary Kelleher buttressed her suggestion with the apparent fact that twice the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle's Rockin' the River Happy Hour Inner Tube Floats have had to be cancelled due to elevated E.Coli levels.

In other words, too much fecal matter in the water.

The General Manager of the TRWD, Jim Oliver, then said he was unaware of any fecal matter related floating closures.

This had Jim Oliver's TRWD Assistant Manager, Mr. Thomas, informing the TRWD Board and the public attending the meeting and those listening on the Internet, that elevated E.Coli levels had, in fact, necessitated the canceling of the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle's Rockin' the River Happy Hour Inner Tube Floats.

Now, what I am appalled by is the following....

How can it be that two of the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle's Rockin' the River Happy Hour Inner Tube Floats have been canceled due to the river being dangerously polluted with E.Coli without this being major news in any of what passes for Fort Worth's news sources?

Did the Fort Worth Weekly not know of the E.Coli caused Trinity River Vision Boondoggle's Rockin' the River Happy Hour Inner Tube Floats cancellations?

No one really expects the Fort Worth Star-Telegram to act like a real newspaper, but really, even though the Star-Telegram is not a real newspaper, is this not some sort of journalistic malpractice not to inform the locals that the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle's Rockin' the River Happy Hour Inner Tube Floats had to be canceled because too much fecal matter had been detected in the river?

Does this mean that on other days, when the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle's Rockin' the River Happy Hour Inner Tube Floats have been allowed to float, have the fecal matter levels been not quite high enough to present a public safety issue?

Should not the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle's Rockin' the River Happy Hour Inner Tube Floats floaters have the right to be informed, prior to getting in the Trinity River, what that day's E.Coli fecal matter levels are?

This is all very appalling and very perplexing for multiple reasons....

Captain Clean Wants You To Know Who Is Paying To Keep The Current TRWD Board Intact

Captain Clean is the most politically vocal 5 year old I have ever heard shout. Today Captain Clean was not happy about the following 6 paragraphs that appeared in today's Fort Worth Star-Telegram in an article titled Big money is pouring into the race for Tarrant Regional Water District board.

Mailings from water board members who are not running for office hinted that Bennett was contributing to Basham’s campaign, but Basham vehemently denied that, saying he is working with a PAC, HillCo Partners, and with a firm, K C Consulting in Austin.

“I am not getting anything from Monty Bennett. I went out and found a PAC that stood for open and honest government. I wasn’t going to run unless I had the means to go up against the powers that be,” Basham said.

Records show that Basham is getting donations primarily from two sources, both outside Tarrant County — HillCo and Bray.

Bray, the $100,000 contributor, owns the Barefoot Ranch, which is in the path of the Integrated Pipeline.

The incumbents are getting funds from various donors and lending money to their campaigns, records show.

Basham responds to the criticism about his out-of-county donations by pointing out that the incumbents have gotten out-of-state donations, as well as financial support from contractors with ties to the water district.

The Star-Telegram told you who some of Basham's donors are, but were not specific regarding the mountain of conflicts of interest type donations received by the TRWD Incumbents.

I received the following information about the TRWD donors yesterday....

WANT TO KNOW WHO IS PAYING FOR THE CURRENT TRWD BOARD MEMBERS TO STAY IN PLACE? HERE IS A LIST OF DONORS TO THEIR CAMPAIGNS FILED MAY 3,2013 AT THE 5PM DEADLINE .... SEE A PATTERN?

FREESE & NICHOLS PAC - FT WORTH - (DESIGN AND ENGINEERING CONTRACTOR WITH AWARDS FROM TRWD)

ROBERT SMITH - DALLAS - (PRINCIPAL - HALLIBURTON TECHNICAL SERVICES)

DANIEL BUHMAN - COPPELL - (CONTRACTOR WATER ENGINEER WITH CONTRACTS FOR IPL FROM TRWD/DWU)

JAMES J. PARRISH - ALLEN - (LAND SURVEYING / ENGINEERING FIRM CONTRACTS TRWD)

EDWARD MOTLEY - ARLINGTON - (VICE PRESIDENT - CH2M HILL / CONTRACTS WITH TRWD FOR WATER ENGINEERING)

GREGORY WELCH - MCKINNEY - (GEOGRAPHIC MANAGER - CH2M HILL / CONTRACTS WITH TRWD FOR WATER ENGINEERING)

BRINTON PAYNE - FT WORTH - (TRWD PAID REGISTERED LOBBYIST)

KATHY BEREK - FT WORTH - (DIRECTOR OF SPECIAL PROJECTS TRWD)

SHANNA CATE - FT WORTH - (PLANNING DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR TRINITY RIVER VISION)

MINDY ELLMER - FT WORTH - (REGISTERED LOBBYIST TRWD)

HOPPER SMITH - EDMOND OK - (PRINCIPAL - STRATEGIC ENERGY RESOURCES)

LOCKWOOD, ANDREWS, AND NEWMAN PAC - HOUSTON - (ENGINEERING CONTRACTOR)

CHARLIE GEREN - FT WORTH - (STATE REP)

WAYNE OWEN - FT WORTH - (PLANNING DIRECTOR TRWD)

HAYDN CUTLER - FT WORTH - (DEVELOPER AT MARINE CREEK & DOWNTOWN FTW)

JULIE WILSON - FT WORTH - (VICE PRESIDENT OF URBAN DEVELOPMENT CHESAPEAKE ENERGY FT WORTH)

DAVID YANKE - AUSTIN - (BRANCH MANAGER SAIC ENGINEERING / AWARDED IPL CONTRACT FROM TRWD)

CH2M PAC - DALLAS - (CONTRACTOR WITH AWARDS FROM TRWD)

CP&Y INC PAC - DALLAS - (DESIGN AND ENGINEERING FIRM)

HALFF ASSOCIATES PAC - RICHARDSON - (DESIGN AND ENGINEERING FIRM)

CDM SMITH PAC - HOUSTON - (DESIGN AND ENGINEERING CONTRACTOR WITH AWARDS FROM TRWD)

DONALD D'ADAM - AUSTIN - (ENGINEER ATKINS NORTH AMERICA - WATER ENGINEERING CONTRACTOR)

BRAD GORRONDONA - BURLESON - (OWNER GORRONDONA & ASSOCIATES - GEO TECH ENGINEERING)

THOMAS CAVER - AUSTIN - (OWNER CAVER & ASSOCIATES WATER RESOURCES CONSULTING)

TIMOTHY PETRUS - FT WORTH - (PRINCIPAL / MORNING STAR PARTNERS - OIL & GAS EXPLORATION)

KEVIN PATRICK - ASPEN CO - (ATTORNEY / WATERLAW PATRICK, MILLER, KROPF, & NOTO - WATER ATTORNEY)

DAVID PETTIT - FT WORTH - (PRINCIPAL / BENNET, BENNET, & PETTIT ARCHITECT AND PLANNERS)

MICHAEL BENNETT - FT WORTH - (PRINCIPAL / BENNET, BENNET, & PETTIT ARCHITECT AND PLANNERS)

BOOTH AHRENS WERKENTHIN - AUSTIN - (ENVIRONMENTAL LAW FIRM)

WILLIAM DILLON - PROSPER - (COO SR VP / BROWN & GAY ENGINEERS - CIVIL ENGINEERING - CONTRACTS AWARDED BY TRWD)

DORIAN FRENCH - DALLAS - (SR VP MAJOR PROJECTS / BROWN & GAY ENGINEERS - CIVIL ENGINEERING - CONTRACTS AWARDED BY TRWD)

CARL KROGNESS - FT WORTH (PROJECT MANAGER / BROWN & GAY ENGINEERS - CIVIL ENGINEERING - CONTRACTS AWARDED BY TRWD)

One of those on this list stuck out to me....

SHANNA CATE - FT WORTH - (PLANNING DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR TRINITY RIVER VISION)

Why would the Planning Director of the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle want to make a donation to help with the re-election of the TRWD Board Members? Job insurance for herself? Job insurance for a friend? Or a boyfriend? Did her boyfriend's mother tell her to make a donation?

And how much money did Shanna donate?

Hiking The Tandy Hills Thinking About A Stone Monument To A Pearls Clutching Fort Worth Dowager Heiress

Today was the first time I have been on the Tandy Hills in 3 weeks.

A lot more wildflowers were blooming this Saturday than 3 Saturdays ago. But, the wildflower display is being a bit paltry, this year, compared to previous years.

In addition to a lot more wildflowers the other thing I noticed today that was not there 3 weeks ago was the stone statue monument you see in the picture.

Is this stone statue a monument representing Marty Leonard?

Today whilst getting my daily dose of endorphin inducing aerobic stimulation and the improved mood that comes with the endorphins I found myself dwelling on the absurdity of the propaganda letter I got yesterday from the Fort Worth Dowager Heiress, Marty Leonard, she being on the Tarrant Regional Water District Board, a position, near as I can tell, she is qualified to hold only due to the fact that she was elected to the position.

And yet this self-entitled Dowager Heiress gives herself permission to judge who is qualified or un-qualified to get elected to her board.

I continue to be amazed that this woman had the bad judgement to put the following words in a letter mailed to the masses...

"We cannot risk having unqualified candidates elected to our Board."

Marty Leonard opines it is risky to have unqualified candidates elected to her Board?

While Marty Leonard thinks it is perfectly okay to risk appointing an unqualified person to run the billion dollar TRWD project known as the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle?

In her propaganda letter Marty Leonard character assassinates the three Incumbent Opponents, saying one is a bankrupt candidate, one is a deadbeat and another has a meager voting record.

Morally bankrupt hubris from a pearls clutching self-entitled Dowager Heiress.

If I was a candidate would Marty Leonard clutch her pearls and attempt to assassinate my character with the shocking news that 4 years ago a Fort Worth cop gave me a ticket because I was not wearing a seatbelt? While driving too slow?

Fort Worth's Grande Dames of Obfuscating Obtuseness Aggravate Me

Above you are looking at side one of the latest TRWD Opponents B-N-K Mailer. This mailer arrived in my mailbox yesterday, along with an inflammatory letter from TRWD Board Member, Marty Leonard, she being Fort Worth's favorite pearls clutching self-entitled dowager heiress.

I blogged  about my disdain for Marty Leonard's sleazy smear tactics in a blog post titled The TRWD Election Propaganda Spewings Of Self-Entitled Dowager Heiress Marty Leonard.

After Elsie Hotpepper read what I thought about Marty Leonard's sleazy smearing Elsie text messaged me "I'm going to go out on a limb here and say Marty Leonard pissed you off. LOL!!!."

As usual, Elsie Hotpepper is correct. I was extremely offput by Marty Leonard's letter, with its falsehoods,  propaganda, smears and shear gall.

Both Marty Leonard and her co-conspirator, Kay Granger, make allegations about negative and false propaganda, misinformation and flat out lies supposedly being mailed out by the B-N-K Opponents. Yet neither of these Grande Dames go to the bother of providing any facts to substantiate their allegations.

The latest B-N-K mailer, as you can read above, says "The Tarrant Regional Water District has been sued for more than 300 violations of Texas law for holding secret meetings."

That's a fact, you Grande Dames of Obfuscating Obtuseness. To say the Tarrant Regional Water District has been sued for more than 300 violations of Texas law for holding secret meetings is a fact, not propaganda, not misinformation, not a lie. It's a fact.

Facts are something I think maybe pearls clutching Grande Dames of Obfuscation are not very comfortable with.

On side two of the latest TRWD Opponents B-N-K  Mailer  Captain Clean boldly asserts that "ONLY YOU CAN HELP CAPTAIN CLEAN STOP THE CORRUPTION AND MISMANAGEMENT AT THE TRWD!"

What Captain Clean boldly asserts is yet one more fact that likely makes the Grande Dames of Obfuscation uncomfortable.

On Thursday, after finding a mailer from the TRWD Board Incumbents in my mailbox I wrote a post titled Betsy Price Should Think Twice Before Joining A Floundering Local Water Protection Team About To Get Flushed.

In that blog post I really did not do justice in my attempt to ridicule that part of the mailer where there is a list of 4 things the TARRANT REGIONAL WATER  DISTRICT PROVIDES. Below is that list...

1. A safe, reliable supply of water to meet the current and future needs of our families and businesses.
2. An extremely effective and extensive flood control system that protects our homes and property.
3. Extensive water conservation efforts that protect our environment and water supplies for future generations.
4. Wise and conservative stewardship of our tax dollars.

This morning on the Star-Telegraph, in a blog post titled Say it again, I saw that one of Fort Worth's wisest treasures, Don Woodard, has done justice, in the ridiculing department, regarding the TRWD Board Member Incumbent's list of 4 things the TRWD provides....

1. None of the incumbents had anything to do with building the lakes with which we draw our water: Lake Worth; Lake Bridgeport; Eagle Mountain; Richland-Chambers; Cedar Creek. Our fathers built them. The incumbents are engrossed in building a 33-acre Casino Lake for tourists.
2. Jim Wright, dating from the 1949 flood, is whom I give credit for our levees and flood control. The Star-Telegram reported June 12, 2005 that the Army Corps of Engineers had a plan to control any realistic flooding problem for $10 million.
3. Extensive water conservation efforts. The Lawn Whisperer. Is that it?
4. Wise and conservative stewardship of our tax dollars? Like the goofy billion dollar Trinity Uptown earmark boondoggle?

I will be glad when this election is over.

Don't forget to vote for Basham, Nold and Kelleher to Flush the TRWD.

The TRWD Election Propaganda Spewings Of Self-Entitled Dowager Heiress Marty Leonard

On the left you are looking at a letter I found in my mailbox this morning from Marty Leonard.

Marty Leonard is a Tarrant Regional Water District Board Member who is not up for election on May 11. The intent of Marty Leonard's letter is to ask her "Friends" to vote for 3 of her TRWD Board cohorts who are up for election.

Marty Leonard's letter contains the information that it is a "Political Advertisement Paid By Vic Henderson Campaign, Jack Stevens Campaign and Hal Sparks Campaign."

Marty Leonard's letter includes "some voter assistance cards with an endorsement from Mayor Betsy Price" so "You can take these cards with you into the polls."

On Marty Leonard's voter assistance cards it says "Politcal Advertisement Paid For By Clean Water Committee."

You can see a copy of Marty Leonard's voter assistance card below, which you can feel free to print to take with you to the polls to make sure you don't accidentally vote for any of these three whom Marty Leonard suggests you vote for.

I  found the section of Marty Leonard's propaganda letter that is highlighted in yellow, and copied below, to be particularly offensive...

Many of you have received in the mail several NEGATIVE and FALSE propaganda pieces from a group running for Tarrant Regional Water District under the banner of "B-N-K." First let me strongly recommend that you NOT vote for any of these candidates. Their gross distortion of the water board is being heavily funded (maybe as much as $200,000) by a controversial businessman from Dallas who is trying to block one of our critical water pipelines from crossing some land he owns in East Texas. His dubious slate of candidates includes a bankrupt candidate who doesn't even live in the TRWD district, another who is being sued by TRWD  for being a tax deadbeat, and another with a meager voting record.

Marty Leonard seems to fall into the Kay Granger mold of ironically spewing that which she accuses others of spewing, as in Marty Leonard's spewage of negative, false propaganda  in the above paragraph.

I believe the Dallas businessman to whom Marty Leonard refers may be Monty Bennett, he being the guy suing the TRWD Board for declaratory and injunctive relief concerning violations by the TRWD of the Texas Open Meetings Act. I blogged about this way back on March 19 in a post titled Is It Not About Time Someone Sues The Tarrant Regional Water District Over Texas Open Meetings Violations?

As for Marty Leonard characterizing the B-N-K opponents as being a dubious slate of candidates somehow working at the behest of this Dallas businessman, well, I already opined that Marty Leonard is spewing propaganda.

Reprehensible propaganda.

As for Marty Leonard's characterizations of the 3 candidates, with one being bankrupt, one being a deadbeat and one having a meager voting record.

A "meager voting record?" How scandalous.

John Basham is the candidate Marty Leonard refers to as bankrupt. From the B-N-K website regarding John Basham....

John Austin Basham is the founder, president, and senior meteorologist of Storm Spotter Live, a weather consulting and atmospheric data solutions company for the emergency management  energy, transportation, and education industries.

Shortly after September 11, 2001, Basham joined the Texas Army National Guard where he became trained as a combat medic. While on active duty, during a training mission, John received a serious and permanent injury to his spinal cord while carrying an injured soldier to safety. In spite of his injury, Basham continues to serve in the Texas Army National Guard as well as run and grow his company.

Timothy Nold is the candidate Marty Leonard refers to as a deadbeat. From the B-N-K website regarding Timothy Nold....

Timothy Nold is a professional land surveyor working primarily in land development, transportation, petroleum and infrastructure. He is the survey group manager for Shield Engineering Group in downtown Fort Worth. Nold is a volunteer and board chairman for a non-profit historic preservation organization. He is also working to restore his 1910 house in the historic Rock Island neighborhood located on the site of Gruenwald’s Pavilion, the Samuels Farm and the Terry Plantation, a debate and rally site visited by Sam Houston during his campaign for Governor in 1857.

Mary Kelleher is the candidate Marty Leonard refers to as having a meager voting record. From the B-N-K website regarding Mary Kelleher....

Mary Kelleher and her husband have farmed almost 200 acres of land on the east side of Fort Worth for 17 years; cutting and baling nearby hay fields, raising beef cattle, and raising various breeds of chickens and other fowl.  She has worked with troubled youth in Tarrant County for over two decades. 

Kelleher knows first-hand the consequences when our elected leaders abuse their power. She successfully battled the threat of eminent domain being used to confiscate her property, but unfortunately her well water is no longer drinkable and her farm has been subjected to unprecedented and devastating flooding.

I think Marty Leonard's morally bankrupt low blow directed at John Basham is a fairly good indicator of the quality of character Marty Leonard possesses. She being a self-entitled dowager heiress who has never had to worry about money due to daddy being a department store magnate.

Meanwhile, John Basham, an actual contributor to American society, was injured while serving his country, with the consequence, as happens to way too many who serve, of John Basham running into financial woes, whilst recovering from his injuries.

And Marty Leonard and her corrupt cohorts use this against this man?

This rather sickens me.

Marty Leonard should be ashamed of herself. If this woman had a fraction of an ounce of moral decency she would resign from the TRWD Board due to her wantonly displayed moral bankruptcy.

It further offends me that Marty Leonard has the raw gall to characterize these 3 good people as being unqualified to be elected to "Our Board."

"OUR BOARD?"

It's the People's Board you pearls clutching self-entitled dowager heiress, NOT "YOUR BOARD."

Reading the short bios of Basham, Nold and Kelleher, it seems to me they are more than qualified to look after the water interests of the citizens who live in the Tarrant Regional Water District.

And what exactly are Marty Leonard's qualifications to be on this Board? Other than being a self-entitled dowager heiress?

Below is Marty Leonard's Voter Assistance Card which you can take with you to the polls to remind yourself not to vote for any of the 3 candidates this self-entitled dowager heiress is recommending...

Congresswoman Kay Granger Ironically Claims TRWD Board Election Full Of Lies, Misinformation & Meritless Accusations

Yikes. The Tarrant Regional Water District Board Election keeps getting curiouser and curiouser.

This morning I blogged about an Anonymous TRWD Super Villain who was making what seemed to me to be unfounded criticisms of those opposing the TRWD incumbents.

And now I have received a letter, sent  by Congresswoman Kay Granger to her constituents, in which Kay Granger attacks those running against the TRWD incumbents.

Kay Granger is J.D. Granger's mom, with J.D. Granger being the unqualified guy nepotistically installed to run the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle Project, with many thinking J.D got this job so as to have his mom onboard with helping get federal money for the TRV Boondoggle.

In her letter Granger claims to have never seen a campaign with more misinformation and flat out lies as what she is seeing in the TRWD Board Election. Granger also claims the opponents have sent out mailer after mailer filled with meritless accusations.

And what would those meritless accusations, flat out lies and misinformation be, Congresswoman Granger?

Kay Granger can no more come up with facts to support her meritless attack than she can come up with credentials showing her son to be qualified to run a billion dollar public works project.

Regarding the letter from Kay Granger, if I was going to post this letter, I was asked to remove the Board member names, replacing them with "Incumbent" because "we don't want to give those bastards any more free ad space." Rather than alter Kay Granger's letter in that drastic a manner, I altered the names in a less drastic manner.

The next two paragraphs I believe were written by Adrian Murray, followed by the notorious letter from Fort Worth's Congresswoman, Kay Granger....

Somebody is not too happy about the way the Water Board election is shaping up. You'd think a Congresswoman would have more important things to do than worry about a local water district race, unless, of course, she has a vested interest in the outcome. You don't think......? Nah. Everything is on the up and up.

BTW, when she says, "The people who make up the board are just the kind of people we want", take her at her word. They are exactly the kind of people they want: don't ask questions, do what you're told, don't make waves, do as we say.

Dear (Name Redacted),

I have been through elections from Fort Worth City Council, to Mayor to Congress from Fort Worth, but I have never seen a campaign with more misinformation and flat out lies than what I am seeing in the May 11 election for the Tarrant Regional Water District.

Friends, I know the people who run the Tarrant Regional Water District. I work with them. The people who make up the board are just the kind of people we want to make decisions about the precious commodity that is our water. The people who serve today are Marty Leonard, Jim Lane, Vic Henderson, Hal Sparks and Jack Stevens. They are active in the community and have a long history of meeting our water needs and managing our resources. Just last week they traveled to Washington to show support as a vital water issue went before the Supreme Court. The Tarrant Regional Water District is respected throughout our state and our region and has won many awards for their efficient and effective leadership year after year.

Three opponents to the incumbents up for election have sent out mailer after mailer filled with accusations that are completely without merit. None of these opponents have been involved in water issues, paid attention by attending board meetings or attempted to set forth their histories, positions or reasons you should elect them. All they have done is send negative attack mailers financed by a Dallas citizen with an axe to grind against our board. Our elected board follows the rules, does not seek publicity or use their positions for anything except making good decisions for us and our water.

This election will choose the top three vote getters. Three members of the board are up for re-election and early voting has already started. Please join me in voting for these fine public servants.

VIC HENDERSON
HAL SPARKS 
JACK STEVENS 

Sincerely,

Kay

TRWD Super Hero Captain Clean Attacked By Anonymous TRWD Super Villain

Last night the following blog post comment showed up....

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Why Is Captain Clean So Mad At The TRWD Board One Can Not Help But Wonder?": 

Claims made by Captain Clean are based on 10-15 year old data. They have also failed to provide their plan for solving water quantity/quality issues. I'm always leary of group campaigns. These guys are just not passing the smell test.

To what Captain Clean outdated data claims is this Anonymous Villain referring?

The Captain Clean campaign mailer to which the Anonymous Villain refers contains no informational data.

In this mailer the main thing that Captain Clean is mad about is the fact that the TRWD Board spent money on a helicopter to facilitate flying to a private deer hunting preserve.

Does the TRWD Board no longer have this luxury helicopter? Was it 10-15 years ago the TRWD whirlybirded to do some deer hunting?

In this mailer Captain Clean is also mad about how polluted the Trinity River is.

Regarding the polluted Trinity River Captain Clean has previously said, "WFAA News recently reported that four out of five testing sites along the river in Fort Worth had dangerously high levels of E.Coli bacteria (from fecal matter) present; well above what the E.P.A. recommends as acceptable."

The Anonymous Villain is "leary" of group campaigns? Since "leary" is not a word I'm not certain what point the Anonymous Villain thinks he or she is making.

The "group campaign is not passing the smell test?"

The "group campaign" is failing to provide a plan for solving water quantity/quality issues?

Perhaps the Anonymous Villain neglected to check out the BNK Flush the TRWD website, where the Anonymous Villain might learn something about the current TRWD Record, based on current reality, not reality from 10-15 years ago...

Complaint Filed With The Texas Ethics Commission Over TRWD's Misuse Of Public Funds

On Friday I blogged about what I thought to be an ethically corrupt use of taxpayer funds by the Tarrant Regional Water District Board in a post titled Taking A Corrupt Shot From Tarrant Regional Water District Board Incumbents.

The following day the corrupt use of taxpayer funds showed up in my mailbox and in a blog post titled I Found 10 Pages Of Tarrant Regional Water District Propaganda In My Mailbox This Morning.

A lot of voters in the Tarrant Regional Water District zone are in extreme umbrage mode over the TRWD Board's unethical antics.

Including Fort Worth's Adrian Murray.

Today Adrian Murray announced, on Facebook that he....

Filed complaint with the Texas Ethics Commission this morning over TRWD's misuse of public funds in printing and mailing a 10 page 4 color glossy brochure promoting the Board of Directors just days before early voting begins in the board election.  Three fifths of the board is up for reelection and this was clearly a campaign mailer and should be paid for by the incumbents, not the taxpayer.

Addendum: The complaint filed with the Texas Ethics Commission is against each TRWD Board Member, individually, as in a separate complaint against each of the 5 Board Members, Victor W. Henderson, Hal S. Sparks, Jack Stevens, Marty Leonard and Jim Lane.

Texas Ethics Commission? Is this some sort of oxymoron? Or is this a rare legit Texas commission that has not been co-opted by the foxes that the commission is supposed to keep out of the henhouse?

Wikipedia has a short article about the Texas Ethics Commission, consisting of the following 4 paragraphs...

The Texas Ethics Commission was established in 1991 to "provide guidance on various public ethics laws" within the state of Texas. The agency is headquartered on the 10th Floor of the Sam Houston State Office Building at 201 East 14th Street in Downtown Austin.

It was created by a state constitutional amendment voted on by the voters on November 5, 1991, Article III, Section 24a.

It consists of 8 members and legislators are excluded from serving. By the constitution, the ethics commission recommends the salaries of members of the Texas Legislature, the Lieutenant Governor and the Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives.

The legislature has also given the commission various other duties, including the filing of financial disclosure statements for government officials.

I can not help but wonder if the Fort Worth Star-Telegram is going to share with its dwindling number of readers the information that a complaint has been filed with the Texas Ethics Commission regarding alleged misuse of public funds by the TRWD Board.

Such an allegation seems totally newsworthy to me...

Why Is Captain Clean So Mad At The TRWD Board One Can Not Help But Wonder?

With this morning's check of my mailbox I found the score is now 3 to 1 in the Mailer War between the TRWD Incumbents and the BNK Candidates to replace the TRWD Incumbents, with the BNK Candidates having the 3 to 1 advantage in election mailer output.

The BNK Candidates' Mailers are clearly election campaign literature, while the TRWD Candidates' one and only election mailer was a deceptive piece of election propaganda disguised as a 2012 Tarrant Regional Water District Board Report.

I never thought to wonder, til now, why this was a 2012 Board Report when the year is 2013.

In the latest BNK election message we learn more about why Captain Clean is so mad at the TRWD Board.

For instance, Captain Clean is mad "Because they used our money to buy themselves a private deer hunting lease and a luxurious private helicopter."

You can read Captain Clean shouting above, in the front page of the mailer that "While water shortages and pollution threaten our quality of life the Tarrant Regional Water District is busy spending our money on selfish perks for themselves!"

As you can see below, Captain Clean continues his mad tirade on the other side of the mailer, insisting "It's time to clean out the pipes at the Tarrant Regional Water District."

And that "The Tarrant Regional Water District's selfish perks must come to an end!"

What is Captain Clean's solution to ending the TRWD madness???

Apparently Captain Clean thinks "We must stop the lavish lifestyle of the TRWD Board and focus on what really matters - WATER!"

To accomplish this Captain Clean suggests we "Vote for THREE new Board Members to the TRWD, Basham,  Nold and Kelleher.

You can learn more at the BNK Flush the TRWD website.

Early voting starts April 29, til May 7, with the election taking place Saturday, May 11.