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Thursday, May 31, 2007

Tom Leppert supporters denounce party politics being brought into mayor’s race

by PegNews wire

Supporters of Tom Leppert denounced Ed Oakley and the Dallas County Democratic Party for bringing divisive party politics into the historically non-partisan Dallas Mayor’s race. The announcement was made today before a diverse group of Leppert supporters who gathered at the Tom Leppert Campaign Headquarters.

“Why is our opponent, Ed Oakley, choosing to divide Dallas when we’re on the brink of tremendous opportunity and growth,” said Adelfa Callejo. “Is that the only way Ed knows how to win – by driving apart our citizens, talking about North and South; black, white and brown; Democrat and Republican?”

According to a Dallas Morning News story that ran May 26, “The resolution backing Mr. Oakley was adopted by the party's executive committee at the urging of Shannon Bailey, a local precinct chairman and president of the Texas Stonewall Democrats, the state's largest gay and lesbian political group.”

The Dallas County Democratic Party did not interview either Oakley or Leppert before making its decision to endorse Oakley.

Prominent local Democrats, such as Jess Hay, a former Democratic National Committee Finance Chairman, also expressed concerns over the move.

“The beauty of the Dallas Mayor’s race is that it brings people representing a variety of political persuasions and backgrounds together on the same team, working to get the best person elected to lead our city,” said Hay. “The Dallas Mayor’s race historically has been devoid of partisan politics, and that’s the way it needs to stay. It’s what is best for Dallas.”

The Rev. Frederick Haynes, III, senior pastor of Friendship-West Baptist Church, believes Dallas needs a mayor who will unite and heal the divisions facing Dallas, not divide them further.

“We need a Mayor who will bring us together, not tear us apart,” said Dr. Haynes. “We need a Mayor who doesn’t look at people and label them by race, gender or religion; party affiliation; sexual orientation; or by what part of town they live in. We need a Mayor who will work toward common goals that benefit all our citizens.”

Dr. Haynes closed the news conference with a call-to-action asking Leppert’s supporters to “wake-up fellow voters and help them understand the importance of putting the right PERSON, not party into office.”

“We must say ‘NO’ to a divided city by saying ‘NO’ to Ed Oakley,” said Haynes. “We must make the right decision for all of Dallas … not just for one political party, or one group of people. We must elect Tom Leppert Mayor … a decision that impacts not only the next four years but the future of our great city.”

Today’s gathering drew citizens representing different political parties, various neighborhoods, numerous cultures, and an array of passions and professions. Among those attending included Roger Staubach; community activist Sharon Boyd; Hiawatha Williams, owner of Williams Chicken; Linda and Mitch Hart, Finance Co-Chairs of the Leppert campaign; Dr. Jiahuan Ding, M.D., Ph.D.; Hector Flores, former president of the national LULAC organization; Dallas business executive, John Scovell, Leonard Burhow, East Dallas community leader; Leslie Densmore, Democrat and White Rock Lake community leader; Frank Bracken, board member of Save Open Space; Bobby de la Cruz of the Service Employees International Union; Reverend Rickie Rush, senior pastor of Inspiring Body of Christ Church; Dallas City Councilmember-elect Dwayne Caraway; entrepreneur Katrina Keyes; community leaders Diana Flores and Rene Martinez; Dr. Jim Rodriguez, immediate past president of the Greater Dallas Hispanic Chamber of Commerce; Gerald Alley, Con-Real Construction; Marvin Gooch, president of the Black Contractors Association; Ron Pleasant of Lawrence Engineering; Marcus Shropshire of Merrill Lynch Realty; Michael Sorrell, interim president of Paul Quinn College; Vince Sudzie of Triune Construction; Linda Simmons of the Black Baptist Convention; and Eva Minor, South Dallas Homeowners Association.

Source: Tom Leppert Campaign

Staff
Verified User
Anonymous

Now THAT is a text-book case of hypocrisy.

Leppert is a rabid Republican. He and his party have ravaged our civil liberties, plundered our nations treasury and plunged our nation into an immoral war - all via their own partisanship.

NOW he wants us to ignore who he's been for so many years - and to attack the other guy for being too partisan.

What a jerk!

Sanders Kaufman Verified

2 years, 5 months ago
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Tom Leppert is a stand-up guy, who has a level of integrity that others could only wish for. Don't let the mayoral race get dragged into the partisan mud. Shame on Ed Oakley.

rgalford Anonymous

2 years, 5 months ago
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If you're going to vouch for the Republican candidate, I can certainly see why you would choose to remain anonymous. I wouldn't want my name to be on the list of his supporters either.

Tom Leppert was fined $26k by the city for illegally dumping construction debris on OTHER people's land.

Furthermore, Tom Leppert was forced to pay another $6,600,000.00 by the FEDERAL government for cheating the US Department of Justice on several contracts with them.

Leppert's company got those contracts in the first place because of its contacts within the Bush administration, and because of its close relationships with Tom Delay and Jack Abramoff.

Leppert defends himself by saying that the crimes happened before he became CEO of the company. However, that simply shows that when an organization is committing crimes like this - he's the kind of man they hire to lead the organization.

It's like if John Gotti were to have claimed to be an innocent man because his organization was a criminal one before he was tapped to lead it.

Notably, Leppert chose to settle out of court for the $6.6M, rather than go to trial - essentially buying the silence of the Republican led Department of Justice.

Electing Leppert as mayor would be like electing Tom Delay or Jack Abramoff or Scooter Libby.

Sanders Kaufman Verified

2 years, 5 months ago
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While all of that may be true or untrue, don't pretend that the Democratic Party is filled with angles from heaven. Both parties are guilty of many ills that you mentioned. One is really no better than the other.

Dylan Cave Verified

2 years, 5 months ago
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angles from heaven? Is that some sort of ancient Greek neo-Platonic or Pythagorean reference?

Seriously, Dallas has not had a decent mayor since Steve Bartlett and he is arguable.

J_Mortimer Anonymous

2 years, 5 months ago
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Listen to both of the candidates view of the position and make up your mind. Here's Leppert's.

http://dallasprogress.blogspot.com/20...

Michael Davis Verified

2 years, 5 months ago
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The democrats don't have to be "Angels from Heaven" in order to best the GOPers.

Sanders Kaufman Verified

2 years, 5 months ago
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I believe that they are both rotten to the core.

Dylan Cave Verified

2 years, 5 months ago
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Yeah - a lot of folks think that anyone with a D or an R is automatically corrupt... or that all lawyers are corrupt... or that all politicians are corrupt.

You'll eat the sausage, but you can't stomach watching in made.

Sanders Kaufman Verified

2 years, 5 months ago
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I don't eat sausage; I vote libertarian.

Dylan Cave Verified

2 years, 5 months ago
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Voting libertarian is a GREAT way to make sure you don't have a voice in government.

Sanders Kaufman Verified

2 years, 5 months ago
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I vote with my conscience.

Dylan Cave Verified

2 years, 5 months ago
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I vote with my intellect.

Sanders Kaufman Verified

2 years, 5 months ago
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Good, then we are both correct aren't we. At least we vote. Which is more than can be said about a disturbingly large portion population.

Dylan Cave Verified

2 years, 5 months ago
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I never really considered folks who vote Libertarian to be "voters".

I mean - it's kinda like pulling the lever for "Mickey Mouse".

Sanders Kaufman Verified

2 years, 5 months ago
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Wow...

Dylan Cave Verified

2 years, 5 months ago
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Sanders: "I vote with my intellect"

No, you don't vote: http://www.pegasusnews.com/r/129/9455/

(And don't blame the press for the fact that you can't or don't read.)

Much easier to make wildly uninformed arguments than to actually know something and do something.

And outside of judicial elections, party really means very little on the local level. Unless you're a blowhard who can't manage arguments that go beyond black/white and the same rote crap over and over and over and over and...