West and Clear’s 2008 in review: People we’ll remember

by Steve Smith of West and Clear

Let’s face it — interesting has a lot of meanings. A good book can be interesting. So can a mysterious dish at an exotic restaurant. However you define it, interesting may not always mean something positive, but it usually means something memorable. Here are some figures from 2008 that were certainly memorable for Fort Worth.

1. Tommy Lee Jones

Oh, you know we had to go here. Tommy Lee has been scowling at us from billboards all year exhorting us to get behind the Barnett. I’m not sure he changed the way anyone feels about gas drilling, but it sure changed the way a lot of people feel about Tommy Lee. If you miss him, check out this Japanese commercial. There are some good ideas here if Chesapeake needs to ramp up operations on Hokkaido.

2. Bryan Eppstein

Right out of the gate last New Year’s Day, the Republican political consultant began throwing everything possible at the Wendy Davis campaign to get her disqualified from running against his client, Kim Brimer, in the District 10 State Senate race. In retrospect, running a lengthy series of court battles instead of a real campaign probably wasn’t the best strategy. However, Eppstein did gave us this little gem.

Wonder if Mayor Moncrief wishes he had a do-over on this?

3. Jerry Horton

We learned a lesson in Fort Worth about eminent domain this year — there’s not much you can do if a company wants to run a pipeline across your yard or tear down your house. If any of those lessons lead to real change at the state level, Jerry Horton will have played a part in that. She proved a tough, determined foe for Chesapeake Energy, and they lost much more than they gained in fighting her.

4. The Gas Drilling Task Force

The whole thing was a comedy of errors, but if anything positive came out of it, four members of that Task Force — Gary Hogan, Susan De Los Santos, Wendy Vann Roach and Jim Bradbury deserve a healthy share of the credit. They were the only people who prevented the entire process from becoming an industry whitewash. Thanks to all of you for hard work on a thankless task.

5. Chuck Silcox

The tenacious and outspoken city council member from District 3 who passed away in October was predictable only in his unpredictability. He was a true populist, and, despite his crusty exterior, he was quite a lover of animals and strong supporter of animal care in the city. He will be remembered, and he will be missed. Fort Worth will certainly be less interesting without him.