New year brings politics as usual in Fort Worth

by Steve Smith of The Caravan of Dreams

The citizens of Fort Worth offered a fond farewell to outgoing District 9 City Council representative Wendy Davis last night. Council chambers were packed with well wishers who wore blue t-shirts inscribed with “Thank you, Wendy” or something like that. Newly minted District 97 Rep. Dan Barrett was there to show his support for Davis. Mayor Pro Tem Kathleen Hicks offered some last kind words. Davis herself offered some last emotional words. She was presented with rocking chair, a silver bowl and a quilt.

Of course, that was nothing compared to the going-away present offered by Mayor Moncrief.

The Mayor offered his parting gift at the pre-council meeting when he refused to let incoming District 9 representative Joel Burns participate because the Mayor chose not to recognize Burns’ New Year’s Day swearing in as having legal standing.

So as the other City Council representatives met, Burns sat off to the side. At the evening City Council session, Burns took the oath of office and took his place on the dais.

Confused? Good. This is District 9. We would be nothing here without drama.

If you’ve been following along at home, you can skip past the bullets. It’s kinda boring. For those who are a little lost, I’ll recap a little:

* In August, Wendy Davis resigned the District 9 City Council seat to run as a Democrat against the much unloved Republican Kim Brimer for the state senate District 10 seat. The city charter says she must retain her seat until her successor is in place.

* Joel Burns ran to replace Davis and eventually won a runoff on December 18. The votes were canvassed on Dec. 27 to make the vote official.

* On the afternoon of Dec. 31, three Fort Worth firefighters — Cullen Cox, Rickey Turner and Javier Cerda — drop off a letter with Tarrant County Democratic Party chair Art Brender saying that Davis can’t run because state law forbids sitting council members from running for the Legislature. Oh, it is worth mentioning that Republican political consultant Bryan Eppstein represents Brimer and the Fort Worth firefighters’ union. And … well, we’ll get to that later.

* Burns get a ruling from the city attorneys saying that as of the day the votes are canvassed, he may take the oath of office. He is sworn in at a private ceremony at his house on New Year’s Day.

* After Brender asks the secretary of state for an opinion, the state decides to stay out of it. On Jan. 2, Davis withdraws her previous filing for the SD 10 race and files another before the deadline.

You’d think Davis and Burns would be in the clear at this point. You’d think that they’d jumped through every imaginable hoop. Of course, you’d also think that they wouldn’t have to go through all this foolishness. On all those points, you’d be wrong.

The reason is simple. For those of you who haven’t connected the dots already, I’ll help. Bryan Eppstein has represented Mayor Moncrief before.

So, to repeat an oft used phrase from these first eight days of January, what we have here is a big bunch of bullshit.

You may have guessed that I’m a little angry, but I’m not the only one. One guy I talked to last night wondered, “Why do I have to wonder who my city council member is?” Another woman said, “I thought firefighters were supposed to be the good guys?”

For the record, firefighters are good guys, except when they are carrying the water for overpaid political consultants or embattled incumbents who have accomplished little.

You could say the same this thing about the City Council. They are is supposed to be free of partisan politics, too. Mayor Mikey let the politics seep right in when he refused to recognize Burns’ legal right to be there. Politics? At City Hall? As Elaine Benes might say, get out.

So, on a day that should have been all about Joel Burns, who won a tough campaign and became the city’s first openly gay City Council member, it was about someone else.

Mayor Bryan Eppstein. Mayor Kim Brimer. Mayor Mike Moncrief.

But the question most asked last night was “Why?” Did Mayor Mikey want to take one last shot at Davis? Was he helping out his old pal Eppstein? Did he want to send Burns a message about who calls the shots around City Hall? All of the above? I dunno. I prefer my autocrats to be bloviating and obvious, like Tom Craddick. Mayor Mikey is subtle like a short story in The New Yorker.

But this I know. Mayor Mikey had a chance to put the kibosh on this bullshit once and for all. He didn’t have to do anything. Instead, the Mayor chose to get involved. Thanks, Mikey.

But, fear not, there is a positive note to strike. I’ve had the chance to speak to a lot of people who understand the specifics of Wendy Davis’ case and the legal mumbo-jumbo involved. Political-type people. Lawyer-type people. And they all say the same thing. This is going to dry up and blow away. And then they smile a knowing smile.

It’s going to be an interesting election. Stay tuned.