Thursday, January 24, 2008

Who wanted to keep former Richardson mayor Gary Slagel in office?

By Nathan Morgan of Richardson City News

RICHARDSON — During the runoff in the last Council election cycle, the innocent curiosity of one licensed legal professional in the community sought out the answer as to why the selection of the Mayor was done behind closed doors in conclave, wondering why it wasn't done in public. This led to the discovery that, not only was this purpose for closed meeting prohibited, but all closed meetings were prohibited under the law of the land.

This revelation caused those who had become accustomed to secrecy in conducting public business to set about a plan to change the law to make their past illegal acts legal. Thus, the attention of the Council would be consumed for the next few months with an effort to amend the City Charter such that it made lawful the activities that were, up to that time, being unlawfully conducted. Failure at amending the Charter would mean city leaders would have to totally rearrange complex means and methods that had been quietly implemented in recent years which supported the unlawful activities.

A massive change in the way business was being conducted would have meant city leaders would have to revert to the existing rule of law that the citizens of Richardson had originally sanctioned as standards for municipal operations. City leaders, over the course of the current administration, in their quest for dominance over the public had worked their magic and systematically removed virtually all public participation in the business of the public, including the selection of the Mayor.

The public outcry for leadership change was so intense that those monitoring the situation were sure it would happen. Soon-to-be-former Mayor Gary Slagel was offered an opportunity to bow out gracefully, but with arrogant confidence, dismissed what some viewed as the inevitable. A number of henchmen, known to associate with a group calling itself "Friends of Richardson", were working the phones in what has been described as an offensive, foul-languaged attempt to intimidate a fourth vote out of the recent additions to Council. Much to their disappointment these gestapo-like tactics would fail and another elected member of the Council would be selected as the lead representative of Richardson. This was done in full public view because it was determined the conclave method, which had been executed in numerous previous instances, might have been a criminal act.

Speculation swirled about how long the old, gray mayor could tolerate playing second fiddle after defying the public will. It was thought that, in time, the residents in District 4 would re-engage the representative selection process and the old, gray mayor would decide not to run again at the end of the new two-year service period. Few, if any, expected his announcement moments after being deposed that he would resign within weeks. Few really know the details that followed, but it is suspected that the silver hoof in the mouth moment weighed heavily on the old, gray mayor's friends. As time passed, henchmen dreamed up a way in which the old, gray mayor could stay in office while also saving face from a reversal of his announced decision to leave the barn and rohm the pasture. The answer, circulate a petition begging him to stay.

Reports that such a petition had been concocted and was being circulated surfaced quickly. Accounts of henchmen putting pressure on community leaders and residents to sign were conveyed. A few months of arm twisting resulted in a petition said to contain some 200+ signatures of those friends and neighbors hoping to save the old, gray, reluctant mayor from the glue factory. The plan was executed and a petition was presented in front of at least fifty of those who signed during a City Council meeting a couple of months ago.

After running a story on the presentation of the petition, many citizens were puzzled, seeking answers as to who would beg a Councilman who announced resignation to stay. After all, the act appeared to be an indication of true personal interest over the importance of being a senior statesman to the next generation of those changed with conducting the business of the public.

A copy of the petition was requested under the Public Information Act. The PIA is another one of those State Laws that local officials seem to have trouble abiding by. An Attorney General opinion was sought and received that basically said, if e-mail addresses were given to the city for the specific purpose of distribution of news and information from the city, they could be redacted from the otherwise public document. The conditions in which the content of the petition was delivered to the city do not meet that criteria, but the e-mail addresses were, nonetheless redacted from the document delivered under the act.

Interesting to note, the District 4 race, the stall the old, gray mayor has occupied for 20 years, was uncontested. Of the 5,941 voters who cast a ballot, there were only 4,578 who voted for the uncontested representative. 1363 voters, or almost 23% of those who voted made a conscious decision to not vote for the only candidate on the ballot. No doubt a fair number checked the box because it was the only one available, feeling good from the mere act of casting even a meaningless vote. The indeterminate number of those who purposely cast a vote of confidence may be around that 200 range found in the signatures on the petition.

Also of note is the absence of Eastside and Southwest addresses. And, a cluster of Custer Road addresses near the residence of a former Council member who is a current Council appointee to the NTMWD, and known associate of the Friends of Richardson. Anybody can stack a deck.

Affectionately dubbed the "Eisemann Petition", after Charles Eisemann presented it to the Council, recognizable names from near and far, inside and outside the municipality appear on it. Take a look and decide for yourself who among us have encouraged the old, gray mayor to stick around a little longer.

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