The Company They Keep

"You shall know the person by the company he keeps." — Proverb

The City of Richardson has two candidates for mayor. If that proverb has any truth to it, it's sending a clear message to us today in those two candidates and the company they keep. It may not be everything, but it's not nothing either.

---

One candidate is Mayor pro Tem Janet DePuy. On the day the filing deadline passed, the current mayor, Paul Voelker, announced his support for Janet. Voelker has led the city well for eight years without a hint of scandal. Former mayor Steve Michell has also expressed his favorable impression of Janet's service to the community. Steve Mitchell served 16 years on the Richardson City Council, including one term as mayor himself. These are the kinds of experienced Richardson leaders that Janet DePuy surrounds herself with, the company she keeps.

---

The other candidate for mayor is Council Member Bob Dubey. Which former Council Member does Dubey align his campaign with? Scott Dunn. Dunn created an embarrassing international incident in 2019 with an ill-advised tweet name-calling a female member of Congress ("bimbos like you with nothing between your ear [sic]"). News media as far away as Austria ("Einen veritablen Shitstorm") covered the embarrassing incident for Richardson.

How did the Richardson City Council react? As I wrote at the time, "Major props to Mayor Paul Voelker, who wasted no time in condemning the name-calling in a press release in his role as mayor. He took a stand on a controversial issue. A Profile in Courage. Props also to City Council member Steve Mitchell, who quickly shared the mayor's statement on Facebook, adding, 'Disparaging comments made by anyone which divide - rather than unite - our great city and country are simply not acceptable.'" Janet DePuy, not yet on the City Council, called for a social media policy for the City Council to prevent a repeat occurrence. What about Bob Dubey? As I also said, "As far as I've seen, none of the other City Council members — Mayor Pro Tem Mark Solomon, Bob Dubey, Mabel Simpson, or Marta Gómez Frey — have made any public statement on the matter."

So not only didn't Bob Dubey publicly side with the mayor in condemning offensive, partisan name-calling, he now keeps company with the name-caller in his current campaign for mayor. Meanwhile, Janet DePuy, who understands the gravity of the job, keeps company with past Mayors Voelker and Mitchell. Indeed, "You shall know the person by the company he keeps."