More About That "Inner City" Remark

Laura Maczka's comments at the Richardson Tea Party forum afford me an opportunity to discuss something that Richardson needs to discuss. Unfortunately, campaign dynamics prevent the candidates from discussing it. In the campaign, Amir Omar's negative attack ads rule the day, aiming for distortion more than serious discussion.

Politicking rules the day online, too, but assuming local blogger David Chenoweth is serious when he says he's confused about what people really mean, let me try to help. He doesn't name whom he means by "one of her supporters," but for argument's sake, let's say he means me:

It is interesting to see how a campaign plays out.

No doubt by now, you have probably heard all about the comments Laura Maczka made at a Tea Party meeting. Laura stated that we are now an inner city and reinforced that statement with saying "We are no longer the suburb to the north."

She went on and then said "The demographics are going to demand that we make the changes. I think one of the biggest areas we are going to see the change is definitely going to be in housing. You know that word multi-family is something that is hard to swallow. And so I think more and more as we have lower economics folks moving in we are going to be able to have more affordable housing".

Her supporters are claiming she didn't really mean what she said. Interesting things seem to have developed from that. One of those supporters seems to now be at odds with what he wants Richardson to be. He wants Richardson to be urban big time, with stack 'em and pack 'em ruling the town. But in defense of his chosen candidate, he is saying she really doesn't want more apartments, which is in fact what he wants, high density. He is using her campaign literature to show Laura really didn't mean what she actually said. His endorsement seems to conflict with what he claims he wants.

So it can be confusing what people really mean.

Source: Just My 2 Cents Worth.

Always obliging, I'll try to clear up the confusion, at least regarding my own meaning. After the jump.

Repeat Tweets: Ted and Mike and Me

Repeat tweets from April, 2013:

• 2 Apr 2013: MT @SenTedCruz: "UN Arms Treaty should be rejected. It's international gun regulation, plain and simple." Leftover #AprilFools tweet, right?
  
• 2 Apr 2013: Headline: "In Nelson, Georgia., you now have to own a gun." I thought mandates were supposed to be tyranny.
  
• 2 Apr 2013: Hard to imagine, but print dinosaurs like @MikeHashimoto still use terms like "Chicago union thugs."
  
• 4 Apr 2013: .@SenTedCruz, folks in Lubbock have some of the worst uninsured rates in the nation. That's the result when govt gets out of the way. #wacko
  
• 4 Apr 2013: RT @MikeHashimoto: "Obama gives Hollywood a pass on violence." His hands are full trying to reduce real gun violence.
  
• 4 Apr 2013: RT @SenTedCruz: "Cut extravagant parties at the White House-not cancer treatment for Medicare patients." Really? Have you no shame? #wacko
  
• 5 Apr 2013: MT @SenTedCruz: "We must champion growth & it won't come from politicians in DC." No, but politicians demanding austerity can kill growth.
  
• 5 Apr 2013: RT @MikeHashimoto: "Don't blame sequester for awful jobs report, says even the NYT." @MikeHashimoto suddenly likes NYT. Who knew?
  
• 5 Apr 2013: MT @SenTedCruz: "over 4 years after financial crisis, the economy is gasping for breath." So, quit choking it. #NoToAusterity #wacko
  

After the jump, more repeat tweets.

The One With My Endorsement for RISD

Yesterday, I announced my endorsement for mayor of Richardson. I admit I was conflicted. After going from being very happy with both candidates to beginning to wonder if Richardson would be better served by having a third choice, I ended up endorsing more out of necessity than enthusiasm. Negative campaigning does as much harm to our city as it does to the opposing candidate. Anyone who engages in or tolerates negative campaigning loses stature in my opinion.

That's completely different from my attitude towards the Richardson school board race (RISD). After the jump, my endorsement.

The One With My Endorsement for Mayor

After weeks of growing despair at the increasingly negative tone of the mayor's race in Richardson, after going from being very happy with both candidates to beginning to wonder if Richardson would be better served by having a third choice, the time to vote is finally here. Early voting begins today. The general election is less than two weeks away, May 11. My weeks of waffling are over. I have to decide how to vote.

After the jump, I come down off the fence.

Of Inner Cities and High Density

Amir Omar is doing his best to lose whatever sympathy he gained by being the victim of personal attacks during this election campaign. He's doing that by taking quotes from Laura Maczka out of context and spinning a "vision" for her that people who have paid attention this election campaign would never recognize (and by "people who have paid attention" I mean me.)

Here's the quote from Omar's latest mailer.

Source: Amir Omar mailer.

This quote is all that appears on a full page. Omar is clearly trying to play it up as something huge.

After the jump, my thoughts.

No Knockout in Mayor's Race

After weeks of campaigning and a dozen or so rounds in the ring, the two candidates for Richardson's mayor were bloody but still standing after the last round, the big forum in the Grand Hall of the Richardson Civic Center, sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Richardson.

I won't provide a blow by blow account because the city recorded this one and made it available for all to stream from the city's website for viewing at your leisure. It's only 82 minutes long. Inform yourselves.

After the jump, the highlights, from my point of view.

Airbrushing the Voters Guide

Wikipedia

In the old Soviet Union, the men in power had a habit of airbrushing the photographs in each new edition of the history books, removing the images of leaders who had been purged from government since the last edition. Often, Western analysts learned more about changes in the Soviet hierarchy not from any official announcements, but from who disappeared from the photos.

The same kind of analysis is still useful today. After the jump, what's missing from the Richardson Coalition PAC's 2013 Voters Guide?

Mayor's Race Both Negative and Cynical

If you came here looking for my opinion of the final mayoral candidates' forum at the Richardson Civic Center on Wednesday, you're out of luck. I need time to figure out what my opinions are. In the meantime, here are further thoughts on the downward spiral of the campaign so far.

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On Tuesday, I deplored how the Richardson mayor's race has turned personal and negative. Today, I add cynical.

Do you want a mayor who is beholden to unions and special interests?

Source: Laura Maczka.

That's a line used by Laura Maczka in her closing statement during the recent candidate forum at Mohawk Elementary School. She was referring to the endorsement of Amir Omar by the Richardson Fraternal Order of Police, the Richardson Firefighters Association, and the MetroTex Association of Realtors. But Maczka didn't name them. She didn't say firefighters, police and realtors. She said "unions" and "special interests." Given that "unions" are reviled in Texas and "special interests" reviled everywhere, it's probably good politics. It's as if Maczka expected her audience to shudder a little and silently pray, "No!"

After the jump, why it's so deeply cynical.

Would-Be Mayors Overplay Their Hands

Early in the Richardson mayoral election campaign, Amir Omar overplayed his hand by accusing Laura Maczka of "leading the charge" against direct election of the mayor. Instead of having to defend her votes to kill talk of direct election of the mayor for the rest of the council term, she was able to change the conversation to whether or not she was the "leader" of the anti-change majority on the council. Arguably, she was not. Inattentive voters might have dismissed the whole flap as a "he said, she said" argument. Omar might have scored points, but Maczka kept the damage to a minimum.

Now, it's Laura Maczka and the Richardson Coalition PAC who have overplayed their hand. After the jump, opening the books on Amir Omar.

Head Games (2012)

IMDB

Head Games (2012): Exposé of concussions in sport: football, hockey, even soccer. Mamas, don't let your babies grow up to play football. A-