Talking Past Each Other In Richardson

The Richardson City Council election is widening a political divide. The charges being leveled against the city, the City Council and the city staff, are growing in seriousness and volume. Enough that the City Manager took the most unusual step of responding publicly, defending the city against what he diplomatically calls "misstatements." His letter is unlikely to settle the debate. Why?

Some Richardson residents expect things to work differently in the city and when they don't, they see them as broken and want them fixed. When they aren't "fixed" these residents think the City Council and city staff, at best, are not listening to them and, at worst, are corrupt. On the other side of the divide, there are people (including the City Manager) who recognize that the things at issue work pretty much the way they are intended to work. They see nothing important to "fix." Sure, continuous improvement is always called for, but that won't meet the expectations of disaffected citizens, which are far out of alignment with how government processes are designed to work. Because their assumptions are so different, the two sides tend to talk past each other.

After the jump, let's take a look at a few misconceptions.

"It'll Feel Better When It Stops Hurting"

The Richardson City Council election has been consuming a lot of this blog's attention lately, but that doesn't mean I haven't been paying attention to what our so-called representatives have been doing to us for us down in Austin. It's time to have a look.

State Senator Kirk Watson (D-Austin) gives us an eyewitness update on what our legislators are up to. That means Sen. John Carona and Rep. Angie Chen Button for me and maybe Rep. Stefani Carter, Kenneth Sheets, Will Hartnett or Van Taylor for some other Richardson area readers. Summary: The outlook is not good.

Richardson ISD trustee Kris Oliver has been following the proceedings, too, with an eye on the impact on the RISD schools. One of his comments: "Really? We are working like mad to avoid laying off teachers, and the TX House reduces taxes on chewing tobacco."

After the jump, back to Sen. Watson's update.

All For Maczka In Place 4

Karl Voigtsberger owns the distinction of being the first contestant voted off this season's Richardson Idol. Has anything changed since that long ago first episode for the judges to regret that decision? (And by judges I mean, of course, me.)

Laura Maczka, on the other hand, probably holds the distinction of serving up the fewest targets for satire of any of the candidates during the six-week run of Richardson Idol. If it weren't for her funny name, she might not have earned a mention at all (and even that was only in contrast to another candidate who always points out his own "funny name"). Is it good or bad to be satire-proof?

After the jump, a final look at Place 4.

Place 7: Challengers Never Had It

The Richardson Idol viewers made their choice (and by viewers I mean, of course, me) for Richardson's Place 7 City Council seat. They picked Amir Omar by a wide margin.

After the jump, has anything changed since the final show to question the judges' decision?

The Steger Garden on Mother's Day (2011)

From Flowers

OTBR: At the End of Runway 33L

Latitude: 39.1631 N
Longitude: 76.6619 W

A child on a road trip with his family asks, "Where are we?" and the father answers, "Let's check the map. We're off the blue roads [the Interstate Highways marked in blue on the road atlas]. We're off the red roads [the US and state highways]. We're off the black roads [the county highways]. I think we're off the map altogether." It was always my dream to be off the map altogether.

After the jump, a few of the random places (and I mean random literally) that I visited vicariously last month that are "off the blue roads".

Five Things I Learned About Place 5

The Richardson Idol viewers already made their choice (and by viewers I mean, of course, me). They picked Dennis Stewart over Kendal Hartley. Why? Who knows. You can read their reasons here, but be warned. Viewers of TV reality shows are fickle. There are no rules they have to follow. Sometimes they are influenced by what the candidates say on stage. Sometimes they are influenced by off stage behavior. There's no requirement that they actually do any ... research or anything hard like that. So, you have to make allowances for some of their decisions (that is, *my* decisions, if you're following along).

After the jump, five things I learned about Place 5 that might make me change my mind.