The TRWD board votes to censure Mary Kelleher.

Over the years, I've burned through a few blog entries about the notorious Tarrant Regional Water District board. 

We managed to get Mary Kelleher, a decent human being, on the board last year. 

Mary has had to sue the board to get records and other info.  In a just world, in a city whose newspaper wasn't staffed by lapdogs, Mary Kelleher would be a Fort Worth hero.  That would put an end to the cronyism, the no-bid contracts for Flood Control BBQ restaurants, and the spiraling costs for projects having nothing to do with water. 

This morning, the TRWD voted to censure Mary Kelleher. 

Here's the best account of the proceedings. 

My favorite moment was when Mary basically censured the board with a litany of their extremely questionable actions. Mary brought up nepotism, cronyism, other isms I'm forgetting and most memorably Mary brought up an illicit liaison a between high ranking TRWD employee and a lower ranking TRWD employee, saying this as she sat a couple feet from Jim Oliver.

I wish I could remember exactly what it was Mary said when she got to the illicit liaison part of her censuring of the TRWD Board.

While watching this absurd meeting a couple times it was reminding me of a Simpson's episode. With Mary being Lisa Simpson, you know, wise beyond her years Lisa Simpson, usually smarter than any of the adults in the room, being totally flummoxed by the utter ridiculousness of what she is dealing with.

Here's a video. 

Here's a typical Bud Kennedy whitewash.  Please note that Democrat Lon Burnam and Republican Jonathan Stickland are both opposed to the actions of this Den Of Thieves, once again proving John Spivey's adage correct.....

"No matter what your politics, there's something for you to hate about the TRWD." 

 

Mother should I trust the government?

During the past few years, the Tarrant County Libertarian Party has:

1) Participated in an anti-Federal Reserve protest at the Dallas Fed.

2) Snagged some great speaking gigs at DFW NORML meetings. (National Organization For The Reform Of Marijuana Laws.)

3) Sponsored 2nd Amendment/Gun Rights debates, hosted NRA activist meetups, staffed tables at gun shows, and participated in “Open Carry” events.

4) Participated in Gay/Lesbian pride parades in Dallas and Fort Worth. (And won twice!)

5) Staffed literature/recruiting tables during at least 3 Tea Party rallies

6) Participated in 9/12 marches and had speakers at 9/12 meetings

7) We would’ve participated in Peace Marches, but the Peace Movement doesn’t really exist during Democrat administrations, and we don’t have the numbers to shut down the streets by ourselves.

8) Supported anti-Eminent Domain candidates for our regional Water Board.  And won!!

Stuff like that makes for a diverse group off allies.  But those groups have something in common....

Economic conservatives generally fear the Fed the government.
Pot smokers fear the police the government.
Gun owners fear the anti-2nd amendment lobby the government.
Gays and Lesbians fear the influence of religious conservatives the government.
Tea Party activists, supposedly neutral on social issues, fear the national debt the government.
The 9-12 groups, as best I can tell, fear socialists the government.
The Peace Movement fears the military-industrial complex the government.
Eminent Domain opponents fear thieves the government.

Most members of these sub-groups will tell you that they oppose Democrats. Or Republicans. This is like declaring your loyalty to The Crips because if you stop supporting The Crips, then The Bloods will take over.  Republicans and Democrats might go at each other like cats and dogs, but at the end of the day, neither group is going to endanger the oppressive system that makes their leadership (and their leaches) very, very wealthy and very, very powerful.   

Our challenge, as Libertarians, is to convince those who fear the government to merely oppose the government in all its unholy acts, instead of trying to kill off Dr. Jekyll while saving Mr. Hyde.  On almost every issue, John Boehner and Nancy Pelosi are different in degree, not in kind.  And I'm struggling to think of any issues (maybe guns?) where Bush/Obama differ by a significant degree.    (No, I take that back.  They don't even differ on guns.  Barack approves of giving guns to Syrian rebels, and to Mexican Drug Lords via Operation Fast And Furious.) 

When government gets big enough, it prints money, oppresses non-conformists, confiscates citizen weaponry, determines who can and can’t marry, racks up a lot of debt, nationalizes industries, starts wars, and confiscates property. That's all part of the package.

Any government big enough to abuse the group you dislike is big enough to abuse all the rest.

Let’s stop talking about Red vs. Blue. Let’s reframe the debate as Free vs. Slave.

. 

Congratulations, Mary Kelleher !!!

Let me tell you a story.

About two months ago, I got an email from my friend Layla Caraway.  She invited me to a meeting about the Tarrant Regional Water District board elections.  It was the most politcally diverse room I've ever been in. 

There were Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians, 9-12'ers, Greens, and environmental activists.  We had one thing in common.  We were all sick of Fort Worth taking land and money from the little guy and giving it to the big guy. 

We'd tried and failed before to get candidates onto this board.  This time we had some money and a consultant. 

We had a trio of three candidates - John Basham, an experienced candidate, Tim Nold, a surveyor, and Mary Kelleher, an Arlington landowner and rancher/farmer who had gotten sick of her property falling into the river.  And black helicopters landing in her ranch without permission in the middle of the night.  You know, the usual. 

Mary was painfully shy in that first meeting. 

Mary turned into a monster candidate. 

Mary Kelleher went out and won the son of a bitch!!!  She did it. 

Go here.  Most of the article is the usual Star-Telegram blather supporting anything City Hall wants to do.  But here are the money quotes:

In recent years, the district has also been a key player in the $909 million Trinity Uptown project, a flood control and economic development effort that stretches from an industrial area on Fort Worth’s near north side to the green spaces of Gateway Park on the east side. Its plans include a bypass channel and a Town Lake north of downtown.


District officials worried that if Basham’s slate prevailed, a number of projects would be in jeopardy.

They said that if the pipeline project were stopped, it would mean dire consequences, including water shortages.

Oh yes.  There would have been "dire consequences".  Our guys woulda stopped that boondoggle faster than you can say "Crony Capitalism".  That thing has more to do with The Manichean Heresy than it has to do with flood control. 

But the people now have a voice on the water board.  We have access to the file cabinets (if they've bothered to keep any records).  No more Freedom Of Information Act requests will be necessary. 

Note to the Star-Telegram - Let us know if you want to learn anything about how Fort Worth's money is being spent by your downstairs neighbors on the water board.  Maybe one day you'll want to stop cheerleading and start doing your freakin' job. 

Why I hope you'll vote for Basham, Nold and Kelleher in the May 11th Tarrant Regional Water District Board election

The Trinity River is a big, fat, hairy deal in Fort Worth TX.

A small board of Fort Worth property owners controls a significant amount of the water supply for about 10 other counties.

They're also instrumental in trying to turn the Trinity into something that we Libertarians call "Lake Granger", after Congresswoman Kay Granger, and her son J.D. Granger, a project that, if completed, will be the #1 Google Search Result for the term "Crony Capitalism".

We're supporting a slate of candidates who think the Tarrant Regional Water District should concern itself with the drinking water supply, and ensuring that the fish aren't harmful to human health.

These candidates are John Basham, Timothy Nold, and Mary Kelleher. If you're a Fort Worth resident, you have the blessed privilege of voting out a large % of the current board. You can vote for all three open spots.

Here's what your ballot oughta look like if you oppose Eminent Domain abuse, cronyism, contractor-supported election campaigns, and plans for apartment complexes built inside the flood plain.

The BNK slate has been attacked from the usual suspects, of course, and that's prompted John Basham (wounded military veteran) to issue the following statement.....

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

TRWD Candidate John Austin Basham addresses campaign finance

Fort Worth, Texas – May 7, 2013 – Over the past few days much has been made by political elites and media insiders about campaign finance during this Tarrant Regional Water District election. TRWD challenger and part of the Basham-Nold-Kelleher (BNK) slate couldn’t agree more. “I absolutely agree campaign finance is an issue in this race,” says Basham, “I have been vigorously supported by an open government PAC and private land owners since day one.”

When asked about his opponents financial backing Mr. Basham had some serious questions. “The current board members list of donors reads like a friends and family plan,” says Basham, “When I looked at their list I couldn’t believe 95% of the donors receive our tax money in contract awards.” Mr. Basham went on to say, “It’s no wonder they want to try to paint my private donors as evil, anything to take the focus off the fact that YOU the taxpayer are funding their campaign.” A review of campaign finance reports called “8-day reports” do in fact show none of Mr. Basham’s donors receive any contracts or awards from the Tarrant Regional Water District. This cannot be said for the incumbent’s reports which show over 30 donors who are paid contractors or lobbyists for the Tarrant Regional Water District.

“It sickens me that these people get away with this every election,” says Basham, “They drag every opponent through the mud and take focus off the real issue.” Basham continued,” They are getting paybacks for the political decisions they make on the board in the form taxpayer cash laundered through contractors!”

Opponents of Mr. Basham and the BNK slate of challengers have been in quite a “tizzy” about donors from “out of town” donating to his campaign. Mr. Basham responded, “I have donors who are affected by TRWD decisions across their 11 county service area, their only say in any election is by supporting open and honest challengers,” Basham continued, “My opponents have received donations from 4 different states from as far away as Arizona and Colorado. Voters should decide which is worse; out-of-state TRWD contractors giving kick-backs or normal land owners affected by TRWD decisions.”

Contact: Layla Caraway
upacreek08@yahoo.com
Ph: 817-307-1374

You have a chance to make a difference, folks. 
The current board's project to convert Cowtown into Jerusalem On The Trinity should be abandoned. Now.
VOTE Bassham, Nold and Kelleher on May 11th!!!! 

Well, at least we tried - The Tarrant Regional Water District's "River Of Slush" will keep flowing

Well, at least we tried. 

My friend Adrian Murray was unsuccessful in his bid to get a seat on the Tarrant Regional Water District board yesterday. 

Here's the Startlegram:

The campaign was marked by dramatically different depictions of the water district. Lane and Leonard said the district is a well-run organization that is aggressively seeking other water sources. Murray and Basham criticized the board for high-ticket purchases such as a helicopter and argued that the current leadership was recklessly spending public money and making its decisions in secret.

And here are a few blurbs on the Tarrant Regional Water District's Trinity River Vision Project from the Fort Worth Weekly, a periodical not overseen by the people who will profit from this boondoggle project.  This piece was written back in 2007, and I understand that the spending is now approaching a billion dollars. 
Just for some background, this is what the Trinity looked like before they spent the billion dollars.


View Larger Map

Here's what the Trinity looks like now that they've spent the billion dollars.  I think they've torn down two buildings so far.  If someone has a more recent photo of the non-progress, I'll gladly post it.


View Larger Map

Notice the subtle differences?  I don't either.  There aren't any.
Heck, we coulda dredged out a new river running from Burleson to Abbott for that amount. 
Sorry for the digression.  Here's the Fort Worth Weekly:

....According to records obtained by Fort Worth Weekly under the state open records law, the district will spend about $600,000 this year on outside lobbying firms. DFW Airport, by comparison, will spend $560,000 with two Washington lobbying firms, and DART has budgeted about $310,000. Fort Worth paid its Washington lobby firm $168,000 in 2006, and Dallas spent about $240,000.

....Trying to find out why the water district needs to spend so much on lobbying is difficult. Neither Trinity River Vision Authority director J.D. Granger — son of the congresswoman — nor water district board president Victor W. Henderson returned calls seeking comment. Board vice president Hal S. Sparks III said it was not “his place” to comment on such contracts and referred all queries to Tarrant water district general manager Jim Oliver.

....Clyde Picht, who lost to Lane in the water district board race last year, said, “This is a local agency that should basically be concentrating on delivering water cheaply and efficiently to the cities in North Texas. Why would they even need any lobbyists in Washington?”



He has recently announced he will seek a new term on Fort Worth City Council — in part to continue his opposition to the Trinity Vision project. “Their spending habits are getting out of hand,” he said. Picht noted that the water district is already spending more than $100,000 a year on J.D. Granger’s salary (remember, that's Congresswoman Kay Granger's boy - TWS), “and I figured maybe part of his deal might be that he has to call his mother every once in awhile. But I guess they have to hire someone in Washington to keep in contact with her.”


Since October 2001, the district has paid Washington lobbying firm Hicks-Richardson $256,653. The company is budgeted for $60,000 this year. Another Washington lobbying firm, Welch Resources, is due to receive $120,000 in fiscal 2007, and has been paid $290,260 since it first started lobbying for the river agency in 2004.

Local politically connected people are also getting big paydays. Political consultant Bryan Eppstein, who has worked on the campaigns of many water district board members as well as those of Fort Worth Mayor Mike Moncrief, is getting a combined $30,000 a month from the water district and Trinity River Vision Authority for a communications/lobbying firm he will head. Included in the duties, according to the contract, are “the development and implementation of legislative and regulatory strategies.” The total worth of the contract, which runs through 2010, is $1.4 million.

....Former Texas House Speaker Gib Lewis, who handles lobbying in Austin for the Tarrant district, is budgeted to receive $60,000 this year. Since October 2001, Lewis has been paid $283,500 by the water district. Neither Eppstein nor Lewis returned the Weekly’s calls for this story.

....The $120,000 yearly contract with Welch Resources has raised even more questions from critics. Welch is run by former U.S. Rep. Mike Parker of Mississippi, who booked more than $1 million in lobbying contracts last year.

....Steve Hollern, a former Tarrant County GOP chairman, called the TRV a “massive transfer of wealth from private citizens to rich developers.” The lobbying, Hollern said, “is just part of the cost to keep this transfer going. But I have to give the devil his due. They plan and execute behind the scenes in ways that would make Machiavelli take notice.”

Move along, people, nothing to see here.  Please keep moving, please keep moving. 

Pics came from here and here.