"Something happened" on Angie Chen Button's Watch
The Garland representative on the DART board, Angie Chen Button, briefed the Garland City Council on the discovery that DART was $900 million over budget on building the lines to Rowlett and Irving. Button says, "Something happened at DART." No kidding. A $900 million something.
You'd think that Angie Chen Button, a member of DART audit committee, might offer an explanation why the DART audit committee was "shocked" to learn of this shortfall only in November, 2007. Button admitted to the council that DART "staff members had some kind of feelings as early as 2004" and "definitely in the summer of 2006". But Angie Chen Button and the rest of the audit committee didn't have a clue.
Button's entire briefing sounds like a CYA exercise. She tries to sound noble by saying that she doesn't "just come here and tell you good things", she comes to "tell you good things and not so good things." She can't even bring herself to describe the $900m shortfall as anything more than a "not so good thing." And she doesn't even hint that she or the audit committee should be faulted for being caught napping. The weak Garland City Council fails to ask any tough questions of their DART representative.
Angie Chen Button is running in the Republican primary to replace Fred Hill as District 112 representative in the Texas House. She's sent a mailer that focuses on a single issue -- illegal immigration -- red meat for the conservative voters she is courting. Maybe she doesn't want voters focusing on her DART service. The mailer features a map that shows routes of illegal immigration into Texas from all directions. Texans might be surprised to learn from Button's map that one big immigration route into Texas is south from Oklahoma. Button's plan? Have Texas taxpayers pay for a border fence, presumably along the Rio Grande but who knows, maybe along the Red River, too. With the way Angie Chen Button has overseen DART, does anyone really want to put this woman anywhere near the state budget?
Thanks to Richardson City News for featuring this story.
I-635 Managed Lanes Project
Texas State Senator John Carona has an opinion piece in the The Dallas Morning News advocating support for the reconstruction of I-635 between I-35E and US 75. He'll fund highway construction in part by tolling the new lanes and in part by increasing and indexing motor fuels taxes. Highway construction and toll roads and gas taxes is always sure to ignite heated arguments. Personally, I'm more interested in getting light rail built, not more highways. So, rather than weigh in on the merits of tolling the new lanes on I-635, I'll just note a minor irony in this story.
In his introduction, Carona says "Nothing brings home the phrase 'time is money' more than having to sit in traffic." Carona's district includes Highland Park, which recently successfully shot down proposals to widen Mockingbird Lane, a major east-west thoroughfare through Highland Park. Maybe Carona can tell his constituents that Dallasites don't appreciate sitting in traffic in Highland Park any more than they appreciate sitting in traffic on I-635 in north Dallas. "Time is money," after all, which Highland Park residents should surely appreciate.
10 comments:
Ed, Don't be so damn stupid. Richardson City News is not news. Its basically one crank who is afraid to put his name on it and who is interested not in news but his own political agenda. All you do in referring to him is spread his area 51 conspiracy theories around and you lose credibility in Richardson with anyone who reads your blog and knows the author of Richardson City "news". You make yourself look like a fool and a great many people wont take you seriously.
Why do you think he writes about Angie Chen Button and previously as you noted gary slagel? Because he has a political agenda opposed to them and the things he writes about. He supports one of Button's opponents for example. He supported Gary Slagels opponents. If you go check the record about Button on the DART board you will find a much different picture than he paints. I wouldn't ask the question "With the way Angie Chen Button has overseen DART, does anyone really want to put this woman anywhere near the state budget?" but instead I would ask "Is Ed Cognoski just plain stupid to buy Richardson City 'news ' bullshit hook line and sinker without investigating or knowing who or what is going on."
His "news" is usually factually incorrect to the point of slander in some cases. When you read him you must ask, "How does this forward his political agenda" because almost everything he writes (spelling errors and all) is pointed toward pushing some agenda of his. You simply look dead stupid for thanking him for fooling you and for thinking what he writes is "news." If you go on believing richardson city news is actually news and is anything close to factual, you might as well believe moon landings were faked in hollywood and Elvis is still alive.
I didn't claim the opinions of the author of "Richardson City News" are worth anything. I thanked that blog for linking to the video of the Garland City Council meeting, not for his opinion of Angie Chen Button or anything else. My own comments were prompted by that video and Angie Chen Button's own words on that video, not by anything said in "Richardson City News."
Thanks for your response.
Angie Chen Button beat Randy Dunning and Jim Shepherd with 38% of the vote. Watch your wallets, District 112. If Angie Chen Button does no better keeping track of the state budget than she does with DART, you'll need to.
Tom Pauken is using Dallas Blog as a house organ for Randy Dunning press releases as he kicks off his runoff campaign against Angie Chen Button. Tom Pauken backs Randy Dunning. Hmmm... I may need to rethink just how bad Angie Chen Button can be, if Tom Pauken opposes her. Any chance of a do-over in this primary election so that Jim Shepherd can make it into the runoff?
Ed, first Angie Chen Button isn't bad at all. She joined the DART board AFTER they made the particular cost estimate which later turned out to be wrong. (if my info is correct.) Construction costs have skyrocketed and they could (I say could) account for well over half the cost overrun. We won't know that until a different audit is done. Also, Button is on record in the DMN long before this came up as pushing financial changes. Do DMN searches and you can find it. As one board member she couldn't dictate policy obviously. Tying Button to this DART business is a local version of swift boating. There may be all sorts of reasons to like or dislike Button (or the other two for that matter) but the DART thing is a smoke screen.
anonymous, thanks for commenting. I'm sure every board member would have some excuse why he or she personally is not responsible for letting a billion dollar shortfall go undetected for so long. I'm inclined to clean house. I'm certainly not inclined to reward board members with a seat in the Texas legislature.
One crank to the others, Richardson City News was born out of disgust that a small group of ill-willed people routinely use public resources to manipulate public opinion to satisfy their personal desires. Anybody who thinks that reporting the other side of the news in town isn't news would have us all believe each voice is not important in this democratic society. The so-called "political agenda" of RCN is not to provide another whipping boy for the slave-masters, but to emphasize the practice of eliminating public input from local government...except when they want our vote.
Gary Slagel is no longer the Mayor for the same set of reasons his friend Chen Button should not be our Dist 112 representative, abuse of the privileges available in public office.
Chen Button's supporters, and her socialite party that has suffered the wrath of the Richardson City News are justifiably miffed at being outed. What would you expect them to say about publishing that news?
Is it surprising they would suggest it's all the contrived thoughts of some recently release patient at the asylum...spelling errors and all?
Meanwhile, back on planet Earth, they struggle despirately to maintain control over a political environment that has lined their pockets with our tax dollars.
Instead of simply claiming there are no facts in the RCN, tell us where the errors exist. Saying it isn't so does not make the truth go away...mr. anonymous.
anonymous, you level some serious charges without providing any evidence. Not good.
Ed, I ran across this article while doing some research on Rep. Button. I did some checking into this Garland Council meeting and found this shocker: The guy questioning Button about the $900M shortfall (Jeffus) shows up on Button's payroll to the tune of over $60K in 2008 alone [Texas Ethics Commission filings and streaming video obtained from Garland City Secretary's Office]. This raises a question: A Dart Board representative works for the council that appointed them right? So was there a conflict of interest going on in 2008 with a sitting council member being on the payroll of a sitting board member the council appoints? Is there a statute of limitation for conflict of interest violations?
Anonymous at 10/10/2010 12:42 PM, thanks for the comment. I don't know about a Button-Jeffus connection nor the requirements for a conflict of interest charge. But if what you say is true, this particular situation doesn't pass the smell test.
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