People are Asking: "What Else is Dubey Hiding?"

Thomas More: "I have one question to ask the witness. That's a chain of office you are wearing. May I see it? The red dragon. What's this?"

Cromwell: "Sir Richard is appointed Attorney-General for Wales."

Thomas More: (Looking into Rich's face, with pain and amusement) "For Wales? Why, Richard, it profits a man nothing to give his soul for the whole world . . . But for Wales!"

Source: A Man for All Seasons.

Election Day is near. This campaign season has had more people selling their souls with smears in text messages, robocalls, and mailers than any election since the 2013 election for mayor. I sometimes felt like I needed a shower after rebutting some of the attacks. The largest number and most hurtful of the smears came from the Dubey camp. They are spending thousands of dollars trashing a man's reputation in an effort to prevent him from becoming mayor for Richardson. Not the world, but for Richardson! It reminds me of that fateful scene in "A Man for All Seasons" where Thomas More confronts his false accuser, Richard Rich, in court. "But for Wales!"

As this is (probably) the last blog article I'll write before the election, I feel like I should document some of the questions I've never gotten to the bottom of. It wasn't for lack of trying.

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The first question is of basic competence. Dubey filed several Campaign Finance Reports in 2023 where the numbers didn't add up. Even a correction he filed didn't add up. He's repeating that deficiency of arithmetic in this election. Can't Bob Dubey do simple arithmetic?

Why have so many persons who either have had or are likely to have business before the City Council made financial contributions to Dubey's re-election campaign? It may not be illegal under our current Code of Ethics, but it has the appearance of impropriety. I've suggested City Charter changes to ban such money from our politics. Dubey opposes City Charter changes. Dubey opposes even a reporting requirement to inform the rest of the Council when he meets with developers. People are asking, what does he have to hide?

In searching Dubey's campaign contributions, it's not just a single $465.20 donation that's so bad. That could be perceived not as a bribe but as merely a tip gratefully acknowledging the receipt of millions of dollars in Economic Development Agreements (EDAs). But seeing a half dozen or so similar contributions becomes prima facie evidence (to me) that these money flows deserve a deeper look. The City's Code of Ethics demands that all "officers of the city shall at all times strive to avoid even the appearance of impropriety." I've seen enough behavior that, if not individually, then collectively rises to that level. Dubey should be accountable and be expected to explain to the public why we should believe that nothing improper is going on.

What are the Dubey donors afraid of if Amir Omar does replace Bob Dubey as mayor? Maybe it's a stop to the Dubey gravy train of taxpayer dollars flowing to private businesses. There are things going on—favorable zoning changes, variances, special permits, and awards of taxpayer money in the form of EDAs granted to favored businessmen—that are at risk of stopping with any change of mayor. What Dubey pitches as being "business friendly" has begun to look "neighborhood unfriendly" to voters.

How much money has Dubey already sent Manasseh Durkin's way alone in the form of EDAs with the City of Richardson? Rumor has it that it's in the neighborhood of twelve million dollars or more. Why is Dubey in the process of sending even more taxpayer dollars Durkin's way for the just approved 580-ft, 279-unit apartment building in downtown Richardson? Just how many more taxpayer dollars will be coming out of our pockets this time?

Is Dubey even aware that the City of Richardson is suing Durkin's limited partnership for breach of contract on another EDA? Why would Dubey want the City to shovel new money Durkin's way while the City is suing Durkin on a past partnership?

Why have many persons that Dubey has appointed to boards and commissions made monetary contributions to Dubey's re-election campaign? It's not proof of a pay-to-play scheme in the Mayor's office. It just looks bad. It carries the appearance of impropriety.

Amir Omar claimed that more than 60% of Dubey's supporters don't "live" in Richardson. The Dubey camp responded with a claim that most of Dubey's donors "live or work" in Richardson. See what they did there? The claim was about apples and Dubey answered about apples and oranges. Why would Dubey do this, if not to mislead voters? Moreover, voters can fact check Omar's claim. They cannot fact check Dubey's claim because Dubey's Campaign Finance Report shows only the addresses of where donors live, not where they work or who they work for. Why would Dubey make a claim that can't be fact-checked?

Exactly who all is behind the mailers and text messages that smear Amir Omar? Two of the mailers are by "R2MFR, LLC", a private company with a Terrell, Texas, address that is owned by Manasseh Durkin. Is Durkin solely responsible or are there others involved? Who is "Larry with Right 4 Richardson", the self-proclaimed author of a smear text message? What does Dubey know about these dirty tricksters and when did he know it? No one is coming forward with answers.

In the Dubey camp's own latest mailer, they ask, "What else is Amir Omar hiding?" The voters can be pretty sure Omar is not hiding anything. The Dubey camp have spent probably thousands of dollars on private investigators digging into Amir Omar's past and haven't come up with anything that wasn't already explained on the transparency page on Omar's campaign website. The closest thing to a disinterested observer who has talked to all candidates is The Dallas Morning News. The Dallas Morning News endorsed Amir Omar. Even after being apprised of more of the dirt raised by the Dubey camp, The Dallas Morning News has stood by their endorsement. That bears repeating. They've stood by their endorsement despite the mud slinging.

Meanwhile, Bob Dubey, who has the word "Transparent" on his website, doesn't even have a transparency webpage that might explain some of the many questions I still have. I've run out of time to investigate them all. All I can do is list the questions that I have left that deserve more attention, questions that I wish Bob Dubey himself would address, but hasn't and probably won't. But I'm out of time. Dubey ran out the clock on this election. It's up to the voters to tell us who won.

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"I wish I had time
to trace all smoke back to fires.
Dubey ran out clock."
—h/t ChatGPT