Picking a Mayor Behind Closed Doors

Two years ago, after the last city council election in Richardson, I had this to say about the new council's first agenda item for the new term:

It's that time again. Now that Richardson's city council election is over, now that the sturm und drang of an election campaign has abated, now that the voters themselves have elected their next mayor, it's time to seat the new council and have them choose from among themselves, with no say from the voters, who should be their mayor -- mayor pro tem, anyway. What?!? If that sounds like maybe we haven't made as much change as we thought we were making, it's because it's true.

Source: The Wheel.

Well, this year it's the same story. Only this time, the new council's pick for Mayor Pro Tem will immediately become Mayor and serve in that position for the next two years. (For those who have been out of town for the last two months or so, that's because Mayor Laura Maczka has said she will decline to serve another term, thus creating a vacancy to be filled by the new Mayor Pro Tem.) In effect, we're back to having the council pick not only the Mayor Pro Tem, but the Mayor, too. The amount of change our amended city charter brought us two years ago is even less of a change than I thought then.

It's interesting to re-read everything that I wrote then, given everything that's happened since. I stand by some of it. Some I would change. I leave it as an exercise for the reader to decide which is which.

It's worth noting that there will be one change from two years ago. A change to eliminate an innovation introduced two years ago. A change that really does take us back to the way things were done before.

POTD: Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

From 2015 03 11 Jakarta

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Jakarta, Indonesia, specifically Kota, the old city, once named Batavia by the Dutch, when it was the capital of the Dutch East Indies from the 17th to 19th centuries. The photo was taken in Fatahillah Square in front of the former Stadhuis, or town hall of Batavia.

But enough of history. The point of the photo isn't how old Jakarta is, it's how young Jakartans are. And how they are like young people all around the world. Obviously these girls just wanna have fun.

City Council Election Maps

The 2015 Richardson City Council election maps tell a story. But not a surprising story. Below is the election map for the Townsend/Wilder Place 1 race, won by Bob Townsend. The precincts won by Townsend are in dark green. The precincts won by Rick Wilder are in light green.

Source: Dallas County Elections.

Given that Townsend won with an overall 62% vote, the map is mostly dark green as you'd expect. Wilder won handily in his home neighborhood of Duck Creek. He also won handily in the Prairie Creek neighborhood, the area closest to the planned Palisades development. Just to the north and south of there, the race was close, with Townsend winning by a tiny margin to the north and Wilder winning by a tiny margin to the south. Almost everywhere else in Richardson, Townsend won handily. The Palisades issue was a real one, hurting Townsend, but it turned out to be decisive in only one neighborhood.

St. Vincent (2014)

IMDB

St. Vincent (2014): Cranky old man befriends boy. Funny and warm, but not syrupy, character study. Oscar nom for Bill Murray. Deserved. A-

5 Takeaways from City Council Election

The Wheel doesn't do listicles. But they are popular on Buzzfeed and easy enough to write, so let's do one anyway. Here are our 5 takeaways from Richardson's City Council Elections.

POTD: Satay Ayam

From 2015 03 11 Jakarta

The Richardson City Council election is over, so it's time to get away. Today's photo-of-the-day is from Jakarta, Indonesia. Jakarta is about as far away from Richardson as you can get without starting to get closer again. Jakarta is 10,042 miles from Richardson. The only major city in the world that is farther away is Perth, Australia. And what better way to get the taste of the Richardson City Council election out of our mouths than to remember the foods of Indonesia? Walk the side streets of Jakarta and the smells from the food stalls entice you. The smoke from grilling chicken draws you in as your qualms and misgivings drift away with the wind. Good times.

The Overnighters (2014)

IMDB

The Overnighters (2014): North Dakota oil boom pastor shelters job seekers, but haters gonna hate. Gut-wrenching. Liberty with the truth? B+

POTD: Selfie at 433 Feet

From 2015 03 11 Jakarta

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Jakarta, Indonesia, specifically the top of the National Monument, a 433 foot tower in central Jakarta built to commemorate the struggle for Indonesian independence. The photo shows a universal tendency of smartphone owners to snap a photo of themselves at tourist sites (and almost anywhere else, for that matter). It turns out we really are all alike under the skin.

The One I Love (2014)

IMDB

The One I Love (2014): Couple in counseling meet their doppelgängers in a guest house. Who's who? Fun movie if you don't question it. B-

OTBR: California Redwoods

Latitude: N 37° 24.270
Longitude: W 122° 21.288

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".