Richardson's City Council election is over, but the selection of the next mayor is still ahead. That's because Richardson's system of government has the mayor selected from among the seven council members by the council members themselves. After being sworn into office Monday evening, the new council's first order of business will be to select the next mayor from among their own ranks.
After the jump, The Wheel's betting line.
Cleaning out my refrigerator of election leftovers, I came across something that maybe should be taken straight to the dump (with a stop at the Lookout Drive Transfer Station along the way, of course). But, smart or not, I've decided to make one last election meal of it anyway.
After the jump, chewing over NPAR's last meal.
A few days ago, I reviewed the candidacy of Alan North for Richardson City Council. North received fewer than 400 votes out of almost 8,000 cast. That came as no surprise, because North:
"attended none of the forums, responded to none of the questionnaires, reported no political fund-raising or expenditures, placed no campaign signs, pounded no pavement, kissed no babies, etc., etc."
After the jump, conjecture on what hurt North most (hint: it wasn't the babies) and advice for the candidates of 2013.
On May 14, voters in Frisco revoked the authority of the city to issue its remaining $16.4 million in bonds to build the Arts of Collin County Performing Arts Center. The project was originally conceived a decade ago as a joint project of four cities. McKinney voters rejected the bond issue in 2002, leaving Plano, Allen and Frisco. Now Frisco has taken a step to back out, which would leave only Plano and Allen. Plano mayor Phil Dyer said before the Frisco election that if Frisco dropped out, Plano would have to take a second look at the project itself.
After the jump, why bad news for the Arts of Collin County means good news for Richardson.
I have been criticized for my confession in my analysis of the Richardson City Council election results. I confessed:
"that there were events in the election campaign that I failed to comment on that I normally might have. The RCA's tactics were so over the top that these other issues shrank in comparison. ... Misstatements by the non-RCA candidates turned out to be minor infractions compared to the repeated and serious misstatements made by the RCA. I focused on the felonies and let the misdemeanors go."
Because I said I found RCA's tactics to be over the top, I have been accused of voting with my emotions, of voting my personality likes and dislikes instead of the issues. I have been accused of admitting that I gave a pass to gross misstatements of the non-RCA candidates. I have been accused of failing to explicitly identify any misstatements made by the RCA.
Once again, Duty Calls. There are many problems with this criticism. After the jump, my defense.