LET THE PEOPLE DECIDE!

November 19, 2011

Public Email to Council Members:

Dear Fort Worth Council Members,

I am writing you in obvious opposition to any "resolution" that effectively states that you do not support the will of the majority in Fort Worth on the issue of increasing the number of single member districts. There is obviously overwhelming support for increasing the number of council districts and especially for a 10 and 1 city council (69%), based on the citywide survey contracted by you, constructed of questions you wanted answers to.....with many of the questions presented to the public in a way YOU wanted.....so that the responses would elicit the outcome that YOU perceived as favorable.  Now you want to change the outcome of the survey and suggest that because citizens "think" the city is running ok, they also think that they are fairly represented in the number of council representatives.  Such a conclusion is a serious mistake on your part, and one that can be proven with facts.

This survey and my own in east Fort Worth indicates that the citizens have spoken and given the city council a "mandate" to put the issue of a 10 and 1 city council on the ballot.  It would appear that you are suggesting that the survey is wrong and that the citizens of Fort Worth don't "really" want a larger city council.  The ONLY other option is of course that you don't really care what the citizens of Fort Worth want or need.  Any rhetoric about saving money will fall on deaf ears for the most part, as citizens have begun to understand that you don't have a problem spending funds whenever and whereever you think is appropriate.

It is also misleading to the public to state that only 69% of the respondents to your survey favor a change to a 10 and 1 city council, as the support is actually greater than that.  Not only were the questions on districts asked respondents incomplete, they were also in the middle of a very long survey.  The following survey results listed by district should convince all of you of the seriousness of your actions.  If it doesn't convince you......have the courage to seek an accurate survey with direct questions and also include a question on term limits.  You will find support for that as well as a larger council.

• District 2 - Sal Espino - 70% Support for 10 and 1
• District 3 - Zim Zimmerman - 75% Support for 10 and 1
• District 4 - Danny Scarth - 45% Support for 10 and 1 - (and an obvious error in the process)
• District 5 - Frank Moss - 74% Support for 10 and 1
• District 6 - Jungus Jordan - 72% Support for 10 and 1
• District 7 - Dennis Shingleton - 69% Support for 10 and 1
• District 8 - Kathleen Hicks - Are you ready? Wait for it!    - 77% Support for 10 and 1
• District 9 - Joel Burns - 76% Support for 10 and 1 - WOW!

Please keep in mind that the Fort Worth city council has no control over what the citizens may or may not change on the City Charter, and I am certainly not suggesting that you change anything because you cannot.  Any "resolution" you pass will be non-binding on the citizens and will signal a desire by the City Council to ignore your constituent's wishes.  By LAW the rules by which this city operates, the Texas Local Government Code and the Fort Worth City Charter may only be modified by the citizens of this great city (thank God!), and all they are expecting from you is to fairly represent their wishes and put the issue on the ballot for May of 2012.  IF...as some of you have claimed in public statements, the citizens think this city runs just fine the way it is, they will say "no thank you" to amending the city charter to reflect a 10 and 1 council.  It is as simple as that!

You can of course refuse the citizen's mandate and pass your little "resolution," in which case we will not allow the mistakes of 2003 to happen again.  If you require that we take the matter into our own hands, we will not stop at amending the City Charter on the number of council districts.  There is also 75%+ support for term limits on the city council and we will include that as well.


Respectfully submitted.

Louis McBee

It is impossible for a politician to understand any issue if

their income and/or political contributions are dependant

on their NOT understanding the issue.