Stay Positive, Addison
Stay Positive, Addison
Seek TRUTH Regarding Negative Campaign Claims
By Susan M. Halpern
Former Addison Councilmember (1992-1999)
As we approach the 2021 election, I find myself reflecting on Addison’s continuing progress. Mayor Joe Chow and the councils he has led for four years have restored democracy in Addison, embracing a true deliberative process that involves open, honest discussion of issues. Transparency is back. And I mean real, actual transparency. Transparency that is rooted in the TRUTH to which Addison residents are entitled. The Council has passed responsible budgets, including by addressing long-neglected employee compensation issues. Among other things, this has led to consistently high staffing levels in public safety, which directly impacts our quality of life in Addison. The Town has completed significant capital projects, and in 2019, Addison voters approved a $70 million+ bond package that will allow Addison to address much-needed capital improvements and projects in the coming years. These are just brief highlights, there is so much more!
We are fortunate to have Councilmembers Lori Ward and Tom Braun running for reelection. They have both worked tirelessly to restore Addison’s place as the gold standard in North Central Texas. And, our fortune continues with the candidacy of former Planning and Zoning Chairperson Kathryn Wheeler, a long-tenured Addison volunteer whose service on P&Z confirms her dedication to responsible development in Addison.
Nonetheless, we must remain vigilant, including because the negatives are once again using the election season to spread misinformation. This challenges us to be positive and to carefully seek out the TRUTH. The negatives’ formula never changes: create a faux issue, mischaracterize it, claim that the sky is falling, attack anyone who isn’t them, and then claim that only they can solve the faux issue. Negativity is what these folks are about, and their efforts to drag the community downwards and backwards with misinformation know no bounds.
So, let’s dive right in and talk about some of the misinformation being spread. In this article, we’ll briefly address two very basic issues, and then will follow with other articles addressing the budget fearmongering that the negatives are pressing.
The first issue is easy. The Addison City Council does not meet secretly. The Open Meetings Act requires that meetings be posted and conducted in public, and the councils led by Mayor Chow have always complied with these laws. The implications and statements to the contrary are patently false. If the negatives believe otherwise, let them file complaints. But they won’t, because they have no support for their false statements.
The same can be said about the innuendo regarding “self-dealing” found on one negative candidate’s website. Of course, he provides no specifics because there are none to provide. It is an insinuation wholly lacking in substance, designed to foment negativity.
These unsupportable claims serve no purpose other than to allow Addison voters to identify the negatives, and confirm that they will say absolutely anything, without regard to TRUTH. And that is important information.
The TRUTH is that Addison is doing very well, and that’s a problem for those with negative agendas. With no real issues, the negatives turn to misrepresentations and outright fictions. And that is the ultimate disservice to Addison voters.
Addison does not need negativity. Addison needs positive leadership with a vision for Addison’s future. Addison needs TRUTH, and we have it now. Let’s keep Addison moving forward.