{"id":1596,"date":"2017-04-19T09:37:14","date_gmt":"2017-04-19T14:37:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/truthinaddison.com\/?page_id=1596"},"modified":"2017-04-19T09:37:14","modified_gmt":"2017-04-19T14:37:14","slug":"the-phony-phone-survey-duping-people-into-listening-to-an-attack-ad","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/truthinaddison.com\/?page_id=1596","title":{"rendered":"The Phony Phone Survey: Duping People Into Listening to An Attack Ad"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Phony Phone Survey:<\/strong>
\nDuping People Into Listening to An Attack Ad<\/strong>
\nBy Susan M. Halpern<\/strong>
\nFormer Addison Councilmember (1992-1999)<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Last evening at about 8:20 p.m., I received a call on my cell phone. The caller spoke very quickly and told me that she had a two-question \u201csurvey\u201d for me.\u00a0 I have to confess that I\u2019d been tipped off about these calls, so I was pretty sure this wasn\u2019t really a \u201csurvey.\u201d\u00a0 So, I asked some questions.<\/p>\n

First, I asked the caller what her first question was, and she responded with a question about who I would vote for in the Addison mayoral election, if was held right then. I told the caller that before I would consider sharing that information, I needed to know who was conducting this \u201csurvey.\u201d\u00a0 The caller gave me a company name, describing it as a third-party provider hired to conduct this \u201csurvey.\u201d\u00a0 The caller repeated that a couple of times as I pressed for the name of the customer who requested the \u201csurvey.\u201d\u00a0 I was put on hold for a few minutes.\u00a0 The caller returned and gave me the name \u201cAssion\u201d or \u201cAffion,\u201d I\u2019m not sure which.\u00a0 She talked very fast.<\/p>\n

I then asked the caller what the second question was. She sounded somewhat surprised, but finally read the second \u201cquestion,\u201d which was not a question at all.\u00a0 Rather, it was an inflammatory attack on Joe Chow stated in the form of a faux question.\u00a0 And at that point, I terminated the call.<\/p>\n

So, as I had suspected, the call wasn\u2019t a \u201csurvey\u201d at all. Rather, it was a somewhat clever but deceptive way of delivering an attack ad against Joe Chow.\u00a0 And, it targeted people who responded to the first question by stating that they intended to vote for Joe Chow (although as I demonstrated, you can hear the second \u201cquestion\u201d without answering the first).<\/p>\n

Speaking for myself, I find such tactics to be invasive and entirely unpersuasive. I\u2019m far more interested in knowing how the current candidates intend to HEAL and UNITE Addison.\u00a0 And it\u2019s hard to see how these types of attacks do either.<\/p>\n

Addison has much healing to do, and I\u2019ve been direct in laying blame for the division at the feet of Todd Meier. Meier has harmed Addison with his deceit, concealment and other divisive tactics.\u00a0 I\u2019ve backed it all up with facts.\u00a0 I\u2019ve shown again and again how Meier has acted to consolidate his power, using various bully pulpits to spew propaganda, all the while suppressing opposing views.\u00a0 I\u2019ve demonstrated Meier\u2019s lack of transparency.\u00a0 Never forget that it was on Meier\u2019s watch that the lawyers were directed to handle Open Records Act requests by finding a way to withhold responsive documents.\u00a0 No one can believe that that is \u201ctransparency.\u201d\u00a0 And also remember that it did not change until Councilmembers Duffy, Walden and Angell were elected last year.\u00a0 They \u2013 not Meier \u2013 started the process of returning transparency to Addison.<\/p>\n

Meier has turned council meetings into one-sided trials. Meier declines to lead real discussions, instead dominating meetings and then publicly attacking those on the council who disagree with his views.\u00a0 AMLI is a prime example.\u00a0 The AMLI development was approved by a 5-2 vote, despite Meier\u2019s filibuster and his hostile and unprofessional treatment of the AMLI representatives.\u00a0 But Meier refused to accept the will of the council. Meier immediately distorted the issues presented, and then falsely claimed that Councilmembers Duffy, Walden and Angell had campaigned on an anti-apartment platform.\u00a0 Meier then targeted AMLI, falsely claiming that the land suffers environmental issues, despite the TCEQ\u2019s findings to the contrary.\u00a0 Meier\u2019s conduct sent a message to applicants: if Meier doesn\u2019t approve of your development, it doesn\u2019t matter what the council does.\u00a0 You will pay a price.\u00a0 It\u2019s a bad message that is entirely at odds with Addison\u2019s business development efforts.<\/p>\n

Addison needs to recover from all of it, and return to the Addison Way. Addison\u2019s Charter establishes a council of seven, with the clear intent that they deliberate openly, in good faith, and in the best interests of the Town.\u00a0 To be effective, the council must work to create a healthy deliberative environment.\u00a0 This requires putting personal egos aside in favor of the greater good.\u00a0 It is a system that hasn\u2019t existed on Meier\u2019s watch, and Addison has suffered the consequences.<\/p>\n

To recover, Addison\u2019s residents must populate the council with people who are respectful of different opinions, and who commit to agreeing to disagree agreeably. As for me, I want to understand how the current candidates intend to accomplish that, and to be a constructive part of returning Addison to the Addison Way.<\/p>\n

Calling me on my cell phone with a phony \u201csurvey\u201d by way of delivering an attack ad doesn\u2019t help me answer these fundamental questions. And I submit that it isn\u2019t the Addison Way.<\/p>\n

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