{"id":1749,"date":"2018-02-06T22:09:13","date_gmt":"2018-02-07T04:09:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/truthinaddison.com\/?page_id=1749"},"modified":"2018-02-06T22:10:01","modified_gmt":"2018-02-07T04:10:01","slug":"recycled-efforts-to-create-controversy-spinning-the-wind-turbine-lawsuit-still-doesnt-fly","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/truthinaddison.com\/?page_id=1749","title":{"rendered":"Recycled Efforts to Create Controversy: Spinning The Wind Turbine Lawsuit Still Doesn\u2019t Fly"},"content":{"rendered":"

Recycled Efforts to Create Controversy:<\/strong>
\nSpinning The Wind Turbine Lawsuit Still Doesn\u2019t Fly<\/strong>
\nBy Susan M. Halpern<\/strong>
\nFormer Addison Councilmember (1992-1999)<\/strong><\/h3>\n

 <\/p>\n

Well, it\u2019s election season in Addison, and unfortunately the former mayor\u2019s sycophants are at it again. They even found a willing partner in the Dallas Morning News<\/em>, which once again adopted the false narrative suggested by the facts-don\u2019t-matter folks.\u00a0 It\u2019s not the first time the DMN<\/em> has fallen for it, and it likely won\u2019t be the last.\u00a0 And, for good measure, these folks even stirred up some more bad publicity for Addison from a local TV station, continuing to operate from the \u201charm Addison\u201d playbook as a way of advancing their \u201cdivide-the-community\u201d strategy.<\/p>\n

We saw this for six years before Joe Chow was elected in 2017. The tactics are always the same: the spin, the false narrative, efforts to cast Addison in a bad light through the media.\u00a0 Then the posts start on \u201cNextDoor,\u201d followed by claims that because it\u2019s posted somewhere, it must somehow be true.\u00a0 It\u2019s all very circular.\u00a0 But then, we survived six years of claims that the more times the false narrative is repeated, the truer it somehow becomes.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ll survive this nonsense again. Because the false narrative doesn\u2019t ever become true. It never helps the community advance.\u00a0 It exemplifies a self-above-community mentality, where harm to the community is willingly inflicted in an effort to promote self.\u00a0 Indeed, harm to the community seems to these folks to be nothing more than a necessary by-product of their quest for power.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

So, again, we see the same old recycled efforts to spin the wind turbine lawsuit. It\u2019s nothing more than an effort to stir up controversy, create division within the community, and of course attack everyone who isn\u2019t them.\u00a0 In other words, the same tactics we saw for six years before last year\u2019s election.\u00a0 And, they attack the same folks every time: any councilmember who disagrees with them, including all members of the current council and, of course, prior staff, most notably Ron Whitehead, whose remarkable 32 years of service to Addison created almost all of the beauty you see around you in our community.\u00a0 It\u2019s shameful.\u00a0 And, the problem with it all is that the attacks always leave out some really, REALLY important facts and concepts.\u00a0 So, let\u2019s fill in a few gaps.<\/p>\n

Yes, the wind turbines didn\u2019t perform properly. We all get it.\u00a0 In the lawsuit, Addison claims that\u2019s the fault of Landmark Structures LLP and others.\u00a0 But interestingly, in the oft-repeated rhetoric, these folks blame Ron Whitehead.\u00a0 Think about that for a moment.\u00a0 If you buy a new refrigerator and it doesn\u2019t work, do you blame yourself for choosing a product that failed?\u00a0 Or do you look at a buying experience that included advice from refrigerator experts, and then try to enforce your warranty?\u00a0 The answer seems pretty simple and straightforward, doesn\u2019t it?\u00a0 And, at first glance, Addison did what you would do: sought to enforce its warranty.<\/p>\n

But then the ex-mayor and his captive council changed things, and plead fraud. That\u2019s a somewhat aggressive posture in a contract case, and something about which you should be very sure before pleading it.\u00a0 And that\u2019s where the problems started.\u00a0 You see, Addison\u2019s ex-mayor and his captive council apparently didn\u2019t ensure that Addison had all the facts before pleading fraud.\u00a0 Most notably, no one interviewed key witnesses, including Ron Whitehead and Lea Dunn.\u00a0 That\u2019s inexcusable and it\u2019s entirely backwards.\u00a0 You see, we lawyers plead what the evidence supports.\u00a0 We don\u2019t plead what we want and then demand that witnesses adopt our chosen narrative.\u00a0 All of which means you have to know what the facts are BEFORE you plead your case.\u00a0 And that didn\u2019t happen here.<\/p>\n

So, when Ron Whitehead and Lea Dunn were finally asked about what happened, it turns out that it wasn\u2019t what Addison had claimed. And on that basis \u2013 for giving truthful testimony \u2013 Ron Whitehead and Lea Dunn have been repeatedly attacked as being \u201ctraitors\u201d and \u201cdisloyal.\u201d It is beyond outrageous, and nothing less than an affront to our system of government.\u00a0 I can\u2019t fathom how it isn\u2019t construed as an effort to intimidate these fact witnesses, which is its own brand of reprehensible.<\/p>\n

The lawsuit also has to be considered in the face of the mass exodus of employees who fled the toxic atmosphere created by the prior administration. That exodus included every department head, except for two.\u00a0 In addition to costing Addison hundreds of thousands of dollars, we watched hundreds of years of Addison knowledge and institutional history walk out the door.\u00a0 That\u2019s a problem for Addison on many levels, including with respect to this lawsuit.\u00a0 And it all happened before the current council took office.\u00a0 But don\u2019t expect these folks to ever acknowledge it.\u00a0 Wherever the buck stops, it\u2019s never been with them.<\/p>\n

It also turns out that the prior administration did not ensure that the emails of departing employees were preserved. That\u2019s the subject of the spoliation motion filed by Landmark.\u00a0 That\u2019s right, it all happened on the ex-mayor\u2019s watch.\u00a0 Now, the spoliation claim may never amount to anything, as suggested by Addison in its response to the motion.\u00a0 But again, where does the buck stop on issues like this?<\/p>\n

In the end, this is the same old recycled rhetoric. These are the same false, inappropriate attacks on Ron Whitehead and Lea Dunn, both of whom did nothing more than provide truthful testimony.\u00a0 And, by the way, dedicated years of hard work to Addison that benefitted our community in tangible ways that impact all of us every day.\u00a0 And the astonishing part of the whole charade is that every last bit of what these folks complain about occurred on the watch of the prior administration.\u00a0 The current council inherited the whole mess: the apparently insupportable fraud claim, the conduct leading to the spoliation motion, the decisions regarding pleadings, the exodus of employees. And the current council is doing a great job managing a mess they didn\u2019t create.<\/p>\n

You have to also ask: why bring it all up again now? The answer is clear.\u00a0 History is repeating itself.\u00a0 In the last two elections, this same group worked to create false issues during election season, in an unsuccessful effort to influence voters.\u00a0 It\u2019s election season again, and it would seem that these folks intend to run some candidates.\u00a0 So, they\u2019re doing the same thing they\u2019ve done every year: setting up a false issue so that they can attack candidates who aren\u2019t their candidates.\u00a0 It\u2019s shameful and destructive, and it does nothing to help Addison.<\/p>\n

The wind turbine lawsuit is set for trial in March. There are summary judgment motions pending, and Addison has filed well-constructed responses to these motions.\u00a0 The motions seem unlikely to succeed, which is good for Addison.\u00a0 The fraud claim may end up being a bust, but the other claims seem to have significant factual support.\u00a0 We\u2019ll see what happens as it all plays out.<\/p>\n

In the meantime, don\u2019t fall for the spin on the wind turbines that couldn\u2019t. See it for what it is.\u00a0 Addison finally has a cohesive council, determined to conduct its work without fanfare and theatrics, led by a mayor dedicated to public service rather than one focused on personal aggrandizement.\u00a0 It\u2019s refreshing and positive.\u00a0 Addison is moving in the right direction and nothing about this lawsuit changes that fact.\u00a0 Because all is well in Addison.<\/p>\n

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