{"id":1989,"date":"2019-04-21T00:27:56","date_gmt":"2019-04-21T05:27:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/truthinaddison.com\/?page_id=1989"},"modified":"2019-04-21T00:32:04","modified_gmt":"2019-04-21T05:32:04","slug":"shame-on-them-again","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/truthinaddison.com\/?page_id=1989","title":{"rendered":"Shame on Them Again!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Shame on Them Again!
Let\u2019s Focus on The Addison Way
Instead of Inaccurate and False Accusations
By Susan M. Halpern
Former Addison Councilmember (1992-1999)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The progress Addison\nhas made in the past two years apparently doesn\u2019t sit well with the negatives\nand naysayers.  Without any issues or a\npositive campaign message, they\u2019ve returned to familiar ground, brazenly misrepresenting\nissues in an effort to smear Mayor Joe Chow. \nThey did the same thing two years ago, led at that time by the toxic\nex-mayor, who likewise brazenly misled Addison voters.  Today brings us more meritless accusations,\ndespite assurances from their mayoral candidate that he would be running a\npositive campaign.  But then, who can really\nbe surprised?  After all, their candidate\nleft the \u201cdirty work\u201d to others in 2017 as well, which allowed him to disavow\nany part in it.  What nonsense.  Deniability only goes so far when the same\nnegativity is repeated over and over. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, let\u2019s briefly shoot\ndown this latest effort to misrepresent things, so that we can go back to\nignoring the negatives and naysayers, and focus our efforts on electing people\nwho truly care about Addison and the rule of law.     <\/p>\n\n\n\n

First and foremost, candidates\nand officeholders are legally permitted to pay campaign funds to businesses\nthey own.  The statement to the contrary made\nby the negative\u2019s designated blogger is patently false.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Second, the negative\nblogger doesn\u2019t name the correct statute, which is the Texas Election Code (not\nthe \u201cTexas Ethics Code,\u201d which doesn\u2019t exist). \nSo, did the negative blogger actually read the law before making\noutrageous and false accusations against Mayor Chow?  Well, read on\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Third,\nthe quote contained in the negative blogger\u2019s latest missive is utterly\nincorrect.  It is not found anywhere in Section\n253.041 of the Texas Election Code (the correct statute), or anywhere else for\nthat matter.  In fact, the purported\nquote isn\u2019t even a sentence.  Here it is,\nverbatim: “Campaign funds used for payments which\nofficeholder holds a participating interest in more than 10 percent of the\nbusiness.”  It\u2019s indecipherable gibberish.  Needless to say, it also doesn\u2019t accurately recite\nthe law.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fourth, Schedule\nH of the financial reports all candidates and officeholders are required to\nfile is titled: \u201cPayment Made From Political Contributions to a Business of\nC\/OH.\u201d  \u201cC\/OH\u201d refers to candidates and\nofficeholders. Which is, of course, why Mayor Joe Chow filed a Schedule H (this\nyear and in 2017).  The negative blogger actually\nquoted from Mayor Chow\u2019s Schedule H filings, which confirms his compliance with\nhis reporting obligations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, in my last\narticle I quoted the Texas Ethics Commission\u2019s Resolution condemning use of the\nmere filing of an ethics complaint in political campaign communications. The\nEthics Commission called it an \u201cunfair practice,\u201d noting that anyone can file\nan ethics complaint, which I guess includes people who can\u2019t name the correct statute\nand who completely misunderstand the law. \nIn any event, the point of the forcefully worded Resolution is that the\nmere filing of a complaint is not dispositive of anything, so publicizing it in\nan effort to smear a candidate is an attempt to mislead the public and is an\n\u201cunfair practice.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Well, the negatives and\nnaysayers took exception to my article, and their position is very revealing.  They don\u2019t contest that they engaged in the\nvery conduct condemned by the Ethics Commission, nor do they challenge the\nlogic and reasoning of the Commission\u2019s Resolution.  Rather, they claim that their activities\ndon\u2019t amount to \u201ccampaign communications,\u201d which they apparently claim leaves\nthem free to do exactly what the Texas Ethics Commission condemns, which is to mislead\nthe public and engage in unfair practices. \nHow utterly absurd and shameful. \nBut again, not surprising.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m sure that before\nearly voting begins on Monday, we\u2019ll see many more misleading blogs, mailers and\nposts from the negatives and naysayers.  I\npredict that they\u2019ll use their typical alarmist tactics in an effort to sow the\nseeds of division and in an effort to scare up some votes.  I encourage Addison voters to view their\nclaims with appropriate skepticism.  Make\nsure you get the TRUTH about the candidates and the issues, whether it is about\ncampaign finances, or debt (I\u2019m on the Bond Committee, and it\u2019s amazing how\nwell we\u2019re doing, one of only ten cities in Texas with the highest bond ratings\npossible), or any of the other non-issues these folks are trying to raise in\ntheir positively negative campaigns. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s keep the negativity out of Addison, and keep Addison moving in the right direction!\u00a0 The Addison Way is back, and continues to build momentum in Addison.\u00a0 Let\u2019s keep things positive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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