Supporting McNeill

My friend Perry McNeill is seeking re-election as mayor of our city, and I wholeheartedly support him in that effort.

Why? Not simply out of friendship, but because:

* He has given Denton seven years (five as a council member, the last two as mayor) of faithful, responsible, progressive leadership.

* Under his leadership the City Council is unified and is working harmoniously for our city.

* Planned, orderly growth and business development is occurring, bringing the growth we need and the orderly development we want.

* Denton’s health care facilities have grown so that Denton is now a medical destination for all of North Texas.

* A closer, more efficient relationship be­tween the city staff and the council has been established.

* And in general, Denton is on a positive, progressive growth path toward a dynamic future.

In Perry McNeill we have a mayor who works virtually full time at the job and whose only reason for seeking re-election is to continue serving this community that he loves.

I encourage your support for Mayor McNeill’s re-election.

Fred W. Cassell,

Denton 

A vote for Mulroy

I know many of you have worked with City Councilman Joe Mulroy on civic boards and community projects over the past 15 years. You know of the time, talent and donations he personally invests in this community.

He is well-respected for his business leadership and experience in dealing with complex financial issues. These skills have been a great asset in his service as our councilman over the past four years.

I have personally had the benefit of serving with Joe Mulroy on business boards over the past nine years. He always comes to those business meetings well-prepared and his questions and comments are always honest and to the point.

I urge the residents of Denton to re-elect Joe Mulroy and keep his strong leadership working for all of us as our city councilman.

Rob Gentry,

Denton

A Mulroy fan

I add my voice to the chorus of support for Joe Mulroy. Joe is a problem-solver who brings a commonsense, business-oriented approach to his position on the City Council. I witnessed this first-hand as I watched Joe help resolve a dispute that had been festering between our local firefighters and city officials for more than 10 years.

He accomplished by coming to the table with no preconceived notions, displaying a willingness to negotiate, listening carefully to both sides, gathering all of the facts and then joining with the firefighters to reach a satisfactory conclusion that was fair and reasonable to both parties.

From start to finish, the process was completed in less than three months and did an enormous amount to restore the trust of the fire department employees in their city.

This impressive performance won me over and made me a huge fan of Joe Mulroy. In my opinion, it would be foolish not to take advantage of his vast experience and sound judgment, so I urge you to vote for Joe Mulroy. He is a good man and a great representative.

Sennett Kirk,

Denton

Re-elect Mulroy

Denton needs to recognize and thank Councilman Joe Mulroy for his vision and leadership in the construction of Fire Station No. 7 in southern Denton.

The “green” fire station was recently awarded a LEEDS Gold rating for environmental excellence. Councilman Mulroy also was a strong voice early on promoting the DFD/DPD Regional Training Center in conjunction with North Central Texas Com­munity College.

The city of Denton has benefited greatly by Councilman Joe Mulroy’s leadership on the council and I urge the citizens of Denton to vote for and re-elect Joe Mulroy to City Council Place 6. 

Tommie Nations,

Denton

Gaming the system

Denton currently has a slate of four mayoral candidates. We also have one incumbent who has been selected three times to serve District 2. Midway through her third elective term, Ms. Kamp chose to desert her constituents of District 2 to run in District 5. Candidates McNeill, Burroughs and Kamp have all been elected to at least three consecutive terms.

Someone has figured out that using the city’s interpretation of the charter, a candidate could conceivably run over 20-plus times in a given district/at-large area, and as many as 50-plus years if any candidate chose to move to different districts over the course of years.

I have no personal animosity toward any of the individual candidates. However, I do take great offense as a voting citizen at the “seat-sliding” that has been allowed to occur in candidates’ third terms.

In my reading of the charter Article 2.01, it neither states nor implies that a person is eligible to again run for office after being elected to three terms in office. It is quite clear (to me) that a person “shall not be eligible for election to more than three consecutive … terms.”

A forthcoming court decision may resolve this issue.

But, in an effort to open the doors to new blood and prevent future embedded powers for all council seats, I plan to support Justin Bell for mayor. He offers fresh, creative thinking and a determination to bring our government back to its basic functions and accountability.

J. Poole,

Denton

That GOP crossover

I read with interest the Dianne Ed­mondson/Neil Durrance views and opinions involving the alleged Republican crossover voters in the March Primary.

“Operation Chaos” was a dumb idea by Rush Limbaugh, although no dumber than most of his thinking, as it strengthened the influence of this senatorial district in the Democratic Primary. So in the long term, we all really should be grateful to the bloviated drug addict.

The real nugget of information in the story, however, is the local dissatisfaction with the Republican Party, from the White House down to our local level. Our long national nightmare will end in about seven months.

On the local level, other than bidding bye-bye to old doc Michael Burgess, we will have to wait until the 2010 elections to begin the long overdue house cleaning at the courthouse.

If Dianne Edmondson really wants the Republicans to hold office after 2010, her party will have to rid itself of the problem office holders at the courthouse in the primary or face the wrath of the voters in November.

Either way, the voters will win.

William Trantham,

Denton