This past Sunday Erik Elken of KVIA interviewed former mayors Joe Wardy and Dee Margo on ABC-7 Xtra at 10:30pm.
Predictably, the two men expressed their eternal love for City Manager Gonzalez and the city manager form of government.
Ever since the “strong mayor” system was abolished in 2004, the Oligarchs have been able to ram through their private agenda with greater efficiency and secrecy while our deficit spending and property tax rate have soared astronomically.
We now have the second highest property tax among the 50 largest cities in America, just behind Detroit.
We have issued more debt in the form of certificates of obligation than the five largest Texas cities combined.
We have an insolvent Ballpark, insolvent trolleys, insolvent TIRZes, and dozens of insolvent 380 agreements with private corporations.
Our population is not just stagnant. It has been declining for three years.
But you will never hear concern about any of this from Wardy or Margo, or from the five members of the Oligarchy Caucus on City Council, or from the developers, bankers and attorneys who financed their electoral campaigns.
The two former mayors share another thing in common besides their giddy enthusiasm for city managers. They both lost their bids for reelection and were shown the door by the voting public.
November can’t come soon enough.