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I'm calling it now-the Leppert honeymoon with the Council is over.

You have to wonder what Willis Johnson thinks of this possible candidate for the DART Board seat. After all , shouldn't the "Inner Circle" have a say in this board position? Maybe you can shop at the Inner Circle influence store and find the price on such things.I'll bet that sign, "In God we trust.All others pay cash" hangs prominently over the doorway.

Wait! I think I know this guy. I'm sure I've gotten several hundred emails from him asking for my help transferring large sums of money from a deposed king.

So glad to see him land on his feet. Seems like a perfect fit for DART.

The City Council should appoint someone as competent as Joyce Foreman if they can find one. However, that will be hard to do. Joyce deserves to be re-appointed because of the way she was done. Don't add to the list of rookies on DART now. It takes them at least two years to get up to speed.

Ed Okpa is successful Dallas business person whom would be a great asset to the DART board.

Ed has built things in this community and has a vision for the future of Dallas, as witnessed two weeks ago when he cut the ribbon on the first high-rise construction built downtown in 30 years. Actually, he helped build three but this one was new from the ground up.

With a high business acumen and clean track record, what's not to like? I'll give Schutze five minutes to think of something or some unattributed rumor to dig up.

Mike, I need a couple more minutes.

O.K., Mike, here’s the deal. On his official nominee information sheet with the city, Okpa answered a question about whether he is a registered voter by saying yes, but he failed to list his voter registration number. County records show two numbers for him. I asked him why he has two numbers.
Okpa said, “I don’t know.”
Good answer. A guy who is a member of my immediate family has about ten numbers I think because of losing his wallet a lot, so I know it can happen.
Also, on city records he shows a certain address as his home. But county property records show the home as being in the name of a woman whose name is not the same as his? What’s up with that, Mike? I asked Okpa.
He said, “It’s my ex-wife.”
Good answer. They split. They did the house 50/50. He’s in it. It’s in her name. That stuff happens.
I asked him if he’s going to do an “inner circle” deal and tell Mayor Tom Leppert that any time he wants to talk to any black person in the city he has to go through a certain person.
Okpa said, “No.”
Good answer. He said, “When Ron Kirk was mayor, I took him to Africa. I never told anybody they had to go through me to talk to Ron Kirk.”
Good answer. But I have a question, Mike. Why did he bring Kirk back?
Mike. You know what. Leppert would be in a lot better shape right now if he answered questions like Okpa.

Ed Okpa is a good guy and would be a good addition to the DART Board, but Joyce Foreman is better qualified based on her previous service and should not have been ousted in the first place. The Mayor's apparent propensity for grudge-holding contradicts his campaign promises of changes at City Hall and is yet another reason to be disappointed in his performance.

Serving on a non-paying Board is a sacrifice and demands dedication and unalloyed attention and leadership to get things done. While in all political appointment considerations folks are entitled to air their views, we must recognize serving is an honor and a great sacrifice by the person serving. I look forward to new challenges recognizing that yielding and building relationships for better understanding are some of the classic examples of effective leadership. No one has monopoly of knowledge nor experience. We are all learners in life and we get better when we embrace our limitations while hoping to getting better each time.

Wow, if he wrote that all by himself, then I want to nominate him to be Sandra Crenshaw's speechwriter and grammar/spell checker!

Okpa may not have the experience, but he is respected and thought of as an honest man. It is a start...

Michael, you've told us why you like Okpa, but haven't told us why you dislike Foreman.

I'll take a stab at why you support Okpa. Could it be that Dwaine Caraway ran for City Council several times against Maxine Thornton-Reese, and lost every time. Foreman was a political ally of Reese's. Thornton-Reese was term-limited off the Council, and Dwaine finally won her seat last year.

Dwaine wanted to punish Foreman for supporting his long-time opponent, so he had Mayor Leppert -- Caraway's ally -- appoint Lynn Flint-Shaw to replace Foreman on the DART board. Shaw was confirmed to Foreman's seat in an 8-7 split council vote.

After being elected chair of the DART board, Flint-Shaw -- a member of Leppert's "inner circle" -- was forced to resign from the board several months later amid ethics, conflict-of-interest, and legal questions.

Ms. Foreman was re-nominated to take the seat on the DART board vacated by Flint-Shaw, but Caraway, with Leppert's support, put his political vandetta above the city's needs, and stalled Foreman's nomination. Caraway then nominated Dr. Beverly Mitchell-Brooks to the DART board. Several weeks later, moments before the vote to decide between Foreman and Mitchell-Brooks was set to occur, Mayor Leppert postponed the vote to a later date. No public reason was given for the delay, and on an 8-7 vote the council refused to go into executive session to discuss the delay.

The following week, Caraway and Leppert unceremoniously kicked Mitchell-Brooks to the curb because Mitchell-Brooks had several DART-related conflicts of interest and would not be confirmed to the board.

The mayor and Caraway then nominated Edward Okpa to the board in Mitchell-Brooks' place, because, once again, they put "winning" above their duty to the city and its residents (who have been without experienced representation on the DART board for several months now).

Look for this pattern to continue until the mayor and Caraway finally pick a successful nominee to defeat Foreman, or Foreman dies of old age.

And Michael, Caraway's appointee to the City Plan Commission, supports Okpa (and whoever comes after that, and whoever comes after that) because his loyalty lies with Caraway above all else.

Does that about sum it up, Michael?

P.S. Love ya, Ed, but you have zero DART experience. Dallas needs someone who will take their seat and start kicking ass on day one.

Jim

Ed can't be the gatekeeper of the "Inner Circle" because old style black politicians in Dallas won't have him. Ed's too sensible and grew up in another country and has a totally different perspective on race relations in this country. It's refreshing, actually, and it's a shame that our black leaders in this city seem to dismiss him so much. They should be listening to his POV rather than brushing his ideas off an some foreigner's wacky perception of our country's (city's) racial problems.

There's politics in every facet of life. It's good if you can get through it all, being in the public view. Ed can do some truly great things- it's not just that he's a "great guy", he is intelligent and does not suffer fools gladly. His style is what we need more of in this town.

First off "jackson walker" aka "L.B." ...It would be nice to not hide behind your employer's name if you want to make personal attacks. There are some great people that I have met at that company and it would be nice to not sully their name by using it in a forum.

In times that people don't show any class it's better to take the high road. Mom always said to not let people drag you into the gutter. She also didn't raise any chumps.

We all know who this is. You have been bitter towards for me some reason which I don't understand. To hold such animosity and bitterness in your heart must be tough. I guess it's always better to distract with loud lies than have quietly spoken truths.

Lynn (RIP) was already on the DART board. They served together. Just so you know.

You live in District Two, right? You have a great councilperson whom I am a big fan of, by the way. Moving on.

If you have any friends in District four, you would know that many people that didn't support Dwaine's campaign are getting all of the help in their neighborhoods that they need. The people that we had the biggest signs for our opponents are likely the ones getting the most help. If you know them, call them and ask them and let us know what you found out. Exactly how many people do you even know in District Four?

Why don't you use your real name anymore? And when have you ever set foot in District Four in the last five years? But you would rather attack people in someone else's neighborhood than address things in your own. I think the world of your councilwoman, btw.

But hey, you still have plenty of time to establish residency and run in District 4's election in 2009.

Anonymous cheap shots also make me giggle. Keep 'em coming.

CP,

I don't think he's being dismissed by all, as an African-American is one of the people that nominated him to the board.

Ed's an interesting guy with a different perspective and also a Harvard grad (I think). Black politicians aren't a monolith, just as any other people of different races/backgrounds/cultures have varied opinions.

Don't 'ya know....that's how they're going to increase DART's financing for projects from here on out - Nigerian scams. They'll have made up a big chunk of that billion dollar shortfall in no time.

But seriously, I honestly don't know anything of this guy's background. However, I think it's time for Leppert to accept that he isn't going to get his way on everything he wants and just stop meddling in the board reappointment process for Foreman.

Okay, now that we've gotten the pissing contest out of the way...

Michael - your support for Okpa is clear and well-reasoned, but you didn't comment on why Okpa would be a better fit for the job than Foreman. Or were you just expressing your opinion about Okpa, and not necessarily about Foreman's qualifications?

I respect your opinion on these matters. Please clarify if you can.

Ask the members of DART's Operator's Union 1338 (hundreds of DART employees) who they would rather have from the community as a DART director representing them,Joyce, or "Rookie"Okpa.

I got nothing against Okpa, but let’s remember that Jennifer Gale finished with more votes than he did in last year’s mayoral election!