Mayor Insists He Had No Idea Willis Johnson's Lobbying for Concessions Company

• The reason Russell& company is doing good in Dallas is because,they are the only black construction company,that can bid,bond,and do the work.Dwayne Caraway is not running anything at Parkland.The good thing is Parkland does not play that,City of Dallas mess.I served on Parkland board,it's all done by the book, so is DFW. Russell help to build Atlanta Airport,football stadium,hospitals and etc.for the past 50 years, in concession business 30 years,they are a real business,the Father founded the company now his sons are running it,just like the Crow family.Only in Dallas would having the professionalism to hire a PR person to introduce you around town become part of a conspiracy,because the person you hired happen to have a client,that's the Mayor.In most places that would look good on your resume,in Dallas it can be the kiss of death,in this case two very different businesses are being drug into a mess. Carol Reed has clients other than the Mayor,all PR firms do,why is this one so hot, Concessions International really does not seek business in small regional airports,Love Field does not fit their business, volume low.

• Oh boy this is getting good. Sam you just keep digging. LOL And Robert keep asking those questions. I think Rudy's defensive remarks are very telling. Just what is DMN's role in all this. Tell you what it looks like. Looks like Rudy is a tool. Where did your story come from Rudy? The mayor's office?

• Please place the Mayor's quote as a caption for your picture above. If you just hire the right consultant things will be fine. He said yesterday he met with a business looking to relocate to Dallas, and he wants to make sure they don't look at the city council sideways, wondering if it's cutting deals. "In our positions, we've got the responsibility, a special fiduciary responsibility, to make sure we're cutting a business deal that's devoid of a lot of personal issues," the mayor said. "Public entities, rightly or wrongly, are different.

• The question is where was Leppert for all the time the contracts were being negotiated in good faith by the current vendors, who were investing hundreds of thousands of dollars in upgrades now based on their "good faith" negotiations with the city staff. I don't care how the Mayor wants to position it now but he screwed up by not getting involved in the process much earlier. Now he wants business people who did the right thing all along (including not asking for rent discounts following 9/11) to take it in the chops because he was asleep at the switch. He should be ashamed of himself. The message this sends about dealing with Dallas politicians is the same old story people have heard for years. Make sure you hire the right consultants, don't count on a reasonable response from some members of the city council and if you are smart take your business somewhere else.

• I asked Willis why he met with Caraway, who is not on the DFW Airport board, to talk DFW concessions. He just responded: "He had a board appointee."

• Rudy: I wasn�t suggesting that the meeting had anything to do with how you reported your story. My sense was that you obviously were researching the issue for some time, which you confirmed, and Leppert was getting his ducks in a row with Johnson and Caraway before your story hit the paper. Now, obviously, we don�t know what was discussed in those meetings, or if they were scheduled before you started digging around, but it�s certainly worth a mention far as I�m concerned.

• Sam, Interesting how? I interviewed Leppert on April 21,well after already he said publicly at a council briefing that he was concerned about the deals. And weeks (months really) before I knew about his concerns, I was gathering details about the deals, including tapes of old committee meetings, the contracts, SoS docs, DBE info etc. Whatever Johnson's meeting with Leppert was about, it happened after my story was submitted to the editors and had nothing to do with I wrote.

• I haven't read the story yet, but just started laughing when I read the headline.

• Johnson also lobbied Leppert and Mayor Pro Tem Dwaine Caraway on behalf of H.J. Russell & Company, of which Concessions International is a subsidiary. Johnson lobbied the two regarding construction for DFW Airport, the convention center hotel and Parkland Hospital. https://lobbyreg.dallascityhall.com/FinalReports/rpt0000000114_20100413_162715.pdf Johnson�s effort�s were successful, according to this March 28 story in <i>The Atlanta Journal-Constitution</i>: <i>Major projects this year include work on a hotel and convention center, an airport expansion and a hospital, all in Dallas.</i> http://www.ajc.com/business/developer-h-j-russell-407744.html Oh, and Leppert had a 12 p.m. meeting with Caraway on April 23.

• LMC, I have asked Johnson that very question in a follow-up e-mail.

• If this major food concessionaire isn't interested in Love Field maybe that means that it is a more challenging environment than the mayor realizes. In addition, the filing can always be amended once the Mayor forces the city to put everything out for bid. Times change. Nice to have friends at City Hall.

• Council member Caraway isn't on the D/FW board of directors. So why is Mr. Johnson lobbying him? This all sounds fishy. Why don't you look up all the other people the Mayor's top political consultants are getting money from. Pay to know the Mayor.

• Speaking of Mayor Leppert�s regular meetings with Johnson, it�s interesting to note that the two had a 10 a.m. meeting scheduled on Friday, April 23. Rudy�s story was published on Monday, April 26.

• Wasn't Willis Johnson one of the three SALT "consultants" accused of trying to shake down inland port developer Richard Allen?

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