Biking for Mayor: Ride Along as Bike Friendly Oak Cliff Q&A's David Kunkle, Mike Rawlings

• Wow, apparently Mike Rawlings goes by the nickname Snookie Pie around the house.  That cat's out of the bag now.

• And what about every other street mentioned in this thread?  They seem to encompass damn near every district in the city.  Are those the fault of Medrano and Hunt too?  Other than the streets Rawlings drives on, it seems to be a city-wide epidemic, which makes it hard for me to pin it on council members.

• I'm trying to remember if the proper phrase is "I couldn't care less," or "I could..." :)

• The story is plainly written.  It is full of all the tidbits.  Kunkle and wife 4 celebrate her birthday with her parents one night.  Next morning she rises early and goes for run.  Comes home and he tells her the marriage is ended.  She never saw any signs.  She suggests marriage counseling.  He refuses and moves out of house a few days later and filed for divorce. Week later she moves out.  He moves back into home.  3 months later he moves Sarah Dodd into home.  They get married the next month.   You do the math. here is just one of the many obvious portions of the article Quotes from article: Kunkle/Dodd:  "...in the summer of 2006, that simple click turned into a thump-thump of a quickening heartbeat"  "Saturday, August 12, he took his wife, Kris Ankersen, and her parents out to dinner at Texas de Brazil on Cedar Springs for her 42nd birthday....The next morning, she got up early for a 10-mile run around White Rock Lake, trying out some of the new gear she’d gotten for her birthday. She says when she got back to the house, Kunkle was sitting at the kitchen table. “He told me he wanted a divorce,” Ankersen says. “It was the biggest shock of my life. In my mind, we had no marital problems at all.”   ... Ankersen says she wanted to seek marital counseling, but he said no. .. Kunkle moved out of their house by the middle of the following week. He filed for divorce a few days later. Not long after that, he took Dodd to lunch at Capital Grille and told her the news. ... in late November, Dodd was moving into the M Streets house that Kunkle once shared with wife No. 4, and the two were planning to get married. The wedding was scheduled for December 8

• Thanks for the link. And I repeat What evidence EXACTLY is there that he had an improper relationship with Sara prior to his asking his 4th wife for a divorce?

• In reply to OED_DENIZON: Read about Kunkle's affair with Sarah Dodd while married to wife 4. See D Magazine's Jan. 2007 article entitled:  THE LOVE AFFAIR THAT ROCKED CITY HALL. http://www.dmagazine.com/Home/2006/12/08/The_Love_Affair_That_Rocked_City_Hall.aspx

• Well....duh....Rawlings is NOT trying to RUN this City. BECAUSE, the MAYOR does NOT run the City. The City is ran by the City manager, not by the Mayor.  The Mayor has no authority or rights that enable him to RUN the City.  The Mayor has no budget whatsoever to get your potholes fixed.  Your City Councilperson has an enormous budget that they maneuver and direct....and thereby, cause whatever streets they wish to be repaired. But, not never ever, the Mayor.

• The reason we are voting for Rawlings is because we are not stupid.  And, we know that fixing potholes is the responsibility of the City Coucilperson who selects which streets in their district gets fixed.  Not, the Mayor's yob.

• A 60 year old guy on a Vespa, with his trophy wife.

• Again, this is the fault of your councilwoman, Angela Hunt and in some of those portions you mention, Pauline Medrano.  They and they alone direct where the bond money to fix streets is applied.

• Blame Angela Hunt and Pauline Medrano for these streets.  They decide which streets in their district get the street fixin' bond money and which do not.

• Blame Angela Hunt for that.  She decides which streets in her district get the street fixin' bond money and which do not.

• And Just EXACTLY how do you know that he was having an affair with Sara prior to getting his 4th divorce?

• You've got a problem with him being married to a woman half his age? hell, that's reason enough to buy him a beer!

• I care!  Five marraiges is a lot.  And, the fact that while he was married to no. 4, he started having an affair with Sarah Dodd, ended his 4th marriage and then moved Sarah Dodd into his home. Kunkle is 60yrs old.  Married 5 times.  Current wife is in mid 30's. Those things go to character. These are not the qualities I want in Mayor.

• Well, I suppose they'd actually be able to spell his name right.  That ain't nothing...

• When will Mike Rawlings come clean about his divorce? Was he seeing anyone when he was married? Why can;t Mike Rawlings be truthful about anything?

• who cares?

• Kunkel's first stop should be divorce court! He's been there four times.

• Not surprising to hear Rawlings thinks Dallas streets are well maintained.  He told those of us at the TJ debate that he's lived in NW Dallas for 15 years.  Some people must have looked shocked, so he followed up with Preston Hollow is in NW Dallas.  Not quite.  He lives in a special world that the rest of us can only glimpse from the outside of his estate walls.  Takes his friends to The Bridge on our well maintained streets.   Guess he means the streets are good enough for the bums and we should not expect anything better.

• Notice that Mike Rawlings' favorite place is Al Biernat's, one of the most pricey upscale restaurants in Dallas.  Kunkle likes the "beat cop" places, where normal people go.  That's why Kunkle gets my vote.

• You know, even though I've never seriously considered voting for Rawlings, I have to admit that he's made some decent points along the way.  After hearing his opinion on the state of city streets, I know he has no business trying to run this city.

• Skillman?  That's the most recently re-paved street in that neighborhood (although it took them about 8 months between scraping off the old asphalt and laying down the new.  And do stay out of the right lane heading south - you'll bottom out most seriously).  Try the aforementioned Greenville, Henderson, McMillan, Matilda.  They make Skillman look as smooth as a baby's bottom.

• All joking aside, how can anyone vote for Rawlings given his complete ignorance of that state of our roads: one of the few functions of city government that we can probably all agree on? Whether or not we support private subsidies in the name of development, city-owned hotels, fancy bridges to no where, homeless shelters in neighborhoods, we all should probably agree that the city is responsible for the maintenance of roads. By any objective measure and speaking in aggregate, the roads in Dallas are miserable. How can he not see that, aside from the obvious response that he lives in 0.1% land with the wealthiest citizens of Dallas whose lives are not affected by cuts in government services?

• I live like right next to Zeus Comics, but Titan has a vaaaaastly superior selection and back issue archive. If you're a fan of plastic knick-nacks and shit, yeah I guess Zeus is superior, but in terms of actual comic books, Titan is one of the best I've ever seen

• I had a cousin town last year from Las Angeles for a few days. He lives in Hollywood, so he wanted to see the urban fabric of Dallas. From DFW Airport, we went to my house (in a historic neighborhood called Parkdale, which is in south Dallas) to get settled, then upon leaving, drove through Park Row/South Blvd, and stopped at Fair Park and wandered around, then brunch at Cafe Brazil in Deep Ellum. By then rush hour had started so we went through downtown to Dealey Plaza and the 6th Floor Museum. Afterward, a trip eastward to White Rock Lake to watch the sun set. Then killed some time at the Windmill Lounge and finally dinner at Bob's where he ran into an old friend from college... Next day we did Matt's in Lakewood for lunch and Maple and Motor for dinner with stopovers in between at Amsterdam Bar, and the Tin Room (apparently they don't have male pole dancers in LA, go figure). Even though my neighborhood borders the Great Trinity Forest, we only did a quickie driving tour, no hiking (it had been raining). He was most impressed with Fair Park and the skyline and thought our downtown looked small. He also said that, either I "need a bigger car with new shocks" or "these are the suckiest streets in America". And he travels for a living and has lived all over, from Boston to Chicago and now LA...

• I know DDG. It breaks my heart. I hiked there on Sunday, where. I saw a painted Bunting. (google it if you don't know, cool bird) I saw coyotes in those woods earlier during the snow. I'm enjoying it while it's there. The land I frequent has two historic cemeteries in the area by Glenville. I'm also volunteering at the Spring Creek Forest Preserve, which is larger and will be preserved. I've been volunteering removing privet. It's a beautiful spot and I'll be spending more time there when the inevitable happens at surrounding country around the actual nature area in Richardson. There's more areas around too, Hiked at Oak Cliff Nature Preserve on Memorial Day.

• I did not like Kunkle's answers to these questions, which appear to contradict each other. Does he favor wider and faster streets or narrower and slower streets?? Q. What infrastructure changes would you prioritize to improve safety for cyclists? A. The bicycle lanes in NYC seem to be problematic for cyclists. I actually favor wider streets with more street parking to help calm traffic. Q. What elements of the bike plan would you give priority to? A. Connectivity and Complete Streets Q. Would you support bike lanes or transit improvements that might reduce capacity and cause vehicular delay during peak periods if safety was improved for bicyclists and transit riders? A. Yes.

• A helicopter? 

• "Spring Creek Nature Area in Richardson"  --  Better look quick. Most of that corner (SW Renner / Plano Roads) is actually available for development.  When that is done, the actual 'nature area' will be a sliver of a wooded path between Blue Cross on the south and whatever Pei Wei, Starbucks, oil change place the City deems appropriate on the north. And that's not even taking into account the Urban Development (aka 'Apartment The Town') that will be on the north side of Renner, all the way up to Bush. ' ... don't it always seem to go ...'

• I told my wife the places that Rawlings selected ending with Al's. She laughed. We have been there and will not go back. Over priced, food is not that great and it is extremely loud. We couldn't talk with the people we were with other than by sign language! Regarding the places that Kunkle suggested: they are a good start for neighborhoods but then you have to include all the other places that the bloggers have mentioned so far. Dallas has a LOT of really interesting venues. I would like to know what Rawlings drives that produces a ride that makes him think that the streets are well maintained. Maybe he and his friends could buy one of these vehicles for every family in Dallas. That way the city could really save on road maintaince! Kunkle has a lime green Vespa. He really does know what roads need to be taken care of!

• Dear Rawlings: When was the last time you drove down Lemmon Avenue on the way to Love Field or Henderson Avenue on your way to East Dallas.  Come to think of if it, when was the last time you've been to North Lemmon or East Dallas? Sincerely, I Vote.

• Oh my gosh -- how did I miss it -- Inwood Road between Lemmon Avenue and 1-35.  Totally, horribly, nastily, impassible.  Deputy Mayor Medrano should be screaming to high heaven at City Hall about that one.

• As to streets, Mr. Rawlings obviously doesn't drive down Hall, Washington, Lemmon, Wycliff, Fitzhugh, Douglas or any other cross-town, heavily trafficked, inner-city street.  All of them totally suck.  And has anyone ever noticed how Blackburn between Turtle Creek and Cole (where it runs alongside Kalita Humphreys and under Katy Trail) is basically impassible unless you are going 10 miles an hour, and then all of a sudden it's smooth and well-landscaped between Cole and 75?  Well, welcome to the magical world of TIFs.  CityPlace TIF provided those wonderful 2 blocks, but the rest of the street be damned. 

• Jesus, where's the love for the Arts District? And I understand being proud of the largest collection of Tudor homes, but what about the largest collection of exposition-style Art Deco buildings in Fair Park? As for dinner, my friends are always impressed with Hatties in Bishop Arts. I agree with those who mentioned Dealey Plaza: it's something everyone wants to see even if they don't know that they want to see it.

• My list -- out the front door (by foot, not car), down to Turtle Creek, along the Creek to the Katy Trail entrance at Hall, Katy Trail to Katy Trail Ice House.  Then let them stumble back home.  Next day always Nasher and Dealey Plaza (everyone who has ever visited me had those 2 places on their wish list, along with NorthPark Center -- although I make them go there alone).  Mias for Mexican, Maple and Motor for a burger, and Fearings (for my fussy food friends).  I support the Bridge, but the last place I'd take anyone to is a homeless shelter.  Only enforces outsiders' belief that Dallas's inner-city sucks.

• well maintained streets?...ask him to drive down skillman (south of mockingbird).  I've lost teeth driving down there.  Oh, yea...there is a little known street called Greenville Avenue, that thing is BRUTAL in between Belmont and Ross...

• Nice Big Bob -- love the Mecca and Baby Back Shak!

• What can I say -- I like to browse the back issues. And I'm too old for action figures. Nothing wrong with Zeus -- big fan too. But Titan's much closer to the house -- especially with the move two weeks ago to Forest and Webb Chapel in advance of the coming Walmart to Northwest Highway. And it's just the right touch of old school.

• Also, Wilonsky, whats your thing with titan, are they paying you with each mention LOL...Everyone knows that Zeus Comics is the superior store with a better selection and friendlier staff, not to mention is lacks the amalgamated smell of BO, corn chips and desperation

• Mike Rawlings was thinking of his favorite city, Boston.

• Rawlings has no business in this run-off, the mans an total idiot. Taking people to a homeless shelter as a city "show-off"?  How about taking them to the Greyhound Bus Station or to the Presby Outdoor Bum Toilet as a extra special treat to boot? I know whom i'm voting for and thats Kunkle!

• Personally, I always take people to a bar first.  The city seems better when everyone's good and loaded, especially the next 7 hours they beg me to spend with them touring a homeless shelter.  Love the Mecca, by the way, but I'm surprised nobody mentioned Dealey Plaza.  I know it's not in the best shape, but it happens to be the ONE place that every visitor I've ever welcomed to Dallas has wanted to see.

• I think Mike just misspoke. He meant to say that "most of Preston Hollow's streets are well-maintained."

• How do you leave out Fair Park? And really Rawlings? You're taking your guests to an effing homeless shelter?

• very telling answers. I like your answer the best though Robert. Took a visitor to Good to Go Taco, a few months back. The Green Spot Market on Saturdays is a blast when it's happening. White Rock Lake, Santa Fe Trail are cool new spots. My last visitors, we went hiking up at Spring Creek Nature Area in Richardson. Ate tex mex at Chuy's (it was convenient to where we were shopping), dinner at the Grape.

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