April 15, 2005
Colleyville's City Council Candidates
set for only one forum on Sunday at 7pm at the Colleyville Center
sponsored by Lions Club
If voters want to see their City Council Candidates up close and
personal, their only opportunity in Colleyville will be Sunday
night. The Colleyville Lions Club is sponsoring a candidates forum
at 7 pm at the Colleyville Center. Other than a few political
signs, this year's election seems to be drawing little attention.
Mayor Joe Hocutt decided not to seek re-election as did his closest
council ally Mark Skinner. Speculation is that the overwhelming
defeat of 5 out of the 6 bond issues were a factor. Of significant
note was the defeat by 72% of a large voter turn out of the "bury
the power lines" proposition that had been supported by the Mayor
and Skinner.
This year's election has two newcomers, one candidate from council past
that had been re-elected two times and one candidate that has been
defeated two times in the last four years.
For Mayor, newcomer David Kelly and former Councilman John Grace are
facing each other.
To date, both candidates have set a tone for this year's election of
placing an emphasis on their qualities versus their opponent's character
flaws. As is typical in Colleyville campaigns however, someone tosses
around accusations of election violations or some alleged ethical
breach. This year it was council candidate Mike Taylor taking
shots at an opponent that he apparently decided not to take on, John
Grace, after making no secret that the Mayor's slot was his real
interest. As is the age old politics in Colleyville, Taylor plants
a seed with the Star-Telegram that somehow Grace's yard
signs did not meet all the technical requirements mandated by state
election laws. In turn the newspaper then baits the other
candidates into commenting on the pre-supposed fact. However, from
information that LNO has obtained, the Mayoral candidate that filed
first, David Kelly, did not nibble on the bait. Kelly refused to
agree to the suggestion he was "offended," by the fact Grace's
signs did not have the word "for" before Mayor on his signs.
David Kelly may be making a stronger race than many
political observers thought he would. Kelly has never
served on a decision making City Board, such as Planning
and Zoning, or in elected office. Kelly has said he
decided rather than just talk about city politics he wanted to
do something about helping the city, so he decided to run for
office.
John Grace, served on City Council from 1994-1998 with a
reputation as a no-nonsense administrator. He most
recently was President of the Colleyville Soccer Association.
Grace also was appointed to the Colleyville Economic Task Force
last year and instrumental in a number of presentations. Grace
is an independent financial consultant. Grace has said he
wants to insert a calm style of leadership and fiscal
conservative direction to city council.
A rare event in
Colleyville politics was witnessed when the filing for Place 1
on City Council ended up with only one candidate. George
Boll, a Colleyville attorney with his own law firm, will be
elected un-challenged by an opponent. George is a newcomer
to the public office arena as well.
The Mayor's race remains a
contest of experience and Place 1 is an unchallenged newcomer,
neither race reflecting any similarities to divisive races of
the past six years.
The only candidate in this
year's race standing from the 1998 - 2004 bitter political campaigns is
perennial candidate Mike Taylor. If Taylor's comments, quoted in the
Star-Telegram on April 13th, is any indication, he has decided
that there is still mileage in the old wars. Except this time
Taylor has determined his chance of winning is predicated on a
"re-position" of his political territory.
Tony Licata has a Masters from SMU and served as
an executive with a large public company.
Mike Taylor states that while
he does not have a college degree he is a small businessman.
In the April 13th article,
Taylor criticized Licata for supporting Richard Newton, a former councilman and mayor, and for working as treasurer on Newton's 2003 mayoral campaign.
In 2003, Taylor finished third in a three-way race for mayor against Hocutt and Newton. Hocutt won the seat in a runoff.
LNO reported Taylor's endorsement of Newton in 2003.
May 8, 2003
Mike Taylor who lost his bid to become Colleyville's mayor on the May
3rd city election said that he fully supports Richard Newton for mayor.
Taylor said, "Even when I was running, I was always clear
that Newton was my 2nd choice." Taylor said that he
is not planning any formal press conference but urges his supporters to
vote for Newton in the run-off election. When Taylor announced his
intention to get in a three-way race with Hocutt and Newton, on March
15, 2003, Taylor was quoted as saying
"Newton was from the past" and "Hocutt was part of the
status quo."
Taylor was also quoted in the April 13, 2005 Star-Telegram
article, speaking of his opponent Tony Licata, "I'm concerned he will be taking too many orders and not enough advice," Taylor said. "He's a nice guy and a fine man. ... But I think experience is the most valuable asset that a candidate can have."
Mr. Taylor's experience includes his one term on City Council from 1999
- 2001 that included frequent confrontations with Mayor Donna Arp during
and after he was defeated by her for Mayor. A high profile
confrontation took place in March 2000 when Taylor read a prepared
statement attacking the Mayor's integrity and "publicity
stunts." Taylor's tirade was roundly criticized in the media
and at the following council meeting Taylor apologized to Arp.
Taylor then ran for Mayor in 2001 getting 41% of the vote against Arp.
In his three-way race in 2003, Taylor received 22% of the vote for a
third place finish.
In the summer of 2000, Taylor supported the most controversial threaten
condemnation of private property in the city's history when the historic
Couch property was purchased by the city. The elderly Mrs. Couch
stated that Taylor had attempted to convince her to sell their building
to the city in 1999, however she wanted to keep the property. The
City Council voted to take the property, by condemnation if
necessary. After purchasing the property, the building was leased
to the Village of Colleyville development for $10 per month. After
LNO exposed the deal with the Village and the resulting significant
public outcry, Taylor later recanted his vote in a speech to the City
Council stating "if
I had known what was going on behind my back, with negotiations with the
Village, I would have never supported the condemnation of that
(Couch) property." Click
to Hear Mr. Taylor's Comments
Taylor spoke again on April
17, 2002 when he presented documents, during citizens comments, that
included offers from the Village developer to then Mayor Donna Arp and
her ally Mayor Pro Tem Ginny Tigue. The developer inferred the
information must have been stolen from his offices. When former Colleyville Councilman Mike Taylor presented
the documents, linking
Arp and Tigue to the Village Developer, he claimed any actions
would be
covered under Federal Whistle Blower Act. Click
to Hear Mr. Taylor's Comments.
Mayor Donna Arp
told media that Taylor's speech was a "set up" and she
"well understands a set up." Arp pointed out if Taylor
had the papers since May 2001, why did he wait until a couple of weeks
before the 2003 election to make his expose?
When Arp
assumed a position with Realty Capital, after she left the city as
Mayor, Taylor was quoted on January 7, 2004 as saying, "The only thing that surprises
me is they waited this long. When I spoke in 2002 about the circumstances
surrounding Richard Myers and Donna Arp, I knew the average taxpayer simply
didn't have all the information and after it was brought out in the public the
media pretty much swept it under the rug. I am disappointed that council
and following councils have not voted to have the Attorney General do a full and
complete investigation. I would think that Ms. Arp would have welcomed an
investigation to clear her name. As it is now, there will always be a
cloud over her name and the Village at Colleyville project."
In addition to Taylor's hyper-critical
criticism of Arp, he also voted against her successor Joe Hocutt's
appointment to the Planning and Zoning Commission in 2000 and then
opposed Hocutt for Mayor in 2003. While Taylor endorsed Newton in 2003,
he has changed his position and become critical of Lacata for supporting
Newton.
Taylor is seeking, for a third time, to position his political territory
where he thinks 50.1% of the voters may reside.
While Taylor has stated his
willingness to forsake Newton supporters, while welcoming Hocutt and Arp
supporters with open arms this election year, from all appearances that
flip-flop strategy is not finding much traction with either
group.
For archival articles on these candidates and other issues, use the
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