Reprinted from Fort Worth Star Telegram Letters to the Editor - Dec. 15, 2007
Mansfield is a vibrant, growing city. The problem is that the good old boys haven’t grown with the city.
Mansfield elected a mayor to lead the city during its transition from a small 20th-century town to a 21st-century city. The challenge comes because of the City Council’s refusal to acknowledge the dynamics involved in the transformation.
The council rejected the elected mayor because he broke the “code” and isn’t a member of the good-old-boy network, resulting in a vendetta against him.
When a former council member spoke out against the mayor at the council’s open-microphone session, he was allotted extra time to do so. Has the council now done away with the five-minute limit on speakers? Or does it give special privileges to the good old boys?
The city manager says he can’t hire people because of unbudgeted legal costs. Yet the city manager can’t itemize legal costs. How can the mayor be responsible for unbudgeted legal expenses if the city manager can’t specify such?
The proposed $45 million public events center? Exposure of the consulting contract and cost estimates represented nothing illegal, said the city attorney. Where are all those who opposed the Big League Dreams project because of back-room decisions?
Barton Scott is a leader — a leader taking a 20th-century small town into the future. The future is a city in the 21st century.
Residents of Mansfield voted for new leadership. Now’s the time for residents to support that decision.
— Brent Henrich, Mansfield
