O'Neal - I Still Remember

Maybe if we wait a few years EVERYONE in town will forget everything I messed up as Mayor and all the interaction with the District Attorneys office.  Have no fear I have NOT forgotten.

Let me go over a couple of things I so fondly remember about O'Neals tenure.

1) The water system was a failure to plan by city council and any of those on there now.  Mr Windwehen, in July 2011, commented on this, "you failed to plan 7 years ago when this was brought to your attention, so now you have no options but to go outside for money.  If you'd done your job, you would of raised rates then in anticipation of this, and had capitol to pay for it, but you didn't."  See Blog Post

For that entire 7 years want to guess who was mayor of this city? Hmmmm...oh yeah Bobby O'Neal!  The leader of our council.

In doing so Mayor O'Neal lead our city into debt when we had to issue bonds to repair the water system for the first time.  Prior to that we were a debt free city.  Not anymore.  We are millions in debt and I promise it won't be any time soon that we come out of that.

2) Let's run our city like we print money.  Mayor O'Neal not only condoned but encouraged running a $400,000 deficit in our budget.  In 2011 - 2012 budget they started with a negative budget of $400,000.  Now our coffers had already shrunken by over $2,000,000 over the previous couple of years, but 'we have oil money coming' so let's spend it. See Blog Post

3) Let's not forget the support of the worst city manager we have ever had.  Mayor O'Neal tried his  best to keep the city manager that ran our city into the ground financially, David Huseman.  When it came down to taking care of business Mayor O'Neal not only tried every dirty trick in the book to keep Mr Huseman but when he was fired by the council he See Blog Post:
     A) Issued a final payroll check illegally
     B) Retroactively gave Mr Huseman a payraise that was NOT authorized by city council
Who the hell gives someone they fired a payraise?  It was so bad I filed charges on Mayor O'Neal.  The DA's response?  "Well there's something there but we have bigger fish to fry".  It's who you are isn't it? If it was you and me we'd of been in jail, just ask Rev Roach about that.

4)  This doesn't EVEN cover the election fraud scandel, the Museum District, the being VP of a corporation doing business with the city, etc, etc, etc.

I remember Bobby O'Neal and all that he brought to our town.  He's brought the increased cost, higher taxes, debt for the first time, scandals by the score, and the good old boy system at it's best.  Bobby O'Neal was king of the good old boy system for 16 years and wants back in.

I REMEMBER AND HOPE YOU WON'T FORGET EITHER!!!!

God Bless on this Easter Weekend,
Dennis Nesser 

Traffic

I remember about 15 years ago I was at the stop light by McDonald's and there were 6 cars going the same direction at the light.  When I saw then Mayor O'Neal a couple of days later I told him he'd better get a handle on the traffic before it got out of hand.  Joking as I was at the time, it appears I was onto something and didn't even know it.

Now I know that the increase numbers of 18-wheelers have had some impact, especially on Sarah DeWitt and 183.  The city council even created trucking routes to keep 18 wheelers out of the town, and on those 2 streets.

But that's not what I want to address. 

Several times last week I was almost hit by someone running red lights.  Not one of those was an 18-wheeler.  The first one came off of St George and turned right as I was coming from KCTI.  I had to swerve into oncoming traffic to avoid hitting the car. 

Second was by the courthouse when some ran a seriously red light at high speed on St. Louis.  I was already into the intersection (on a green light) and had to slam on my breaks to prevent this pickup truck from ruining my life. 

Now there have been others in the last couple of weeks of people running red lights, but those 2 were not only the closest but the scariest to me.  I'm talking heart pounding, pull the car to a stop and take a deep breath type of close. 

So I've been watching.  I think at least part of it's been that we as a group are not the best of drivers.  We drive like we're the only ones on the road and it's not a big deal, and 15 years ago that kind of driving didn't matter.  There wasn't a car waiting at every corner, so by default we could drive through a lot of intersections and it didn't matter.  Now note I have referenced "we" in this statement.  Until I started teaching my boys how to drive, I was very much in that group.  There is nothing like having a teenager in the car, who by their very nature know everything, and you're trying to tell them not to drive like you are if they want to pass their driving test, to make you change the way you drive.  I'm about to start on #3 teenage about to drive. 

I've also noticed that while teenagers drive like teenagers, especially right before and after school and during lunch, that the lack of driving skills is not limited to teenagers. 

This weekend one of our mainstays of Gonzales, Mr Burchard, was medi-flighted out of here because of an accident.  I don't know the details, but what I do know is that to many people I know have been in accidents over the last 6 months.  That these are local people getting hurt and yes, even killed because of people not paying attention to their driving, or in to much of a rush to wait for a stop light. 

If you're not able to drive in this traffic then you are just as much to blame as those going to fast.  Get off the road.  I know it limits your life style, but when you cause an accident and someone else gets killed what is that trip to Walmart going to mean to you? I know I've heard it 1000 times in the last couple of years, "it's just down the block" or "we're on the back roads after we get off 90a".  This from unlicensed kids driving while their parents are in the car, or worst letting the kids drive without them, and from people, 1 elderly and one who had medical problems and shouldn't be driving.  To young and to old or sick but the laws don't apply to them. *can you hear me rolling my eyes?*

I'm begging you, slow down.  Stop at lights and stop signs.  Pay attention to what's going on around you.  Be responsible about your driving. Don't drive if you shouldn't be (for whatever reason). 

The 18 wheeler deal is a whole other problem and it's just as serious.  But not much 'we' can do individually about that.  The council and police will have to handle those.  BUT we CAN and MUST take care of the problems I've listed above.  I'm tired of hearing about people I know in accidents, and am scared to death, wondering how many we'll have to bury before we'll change the way we think.

God Bless,
Dennis

Nesser for Mayor

 

Ok, bet I got your attention on that one didn't I? I figured it's first shot weekend, so I'd make the first shot in the upcoming election.  But before I get to much further, I have no intention of running for mayor, but I do have intentions of making sure those that are considering it understand the process.  And those who think they can run this city should do so.  That's right as far as I'm concerned there should be 10 people running for mayor and council. 

First of all it cost NOTHING to file to run for mayor or city council.  There is no declaration of political party, it doesn't matter Democrat, Republican, Independent or Other, it doesn't go on the ballot anywhere.  No certifications are needed, you don't even have to have a high school diploma, nothing!  The only requirement is that you have been a citizen of Gonzales for the last 6 months. So running for mayor or city council is available for anyone in this city who is a resident.  The only thing you have to do is declare with the City Secretary, and fill out some paperwork, bingo you're running for office.

Now we've got some talented people that don't necessarily want to be in politics but would make an excellent mayor. If you know someone in that category it's time to start talking seriously to them about  We've got some people that I'm certain think they know it all that have their opportunity to show the city what they really know, you know put up or shut up (I'm certain many put me in this category).  And yes, you'll have some with personal agendas run too, and the voters will have to sift through all the $#@! to figure out who really will be the best person for mayor.  This should not be a one (wo)man race for either mayor or city council.

So if you think you might want to be mayor or council member, NOW is the time for you to start getting a team together.  People who will talk you up.  People willing to knock on doors with/for you.  People to make you look good.  A platform of things you'd like to see happen in the city would be a good start.  What are your visions for the city? Get it together so you can convince the citizens to vote for you.  And if you have a plan to get the citizens out to vote, that would work even better!  You can't wait till May and expect this stuff to fall into place.  You've got to start now.

If rumors are right we'll have 2 positions that will not have incumbents running.  Nothing concrete, but I'd expect at least one, if not both, of the 2 Bobbys won't run again.  So opportunity is there now for someone to step up. It's time we put some leadership into this city for growth, development of our current assets, and some fiscal responsibility.  If you know someone who can do that for this city, now is the time to get their name out there!

God Bless,
Dennis Nesser

Grant and District Attorney Heather McMinn

Ok, so I've received no less than a dozen phone calls and dozens of emails asking me about my thoughts on the Grant decision.  So here we go.

First of all, if you've been hiding under a rock for the last year, you probably don't know that I filled a report with with the Gonzales City Police Department that was turned over to District Attorney Heather McMinns' office, and they "lost" it.  The police department refiled the charges and in over 3 months nothing has happened. 

The report I filled was on Mayor Bobby O'Neal over his action after the firing of then City Manager David Huseman, and the subsequent check that was issued containing an illegal pay raise and back pay that had not been approved by the city council. 

Now this is the same Mayor Bobby O'Neal that District Attorney Heather McMinn refused to prosecute back in 2009/2010 for the same voter fraud that Mr Grant is being charged with, because of "Political Pressures" and her office didn't have the resources to prosecute the charges.  (For more read my old blog Justice Gonzales Style)

So honestly I'm not one bit surprised.  District Attorney Heather McMinn has proven time and time again that she is incapable of prosecuting anything of a political nature.  I truly believe that if she is re-elected again in May that Mayor O'Neal will retire with not so much as a slap on the wrist for his actions. 

As for Mr. Grant, the 'second chance' was given to him a year ago when he failed to follow through with his probation.  So now for a third chance we'll see if he's smart enough to take it and run.  Do I think it's right? Nope I don't, but I don't expect anything else from District Attorney Heather McMinn and her office.

So once again "Call the DAs office.  Call, let them know that if there was an illegal actions they BEST prosecute!" then "Vote in this next election! Let those involved know WE WILL NOT STAND FOR THIS KIND OF CONDUCT! Let everyone know we will remove anyone and everyone involved, that INCLUDES the DA!"

God Bless,
Dennis Nesser