Subject: Jerry Allen

• The Unholy Trinity: Kirk, Miller and Leppert

  August 15, 2007

• Tom Leppert: Predictable and Classy

  September 12, 2007

• Dallas City Council Grills DART Boss Over That Missing Billion

  January 15, 2008

• Warning You Now: A Lot of Math Ahead

  January 21, 2008

• Giving Joyce Foreman a Break

  February 6, 2008

• Yet Again, Council Committee Wastes Time and Gets Nowhere With Booting Ordinance

  The city council's Transportation and Environment Committee failed Monday afternoon to vote on a proposed ordinance to regulate booting vehicles in private parking lots, opting instead to hold a third meeting on the issue. After some committee members asked questions already outlined in the briefing and others sought to modify the city staff's recommendation, chair Linda Koop said there were "too many outstanding questions" and called for a second special meeting to be held before the council's

  June 2, 2009

• Everyone Knows That Hotel's a "Risk." Which Ain't Stopping Anyone.

  May 14, 2008

• Wait, Even the Trinity Project Model Isn't Done Yet? And It Took Two Years?

  September 9, 2008

• As Far As Some on the Council Are Concerned, We've Already Voted For the Convention Center Hotel

  September 24, 2008

• A Really Long Post About Last Week’s Council Meeting. Worth Reading, Though. Swear.

  October 28, 2008

• Before Council Votes to Ban Smoking, a Lot of Smoke is Blown at City Hall

  After nearly three hours of discussion, the city council wrapped up yesterday's briefing on the proposed strengthened smoking ordinance seemingly prepared to vote on the item at next week's agenda meeting. Council members appear poised to approve a ban on smoking in bars, pool halls and within 15 feet of public buildings at the December 10 meeting, with council members Jerry Allen and Steve Salazar emerging as potential advocates of expanding the ban to include smoking while driving with a child

  December 4, 2008

• Smoke! Smoke! Smoke That Cigarette! Because, Come April, Well ...

  Sam Merten Chief Ozumba Lnuk-X addresses the council today in opposition to the smoking ordinance. Hey, Adam Woods -- his real moniker -- totally stole our name! After more than three hours of tedious discussion and debate, the council voted today 10-5 to prohibit smoking in bars, pool halls and within 15 feet of public buildings effective April 10, with council members Sheffie Kadane, Steve Salazar, Mitchell Rasansky, Tennell Atkins and Vonciel Hill voting in opposition. But before the vote w

  December 10, 2008

• Why the New Smoking Ordinance Should Have Been Delayed, and Sorting Through the 10 Amendments

  There's a line where government stops and the rights of the people begin, and when Mayor Tom Leppert and nine of his council colleagues voted to strengthen Dallas' smoking ordinance, that line wasn't blurred, they drove right past it as if it didn't even exist. But no matter where you stand on the issue, one thing should have been clear in yesterday's council debate: The council opposition posed an excellent argument to at least delay the vote so the council could hash out some of the finer p

  December 11, 2008

• Anti-Convention Center Hotel Group Files Temporary Restraining Order Against City

  Sam MertenWe've been hearing for some time that the Citizens Against the Taxpayer-Owned Hotel would be seeking a temporary restraining order sooner than later to keep the city from proceeding with the convention center hotel without a proper vote. Turns out, sooner was yesterday: Citizens Against the Taxpayer Owned Hotel, et. al. v. The City of Dallas, Texas and Dallas Convention Center Hotel Development Corporation showed up Monday in the 160th District Court; Unfair Park received the petition

  February 17, 2009

• Jerry Allen and the Former Dallas City Council ... All-Stars? Sure. Go With That.

  Bill Blayes, Alan Walne and Donna Halstead -- The Ex-Council Members out of costume!Few days back we peeked at Carolyn Davis and Dwaine Caraway's what-updates as served up on Dallas Delivers, the city's riotous no-holds-barred talk show served up on Time Warner Cable Channel 16. Alas, some of us don't have the cables, so the city's been posting throughout the week the entire series on YouTube; I'm totally getting the boxed set for my father for his birthday. There are so many episodes from which

  March 13, 2009

• Blowing Smoke|Red-Faced Profession|From the Inside Too

  December 4, 2008

• Is Expanding the Dallas Smoking Ordinance a Commie Plot?

  November 27, 2008

• Pave it to save it?

  October 25, 2007

• The Convention Center Hotel Vote is Not Just About a Building. It’s About a Mayor.

  April 30, 2009

• Jerry Allen Suggests Demolishing Convention Center If Hotel Isn't Built, Compares Trinity Toll Road Project to Landing on the Moon

  Sam MertenNow we know why Jerry Allen hasn't been allowed to debate about the convention center hotel.While researching our upcoming cover story on Mayor Tom Leppert, which will appear in the paper version of Unfair Park Wednesday, we sat down with Lake Highlands city council member Jerry Allen, who announced in a recent council meeting that he believes anything that comes out of the mayor's mouth. Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Dwaine Caraway quickly overshadowed Allen's comment when he said he'd "take

  April 27, 2009

• If Anti-Hotel Ad's Going to Refer to Our Reporting, It Should At Least Be Accurate

  To be clear, council member Jerry Allen didn't tell Sam, "When the hotel fails, I'll be off council, so I can't be held accountable." Rather, Sam had asked him: What happens if the city drops $500 million on the hotel and it doesn't post the promised profit? To which District 10's rep responded: "That's an element of risk that's out there. ... Of course, by that time, I'll be off council. So I cannot be held accountable." Just so we're clear before you watch the latest Citizens Against the Taxpa

  May 5, 2009

• Almost Done Here: Five Issues To Consider Before Casting Your Vote On Proposition 1

  Sam MertenMayor Leppert has spent a lot of time holding up his finger to represent the opposition to the hotel, but in doing so, he's glossed over the one issue at stake tomorrow: public ownership of the hotel.As he's done throughout the convention center hotel campaign, Mayor Tom Leppert's op-ed in The Dallas Morning News Thursday focused more on kicking Harlan Crow in the crotch than providing tangible reasons why voters should approve public ownership of a $500 million hotel. He wasted valu

  May 9, 2009

• Council Doesn't Want to Raise Taxes, Cut Key Services to Trim Budget. Good Luck With That.

  Sam MertenThe city's budget is $190 million in the hole because of "revenue erosion," according to CFO Dave Cook.The Dallas City Council yesterday afternoon wrapped up a lengthy discussion on how best to tackle the city's $190-million budget deficit by agreeing that a tax increase and making cuts to the police and fire departments are not the answers. Council members opposed several of the proposed cuts by City Manager Mary Suhm and her staff, yet were unable to provide alternative solutions to

  May 21, 2009

• With More Than $315 Million in Profits Expected From the Convention Center Hotel, Why Don't We Build Two of These Suckers?

  Now that we're one vote away from getting a convention center hotel, it looks like the College Football Hall of Fame is a done deal. At least that's what we gather seeing it across the street from Hotel Dallas in this rendering.The city council's Economic Development Committee this morning predictably approved placing an item on the agenda of Friday's special called council meeting authorizing a maximum bond issuance of nearly $514 million with a maximum interest yield of 5.5 percent for the co

  June 15, 2009

• Hunt Uses Low Voting Success to Rally Supporters at Post-Inauguration Lunch

  Sam MertenAfter this morning's city council inauguration, Angela Hunt celebrated her third term with a lunch at the Stoneleigh Hotel, where approximately 100 invited guests watched her open a copy of today's Dallas Morning News. She read from Dave Levinthal's article about the council members' voting habits, and the crowd applauded as Hunt said she's dead last among her colleagues by voting on the winning side just 45.5 percent of the time. Even more applause and a bow from Hunt followed when

  June 22, 2009

• Hunt Attributes Delayed Car Booting Ordinance to Budget and The Reeds; Deep Ellum Group Uses Petition to Lobby Council

  Sean FitzgeraldThe Deep Ellum Community Association used a petition measuring more than 50 feet with more than 850 signatures to push the council to take the car booting issue more seriously.We're already breaking our promise, but because we're strangely obsessed with the city's struggle to get a car booting ordinance on the books, Unfair Park probed Angela Hunt regarding the city council's decision to bring the issue back to the Transportation and Environment Committee in August. To catch eve

  June 25, 2009

• Finance Reports Confirm What You Already Knew: Harlan Crow and Ray Hunt Are Loaded

  Sam MertenWhat recession? As Harlan Crow told us right after the losing the election and more than $5 million: "I'll get over it before I get home."The spending gap between the two convention center hotel campaigns predictably didn't mimic the narrow margin at the polls, as Harlan Crow's $5.2 million anti-hotel effort dwarfed an otherwise impressive haul of more than $1.9 million by three pro-hotel committees. Nearly all of the funding for Crow's campaign came from his company's hotel, the Hilt

  July 17, 2009

• Hunt Proposes Trimming Meals, Travel, Copies and Lube From Council Budget. Wait. What?

  Angela Hunt​This is probably what happened: Angela Hunt got a phone call yesterday afternoon from Rudy Bush at The News, who wanted to know why the council person was one of seven to sign a letter telling Jerry Allen and the mayor, that, look, they'll cut their own budgets, thanks very much. Hunt, who has said repeatedly that "we're cutting muscle, we're cutting bone," no doubt wanted to make it very clear that she's not being fiscally irresponsible, so, late last night, she hopped on her Web

  July 29, 2009

• The New Dallas Zoo Revue Will Be Coming Right at You By No Later Than October 1

  ​If the discussion at Dallas City Hall today is any indication, that outta-nowhere proposal to privatize the Dallas Zoo and the Aquarium at Fair Park is all but a done deal. Expect the city to turn over the keys to the Dallas Zoological Society by October 1 following a vote next week by the city council.At its briefing this morning and into the early afternoon, council members had but a few questions and concerns for DZS leadership, City Manager Mary Suhm and Park and Recreation director Paul

  August 5, 2009

• Must-See TV: Watch the Budget Briefing

  ​At this very moment, the Dallas City Council is being briefed by Dallas City Manager Mary Suhm, chief financial officer Dave Cook and others on the proposed FY2009-1010 budget, which the council will approve on September 23. But before Suhm and Cook took control of the meeting, Mayor Tom Leppert suggested some cuts not yet made -- among them, Jerry Allen's effort to cut council expenditures, to which Angela Hunt added some ideas on July 29. (Suhm did not touch the council's budget -- not even

  August 10, 2009

• Five Council Members Lobby for Transparency at Dallas City Hall. Good Luck With All That.

  Psssst, Carol Reed, they're talking about you ... ​Five Dallas City Council members want the city to think about requiring people to register as lobbyists if they get paid to influence the council. The ongoing Dallas City Hall federal corruption trial has brought a series of revelations about so-called consultants -- a broad term apparently meaning anybody who can get you the votes you need for your deal with the city, for a price.Five council members this morning signed a letter to City At

  August 24, 2009

• Up the Sleazy River At the Dallas City Hall Corruption Trial

  August 27, 2009

• Up the Sleazy River At the Dallas City Hall Corruption Trial

  August 27, 2009

• Dallas City Hall Needs a Bike Rack

  Photos by Kimberly ThorpeJason Roberts, organizer of today's bike ride to City Hall, and his official proclamation​This morning, Angela Hunt made a discovery: Dallas City Hall has no bicycle rack. "It's nuts!" said Hunt, who was standing with other bikers on a chilly morning in the plaza. "We're going to get us some bike racks for City Hall if I have to buy them myself." More than 100 musicians, artists, activists and city councilpersons rode to City Hall on their bicycles from Union Sta

  October 7, 2009

• Bicycle Race: Angela Hunt Explains the Rift Over Separate Cyclist-Only Lanes

  Angela HuntJerry Allen was among those on the ride to City Hall Wednesday. Not as good as the Ann Margolin photo, but, still.​On Wednesday, we mentioned the city's plans to make Dallas more bike-friendly by creating separate cyclist-only lanes. And, as usually happens when the subject comes up, the conversation turned a little, well, contentious. And so we headed to the Texas Theatre last night for a movie screening to find out why bike lanes rub some the wrong way. "People are not upset," c

  October 9, 2009

• The Waters Are Murky as Dallas City Council Seeks Clarity Before Ethics Reform Vote

  Sam MertenCouncil member Carolyn Davis talks to zoning lawyer Kirk Williams as Willie Cothrum (right) listens.If nothing else, the city council's hastily planned ethics reform briefing early this morning showed that this group is capable of a spirited debate. For the most part, Mayor Tom Leppert has been able to keep everyone, with the exception of Angela Hunt and former council member Mitchell Rasansky, on the same page, sharing their toys with no complaints. But today, Dave Neumann, a Leppert

  October 26, 2009