Time to vote!

Early Voting
Monday, May 1 - Saturday, May 6 / 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Sunday, May 7 / 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Monday, May 8 - Tuesday, May 9 / 7 a.m. - 7 p.m.

Election Day
Saturday, May 13 / 7 a.m. - 7 p.m.

Candidates for Mayor:
Jim Lang, Jody Smith (i)

Candidate for Place 2:
Paul Stone (i)

Candidate for Place 4:
Laurie Long (i)

Here's hoping Paul and Laurie can eek out a ballot-box victory!

Update: A reader posted a comment that needs to be brought forward to the front page:

Chip, Thank's so much for the election information. I would just like to add that all of the voting will be at Town Hall 2121 Cross Timbers. I believe some of the low voter turnout is because folks become confused as to where to go to vote.

Great reminder -- thanks larsyl!

Listen for yourself: Audio from last night's Candidates Forum

Thanks to Stephen Webster of The News Connection, you can download an audio copy of last night's Candidates Forum.

Check it out at http://www.thenewsconnection.com/audio/election2006/ fm_forum/FM_townhall_forum042806.wav.

I'll take a listen and post my thoughts soon.

Updated Friday/night rainfall: 0.93"

Friday afternoon: 0.54"
Friday overnight: 0.39"

A pretty close call for severe weather. The National Weather Service posted a tornado warning for southern Denton County for about an hour last night. The supercell storm moved from our west to our north, threatening Argyle, Corinth and Denton, but no tornado ever formed. Only a couple of large hail reports, from Ponder and Krum.

As I was watching FOX 4 during the worst of the weather last night, I kept waiting for that supercell to make a right-turn (back toward the east or southeast), as many supercells do. Had it turned started bearing right while over the Speedway, we could have been in its path. Gotta keep your eyes on the sky (or at least on the radar) when a storm that big is so close to home.

The new Culver's -- opening soon

Our friends from Wisconsin and Chicagoland gotta be happy about this!

Culver's will open a Flower Mound store in just a few days. The store sits on the southwest corner of the FM2499/FM3040 intersection. For the uninitiated, Culver's is a fast-food, drive-thru and eat-in restaurant that prides itself on being a couple of big steps above its fast-food chain competitors. They serve hamburgers (called ButterBurgers), other sandwiches, custard and ice cream. There's something about a flavor-of-the-day for their ice cream too -- someone tell me about that please.

Culver's has over 300 stores, most of them centered within a few hundred miles of Chicago. If you've got experience with or fond memories of Culver's, post a comment to tell us native or transplanted Texans what we're in store for.

By the way, with Cici's, Chili's, Duke's Ice Cream, Sonic, McDonalds and ChickFilA, we've pretty much got a kids-friendly monopoly at 2499 and 3040.

$#%*&! A not-so-funny thing happened on the way to the Forum

I just broke news media rule number 1 -- never tease something unless you're absolutely sure you can deliver.

Tonight I was looking forward to meeting many of you at the candidates' forum at Town Hall, but I never got there. The severe weather threats in the area (and my real job in covering them) precluded my being at the forum. I'm really bummed, but here's what I want to do.

1) Your comments are especially important now. If you saw the forum, please take a moment and post a comment. Click the link at the bottom of this post. Which candidate did better answering the questions? What were the best points made? Any witty one-liners or awkward moments? Post away!

2) Did this forum get videotaped? Will it run on FMTV? I checked the FMTV schedule, but didn't see the forum listed there. If anyone has a videotape of tonight's forum that they would let me borrow, send me an e-mail at chip (at) smartbusy.tv. If I can borrow your tape for an evening of viewing, I'd post my thoughts on the site. I'll be happy to arrange pickup and delivery.

Sorry again that I missed you all. Please post a comment!

The big squeeze at American Airlines

(ABOARD AMERICAN FLIGHT 1413, April 22) – One of these days on this page I’ll break open the weighty Wright Amendment. I’ll be interested to read your opinions on DFW vs. Love, and how you think any Wright retreat or retrenchment stands to affect Flower Mound. But at this moment, all I can think about is getting off this plane, and fast. For American Airlines, this flight from DFW to Las Vegas must have been perfect. Safe, on-time and packed with passengers. For the two passengers seated in 10E and 10F this morning, not so much.

Remember a couple of years ago when American ran its “more legroom in coach campaign”? I know they’ve discontinued that as a slogan and a business model, but I wasn’t prepared for what we found in 10E and 10F of this 757 -- the smallest amount personal seating space I’ve ever experienced on any large jet. Let me try to paint the picture for you while I’m still seated here. Actually, let me show you a picture.

First, for starters, I’m 6 feet tall. Not short, but I’m no giant. Sitting up straight, butt and back against the seat, my knees touched the seat in front of me. If I tried to stretch out my legs under the seat, I couldn't, because my knees didn't have enough room to get below the seat in front. You could barely stand in the row because the narrow space (combined with the reclining seat in front) meant you were guaranteed a lean. The seats on this plane must have been built with the narrow depth in mind, because they only leaned back a fraction of what a normal airline seat would do.

So what's the deal? I dunno. It was horrible. Yes, I'm thankful we got there on time and safe. But next time I have knowledge that the seats will be so tightly arranged, I'll fly another airline.

By the way, I'm sending a link to this post to American Airlines' customer service, and invited them to reply.

Postscript: My wife and I took separate return flights, and both were on AA 757s. On both our returns, the seat depth was normal, not at all like AA 1413 on Saturday the 22nd.

Update Friday May 12: I just got this reply from Keith at American Airlines customer service. I'm not too sure I like what I read, but I appreciate the honesty.

Our cost-restructuring effort has meant that every part of our business had to be considered. Our aircraft configurations are a market-driven response that allows us to tailor our service to be able to provide what our passengers value most. It is true that the expanded leg room sets us apart from our competitors. And, all other things equal, we win, hands down. However, without a fare premium, we unfortunately have to find other ways to maximize our revenue, which means using our aircraft to the fullest. Still, I am sorry you were uncomfortable.

How I bought my new car, and which dealers played ball (Chapter 1)

Last night our family took home a new Honda Pilot SUV. Great vehicle -- it meets our needs perfectly.

Like many people, I love and hate the car-buying process. I love to shop, but hate the negotiations. E-mail, I've learned, has completely leveled the playing field for me, and it made the process of buying a car much simpler and less stressful.

We started our shopping with the purchase of a terrific Consumer Reports magazine that went in-depth on every 2006 SUV you could buy. That helped us narrow our choices to the Toyota Highlander, Nissan Murano and Honda Pilot. On separate occasions, my wife and I visited the Bankston Nissan, Bankston Honda and Toyota of Lewisville.

First impressions:

• Toyota of Lewisville -- this is a beautiful facility with fancy landscaping and a showroom that's equally attractive. But even on a crowded Saturday when I visited, there were salesmen hawking the front door. A big turnoff for me. Better to let me come into the showroom on my own, and then you can help me find something. We saw the Highlander here, but decided it was too small. The 4Runner is nice, but just a little too big. We're moving on.
  
  
• Bankston Nissan -- Just the opposite here. A nice facility, but nothing fancy about the architecture or the grounds. But just the opposite reaction from the employees. No one was standing guard over the front door, so I walked in and started looking around. I ventured over to the Murano on display, and I stuck my head inside the driver's window. About 30 seconds later, a young salesman named Sonny put his head inside the opposite window. He says "nice, huh". I said I was just looking, and he answered smartly, "Mind if I look with you?" Very clever response. The kid was barely 20 years old, or at least appeared that way. He said he had only started a short while ago, but still he knew the vehicle pretty well. We talked for a few moments. I gave him my name and phone number, so he could show that off to his boss, and he gave me a couple of brochures. Advice to Sonny - stick with it, you'll do well!
  
  
• Bankston Honda -- Nice large campus (the former Autonation dealership). Sales reps hung back, stepped up appropriately when we entered the showroom. My wife visited once before me, and then we came back together a few days later. We test drove the Pilot, liked it, and said we'd think about it.
  

Next chapter: Coming up with a price.

More to come.

Why gas is cheaper at Walgreens

I stopped by the Walgreens in my hood (2499/3040) tonight to pick up a gallon of milk. When I returned to my car, I noticed that Walgreens has changed out its propane rack and the prices are much lower than before.

Last time I bought a tank of propane for my grill, I bought it at Walgreens. They were selling Blue Rhino brand gas. A tank exchange cost $20 or $21. Now they're selling Walgreens-brand propane for $15 for a tank exchange. That's a 25% price cut, for what I perceive to be an identical product, even with the brand change.

Breaking: Jefferson named new FM Town Manager

This morning the Town Council voted unanimously to hire Harlan Jefferson as Town Manager. Jefferson has been interim Town Manager since Van James retired last fall.

In a news release sent this morning, mayor Jody Smith said, “Mr. Jefferson was the Town Council’s leading candidate during the interim period. We are pleased that he accepted the position after much thought, reflection, and consideration. This is a dynamic time in Flower Mound. The Town Council and I are confident that Harlan’s education, experience, leadership, and values will guide us into the future.”

Very good timing in today's News Connection, which was published online last night. A TNC editorial urges the Town to ask Jefferson to reconsider taking the job, which he had previously been reluctant to do because of all the political demands that can come with the job? (What? Political demands at Flower Mound Town Hall? Say it ain't so!)

Welcome Mr. Jefferson. I know you'll lead and serve us well.

More overnight rainfall: 0.36"

Two-day rainfall total: 1.30"

Overnight rainfall total: 0.94"

Calendar: FM Candidates Forum Friday April 28

Here's perhaps your one chance to hear the two mayoral candidates, plus the uncontested council candidates, all in one place.

Friday April 28 7pm at Town Hall. The forum will be moderated by Bob Weir, a former mayoral candidate, who's now editor of The News Connection.

I hope to attend and blog the discussion. I'll be the one with the laptop. See you there!

While you're thinking about it, take a moment now to tell the candidates and other Flower Mounders what issues are most important to you in the upcoming Town elections. Click on "comments" to see my list, and to post your own.

Once again, Magic Mike's leading the way up, past $3.00

If you saw my TV station's news last night or this morning, you might have seen a quick video clip of the first gas retailer we could find to break the $3.00 mark for regular. That retailer was Grapevine's own Magic Mike's on 2499 at Grapevine Mills Mall.

We've done news stories with "Mike" before. He's very hospitable and open about how he does business, and he's let us in to see how he sets his prices, by evaluating the wholesale price sheets. But Mike has a corner (two of them actually) on the Grapevine Mills/2499 gasoline market. Smart Flower Mounders know, however, you can generally get a better deal in Flower Mound, where there's still some competition. Minutes after I saw Mike's $3.01 last night, I was paying $2.86 a gallon at the convenience store at 3040 and Garden Ridge.

I have noticed one exception though. Magic Mike's seems to raise prices faster than everyone else, but they also lower prices faster too when the markets are going down. Wish that were the case now.

A new look for Tom Thumb South

The Tom Thumb at 2499/3040 (Tom Thumb South, to me) is being remodeled inside. The store is about 9 years old, so a freshening up is due. Their newer store at 407/Morriss (Tom Thumb North) is much fancier and nicer. I'm sure the makeover timing is no coincidence since Kroger is building their new signature store at 3040/Morriss, just about a mile away. A store employee told me the remodeling work will be finished in June.

Some of us are creatures of habit. I do about 1/2 of our family's grocery shopping, and I *always* go to that Tom Thumb. In the past 9 years, I've probably made 250 visits to that store, spent tens of thousands of dollars there.

It will be interesting to see what happens when Kroger opens. Tom Thumb will be fine. I worry about Albertson's, given their corporate split and major restructuring.

Your Sunday headlines

There are seven new posts this weekend, and I'll headline them here to get your attention:

• Flower Mound 1996-2006: 10 years of living good
  
• The latest on the mayor's race
  
• A brief history of Flower Mound elections, since 1996
  
• Flower Mound home values and zillow.com
  
• Good to hear ya, Vince!
  
• Leader profiles award-winning future FOX 4 star
  
• Another blog joins the FM fray
  

Scroll down for each of them. Thanks for stopping by. Leave a comment if you can.

Flower Mound 1996-2006: 10 years of living good

This week marks our family's 10th anniversary of moving to Flower Mound. We came here after a brief 18-month stay in Oklahoma City. We moved here so I could go to work at FOX, and my wife could "retire" from television to raise our infant son. A couple of years before, we were finishing up 5 years in Connecticut -- beautiful place, but too expensive to raise a family on one TV-news income. I had grown up in Fort Worth and Arlington and went to school at SMU, so I had spent my first 22 years in the DFW area. But I had never been to Flower Mound before. Our real estate agent showed us Dallas, Plano, Frisco, Carrollton and Flower Mound. We chose Flower Mound, and we've been happy here ever since.

So much has changed in our 10 years here, so I thought it would be fun to share what I recall of Flower Mound in April 1996, and in some cases, a comparison with what we have today.

TRAFFIC:

In 1996, the 2499 flyover had just been completed, and the "new" 2499/International Parkway was paved all the way up to the Lakeside/Spinks area. Long Prairie Road north of Spinks was still a two-lane road that dead-ended at 1171. Once you got off the flyover, you were home-free until you get closer to 3040, as there was no Grapevine Mills Mall, and no traffic lights there. But traffic was a nightmare at rush hour, with lengthy backups at the 2499/3040 light, far longer than what we usually see today.

RESTAURANTS:

Here's what I recall being here -- Salernos, Bari's (old location), Angelinas (1171/Shiloh, now Christinas), Alfornos and the little breakfast diner next to it on Morriss Road, Braums on 1171. That's about it. If you wanted fast food, your best bet was to visit the Kroger at 1171/2499. Their old food court featured 2 or 3 in-store restaurants like Taco Bell and KFC, and perhaps Pizza Hut too.

GROCERY STORES:

The only stores I recall in 1996 were the above-mentioned Kroger, the Food Lion that is now the FM Police and Courts Building, and the Tom Thumb at 1171 and Garden Ridge on the Lewisville border. Other stores could be found in Highland Village and Lewisville.

OTHER DEVELOPMENT:

In April 1996, there was no development at 2499 and 3040. The Tom Thumb shopping center would be started later that year and the next year. Albertsons across the street would follow a year later. Only the Kroger shopping center and the strip-center across the street were developed at 2499 and 1171. Neither of the big shopping centers at 407/Morriss were built. Of course, there was no Target or Lowes or Home Depot in town, but the Ace Hardware in Lewisville was very handy. The Winn-Dixie (now Sprouts) shopping center at 1171/Morriss would come in a couple of years after we moved in.

NEIGHBORHOODS:

No Bridlewood, no Wellington, for starters. Most of the home-building was in the areas south of 1171, north of 3040, east of 2499 and east/west of Morriss.

RECREATION:

In 1996, if you wanted to play baseball or softball, you played on the single fields on 1171/Old Settlers and at Forestwood Middle School, or at Hilltop Park. Gerault Park was finished a couple of years later.

POLITICS:

1996: Voters United - who?
2006: Voters United - where?

SCHOOLS:

Correct me if I'm wrong, but in 1996, if you lived south of 1171, your high schoolers went to Lewisville High School. North of 1171 they went to Marcus.

PERSONAL:

1996: One infant son.
2006: One 4th-grade son and one preschool daughter.

1996: Wife retired from TV.
2006: Wife retired from being retired, back in TV.


What do you recall about Flower Mound when you moved here? Post a comment with your own time snapshot here.

The latest on the mayor's race

Jody's signs are sprouting up around town, but she's using her old signs with the old slogan "A New Voice for Flower Mound". Correction: "The Right Voice for Flower Mound". That slogan doesn't seem to fit so well any more. At the very least, you'd think she'd put a banner that says "Re-Elect" over her old signs. Haven't seen any signs for Jim Lang yet.

This race is getting off to an unusually slow start. Perhaps it's due in part to the late runoff election.

A brief history of Flower Mound elections, since 1996

To borrow an opener from Dallas sportswriting legend Blackie Sherrod ...

Scattershooting while wondering whatever happened to Rick Randall.

This will be my 10th year of voting in a Flower Mound council/mayor election. To celebrate this meritorius achievement in citizenship (do I get a ribbon?), here for our readers is a recap of the past 10 years of Flower Mound elections. There are some wild stories to be told from the past decade of elections -- not all those stories are suitable for a family audience.

These recollections were assembled from memory, from old clippings at home and from some good old-fashioned online research. If I've missed an interesting detail or gotten something wrong, please e-mail me.

So here we go with the countdown. Old-timers, have fun recounting some of these names from the past. Newcomers, here's what you missed.

1996 -- Long-time mayor Larry Lipscomb runs for what would be his final term and defeats local activist Marsha Casteen. Bob Peffer is re-elected to Place 2, beating Janna Cott. Pat Moore wins a 4th term in Place 4, over Kim Cone and Scott Meister. This was a very active election, but no one in 1996 could foresee the storm that would blow in the following year.

1997 -- In the past few months, Voters United to Preserve Flower Mound has emerged as a political force in Flower Mound, and the fledgling group pulls off a stunning sweep of three council seats in this non-mayoral election year. Even though the three rookie candidates weren't technically VU candidates, the endorsements from VU gave them legitimacy and propelled them into office. Ted Reeves, Rick Randall and Bill Carr beat Wayne Wilkerson, Chris Miles and Steve Mossman.

1998 -- By now, Lori DeLuca had become the single most-influential force in Flower Mound politics -- a kingmaker if you will. She runs for mayor against councilwoman Moore and handily wins, but no longer is it considered an upset. VU candidate Tom Cawthon beats Steve Mossman, who runs for another seat a year after being bounced by Bill Carr. (Mossman is now your elected Tax Assessor-Collector, by the way, so he's fared OK.) VU candidate Cindy Travis defeats Tom Thompson in the race to fill the seat vacated by mayor-candidate Moore. In a special election, VU's Ted Baze beats Travis Perkins to win Place 3, to fill a seat forfeited by Rick Randall, convicted of a misdemeanor domestic assault. Voters United now has ownership of all 5 council seats and the mayor's seat too. This bloc would stay firm for 6 years.

1999 -- Voters United v2.0. Reeves chooses not to run again, after losing favor with VU over a council vote. VU's Stephanie Spruill beats YMCA director Kim Phillips for that seat. Baze wins re-election to a full-term. Carr has moved away. VU-backed Sara Wingard is appointed to his seat in 1998, and beats challenger Angie Cox.

2000 -- Mayor Deluca faces Bob Weir, now editor of The News Connection. Jim Cook wins election to Cawthon-vacated Place 2, beats Joe Freeman. Cindy Travis wins over Paul "Citizen" Stone. Easy wins for VU candidates.

2001 -- The big yawn, as once again all 3 VU incumbents are re-elected. Baze beats Roger Whitney. Wingard beats Chrissy Long. Both margins are 2-1. Spruill runs unopposed.

2002 -- Craig Bradshaw (Terry's little brother) announces his mayoral bid months before the election, and raises a record sum for his candidacy. But despite all sorts of interesting and dubious political manuevers over several months (on both sides), the outcome was not in question on election day, as DeLuca easily won a third term. Cook runs again, beats Darrin Patterson. Travis is re-elected easily over Jason Lewis and Renee Stoltenberg. The Voters United machine appears invincible, even against an organized and well-financed opposition.

2003 -- The first big chink in VU's armor comes from within. Jim Cook is still on the council, but now opposes VU. Sara Wingard runs for re-election in Place 5, but no longer with VU support, which has switched to Sydney Bentz. Bentz wins, showing the VU-endorsement still carries weight, even over a VU incumbent. Tim Trotter runs over former P/Z commissioner Chris Torley. Spruill beats Carr, who has returned to town.

2004 -- The big fall. Mayor DeLuca's year-long fight with laryngitis has kept her speechless for about a year. She and Spruill hatch a plan to switch seats, in order to keep VU continuity on the council and in the mayor's seat. Spruill runs for mayor against long-time citizen but first-time candidate Jody Smith. DeLuca runs for the Place 4 seat that Cindy Travis is departing. DeLuca's opponents are Bill Carr and Laurie Long, a newcomer who has had a months-long public spat with the mayor and council over how Long's remarks at a previous council meeting were recorded in the minutes. Citizen Paul Stone makes a second run for a council seat, against VU-endorsed Michael Walker.

Before Election Day, news reports emerge that Spruill had a rather-minor blot in her criminal record two decades before. She was perfectly legal to run and hold office, but this revelation, along with growing opposition and distrust over the DeLuca-Spruill seat switch, spelled doom for all the VU candidates. Smith pounded Spruill on election day. Stone beat Walker, a nice and smart guy who happened to be on the VU ballot one year too late. Long forced DeLuca into a runoff that Long would eventually win. A few weeks later, the new mayor and council select Joel Lindsey to fill Spruill's Place 1 seat that she vacated to run for mayor.

2005 -- The new election landscape, and minus Voters United. Joel Lindsey wins his first election to the seat he was appointed to a year before, beating Robin Hyman. Tim Trotter wins re-election handily over J. Hand (who is now your Justice of the Peace). Jeff Tasker wins Place 5 over second-time candidate Michael Walker, who this year tried to distance himself from Voters United. VU is virtually silent, relagated to an outsider's role in the process.

2006 -- This much we know. Laurie Long and Paul Stone are unopposed, and they'll earn another two years on the council. Only Mayor Smith draws an opponent, former Town economic development director Jim Lang. Just two candidates, with no apparent blocs, no evidence of influence from PACs like Voters United.

Footnote: After I had done the bulk of my research and my writing for this post, I happened upon Voters United's website and in particular, their written history of Town politics since they became an active part of it. Though this page is purely partisan, I am indebted to their factual recounts of the various elections through the years. It helped me find a few errors in my own memory and my research.

Flower Mound home values and zillow.com

Have you seen zillow.com? It's one of the most useful real estate tools I've come across on the internet, and it's fun to use. You type in an address, and Zillow will map it for you. You then see the value for that home, and all the neighboring homes, on a single screen.

I've owned 5 homes in my life -- two in Texas, one in Oklahoma City and two in Connecticut. Here's what I've learned from Zillow: I'm a lousy real estate investor. Our home values in Flower Mound have been stagnant for several years now -- my home has appreciated perhaps 10% in 5 years. But the home in Connecticut I sold in 1994 is now worth double its value, and the Connecticut condo I sold just five years ago is now worth three times what I sold it for.

Anyone know how/when our home values will take off? It's frustrating to see our home prices stagnating, particularly when other nearby areas are faring much better. I think our best chance for growth in home values will come when we can build a better commercial base for the Town. Here's hoping we fill in Lakeside and Silveron soon. High-paying jobs from corporate offices in our southern sector will create additional demand for our local housing. But we're not there yet, are we?

Good to hear ya, Vince!

It's good to hear an Flower Mound neighbor back in business. For years, Vince Controneo was side-by-side with Eric Nadel in the Texas Rangers radio booth. Vince knows baseball up and down, and he has a very easy-going, conversational delivery that's well suited for baseball. The Rangers and Vince parted company after the 2003 season, and Vince has been out of baseball the past two years. In that time, he and I have developed a friendship and a broadcasting kinship. So when Vince called me earlier this year with big news that he had been hired by the Oakland A's for their radio broadcasts, I was really excited for him.

The Rangers are playing the A's this weekend in Oakland, which gave me great reason to dial up the A's radiocast on my XM car radio. It's good hearing a familiar voice and a new friend, back in the booth, doing what he loves best -- telling great stories about baseball. It's tough on his family, I know, with him traveling so much. But life in baseball is never an easy life.

Here's a good text interview with Vince, published after he was hired by the A's.

By the way, to fully appreciate how good Vince is, and how tough it is to be in the baseball broadcasting business, consider this. Each major-league team has a couple dozen players on its roster at any given time. That's more than 600 players in the major leagues right now. But most teams have only 2 radio broadcasters, so there are only about 60 (a few more perhaps) of those jobs available in the league. I'm thrilled Vince is getting on board with the A's -- Oakland fans are lucky to have him.

Leader profiles award-winning future FOX 4 star!

Check out the bottom of Page 1 of today's Flower Mound Leader (article not yet posted at flowermoundleader.com) for a story and photo featuring a sharp young journalist from Highland Village who just pocketed a bunch of big awards at last week's Texas Associated Press Broadcasters awards ceremony.

Lauren Williamson is a student at UNT. She entered her college work against the best radio news reports by professionals in smaller markets (Lubbock, Corpus Christi et al), and she won 9 awards. Very impressive for someone still in school. Even more impressive, she'll soon start work at FOX 4 News, and that's good news for my team and me at work.

One day, I suspect, I'll be working for her!

Another blog joins the FM fray

Check this out -- The News Connection has started its own blog at blog.thenewsconnection.com. For those of us who love D Magazine's FrontBurner blog, we hope and expect The News Connection can provide us with the same level of immediacy, relevance and general snarkiness (that's a FrontBurner word) that DMag staffers do with their blog. My advice to my friends at TNC: post early, post often, and take chances with the blog that you might not take with the weekly paper.

Tonight's runoff: Think your vote doesn't count?

There were 47 voting precincts in the District 63 runoff. Tan Parker beat Anne Lakusta by 48 votes. Simple math -- that's about one vote per precinct that made the difference in Parker's victory tonight. Some other thoughts about this wacky Election Night:

• I watched the results come in tonight in a very unique way. I simply hit "refresh" on my Treo smartphone to see the numbers on Denton County's website, all while I was driving 75 mph on I-20 east to Louisiana. There's total drama in waiting for the updates that came about every 30 minutes or so, and it definitely helped keep me awake on the road.
  
  
• So how did Parker look so bad in early voting, but run away with the vote on Election Day? Was there a mind-change in voters between last week and this week? Certainly there was no news to drive such a change, or was there? Or did the Parker campaign just out-hustle the Lakusta campaign in the final weekend of the race? More calls, more visits, more get out the vote. I suspect the latter made the difference in a race that was decided by less than 1% of the vote with more than 6,000 votes.
  
  
• In my voting precinct 424, both early voting and Election Day voting ran greater than 60% for Lakusta. It will be interesting to go through precinct-by-precinct to see where the big swings came. In a race that totally looked like Lakusta's when early voting results came out, it was surely a stunner to see Parker just walk her down all night long.
  
  
• A stunning upset in Commissioner Precinct 4. Andy Eads handily beat the incumbent Jim Carter, who had won the key endorsements. And J.W. Hand finally won himself a race. The old guy will be JP for the next 4 of his golden years. Pretty good retirement check to live on, plus all the money a JP makes in weddings.
  
  
• The biggest and most significant news to come out of the runoff? All three of these seats are now held by Flower Mounders. That's the way it should be. We're the big dog in this part of the county, and now we have a new batch of elected officials to represent us and lead us.

Your comments and the rules of the house

Ask any publisher and they'll tell you one of the hardest choices they have to make is how to handle viewer/reader/listener feedback in their publication. As tough as it is for traditional media (newspapers, TV, radio), it's more difficult for online publishers, because of the real-time nature of the Internet, and because an online site's customer's expectations are for immediate gratification.

What am I getting at? Now that this little blog is taking comments, and now that it's getting a few (thank you!), the question is how to handle the ones I don't like, or the ones I think don't belong on this public exchange of ideas.

So here's what I've come up with. I plan to use a very light touch with your comments. I want your comments to go on this board unfiltered. My number-one goal is to post your words unfiltered and unedited. I will only consider action on those comments that go against a few basic legal, moral and ethical principles. Here are some guidelines:

• I will moderate the posts on this blog. That means I will approve your post before it hits the site. Often, I'm able to do it within an hour or two of you submitting it. (That's one good thing about a web-enabled smartphone with always-on e-mail.) But please remember I have a real job and a real family, and sometimes that takes precedence, as I'm sure you understand.
  
  
• I will not post a comment that libels or slanders another person. This is a non-revenue (thus non-profit) exercise in free speech. I don't have time to mess with lawsuits, attorneys or anything of that sort. If I appear too conversative in my editing on sensitive topics, that's my call. Get your own blog (they're free at blogger.com) if you want to talk trash about somebody in particular.
  
  
• I will remove langauge that is in any way indecent (my definition), but I will try to preserve the rest of the post when possible.
  
  
• I will ask that you structure negative comments in such a way that you're attacking an issue more than a person. If you don't like the choices or the stances that a public figure (namely an elected official) takes, then feel free to call out that person by name, and challenge them on those issues. But I won't allow personal attacks on anything but the issues facing our community.
  
  
• Nothing here should surprise anyone. All I'm asking for is the very basics of decency and good manners and a spirited forum for all our opinions. Again, my utlimate goal is to post your comments, unedited, as fast as I can.
  

Why "The News Connection" is now the local paper of record

For years, the primary source of credible reporting in this area has been the Leader. They cover a wide range of stories (news, business, sports and features) and those stories are usually well-written. The paper is polished in design. It has a broad base of advertising support. It's a smart local paper, and a must-read. You do have to subscribe to it, however, at the nominal cost of about $35 a year.

But compare the April 8 Leader (a semi-weekly) to the April 7 weekly edition of The News Connection. Scorecard time. How many letters to the editor did you see in the Leader? I didn't see any. How many did you see in The News Connection? Quite a few, all about Tuesday's runoff races. Plus, in its editorial on the church/poverty story, the paper makes reference of getting lots of reader feedback on that story too (though I am curious why they didn't publish any of those letters verbatim).

Bottom line for this post: reader feedback is a key to the lifeblood of any publication, and the fact that The News Connection seems to be the favored spot for spouting off makes it the new paper of record in our town.

Before you leave this blog today, would you please post a comment here? I do this blog only because I like to write, and because I love this Town. But feedback is important to me too, even if you disagree with what I write.

Jim Lang's race, and self-financed candidates

Flower Mound mayoral candidate Jim Lang is beginning to play his cards for the May 13 race, which he needs to do early to unseat a well-liked incumbent. Jim has said he's running on an economic-development campaign. So far he's crafted an intelligent message, and I'll be interested to hear how Jody responds.

Jim is quoted in yesterday's Flower Mound Leader (article not yet posted online) that he'll pay for his campaign out of his own pocket, that he doesn't want to appear to be beholden to anyone who would write him a check. Sounds noble, right? Perhaps, but I think it's the wrong way to run a race.

The best candidates are those who solicit a broad base of financial support from the constituents they represent. Let's say you need $25,000 to finance a campaign for Flower Mound mayor. What I'd love to see in a candidate's campaign finance report is a couple hundred gifts between $5 and $100, all or most of that money coming from the constituents the candidate would serve. With this kind of broad-based support, I wouldn't be so leery of having the balance made up by personal loans and/or by a couple of larger checks. Better to be beholden to everyone than no one. Candidates who self-finance campaigns sometimes turn out to be aloof in office, which can turn into misguided decisions or plain ineffectiveness. A candidate who is seasoned in grass-roots fund-raising is more likely to govern with a stronger, deeper and ongoing connection to his/her constituents, which leads to getting more done with more community consensus.

Having a broad base of local financial support shows that a candidate is a) well-connected in the community, and therefore is already a person of influence, and b) is willing to work a little harder up front to listen to feedback from constituents.

Self-financed candidates aren't the worst, and some self-financed candidates turn out to be good public leaders. Michael Bloomberg was re-elected New York City's mayor last year by a 20-point advantage. If he hadn't done a reasonably good job in his first term, no amount of money out of his own billionaire's wallet could won him a second term.

The worst candidates are well-financed candidates who rely on a few big checks written by out-of-area friends and lobbyists, with very little money raised from local voters. That's when you have to wonder who owns the candidate. At least in my way, we all own the candidate.

D Magazine's Top High Schools - did you see this?

This month's cover story in D Magazine has some great news for Flower Mound schools. The article ranks 109 Dallas-Fort Worth area public high schools for quality. Flower Mound High Schools ranks #6, and Marcus #13. Take out 3 DISD magnet schools at the top of the list (they get to be choosy in who they admit), and FMHS is #3 behind only Highland Park H.S. and Colleyville Heritage H.S.

Before you vote April 11...

Lots of good stories in the local papers about the races for House 63 and County Commissioner 4. Registration may be required to read on, at the following links:

District 63: "Front Runner, Challenger Swap Positions"

District 63: "House Hopefuls Face Off"

District 63: "Turnout is Vital for GOP Runoff"

District 63: Star-Telegram endorses Lakusta over Parker in runoff

Commissioner 4: Candidates focus on experience

Commissioner 4: "Campaign finance at issue in commissioner runoff"

Commissioner 4: Star-Telegram endorses Carter over Eads in runoff

And one more tidbit: Did you see the display ad Paul Lebon bought in the News Connection this week? If you don't have your paper, click to download the PDF of the entire paper. You'll find it at the bottom of one of the inside pages. In the ad, Paul urges voters to e-mail him to get a list of reasons why you shouldn't vote for one of the District 63 candidates. I'm on one of Paul's old e-mail lists, so I got his commentary unsolicited. Paul's an interesting fellow. I like him personally -- he's an engaging guy. He fights for what he believes in. But I disagree with many of his views, and I'm not always been fond of his tactics. But at least he fights, and I give him credit for that. Read his e-mail, and do what you will with it.

Morning News on Lakusta's bandwagon

In the post below you'll see a link to the Star-Telegram's endorsement of Anne Lakusta. They picked Lakusta over Tan Parker because of her experience as a public servant.

This morning, the Dallas Morning News endorsed Lakusta too, but the News' editorial takes a much harder tack, chiding Parker for his unwillingness to provide extra funds for the state's schools.

Here's the link (registration may be required):
District 63: Dallas Morning News endorsement

Read my initial post on this race. Education is a major issue for me in this race. I think Tan ought to reconsider where he stands.

News Connection: Poverty Undercover

This was a great story. Front page of The News Connection this week: Poverty and the Modern Christian.

Investigative reporter Stephen Website goes undercover at Trietsch Memorial United Methodist Church, at the behest of its senior pastor Jim Ozier, to find out how a smelly, disheveled man (a "bum") would be received in God's house. You might be surprised. You might not be.

My wife and kids and I are members of Trietsch. We joined the church 10 years ago, and we've been privileged to be part of its phenomenal growth. It's a terrific place to worship and share faith in Jesus Christ. The people at Trietsch are as loving as any you will find, and the church regularly supports many community and world ministries, including Christian Community Action.

So why am I not surprised that a "bum" would get the "bum's rush" in our church? Probably because I am the church, and the church is me. Sad as that is. Up here in Flower Mound, we're pretty isolated from seeing things like this. Had I encountered Mr. Webster in church like some of our members reportedly did, I fear I would have been the same unloving example of God's love. And that saddens me.

Good job, Mr. Webster. Heckuva story.