What is a full-time mayor? And why does Garland, at this moment in its history, need one for ALL its citizens?

I plan to turn the Mayor's office and conference room on the 4th floor of Garland City Hall into a place where ALL citizens are mobilized and appreciated.

Garland needs a full-time mayor, and as I've stated, I plan to be one.

Garland's needs are too great to devote any less than everything I've got to the task.

The issue is particularly important since we are engaged in a special mayoral campaign for a one-year term, after our current mayor's resignation halfway through his two-year term. The new mayor must be able to hit the ground running and be able to devote full time to the task of restoring respect, integrity, and trust in our city government among ALL our citizens. 

So what does being a full-time mayor really mean to me? In my recent presentation at the Chamber of Commerce Candidate Forum, I referred to this pledge as my promise to the people of Garland.

Citizens look at this issue differently, and in Garland's history, its various mayors have had varying takes on this. Some have chosen to be full time; other have preferred to be part time. Often the part-timers end up working full-time hours and wondering how in the world that type of schedule happened.

The issue is NOT trying to do Garland City Manager Bryan Bradford's job for him. Bryan is a valuable asset to our city. He's worth every penny the city pays him. The city's charter makes it clear that he alone—and not individual members of the council—manages the city's employees and operations with the guidance of City Council.

I respect our city-manager form of government. I want to help Bryan do an exceptional professional job without interference from any of the nine members of the council that might have a personal agenda. The mayor's job is not to micromanage him or other city employees.

The real issue is the mayor's availability and dedication to the task. With the vast needs pressing down on Garland, it will take all hands on deck and a big investment of time to get us on a straighter path going forward. The mayor, council, and city administration all pulling together and giving it their best is what's needed at this crucial juncture.

A full-time mayor is one who is available to the citizens of Garland and dedicated to envisioning with them and Council the bigger picture of what will make this a better city for ALL.

The Mayor's office will be a place for ALL citizens.

Regardless how many hours, days, or weeks the mayor works, the Mayor of Garland receives only a pittance of a "salary", mostly to compensate the personal out-of-pocket expenses associated with the job.

The job is, for all practical purposes and as it should be, an elected position with only minor compensation.

So the issue is not money. A full-time mayor is paid the same as a part-time mayor. 

And by the way, any extra money over and above the actual expenses for "being mayor", I plan to donate to worthy causes that benefit Garland.

Most importantly, the city provides the mayor with a large and beautiful office on the fourth floor of City Hall and a very nice conference room next door.

Because the mayor represents ALL the citizens of Garland, I envision turning the mayor's office and conference room into the place where ALL Garland citizens feel welcome, feel respected, feel heard, and feel assured that their opinions matter.

A "Mayor's Night In" could be a good practice to continue, but I foresee a broader means of staying in touch with the pulse of Garland's citizens.

As a part of my campaign platform, I have stated clearly and openly my intention to immediately after the election appoint at least eight mayoral citizen task forces to focus on major lingering issues that hold us back from being the kind of community ALL of our citizens want us to be.

I don't have all the answers to all the problems we face, but I know people who do: OUR CITIZENS. I do know, however, how to lead both small and large groups and how to listen—truly listen—to people in those groups. (For decades Kay and I jointly and separately led support groups on numerous critical life issues and because of her work with LifeWay traveled the U.S. setting up programs to help train church leaders how to develop this ministry. That skill transfers easily.)

I envision those task forces meeting in the mayor's conference room or maybe even the actual office—symbolizing that citizens do matter and that their thoughts, ideas, and opinions are respected and sought.

All citizens will be welcome in the Mayor's office.

I absolutely don't want Garland to be "another Plano" or "another Frisco". I want Garland to be the best Garland can be in its own unique and special way. Copycatting has no place in our city. And I know from talking with them that our citizens want this, too. That's why I will try "full-time" to make sure our citizens know how much they are appreciated and welcome in the municipal processes.

Being a full-time mayor also means going out anywhere and everywhere Kay and/or I can possibly go to be with our Garland citizens. Anybody who knows us and/or has followed our Facebook pages for years knows we don't shy away from involvement with the public but instead thoroughly enjoy attending Garland events and meeting with Garland people. Our involvement is not "just a campaign thing" but a regular part of our lifestyle in the past, is now, and will be in the future. We find the great diversity within our community to be invigorating and truly exciting—something we ALL need to celebrate. We are honored when our friends tag us as "Mr. and Mrs. Garland". They do that because they know of our deep and abiding love for the city.

One of the aspects of this campaign that Kay and I have relished in is going door-to-door to visit with individual citizens. We wish we could knock on every door in Garland and hear the hearts of each person, which they pour out to us unbidden, but for obvious reasons we are having to rely on those who know us best and work in our campaign to represent us to get to those homes we physically can't reach ourselves. Perhaps over time we WILL be able to visit with every citizen of Garland and hear their hearts about our city.

Please continue to invite your friends and neighbors to join us in this citizen-based campaign to reshape Garland to the well-being of this city.

As I've said many times, "Government exists for its citizens, not the citizens for their government." And the people—ALL the people—are its bosses.

Needs of Garland clearly spelled out in Louis Moore's answers to The Garland Texan questionnaire

Editor Kim Everett of The Garland Texan constructed an incisive list of questions for the Mayoral Candidates for the City of Garland's May 5 special election. Below are my responses exactly as they appear in that online newspaper. Questions are in bold. My answers are in regular typeface. To see the whole Garland Texan forum, a link is provided at the end of this blog.

Candidate Louis Moore

How long have you lived in Garland?

I have lived in Garland for nearly 18 years. My wife of 49 years is a Garland native. I first became part of Garland in 1968 when we were courting. Kay’s parents were active in the political, social, and business life of the city—and wonderful role models of citizen involvement. When we returned to Garland in August 2000 to care for Kay’s aging mother and two of her other elderly relatives, Kay and I both had a deep desire to make a significant contribution to Garland through community service and involvement.

Please list your experience/background/knowledge that you feel makes you the right choice for mayor.

Since moving to Garland in 2000 I have immersed myself in the life of the city. To run in this election for Mayor of Garland, I stepped down after 10 years on the city’s Plan Commission.

I am a former vice president and a current board member of the Garland Downtown Business Association and am an early founding board member of Garland’s Hope Clinic. I am a former board member and chair of the Garland Salvation Army, a founding board member and president of Friends of Garland’s Historic Magic 11th Street and have been involved in various capacities in many other organizations in Garland. In 2017 I graduated from the Garland Citizens Fire Academy. During that same year my wife, Kay Wheeler Moore, and I received the prestigious “Who’s Who in Garland Neighborhoods” award, administered by the City of Garland’s Office of Neighborhood Vitality. Friends and relatives often refer to us as “Mr. and Mrs. Garland” because of our love for and work on behalf of the city. A citizen and elder in the Chickasaw Nation, in 2016 and 2017 I was selected as a “Diversity Scholar” by the National Trust for Historic Preservation based in Washington, DC. I am involved with the organization’s effort to see that the “complete story of America” is told through national and local recognitions and citations. As an indication of our commitment to make Garland a place where ALL CITIZENS COUNT, Kay and I are members of Garland’s NAACP and GAFHA Hispanic-heritage group.

Candidate for Mayor of Garland Louis Moore

Prior to moving to Garland, I had a successful career as a reporter, editor and columnist for the Houston Chronicle, at that time the largest newspaper in Texas. During that time, I served as a trustee on the Houston Chronicle Credit Union and a member of that board’s Credit Committee. I also was a board member and officer for several professional media organizations. Later, I managed media operations for the world’s largest mission-sending organization, the International Mission Board based in Richmond, Virginia. The office I managed included 96 talented writers, editors, graphic designers, artists, videographers and film producers—with just about every imaginable media talent. Our task was to help the IMB raise its annual Lottie Moon Christmas Offering, which at the time was approaching $100 million a year. This required major national and international travel, taking me to five continents and some 45 different countries. After I took early retirement in 2000, I was elected an IMB trustee and served on various committees including the administrative committee charged with overseeing the agency’s $400-million endowment and $300-million annual budget.

After moving to Garland in 2000, Kay and I purchased Hannibal Books, a Christian book-publishing company with worldwide distribution, and have invested heavily in Garland real estate.

Just about everything I have done in my career prepared me for the opportunity to be mayor of Garland.

The city has had its share of problems and negative publicity recently. What do you feel can be done to improve the situation?

Rather than deny or hide from our problems, we need to face them head-on and find solutions. I am an optimist who believes solutions to every problem are out there waiting for us to discover them. Garland faces no issues that can’t be resolved.

In recent years our city’s only full-service hospital closed its doors, our current mayor resigned during the height of a conflict with our city council, one of our city council members was recalled by three times as many voters as elected her to office, our citizens became increasingly frustrated with the slow progress of our street repairs, our parks system continued to deteriorate and a myriad other issues began to drag down our city.

As soon as I am sworn in as mayor of Garland, I will engage the board and top leadership of Baylor Scott & White in a needed conversation about the pain that wealthy corporation created for our community when it opted to close our city’s only hospital and what the leadership of that influential entity sees as its possible options for the huge facility that now remains mostly vacant and unused near the center of our city. As a former trustee and committee chair of another large and wealthy Baptist Board similar in size and wealth to Baylor Scott & White, I know how to sit down eyeball-to-eyeball with that huge corporation’s top leaders and hear their plans for the future for smaller, specialized facilities and hear how their plans will help or hinder our city further as well as other nearby cities where they are mulling plans to close other hospitals. Because of my extensive experience with the trustee board of the International Mission Board as well as other national and international boards of trustees on which I have served, I believe I am uniquely qualified to lead this discussion with Baylor Scott & White leaders. I will appoint a citizens task force to work with me to lead city council to help our city overcome this great loss to our community.

I also will continue to work for political reform of our city—widening the tent of citizen involvement to include ALL of our citizens and not just the tiny handful of mostly white citizens who for decades have held the reins of power in our city tightly in their grip. Garland, the second-largest city in Dallas County, has a population of nearly 240,000 people who reflect the wide cultural and ethnic diversity of the DFW Metroplex. Like too many Metroplex cities, municipal elections in Garland are decided by a handful of voters who represent only 2 to 4 percent of the potential voters. Even in this election all of the four city council seats up for election are uncontested—a not untypical pattern of citizen apathy in Garland. Immediately after being sworn into office, I will appoint a citizens’ task force to study and bring forth recommendations for ways to expand voter interest and participation and bring into the seats of power ALL of our citizens, especially our burgeoning Hispanic population (now 39 percent of our population) which remains unfairly on the outskirts of citizen involvement and respect. As Garland’s first Native American mayor, I will be uniquely positioned to lead this forward-facing movement.

To further involve ALL citizens, I immediately will appoint up to nine additional public citizen task forces to study and make recommendations on the key issues that hold our city back from being the truly great city Garland has been and truly can be again.

These citizen task forces will be empowered to focus on such issues as 1) what can be done to speed up the process to rebuild/restore our miserable streets, particularly the residential ones in older neighborhoods; 2) how to resolve the Eastern Hills Country Club redevelopment stalemate; 3) our long-delayed new animal shelter; 4) the slow citywide economic development, especially in our central and southern sectors; 5) our city’s lack of a comprehensive plan for our growing homeless population; and 6) find a feasible and safe solution to the slow-grinding efforts to adequately fund our firefighters and police retirement accounts, among other issues.

What are some of the city’s assets that you feel can be built upon?

Garland has a rich history of citizen involvement in the life of the community. By far, Garland’s citizens are its greatest asset. We may not be a wealthy city, but we are a city of people who care deeply for their community. As Kay and I daily block-walk our city and meet citizens, we are constantly amazed at the depth of their awareness of issues that drag our city down and the need to find solutions. We are a manufacturing community with a strong work ethic. We have a history of being a moral, compassionate and talented city. As mayor, I will work to mobilize our citizens to help find solutions to every problem we face. Inside my wedding ring 49 years ago, my wife, Kay, wrote, these words: “What we are together is more than what we were apart!” What is true for us and our marriage is also true for the whole Garland community. We have great untapped strength in our multicultural, diverse community embracing peoples from just about every country on the globe.

What are the main things in the city that you feel need to be improved/changed? How will you go about changing them?

As an inner-ring suburban city facing “build out.” Garland confronts a multitude of challenges in both residential and commercial development and redevelopment. This is not a case of “either/or” but of “both/and.” We must develop and redevelop our commercial as well as our residential areas. Our city is doing a good job—but not as fabulous a job as some of our neighbors—of developing its northern sector along President George Bush Freeway. We are struggling in the central and southern sectors of the city. We lack the internal financial resources necessary to compete with nearby neighbors such as Plano, Richardson, Frisco, Rowlett and Rockwall.

At the Garland entrance sign I proposed as a compromise, which was not paid for with tax dollars, but with funds from the nearby RaceTrac business.

Consequently, we must look beyond our city limits to mobilize the assistance we need.  We can do this in a variety of ways: 1) aggressively step up our efforts to find federal and state monies available to our community; 2) launch a strong initiative to find and secure private grant monies available to our city; 3) encourage our city and school employees and city leaders to live in our city and fully invest in our community—not draw salaries and produce incomes here that are invested elsewhere; 4) explore tax incentives and other means to encourage our businesses and citizens to rebuild their older properties in need of redevelopment; 5) look beyond our country’s borders for more international investment, including actively recruiting investment from Mexico and Central and South America to underwrite our less-affluent, large Latino population.

What can be done to encourage more of the population to take an interest in the city?

Apathy is an unfortunate and troubling attitude in many American cities today. Garland is not immune to this trend. Immediately after being elected as mayor, I will form a mayoral task force to look into the root causes of apathy in our community and to explore ways to ignite citizen faith and hope in our community. I do not have all the answers for this issue, but I believe our citizens working together can find solutions. We need to be sure that we do not accidentally overlook any group of citizens. We must engage all citizens equally and set goals to greatly increase citizen involvement in and respect for our city.

Why do you want to be Garland’s mayor?

Garland is at a crucial moment in its history. We can tackle our problems, find solutions to them and move forward with confidence and hope for the future, or we can wallow in the political turmoil of recent years and go backward to a more isolated, regressive time period. I am running for mayor because I want our city to move forward with confidence and hope for the future.

I listen carefully to those around me. I look for common themes in what people say. I seek solutions rather than conflict. I am a problem solver and a consensus builder. I am a trained communicator who understands complicated issues and can explain them clearly to the average citizen. I am a proven, trained, and skilled leader with significant experience in management and executive leadership. Garland faces enormous challenges that require someone of my skill set and temperament to lead our city at this crucial point in our history.
Instead of going backward or marching in place to the status quo, I want the opportunity to lead our city forward beyond the impasse of recent years of political conflict and into a brighter future for ALL of our citizens. During my work career, I managed multi-million dollar budgets and large and challenging staffs. As a trustee for the International Mission Board, I worked with complex budgets of nearly $300 million that are comparable to the city’s budgets. I understand all the various functions of the city of Garland and am ready to go to work for the citizens as soon as I take the oath of office as mayor. My goal is to make order out of the current political chaos and stalemate and to work with City Council to make Garland all that it should and can be.


(While this blog is an unedited version of The Garland Texan's Mayoral Candidate Questionnaire, those who may want to see the whole forum please click on this link: http://thegarlandtexan.com/mayoral-candidates-dodson-moore-qa/

Memories are besmirched when our city's parks are allowed to disintegrate

A toss from the pitcher's mound that summer night set in motion a tragedy that shook Garland like few other things have in its history.

The ball struck the back of 11-year-old Ricky Oden's neck below his helmet while he was at bat. The Williams Elementary student died two days later.

Mention on Facebook the night that Ricky Oden was felled in 1956, and posts in reply blitz in at lightning speed. Like recollections about the JFK assassination, Garlandites of that era clearly remember where they were when it happened or when they learned of the occurrence. Shock waves all over.

It was the first on-field death in U.S. Little League history. The park where it occurred, then known as Cole Park for developer M.C. Cole, was renamed Rick Oden Park shortly thereafter and now occupies 31 acres.

Only 11 years old, this Garland lad didn't live to graduate from high school or see adulthood. Rick Oden Park in Garland is named for him.

Today, that city park is in miserable shape; thanks to recent rains and being in a floodplain the potholes in its roads and parking lots are like bombed-out craters in Vietnam during the war there more than 40 years ago.

Potholes and poor park-road and parking lot conditions are not honoring to the memory Rick Oden.

The memory of this winsome boy that gave his all at batter's plate when his team was down, who did not live to see adulthood because of a sports accident, deserves to be honored and respected far more than the condition of the park today reflects.

I was reminded of this the other day when Kay and I decided to check out Rick Oden Park at dusk on a weekday. The poor condition of the park had been mentioned in a political forum we attended.

The condition of the park made us feel sad, though I had little time to think about it since I was busy in my car dodging those awful potholes that jarred every tooth in my head and worrying about potential damage to my new set of tires! An unaware person driving through after dark could sustain real damage to a vehicle.

The Rick Oden park memorializes an 11-year-old Garland elementary student who died after his neck was hit with a baseball in a game in 1956. 

Scattered across the central and southern sections of Garland are other parks that hold great meaning for our community. They tell the story of bygone eras of new settlers to this area and of "separate but equal" Tom Crow racism in our community before the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

Many people today probably don't remember or could care less about these once-treasured parks with deep meaning. Except for the long-termers, I wonder how many know the true story of Rick Oden? On Facebook you can find people who state in posts that they played baseball there for years but never knew who Rick Oden was or why the park bore his name. How many know the story of the Williams family of Central Park? Or Lou Huff and Lou Huff Park?

In fact, about a year ago, the city's Heritage Crossing asked Kay to assist in finding a picture of Lou (Lula) Huff, the African-American citizen (1889-1956) for whom the park was named in about 1950. That portrait once hung proudly in the foyer of the park's small recreation center. Lou Huff is buried in Lincoln Memorial Park in Dallas.

Like too many other treasures in this community, the picture of Lou Huff, to the knowledge of the leaders among Garland's black citizens, is still missing. Some now believe the picture was given to family members as the Lou Huff Recreation Center was closing its doors in late 2002. Today, the rec center is a warehouse for the Garland Parks Department. It should be a museum of African-American culture in Garland. It is worthy of being on the National Register of Historic Places.

And I wonder how many realize that Garland has no park or any part of a park dedicated to the honor or memory of any Latinos, who today comprise nearly 39% of our city's population, nor to any Asians, who now comprise 10.4% of our population. (The Anglo population is nearly 33% and the black population 13.5%.)

The vast majority of Garland parks are named for whites, with only two of Garland's parks named for blacks.

Something is definitely wrong with these numbers!

Parks in the central and southern sectors of the city have not been kept up like they should have been. No wonder these parks stir reports and rumors of crime and more in them.

Neighbors who live near Central Park, situated on land once farmed by the original settlers—the Williams family—after it was the George Washington "Wash" Routh home place beginning in about 1850 on Duck Creek—are concerned about the proposed skate and dog parks in Central Park. But they also worry about current crime there and the way they say West Avenue G running behind their houses is constantly littered with hypodermic needles (for illegal drug uses) but also used condoms and other evidences of misuse of the once-magnificent, family-friendly city park.

Lou Huff Park is another of those utter embarrassments. At a recent luncheon at our home for African-American leaders, Garland City Councilman B.J. Williams expressed shock and disbelief at the description offered of Lou Huff Park, once one of the key epicenters of African-American life in Garland, as nothing but a warehouse. (On the Parks Department website, the park is generally referred to merely as "Huff" Park, diluting the origin of its name still more.) It has a tennis court and softball fields.

Today, the Lou Huff Recreation Center and its expansion serve as storage facilities for Garland's Parks Department. The recreation facility is history. Members of Garland' black community wistfully recall the time when this center was their "everything", a hub around which everything revolved.

Instead of a city warehouse, the Lou Huff Park facilities would make a great museum of Garland's African-American history.

The two small, old swimming pools at Lou Huff built for "coloreds only" lie buried like caskets in the ground. The old, large "whites only" swimming poor at Central Park suffered the same fate. At least we know precisely where it is: under the outline of the sandy volleyball courts. I hope someday someone in Garland's African-American community can clearly pinpoint to me the exact location of the two original small swimming pools in Lou Huff Park and secure a Texas historical marker for them.

And Central Park? I've covered that embarrassment in many blogs over the past year. It needs a total remake, starting with a master plan—and not just a bunch of knee-jerk, hit-and-miss ideas—that neighbors, other citizens, city staff, and city council can all agree on. It doesn't even treat the memory of our white settlers any better.

Garland has an amazing way of burying the history it wants to try and somehow forget—such as the days of segregation, Jim Crow laws, and the city's burgeoning Ku Klux Klan in the 1920s. And it refuses to honor our Latino citizens who have given so much to help build this city.

I wish the Williams family ultimately would donate to the city its historic home place situated next to the park, to be used as a "Farmstead" heritage model like the City of Plano has. But given the current state of Garland's parks, I wouldn't blame the family for answering with a resounding "NO".

The Williams family home place near Garland's Central Park. Funeral cars are parked out front in this photo of bygone times. The Williams family owned and operated the funeral home. Photo from Pioneers of Dallas County.

Our treasured parks deserve better than this! Those who made these parks possible deserve better than this. Our current citizens who want and need to use their parks fully deserve better than this.

And our Hispanic and Asian populations deserve to have at least one park each named for one of their own.

The Garland Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Arts Department says it has plans to take up the asphalt and replace it with concrete at the Rick Oden Park in 2019 and to fix at least one road in Central Park in 2020. Roads and parking lots in Lou Huff Park are not on the calendar.

When I am elected Mayor of Garland, I will work to see that these important parks—and others as well—are respected and restored to their original beauty and importance to our city.

I will also work to see that the naming of our parks begins to reflect the true ethnic mix of our community today.

For starters, perhaps we need to find a way to fund our own Garland Parks security department or some other means to keep all of our parks safe. A division of our Garland Police Department? A well-organized Citizens-on-Patrol operation? A special section in our Marshall's Office? Each option and others ought to be considered.

I invite our citizens to weigh in with ideas on how we might start by making our troubled parks safer for ALL our citizens! Email me with your ideas at louismooreformayorofgarland@yahoo.com.

The town swimming hole when Duck Creek was dammed up near the Williams property in bygone times. Garland's Central Park is in this area now.  Photo from Garland Landmark Society.

A tale of two sections of Highway 66 through Rowlett and Garland: one flourishes, the other lags

Visitors entering Garland from Highway 66 as they exit Rowlett are greeted with this massive storage facility under construction on the left side of the road, in contrast to the thriving retail district they find in entering Rowlett from the west.

For a long time I've wanted to have this conversation with the former mayor of Rowlett, Todd Gottel, about the dramatic contrast between Highway 66 on the Rowlett side versus on the Garland side of the two cities' boundary.

Recently while out campaigning for Mayor of Garland I had the opportunity on several occasions to talk with Rowlett's gregarious, effective, and talented former Mayor Gottel, now a Republican candidate for Dallas County Judge, about the matter. I also talked with Gottel's successor, Mayor Tammy Dana-Bashian, about it, too.

My question was very simple: What has Rowlett done right—or Garland done wrong—so that the Rowlett stretch of Highway 66 running through that city is bustling with new energy, new businesses and a vast array of eateries and exciting places to go, while the Garland portion of Highway 66 from the city limits to First Street is a vastly underutilized area. 

It contains one large, beautiful church, several small churches, a small Buddhist temple, two hat manufacturing companies, some city buildings, and the like—certainly real contributors to our city.

But where, in addition to these, is the retail? Other than several gas stations and a drive-in restaurant, why does a buzzing retail district elude Garland there yet crop up immediately on the other side of the city limits in Rowlett? 

A combination Dunkin Donuts and Baskin Robbins eatery and other thriving small businesses are part of Rowlett's entry point as one approaches the neighboring city from Garland on Highway 66.

To me and other Garland citizens the contrast is like daylight and darkness. Clearly the two cities have approached Highway 66 differently.

Mayor Dana-Bashian tried to be kind to Garland when she explained that Highway 66 is "a major thoroughfare" through Rowlett, which may be another reason that strip has done so incredibly well.

But Highway 66 also is a major thoroughfare through Garland!

Adding insult to injury, Rowlett is in the midst of a major $2-million spruce-up of the medians of the six-lane divided highway. When that project is soon complete, the contrast between the two cities along Highway 66 will be even more dramatic.

Landscaped medians are planned for Highway 66 as one departs Rowlett for Garland.

I want our city to be the showcase for the Metroplex. It can't be when we face situations like this one. And we have similar contrasts like this at our borders all over town.

Why is this happening?

Gottel's answers were both shocking and vexing:

1. The $2-million landscaping project in its medians is being paid for with a $2-million grant from the Texas Department of Transportation, often called only TxDOT.

So, why didn't Garland get a grant like this? Same highway. Same state. Same state agency. Just a city-limits sign dividing the two towns. The answer surprised me. It will surprise many Garlandites, too. A citizen organization engaged in a conversation with TxDOT that eventually led to the $2-million grant. Rowlett City Council did not initiate the grant but quickly embraced it once it smelled the money.

Given Garland's penchant for minimizing genuine citizen involvement, I wonder what city leaders would have done if such a grant had been proposed from some organization or individual outside the initiative of our power elite. As I have said many times in many places in many ways, Garland needs to empower our citizens—not discourage them—to go after citizen-initiated possible resources any time they are available. Garland citizens leading the effort to build a new quality animal shelter here tell stories about being rebuffed when trying to inform our city leaders that outside money was available to help build the shelter. That story truly puzzles me!

One of the wealthiest persons Garland ever produced drops $2 million to $4 million checks all over worthy philanthropic causes in another region of this country, where this immensely wealthy family lives. Has someone ever suggested to this locally-grown, prosperous philanthropist that the hometown where the person's roots run deep ought to be on that list of worthy causes? I can quickly think of a half-dozen causes here that could use a check for $3 million or $4 million—starting with our downtown area. Our city needs all the help it can get from elsewhere because our city's needs are great and our citizens are already heavily burdened with high property and sales taxes now—and facing stiff competition from other nearby DFW cities. Despite our rugged sense of independence, we simply can't do it alone. We need help anywhere we can find it!

This RaceTrac station along Highway 66 near the entrance to Garland is a well-run business with friendly clerks. But other retail benefiting Garland could certainly be added in this vicinity.

 2. Gottel described the attraction of new and exciting businesses and eateries to Highway 66 through Rowlett as the result of a fairly easy, simple, and inexpensive plan.

He said Rowlett focused its resources on making the strip look attractive—kind of like a homeowner does when wanting to put his or her house up for sale. That's all. By insisting that businesses landscape, keep their landscaping looking nice including consistently laying mulch over bare earth, and everybody just working together to make their little places on Highway 66 look good, other businesses and restaurants from elsewhere want to join the parade. And joining the parade they have done—and are doing!

Even Garland's homegrown and locally owned bank, Texas Brand Bank at Miller and Shiloh, has gotten into the act in booming Rowlett, with a large sign on the southwest corner of the intersection of Highway 66 and the George Bush Freeway announcing that it is financing the new project there.

The former Rowlett mayor described something like a neighborhood that cleans up its litter, removes all blight, installs beautiful landscaping, and puts out the red carpet for all guests.

Gottel's words are still ringing in my ears: Easy. Simple. Inexpensive.

And to top it all off, a wheelbarrow full of free money from the State of Texas.

A city with a heart for its citizens couldn't ask for a better formula.

Not to mention the extra bump in sales tax revenues and property taxes the City of Rowlett is enjoying (and Garland is missing) with this neat little package of ideas on State Highway 66.

Just one more reason why I believe Garland needs new leadership with experienced creativity and know-how Moore, Hope for Garland promises!

Though the building looks substantial, it is one of two new storage facilities in the area that needs more retail that draws citizens to Highway 66 in Garland before the Rowlett city limits.

My reluctant Plan Commission resignation: incumbents win again, citizens lose. Another reform needed!

"Don't be afraid to give up the good and go for the great." —Steve Prefontaine

I have occupied this seat on the Plan Commission for 10 of the last 12 years, learning from this role much about our city, our people, and our city government. The citizens of Garland deserve a city government that is as good, as trustworthy, and as honest as they are—and that represents ALL citizens and not just the powerful few.

I have resigned twice from the City of Garland Plan Commission. Once, six years ago, was out of courtesy to the winning District 2 City Councilperson, Anita Goebel. In the election I had supported her opponent and thought she ought to be able to choose her own candidate for my seat on the Plan Commission. I served six years before Goebel was elected.

Two years later Goebel called me to ask me if I would return to the Plan Commission as her nominee. This time I have served for four years—a 10-year stint in all.

However, the second time—this time—I resigned unwillingly after I filed to run for Mayor of the City of Garland.

A Garland tradition says board and commission members must resign if they file to run for mayor or city council.

The same rule does not apply to city councilmembers or mayors who file for re-election or councilmembers who file to run for mayor. They are allowed to keep their seats and get as much free TV air time as they can muster on the City's TV channel and exposure in the city press.

As I have said previously in other blogs, it's all a part of an anti-citizen, anti-free election attitude in the city that vaults city-paid incumbent city officeholders above ordinary citizens, who give voluntarily of their time to serve on city boards and commissions.

The tradition, which is actually written into the city's charter but is unclear in Texas law which supersedes our charter, gives incumbents an advantage that ordinary citizens don't have.

As soon as the filing deadline passed for council seats, I texted a Garland politico to dialog about why he thought no one had filed against the two incumbents.

"Hard to beat an incumbent who seems to be serving their district," he replied.

No wonder so few citizens ever want to run for election in our city! The deck is stacked against them.

In our current council elections, two incumbents are running unopposed.

A third citizen entered the race for his district seat, but no second candidate filed, so the unopposed candidate wins by default.

In the fourth race, the incumbent, who was ineligible to run for re-election, is listed as one candidate's campaign treasurer and is reported to be managing his campaign. The other candidate in the race led the successful recall petition against the incumbent, who is now fielding her candidate against the person who led the recall petition against her.

To add to the confusion, as Mayor Douglas Athas has pointed out, the majority of city councilmembers were not actually elected to their seats by the voters but by the council itself because the councilmembers were running unopposed.

At one point before he and a group of six city councilmembers got crossways with each other, resigning Mayor Douglas Athas tried to say that not having elections in Garland was a sign that the council was doing a great job and the public recognized that.

I wonder whether he is making that statement now.

This is why I continue to assert, "Incumbents rule in Garland."

So back to my reluctant decision to submit my letter of resignation from the Plan Commission instead of fighting the unfair "tradition" in the courts.

I will miss Plan office personnel Will Guerin, left, and Isaac Williams, but I look forward to working again with them when I am mayor.

This is what I said in my letter of resignation:

"I submit this resignation reluctantly. The Garland City Attorney's office tells me the issue of the city forcing a board or commission member to resign and lose his or her seat immediately on filing for a city office (while not requiring the same of a sitting city councilmember or mayor seeking re-election) is a "gray area" that is not clearly defined by a careful reading of both the City of Garland's Charter in combination with existing Texas law on this matter.

"The city Attorney's Office tells me that such a required resignation has been a 'tradition' in Garland for a number of years but has not been tested in court.

"As you know, Mayor Douglas Athas resigned in February and because of state law is allowed to remain in office until his successor is sworn in. Also, District 2 City Councilmember Anita Goebel, after a recall petition, also resigned in February but remains in office until her successor is sworn into office in May.

"I want to go on record as stating that I believe such a tradition is unconstitutional and biases city elections in favor of sitting (incumbent) councilmembers and mayors who seek re-election. I also believe it violates my civil rights as a citizen of this city.

"I believe the only fair legal remedy is for the requirement for resignation of commission and board members while filing for public office to be removed from the City Charter."

"Because of my deep concern for the needs of the City of Garland and its people, I feel I must devote all of my time to the campaign for Mayor and not at this time fight this needless, senseless and questionable tradition that is biased against citizens."

When I first was seated on Garland's Plan Commission 12 years ago, now-chairman Scott Roberts sat next to me and helped tutor me in the work of the commission. Sad to say goodbye to him on Monday.

A voice crying in the wilderness? Maybe. One of my favorite sayings is, "You can lose the battle but win the war." I hope in this case that's true.

As mayor, I'll have a greater opportunity to move the city along toward a more fair and open society where all citizens—not just the tiny group of predominantly Anglo citizens who control it now—have a place at the city's table.

As I have said many times, in many places, in many ways my vision includes ALL citizens having an equal voice in the business of our city.

Idealistic? Yes.

Possible? Yes. But with a lot of work necessary to reach the goal.

I look forward to the day when Garland once again has elections that are free and open to everyone equally and in which citizens by the droves instead of the handfuls actually vote!

I have enjoyed serving on the Plan Commission with Commissioner Chris Ott, right.

"WHAT ARE YOU, REPUBLICAN OR DEMOCRAT?"

I had to be Jewish, right? After I wrote a Pulitzer-nominated series on the plight of Soviet Jews whose visas to leave the then-Soviet Union were denied, the rumor went around—I had converted to Judaisim.

Just after the vivacious and youthful Pope John Paul II was installed at the Vatican, I started covering his overseas trips as a member of his traveling press corps.

At that time I worked for the Houston Chronicle. Because of my extensive stints on the road with John Paul, including a month in Rome at the Vatican, rumors spread around Houston that I had to be a Roman Catholic priest.

That followed other speculation about my being an Episcopalian, a Lutheran, a member of the Hare Krishnas, and other such amazing chatter—depending on which group I had just written about in my column.

Then in 1985 I went to the former Soviet Union to write about Soviet Jews who had tried to exit that communist state but had been denied exit visas; these folks were called Refuseniks. My newspaper series on the Soviet Jews was even nominated for a Pulitzer. I received the Texas B'nai B'rith award of honor for my work.

Naturally, the word was out: Louis Moore surely had converted to Judaism.

I was actually flattered that Chronicle readers were so confused about the guy who wrote a popular weekly column about religion events all over the world as well as Houston. Despite the current negative stereotype of reporters, I craved what a journalist likes most—to be thought of as so even-handed that readers can't pin down from which direction he or she writes. And all along, I actually was an ecumenical Southern Baptist (an oxymoron, right?). But that was a private matter. Where I worshiped on Sunday mornings had nothing to do with my unbiased coverage of all things religion.

Conducting a public tour of Houston's religious sites once stirred up the contention that the reporter must be Hindu.

I was reminded of that era this week when several people started remarking on my blog posts, "Is he a Republican or a Democrat?" Another queried, "Is he conservative or liberal?" I just HAD to be one or the other.

As a candidate for Mayor of Garland, it makes no difference whether I personally am Republican or Democrat. The mayor and city council are supposed to focus on local issues, not state and national political matters. In Garland we don't elect a mayor or a city councilmember because they are affiliated with one national political party or the other. We have enough issues here without dragging in the political messes in Austin and Washington!

I'm well-acquainted with Garland's current mayor and all eight city councilmembers. I've never one time asked any of them their political party affiliation. The question would be as out of place as sneakers at a formal ball. During the past 4.5 years as Kay and I have watched every meeting of city council either in person or on the TV, we've studied each of the nine personalities very carefully. We might privately speculate which of the nine is Democrat or Republican, but we've never discussed this with each other or with them. In 4.5 years of watching them close up, we've never seen any Garland City Council vote that related to national political party lines whatsoever.

Are they Republicans or Democrats? Who cares? How they manage local issues is uppermost in our minds. Being a Republican or Democrat won't make a dime's worth of difference when it comes to the most important matters in our city—the loss of our only hospital, the miserable streets in some residential parts of town, the ridiculous delay in building a new animal shelter, etc. (For a full list of my campaign concerns, see my February 19, 2018, blog post.)

The question, of course, reflects the polarization in our country today. Votes can hardly get through Congress these days with any bipartisan support at all. Unlike decades past, votes are either all Republican or all Democrat. And nary the twain seem to meet! And with all the changes, bickering, and confusion in the national parties today, the questions "What is a Democrat?" and "What is a Republican?" are often foremost in the public's mind. 

My family and I met then-Vice-President George H.W. Bush and his wife Barbara when Bush filled the pulpit at his home Episcopal church in Houston. That surely meant I was a Republican, some said.

Local issues are what's important here. And where the mayor and each councilmember stands on those local issues matters most. To help the voters, I have stated clearly my position on all the major issues swirling in Garland right now and intend to continue to do so. On some, such as financial accountability and disdain for government wastage, I probably sound more like a conservative Republican. On others, such as the need for improved racial relations in our city, some would likely stereotype me as a liberal Democrat.

So, which am I? Neither. Both.

Wishy-washy? Can't make up my mind? Hardly. Most people who know me know I'm very firm in my opinions. But the bumper sticker has it right: God is neither a Republican nor Democrat. More than a decade ago major newspapers all across the country picked up my editorial-page column, "Jesus was neither a Democrat nor a Republican".

Personally, I am an Independent who votes NOT along partisan lines but on the candidates as individuals and on their character and their stands on issues. Over the decades since I registered to vote at age 21 (back in the dark ages when one wasn't allowed to vote at 18), I have voted for Democrats, Republicans, and a handful of Third Party candidates. I weigh carefully the character of the candidates and where the candidates stand in relationship to issues most important to me at the time. I'm in no one's hip pocket in any way. Anyone who knows me well is fully aware that I am an independent thinker. I am not tied to any political party's apron-strings.

Back in the days before language rightfully became more gender-neutral, my mother-in-law used to proudly assert, "I vote for the MAN." (She said this despite having been Ruth Nicholson's right-hand-lieutenant in her Garland mayoral races.) What she meant was, in the privacy of the voting booth, she voted her conscience, according to how a candidate lined up with her principles—not his or her party affiliation.

At his request, we made Garland's Historic Pace House front porch available for Brett Shipp's December announcement that he was a Democratic candidate for Congress. Did that one act permanently align me with the Democratic Party? Some seemed to think so.

I don't like lying Republicans, and I don't like philandering Democrats. I also don't like philandering Republicans nor lying Democrats. (Leaves me with only a few choices, doesn't it?) I like those who practice wise stewardship with taxpayer money. I like those who treat all citizens with respect and honor. Having been personally pro-life long before it became a fashionable cause (because my wife was an adopted individual and abortion would have deprived me of her, our children, and our grandchildren), I prefer pro-life candidates—but I disdain fake pro-lifers—and can easily smell the difference between the pretenders and the real thing. Their actions must match up with their words! But what does pro-life have to do with local issues, especially since the city is losing its only hospital over which it had no control or influence? Nothing!

Garland has a long tradition of keeping state and national political parties out of its elections. While I advocate reform of our current political system and have pledged once in office to overhaul it to make the system more accessible to ALL Garland residents, I support that long-time practice of keeping the political parties out of the mix. The last thing this troubled city needs is to drag in unnecessary national issues, over which the mayor and city council have no control whatsoever and which would only deprive us of time and resources needed to resolve our numerous local concerns.

ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL, THE FIRST DAYS: Garland citizens are clearly eager for a change in our city government

I am enjoying talking with members of the public about their concerns and hopes for our city.
(Photo by Deborah Downes of Take to Heart Images)

The huge positive response I've received to my announcement that I am running for Mayor of Garland on a progressive-reform platform tells me the citizens of Garland are eager for a change at the top that stops the unproductive divisiveness on city council, lifts our citizens up as the true owners of the 87th-largest city in America, and moves our community forward on so many issues important in the lives of our people.

These issues include:
1. the horrendous loss of our city's only hospital,
2. our miserable residential streets in older parts of town,
3. the absurd stalemate over the future of the former Eastern Hills County Club,
4. the ridiculously long-delayed new animal shelter,
5. the embarrassing lack of political transparency here,
6. the unacceptable "benign neglect" practiced toward our burgeoning Hispanic population and other minority groups,
7. the exhausting slow-grind in finding a permanent solution to the underfunded firefighters and police retirement accounts,
8. the unfair slow economic development emphasis in some parts of the city particularly the central and southern sectors,
9. the failure of our city leaders to develop a workable solution for our growing population of people including children and students without homes (a.k.a. "the homeless"),
10. the crime rate as personified by the scary number of murders in our city this year,
11. the hesitancy to look at Central Park improvements globally instead of piecemeal, and
12. a myriad of other issues.

Is there any wonder that I chose to style my campaign with the theme, "Moore, Hope for Garland"? Citizens I run into often feel they have no hope for our city.

My first few days on the campaign trail have put me in contact with so many wonderful Garland residents. I am deeply touched and moved by their words of affirmation, actions, and show of support.

Our citizens know this is a defining moment for Garland. Either we go forward to a future that is bright because we have resolved the matters dragging us down—or we go backward to the 1960s, when Garland chose to isolate itself and turned inward, allowing placebos to rock it to sleep and fall behind our neighboring cities.

I'm all about moving forward. I'm encouraged that such a tremendous number of our citizens want to go in that direction, too!

Friends and supporters who began arriving in front of The Pace House for my campaign announcement inspired me with their enthusiasm and desire to see a better Garland soon. (Photo by Deborah Downes of Take to Heart Images)

I am especially encouraged by the people who have talked to me about their interest in running for public office here. Many reflect the racial, gender, and economic diversity within our community. They want the opportunity to serve their community but either are reluctant because of the image of our city government as a closed society or simply don't know how. I'm encouraging them and promising to open the pathways for ALL our citizens, if they so choose, to share in the governance and leadership of our city.

I am amazed at how many people have told me they are tired of the paralysis in our city government, exemplified by city employees who privately—and sometimes publicly—are telling people nothing is going to get done of any substance in the city until after the May election. Why? Because our council is so divided on personality and political issues. Nobody wants to put forth anything truly creative and forward-looking until we can get past the current impasse.

The heart-touching, amazing response to our campaign also reminds me that my support comes from average Garland citizens who are paying the high taxes and wondering where their city is heading. I welcome any and all endorsements or signs of support from ALL Garland citizens who want to get on board this fast-moving train.

Our citizens want the serious issues fully and openly discussed in a fair and professional manner—and resolved. If we are to move forward to a brighter future, then we've got to clear the pathway of the litter left from these lingering matters and diversionary political fights.

A friend of mine in Houston, who is a noted marriage-and-family therapist, loves to use the expression, "Let's make the covert overt." By that he means, issues bubbling just below the surface can destroy unless they are brought to the top and dealt with appropriately. That's my hope for Garland—that we will face our real issues head on, deal with them appropriately, enact the best possible solutions, and move on to a brighter day for all of us.

Finding Solutions is my passion and has been for years, because of my determination to find answers to whatever issues our city confronts. During my 10 years on the city's Plan Commission, I have consistently advocated citizens working together with the city and developers to find "win-win" solutions for all involved. That's what I am promising to do in this election. The solutions are all around us, if we will only OPEN our eyes, THINK creatively, and FIND them!

I will lead Garland forward—with eyes wide open—to a brighter, more hopeful, better future!

I welcome any and all who want to get on board this fast-moving train.
(Photo by Deborah Downes of Take to Heart Images)