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Did you know that
Mayor Mikel Virdell thinks
that Hitler comparisons are appropriate?
On September 17, 2014, Mayor Mikel Virdell wrote a
vitriolic Letter to the Editor in both Llano newspapers. His verbal
abuse of city council members and citizens was stunning and demonstrated
his personal traits that he mistakenly applied to them. This is a common tactic
of Mayor Virdell, but he has gone way too far this time.
Mayor Virdell's Letter to the Editor was
erroneous, vile, and grossly disrespectful, not just to those targeted,
but to all citizens of Llano and to the office of Mayor of Llano. Below
is a Fact vs. Fiction analysis of the letter along with details and
references. We challenge Mayor Virdell to respond in kind.
| FACT |
FICTION
(from Mayor Virdell's Letter)[2] |
Mayor Virdell says "That is their plan" and uses
Hitler's Big Lie
to describe it. Hitler, Goebbels, and the Nazis used the Big Lie
propaganda technique to turn long-standing anti-Semitism into mass murder.[1] Could
there be anything that anyone in Llano could say about anything
that would elicit the comparison to the Big Lie? Of course not.
But the Mayor chose to bully Glenn Conner and those Llano
citizens who oppose his policies and approach to governing
Llano by comparing their objections to Hitler's Big Lie.
And despite Mayor Virdell using quotes, that is not even what
Glenn Conner said.
Glenn Conner wrote a
Letter to the Editor
addressing Mayor Virdell's erroneous statement that Llano is
the 25th “most concerning” water system out of 2000 in Texas, and the
mayor's inability to support that statement. The mayor "fails to
use published, verifiable data or statistical analysis. In the
case of the Halff
report, he utterly dismissed such data."
Contrast Mayor Virdell's misinformation to
Glenn
Conner's detailed, factual analysis of the water situation
based on the Halff report that the city commissioned. He does
not deny water is a problem and even provides alternate
solutions to Riley Mountain. His conclusion was that "we are not
in a crisis" and likens this to Federal Government tactics of
"Don’t let a crisis go to waste."
Glenn Conner is an honorable citizen with extensive engineering
and management experience. He was a Naval Engineering Chief Warrant
Officer with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical
Engineering Technology and a Master’s degree in Industrial
Technology. Not that substantial experience is necessary to
opine on city policy, but surely Glenn Conner's input should be
seriously considered and not derided and surely not compared to
Hitler.
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Marion Bishop gave a detailed
presentation
to Council
on a
Solar Power Generation Plant to augment the power we purchase
from LCRA. Some of the benefits included electricity price
stability, diversification of energy supply not dependant on
water flow, and a new revenue stream for Llano.
There would be absolutely no cost
to the city and absolutely no
personal benefit for Marion Bishop, John Ferguson, or their
company. None. Zero. The $12 million dollars referenced by Mayor
Virdell would not be paid by the city but given to the city in
the form of a free solar plant.
This is the sort of citizen expertise we need in Llano and that
the mayor encouraged and supported during his campaign. This
idea really helps Llano citizens and projects a positive, modern
image of Llano. Marion Bishop is a retired broadcast engineer
and former college professor.
Aside from Mayor Virdell's gross distortion of the facts, he
calls it "hate towards him" and an unspecified group "taking
control of this town." Here is
Marion Bishop's presentation and
response to Mayor Virdell's statements. Try to find any hate
there, or anywhere. And how does this proposal foster "taking
control of this town?" |
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Lynda Gammage's
Letter to the Editor said "It is okay for elected officials
to leave a legacy, but the taxpayers should have some input
since they are the ones footing the bill." This was in response
to Mayor Virdell's statements at his breakfast meetings and the
Town Hall Meeting that the secondary water source for Llano
would be his legacy.
There was nothing disparaging in her remark and she
did say having a legacy was okay -
as long as taxpayers have input.
Mayor Virdell, again using quotes in error, twisted the comment
to only wanted to leave a legacy of being the "mayor that
saved Llano" which is a total distortion of the original
message and an attack on an honorable, life-long citizen of
Llano who had an intelligent opposition to the mayor's actions.
So again, Mayor Virdell uses bullying and intimidation instead
of facts to address opposition. |
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On the issue of spending $1 million dollars
next year and unknown millions in the future for the Riley Mt
project, Mayor Virdell discusses two projections:
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"the best engineers that your money
can buy"; "the best hydrologist and geologist that your
money can buy"; and "John
Burke is the best water consultant in Texas"
have all placed the odds of success at 60-40.
The analysis that created these odds has not been presented
to council or citizens. The City responded to a Texas Public Information Act
request for the analysis saying that it did not exist.
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At the Water Town Hall Meeting, Robert
Foster presented from a
detailed, 12-page analysis that concluded there was a
99.75% chance of
failure for the Riley Mt Project.
This citizen analysis showed data, maps, and the
calculations that generated the projection. He was not
allowed to present the PowerPoint presentation at the
meeting.
Mayor Virdell describes Robert Foster as "unprincipled,
deceitful and uninformed." What an outrageous statement not
becoming of anyone, let alone the mayor of our city. The fact
is Robert Foster: Graduated Magna Cum Laude in 1985 from
Texas A&M with a BS in Geophysics; has 30 years experience
as a geophysicist with Shell Oil Company; and is currently Chief Geophysicist for Shell Oil
Co. responsible for all geophysical analysis and risking in
North and South America with an annual exploration budget of
$1.2 billion.
At the Water Town Hall Meeting, Mayor Virdell
agreed to a meeting with John Burke and Robert Foster to work out the
vast discrepancy. That meeting never happened. If Mayor Virdell
was a real businessman, as he purports to be, he would want all the
facts discovered before spending millions of your dollars.
|
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Mayor Virdell's statement
in his letter mischaracterizes a discussion by two business
owners on the subject of their water bills doubling.
Later, when the topic switched to Riley Mt and Mayor Virdell, it
became evident that the parties had opposing views and the
discussion was amicably terminated.
There was no bullying or even harassment. There surely isn't a
"group of people" going into businesses or any organized
bullying effort. Bullying is defined by the
Oxford Dictionary as the use superior strength or influence
to intimidate (someone), typically to force him or her to do
what one wants.
The real bullying is being done by Mayor Virdell as
demonstrated by his letter. He verbally assaulted 2
alderman, 4 Llano citizens, and all of those who disagree with
his policies.
Mayor Virdell's bullying and intimidation is clearly
intended to
discourage opposition to his spending and waste. |
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Mayor Virdell distorts the
truth in this paragraph to discredit an alderman. Actually, when
John Ferguson was elected to city council, he was already on the
City Insurance Task Force Committee. He resigned when elected to
use that time for other alderman work.
As to Mayor Virdell's "ranting" characterization, John
Ferguson's dissemination of information and detailed studying of
issues is refreshing and greatly appreciated. Besides, John
Ferguson does not rant on Facebook, or anywhere.
This is just another example of Mayor Virdell's bullying and
intimidation of his opponents. John Ferguson should be applauded
for his steadfast determination against this onslaught. |
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Mayor
Virdell's intent here is to calm any citizen concern about the
spending and the 99.75% assurance that the money on Riley Mt
will be wasted. He distorts the truth through general,
incomplete statements with vague qualifications that give the
feeling that it won't cost you anything.
Mayor Virdell specifically used quotes on the word find
in his letter. This is to deceive you because the finding
of water is the least expensive part of the total cost of
the project. He has said that drilling wells (the
finding) will be $180,000 but fails to mention the next
steps where the BIG money is spent on
the liners, pumping stations, generators, leases, royalties, a
multi-million dollar pipeline to Llano, legal fees,
and other costs to complete the project. Of course property
taxes won't go up for the $180,000 drilling but they might to
pay for the remainder of the project.
The statement "The Cost is already figured in the next year's
balanced budget" gives a warm feeling but there is no
description of what the $1 million is for. He qualifies that
this as the first step but what is the cost of future steps? No
one knows because the details have never been documented.
Real businessmen don't start a project until a complete plan and
pricing are done. This "plan" by Mayor Virdell and Brenton Lewis
is just another example of poor/nonexistent planning and
business cases. See the $15
million sewer plant business case error from 2007 that
plagues us still today.
The fact is simply that this will cost the citizens of Llano
something in some form - either in taxes, utility costs, and/or
debt. The last time Mayor Virdell mentioned a total price it was
$4 million dollars. This is a gamble that has a 99.75% chance of
losing. It doesn't take a businessman to pass on that bet. |
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[1]
Jeffrey
Herf (2006).
The Jewish Enemy: Nazi Propaganda During World War II And the
Holocaust. Harvard University Press. p. 211.
[2]
Mayor Mikel Virdell
Letter to the Editor in Llano News on 9/24/14
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