Board member Mary Kelleher has spent the past year poking and prodding for public documents and insisting on more transparency among her peers at the Tarrant Regional Water District.
She presented herself as a regular person trying to crack a secretive good-ol-boy network when she sought election to the board — her first public office — in 2013.
Since then, her frequent requests for information, her complaints against the heavy-handedness of water district General Manager Jim Oliver, and her solitary stances against the other four board members on numerous issues have left her feeling estranged.
Last week, the water district notified Kelleher of a special board meeting at 9:30 a.m. tomorrow at district headquarters.
Kelleher said the district “does not schedule special meetings lightly,” and so she emailed Oliver and board president Vic Henderson to find out what the meeting was about. He told her she’d have to wait until an agenda was sent out.
Today, Kelleher sent out a press release saying the special meeting was called by the other board members to censure, or reprimand, her in public.
She doesn’t appear overly concerned.
“In reality, when an elected official is censured, it usually means that elected official is representing their constituency instead of going along with the powers-at-be,” she said. ” If the 8,942 people who elected me to the TRWD were the ones trying to censure me, I’d be humiliated and looking for a big rock to hide under, but they’re not and that’s what’s most important to me. I work for the people not the board.”
Kelleher characterized the attempt to censure her as “bad leadership, abuse of power, and loss of control by the board.”
Fort Worth Independent School District trustees made a similar move last year when they censured Ann Sutherland.
Gee what do the TRWD and the FWISD boards have in common? Do we see the same tactics that Needham played w/ Sutherland now being played by Leonard? How sad for both of those boards.
I wonder how much money she has been paid by that wealthy land owner and CEO who doesn’t want a pipe through his pleasure ranch. I’d like to see those records!
Not sure why people would back her, it is clear she is a puppet and she is financed to cry wolf where there is none and to cause as much damage as possible. You should read up on how much it would cost us tax payers if she got her puppet master’s way and how much she has already cost us.
Watch her in action sometime, it’s embarrassing and cringeworthy. I guess a good paid shill is hard to come by. At least when that crooked CEO paid off Rep. Lance Gooden he got his money’s worth.
Tell you what Mary, why don’t you let the public see your email and phone communications and your bank statements. What laws are you breaking to do your master’s bidding?
She doesn’t represent us, it is offensive that she pretends to do so. If you are going to break out the pitchforks at least know who needs to get poked.
Really TPT. If you want bought and paid for members just look at the rest of the board. They’re the ones who have created that boondoggle north of downtown not Kelleher. She wants things in the open not hidden backroom deals like the rest of the board.
Tea Party Texan sounds like an Eppstein Group flack and not a real Tea Party member.
And that’s ok.
@TeaPartyTexan, you are absolutely correct, and the rest of you are uninformed. It has been shown that she is a puppet trying to move forward with her own agenda instead of the good people of Fort Worth. She has slandered the rest of the board with allegations that she cannot back up with facts. Not only that, but she also is a liar (as proven by her denial of comments about the Fort Worth City Council Board Meeting where she “represented the TRWD”), even after she JUST WATCHED IT!
We will see how ethical she is after she “finally” (if she actually does it) releases her campaign contributions and her conflict of interest documentation (of which she is already delinquent on).
All she is after is conserving land for her Puppeteer, and not water where it is needed, in Fort Worth!!
You hacks are no more “Tea Party Texan” or “True Conservative” than Mitch McConnell, Kay Granger or for that matter, Marty Leonard or Judy Needham. RINO – big money interests. Talking crap and diverting attention. The Needham – Leonard strategy connection is too comical and obvious. Its sickening.
“Tea Party Texan” and “True Conservative,” how often is it that the bad guys are the ones filing open records requests are the good guys are blocking them? Never.
Speaking of open records, how much is Vic Henderson paying you to taint the ideas “Tea Party” and “Conservative?”
Vic Henderson and Marty Leonard are the poster children for why we need to get the rights of recall and referendum enshrined in the Texas Constitution.
TPT and True Conservative sound just like the chemtrail imbeciles that scream about paid shills. I’m willing to bet they’re on that bandwagon as well. Libertarian is right. The good guys usually want more information not less.