Philosophically: I don’t think government should ever do what private business is supposed to. If the market won’t support a development or business, government shouldn’t provide it. Full stop. I oppose socialism and I despise government trying to compete against private enterprise no matter how noble some think the undertaking is. The city had an option to build a hotel with developers footing most of the bill, and it chose to go the route of a North Korean business model. No sale, comrade. Corporate welfare is socialism.
Practicality: The numbers provided by the pro-Hoteliers tell the story. To work, the People’s Hotel would require occupancy that the market doesn’t support (68 percent, while current occupancy is 55 percent) and at a rate far above the market rate. The latest RIP Dallas ad says explicitly they do not care about the bottom line. I’m sorry, when you’re putting taxpayers on the hook for half a billion (with a B) dollars and your own studies show that the hotel will lose money barring the most impossible perfect factors, the bottom line is the bottom line.
Transparency: The pro-Hoteliers have withheld information from voters — both the revised feasibility study that, according to leaks, prove the city would make more money from conventions if the hotel were not built, and whatever it is the city is suing the Texas Attorney General to prevent from releasing to the public.
Tactically:
1) I don’t care who wants to back the hotel, and I won’t engage in the “rich kids” name calling that appeals to the kind of class envy I despise. But I do care when people form a group claiming to have no financial interest in the hotel or connections to the mayor, and it turns out their leadership is employed by companies that will profit, and is comprised of people who sit on the mayor’s task force.
2) I interviewed Harlan Crow for a profile in D CEO back in February 2008 before I knew much about the issue or had a position. His very first words in the interview were to say that yes, he has a financial interest in preventing the city from building a government hotel. Crow has been honest about this from word one. Meanwhile, groups like Enough is Enough, Vote No! and RIP Dallas haven’t gone to great lengths to pretend they were disinterested and have no financial stake, when a cursory examination has proven that is a falsehood.
3) Any player in politics is fair game, but the demonization of Harlan Crow is laughable and stupid. He has never hidden his personal interest. Yes, he is a resident of Highland Park, but his company does tens of millions in business in Dallas, and he and his family have done more for the city of Dallas in business and philanthropy than most all the Vote No’ers combined. To suggest he or any other anti-Hotelier doesn’t love Dallas is as insulting as it is untrue. How much do you love Dallas if you believe the city won’t prosper if we don’t build a 1,100 room dormitory that will sit empty three-quarters of the year?
Fear: I look askance at any campaign driven by fear. When you play to people’s worst instinct, you lose any standing you have.
Dishonesty: Conflating Prop 1 (vote yes) with Prop 2 (vote no) is cheap. Claiming Prop 1 will prevent the city from providing incentives to hotel developers is a lie that got started with Ron Natinsky. Claiming a vote against the hotel is proof of racism is the worst sort of theatrical stunt, and the pro-Hoteliers have not disavowed this tactic. Sending out press releases quoting paid contractors and claiming they’re disinterested citizens is bush league.
Bottom Line: If the demand isn’t there that a business could meet, it won’t be there for a government project. If something will make money, a moneymaker will come along and make it happen. Let the city government focus on city government duties, let taxpayer dollars pay for taxpayer services, and leave business alone to handle business.
(Disclosure: I live in West Plano, and consequently have no vote. But I work in and write about Dallas, and I love the city. If that disqualifies in your mind, fine, but my arguments stand on their own merit.)
UPDATE AND CORRECTION: Regarding the email flap in the comments section about CATOH only having volunteers “north of I-30″ I just received word: “It was a mistake — we will be covering all early voting and election day locations.
@ Jack,
Are you only happy when you feel like a victim? You’ve painted the former FB commenters with a broad brush. I’m gonna ask you to back it up.
This thread is about: Talking Points Memo: Why I Oppose the People’s Hotel,” as initiated by Trey. The content of your last post is so offensive, I won’t even bother to cut/paste it…
If you have an opinion on the hotel, then voice it. If you have an opinon on something else, find another venue.
Classy, Jack and RayRay.
Show those true colors.
Commenter Chris’ comments deleted per his request to leave this site. I respect the right of all posters to pull or edit their quotes if they ask, and if I have the time.
Trey
I assume if YOU wanted to see my true colors or reveal your own, you would have not flaked out on appearing on my show. The sad fact is you can’t handle true color anymore than you can handle truth.
Go ahead,delete this post. Find someone smoking a joint in their car and post a big ass photo of them with the names of their children and the place of their business. I thought maybe this blog might have potential but it is just another version of the same old amanda/bethany/daniel back patting chatter.
Amanda, calling you out on your shit does not make me a victim.
So Trey, read it,delete it, and move on.
You just sucked the coolness right out of yourself.
1) My daughter’s soccer games come before radio appearances. Sorry. I told you I’d be available another day.
2) The only picture I have of someone smoking a joint in their car is a self-portrait. And I’m a litterbug. So you’re barking up the wrong tree.
3) The only posts I’ve deleted to date have been by the poster’s request. So no, I’m not going to delete your posts. You’ll have to nail yourself to the cross this time.
What crawled up your ass — without invitation, I mean — that’s got you so cross this fine afternoon?
Trey: be a real man.
I never asked that my posts be deleted and you know it. I’ve send messages to the three or four people who asked why my posts were suddenly gone, telling them I never ask you to take them down.
I merely said I was out of your post due to shenanigans like this because it appears you’re not serious about blogging the way others I blog for.
So you can return the posts and acknowledge you made (yet another) mistake. Or, I;ll just spread the word that much more.
Commenting on a blog does not equal blogging.
Trey
I have lost confidence in you, your blogging trekies, and your blog it self. If you get undressed by the facts and hope to save face with an apology (for refusing to take your Anne-atole goggles off) then you remove the very post that had you running for cover is absolutely unacceptable. It’s unfortunate because you go unfiltered yet you have filtered the very bloggers that make your blog a blip on the map. You have lost the little credability I thought you had.Have fun patting each other on the back. I’m moving on to the fair forums.
Hey, Jack…this thread is about the hotel. Can you take a position and make an argument about that topic? All you’ve done is attack the blog’s host and participants. You don’t like us, we get it. But, what about the hotel?
Jeez, Jack E., I’m a smart-ass (come from a long line of them), but I refrain from ad hominem attacks. One of the few people I’ve ever insulted outright is — wait for it — wait for it some more — Amanda. (I think I apologized for it, too.)
As for the hotel, let’s just scrap it and build a downtown water park — that’ll really screw over the Asians somehow! I just need some more coffee before I figure out how! And let’s face it, we all despise and loathe Asians — or has the level of civility deteriorted to the point where we can’t even agree on that?
@ Daniel…I thought you were flirting.
A water park is a bad idea…remember what happened in Fort Worth?
That may be what Daniel has in mind, the evil bastard.
OK, the “RayRayRay” who posted above wasn’t me.
Not saying that I’m too classy to say something like that…. I just don’t want people thinking I use the word “Kudos.”
Comment from the fake RayRay removed. Apologies for my comment after it, RayRay.
Trey – still waiting for you to put Chris’ comments back on your blog…tic toc.
I deleted the posts at “Chris’” request.
If he’s changed his mind, he can email them to me and I’ll be glad to put them back up.