What's the Matter with Farmers Branch?
I thought I was going to stay out of the fray up in Farmers Branch, Texas, but I just can't do it anymore. First, let me give you some background. I know Tim O'Hare. Months ago, Tim O'Hare came to my law office at my request and we met for lunch.
You see, Tim O'Hare and I have one thing in common. We have both represented injured undocumented aliens, mostly Mexicans. My firm has also represented plenty of El Salvadorans, Hondurans, Guatemalans, Costa Ricans, Columbians, Venezuelans, Brazilians, Argentineans, Bolivians, Peruvians, and Ecuadorians. One day, in the not-so-distant past, Tim O'Hare asked me to review about 20 or so files that he claimed he was simply too busy to work on. My recollection of the review of those files, while imperfect, is that many, if not most, of the names on the files were Hispanic. That struck me for two reasons: First, why would Spanish speaking injury victims choose to be represented by solo lawyer, Tim O'Hare? Secondly, while it would be a leap to presume that just because you have a Hispanic surname, you must be here illegally, why was Tim O'Hare, self-proclaimed "super-Christian," helping people he probably knew were breaking the law by being here in the first place?
Why did I presume he was trying to help undocumented aliens? If his practice (which he told me was a very busy plaintiff's personal injury practice) is anything like mine, then at least a third of the
Hispanic surnamed folks he represented were most likely undocumented aliens. So, why should that matter? After all, Tim O'Hare himself is on the record, and not coincidentally, in the Yellow Pages, as
welcoming Spanish speakers with his "Se Habla Espanol" outreach, implying that he saw no contradiction with representing undocumented injury victims as long as the laws of Texas allowed it. Bravo?
Enough background, let's talk about what's the matter with Farmers Branch. For those of you who've read Thomas Frank's phenomenal book, "What's the Matter with Kansas" you'll find interesting parallels and similarities to what is going on in Farmers Branch. Add a very liberal (not in the political sense, but in the kitchen sense) dose of Joel Kotkin's City/Suburban analysis and you'll see some huge clues as to what's going on in Farmers Branch.
I admittedly don't know much about Farmers Branch, I try to stay out of the suburbs; I just don't like the way they make me feel. I do know this: According to Joel Kotkin, most inner ring suburbs (of which I think it's safe to say, Farmers Branch qualifies) are undergoing huge demographic changes. As the inner ring suburbs such as Farmers Branch age, more and more immigrant communities move into the area. The immigrant communities are looking for the same things the original settlers to Farmers Branch were looking for: affordable housing, cleaner streets and neighborhoods, and better schools for their children.
So I say to Farmers Branch, embrace the demographic changes that are still to come, you can't stop them with petty City Ordinances. Well, maybe you can temporarily, but not for long. Also, while 20 years ago Farmers Branch may have looked and felt like Mayberry, it is an inner ring suburb which abuts one of the fastest growing urban areas in Texas, or for that matter, the United States.
Ok, you say, where's the beef in this blog? Let's look at who's left in Farmers Branch and find out why that matters. 65% of the population is Anglo. Most of that population is Anglo, aging and scared. Why are they scared? Because they probably don't have the resources to flee to Frisco, Allen, Melissa, Celina, West Plano, or Colleyville/Southlake. As they see it, they are being overrun by folks who don't look like them, don't go to the same churches, and don't speak the same language.
Someone's got to put a stop to this "invasion." Tim O'Hare has believed he's the man to do it for some time now. Indeed, when we met many months ago in my office, Tim O'Hare specfically told me his plan to get ever more big injury cases: 1) run for City Council; 2) either wait his turn or hope for something politically bad to happen to the current mayor of Farmers Branch; 3) get elected Mayor of Farmers Branch; and 4) when he was done with his term in the Mayor's office, he would sit back and get "all the good cases" in Farmers Branch and beyond. Why? Because his political fame would ensure he was the "go to guy" in Farmers Branch.
Hmm, sounds like a delusional K Street, Jack Abramoff type scheme, albeit on a microscopic scale. Maybe that's why Tim O'Hare is one of the only Republican plaintiff's personal injury lawyers I personally know. He wants to spend a few years in public service, only to then trade those years for a lucrative private practice predicated on the connections he gained while in public service.
So what is the matter with Farmers Branch? The scared Anglo majority (temporary majority) is working hard to stem the inexorable tide of change. If the demographic trends put out by State Demographer, Steve Murdock hold, and he's been hitting over 900%, in ten more years, the city will be predominately Hispanic. When that happens, there will be no more Tim O'Hare's to push for criminalizing things like renting an apartment or retail business center to someone who can't prove citizenship.
Farmers Branch will go the way of Garland, Mesquite, and to some extent Irving. It will come to look more and more like the rest of Texas. In the meantime, the Anglo citizens of Farmers Branch will sit and fume over these changes and they will vote to stop them, even though they've got no realistic chance of stopping demography. Hot button issues make for great headlines, and Tim O'Hare has certainly touched upon one. But in the end, demography will be Farmers Branch's destiny and that destiny is Hispanic. The current mayor of Farmers Branch, Bob Phelps must feel like he just got hit by an 18 wheeler. When this is all over, Tim O'Hare will feel like he got completely run over by an 18 wheeler.
I urge all citizens of Farmers Branch to embrace their multi-cultural environment; you'll love it. Unless you've never traveled out of Texas, the world is a polyglot of races, ethnicities, and tribes. That's what makes the world fun, special and dynamic. Static resistance to change is wasted energy. Good luck, Tim O'Hare. I hope your future political plans work out for you.
Angel Reyes
(Originally posted on November 17, 2006)
©2006 Angel Reyes
You see, Tim O'Hare and I have one thing in common. We have both represented injured undocumented aliens, mostly Mexicans. My firm has also represented plenty of El Salvadorans, Hondurans, Guatemalans, Costa Ricans, Columbians, Venezuelans, Brazilians, Argentineans, Bolivians, Peruvians, and Ecuadorians. One day, in the not-so-distant past, Tim O'Hare asked me to review about 20 or so files that he claimed he was simply too busy to work on. My recollection of the review of those files, while imperfect, is that many, if not most, of the names on the files were Hispanic. That struck me for two reasons: First, why would Spanish speaking injury victims choose to be represented by solo lawyer, Tim O'Hare? Secondly, while it would be a leap to presume that just because you have a Hispanic surname, you must be here illegally, why was Tim O'Hare, self-proclaimed "super-Christian," helping people he probably knew were breaking the law by being here in the first place?
Why did I presume he was trying to help undocumented aliens? If his practice (which he told me was a very busy plaintiff's personal injury practice) is anything like mine, then at least a third of the
Hispanic surnamed folks he represented were most likely undocumented aliens. So, why should that matter? After all, Tim O'Hare himself is on the record, and not coincidentally, in the Yellow Pages, as
welcoming Spanish speakers with his "Se Habla Espanol" outreach, implying that he saw no contradiction with representing undocumented injury victims as long as the laws of Texas allowed it. Bravo?
Enough background, let's talk about what's the matter with Farmers Branch. For those of you who've read Thomas Frank's phenomenal book, "What's the Matter with Kansas" you'll find interesting parallels and similarities to what is going on in Farmers Branch. Add a very liberal (not in the political sense, but in the kitchen sense) dose of Joel Kotkin's City/Suburban analysis and you'll see some huge clues as to what's going on in Farmers Branch.
I admittedly don't know much about Farmers Branch, I try to stay out of the suburbs; I just don't like the way they make me feel. I do know this: According to Joel Kotkin, most inner ring suburbs (of which I think it's safe to say, Farmers Branch qualifies) are undergoing huge demographic changes. As the inner ring suburbs such as Farmers Branch age, more and more immigrant communities move into the area. The immigrant communities are looking for the same things the original settlers to Farmers Branch were looking for: affordable housing, cleaner streets and neighborhoods, and better schools for their children.
So I say to Farmers Branch, embrace the demographic changes that are still to come, you can't stop them with petty City Ordinances. Well, maybe you can temporarily, but not for long. Also, while 20 years ago Farmers Branch may have looked and felt like Mayberry, it is an inner ring suburb which abuts one of the fastest growing urban areas in Texas, or for that matter, the United States.
Ok, you say, where's the beef in this blog? Let's look at who's left in Farmers Branch and find out why that matters. 65% of the population is Anglo. Most of that population is Anglo, aging and scared. Why are they scared? Because they probably don't have the resources to flee to Frisco, Allen, Melissa, Celina, West Plano, or Colleyville/Southlake. As they see it, they are being overrun by folks who don't look like them, don't go to the same churches, and don't speak the same language.
Someone's got to put a stop to this "invasion." Tim O'Hare has believed he's the man to do it for some time now. Indeed, when we met many months ago in my office, Tim O'Hare specfically told me his plan to get ever more big injury cases: 1) run for City Council; 2) either wait his turn or hope for something politically bad to happen to the current mayor of Farmers Branch; 3) get elected Mayor of Farmers Branch; and 4) when he was done with his term in the Mayor's office, he would sit back and get "all the good cases" in Farmers Branch and beyond. Why? Because his political fame would ensure he was the "go to guy" in Farmers Branch.
Hmm, sounds like a delusional K Street, Jack Abramoff type scheme, albeit on a microscopic scale. Maybe that's why Tim O'Hare is one of the only Republican plaintiff's personal injury lawyers I personally know. He wants to spend a few years in public service, only to then trade those years for a lucrative private practice predicated on the connections he gained while in public service.
So what is the matter with Farmers Branch? The scared Anglo majority (temporary majority) is working hard to stem the inexorable tide of change. If the demographic trends put out by State Demographer, Steve Murdock hold, and he's been hitting over 900%, in ten more years, the city will be predominately Hispanic. When that happens, there will be no more Tim O'Hare's to push for criminalizing things like renting an apartment or retail business center to someone who can't prove citizenship.
Farmers Branch will go the way of Garland, Mesquite, and to some extent Irving. It will come to look more and more like the rest of Texas. In the meantime, the Anglo citizens of Farmers Branch will sit and fume over these changes and they will vote to stop them, even though they've got no realistic chance of stopping demography. Hot button issues make for great headlines, and Tim O'Hare has certainly touched upon one. But in the end, demography will be Farmers Branch's destiny and that destiny is Hispanic. The current mayor of Farmers Branch, Bob Phelps must feel like he just got hit by an 18 wheeler. When this is all over, Tim O'Hare will feel like he got completely run over by an 18 wheeler.
I urge all citizens of Farmers Branch to embrace their multi-cultural environment; you'll love it. Unless you've never traveled out of Texas, the world is a polyglot of races, ethnicities, and tribes. That's what makes the world fun, special and dynamic. Static resistance to change is wasted energy. Good luck, Tim O'Hare. I hope your future political plans work out for you.
Angel Reyes
(Originally posted on November 17, 2006)
©2006 Angel Reyes
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Angel:
Great to read your blog entry here.
I totally agree with you on this... Farmers Branch's "problem" is not the immigrant, but Frisco. If they want to blame anyone for their economic woes, they need to blame Colleyville, not people from Mexico trying to make a living.
But immigrants are a much easier target than another city that's stolen your thunder, and where all the growth has moved to.
I actually blogged on this issue myself a while back,and used the example of my the suburb I grew up in: Richardson. A dozen years ago or so, Asian businesses moved in all over old downtown Richardson.
I am sure that many people complained at the time, but I am also sure that the city leaders would not trade that tax base for anything now.
These thoughts were a part of my own blog entry on Farmers Branch, and on the falacy that undocumented workers are a complete drain on our economy. You can read it here:
http://www.ericfolkerth.com/wheneftalks/files/connectingdotsonimmigrantcosts.html
Eric Folkerth
You know how sad, Angel. You just don't get it--you really don't. This has nothing to do with immigration and you know it. It has to do with ILLEGALS and I am sick and tired of hispanics turning this issue into a "anglos hate Mexicans" mantra. But of course, when you can't argue the issue on its merits, there is always the race card uh? Or the ole "Tim hates hispanic immigrants" plug. There is nothing wrong with Farmers Branch, mi amigo. They have the support of thousands and millions of legal citizens in this country-I would suggest you leave your posh little neighborhood and get out more...
Mr. Reyes:
You are absolutely right! The one thing that I find astonishing, however, is the shock that some people in Farmer's Branch feel with respect to the immigrant issue: There are lots of Hispanic people in "Tejas." Good lord! Where did all these people come from?