What's the Matter With Farmers Branch...Again?
Here’s another look at Tim O'Hare and an update to my December 2006, article entitled "What's the Matter with Farmers Branch?"
Well, it has finally come to pass, Tim O'Hare of Farmers Branch is throwing his hat in the ring for Mayor of Farmers Branch. Some readers will recall that I spoke to O'Hare several years ago when he wanted to refer a bunch of low value auto accident and dog bite cases to my office. We turned the cases away, not because we didn't like O'Hare, but because we thought the cases were simply too small for our law firm to handle. Frankly, the cases were ones no lawyer had any business working on. You know…the kind of cases that give lawyers a bad name, as in “ambulance chasers.” During that meeting, O'Hare told me he wanted to run for Farmers Branch City Council, get elected, serve two terms, and then get elected Mayor of Farmers Branch. His ambition and grandiosity that day were on full display. So far, he's right on track.
O'Hare's profile has risen because of his anti-illegal immigration stance and his support of the Farmers Branch laws that made it illegal for apartment owners to rent properties to folks who did not have either US Passports, Permanent Resident Alien cards, or some other right to live and work in the United States. O'Hare also supports the 24/7 Criminal Alien Program (CAP), where officers turn over suspected illegal immigrants in their custody to Immigratoin and Customs Enforcement officers to determine their immigration status, and in some cases, institute deporation proceedings. To his credit, O'Hare has also aggressively sought improvements in Farmers Branch that include redevelopment and revitalization of the beaten down parts of his beloved city. I suspect O'Hare will continue to aggressively pursue economic revitalitzation efforts in Farmers Branch. That strategy should gain him more supporters and frankly, will probably be in the best interest of the City of Farmers Branch.
O'Hare has represented many clients who fit the profile of those he'd like to immediately deport. Let's hope that as a fellow trial lawyer, who has represented clients who can least afford to hire lawyers, he will show some compassion in the coming campaign. He's a young, aggressive political climber who has used the third rail of American politics, immigration, as a platform to gain a spot in the political limelight. Here's hoping he doesn't forget how he made his money and that if he is elected the Mayor of Farmers Branch, he'll tone down the rhetoric. Perhaps he'll make a good Mayor, time will tell.
See the full Dallas Morning News article below:
Farmers Branch, Irving, Carrollton leaders form common bond
Well, it has finally come to pass, Tim O'Hare of Farmers Branch is throwing his hat in the ring for Mayor of Farmers Branch. Some readers will recall that I spoke to O'Hare several years ago when he wanted to refer a bunch of low value auto accident and dog bite cases to my office. We turned the cases away, not because we didn't like O'Hare, but because we thought the cases were simply too small for our law firm to handle. Frankly, the cases were ones no lawyer had any business working on. You know…the kind of cases that give lawyers a bad name, as in “ambulance chasers.” During that meeting, O'Hare told me he wanted to run for Farmers Branch City Council, get elected, serve two terms, and then get elected Mayor of Farmers Branch. His ambition and grandiosity that day were on full display. So far, he's right on track.
O'Hare's profile has risen because of his anti-illegal immigration stance and his support of the Farmers Branch laws that made it illegal for apartment owners to rent properties to folks who did not have either US Passports, Permanent Resident Alien cards, or some other right to live and work in the United States. O'Hare also supports the 24/7 Criminal Alien Program (CAP), where officers turn over suspected illegal immigrants in their custody to Immigratoin and Customs Enforcement officers to determine their immigration status, and in some cases, institute deporation proceedings. To his credit, O'Hare has also aggressively sought improvements in Farmers Branch that include redevelopment and revitalization of the beaten down parts of his beloved city. I suspect O'Hare will continue to aggressively pursue economic revitalitzation efforts in Farmers Branch. That strategy should gain him more supporters and frankly, will probably be in the best interest of the City of Farmers Branch.
O'Hare has represented many clients who fit the profile of those he'd like to immediately deport. Let's hope that as a fellow trial lawyer, who has represented clients who can least afford to hire lawyers, he will show some compassion in the coming campaign. He's a young, aggressive political climber who has used the third rail of American politics, immigration, as a platform to gain a spot in the political limelight. Here's hoping he doesn't forget how he made his money and that if he is elected the Mayor of Farmers Branch, he'll tone down the rhetoric. Perhaps he'll make a good Mayor, time will tell.
See the full Dallas Morning News article below:
Farmers Branch, Irving, Carrollton leaders form common bond
09:21 AM CST on Saturday, December 29, 2007
By STEPHANIE SANDOVAL / The Dallas Morning News
ssandoval@dallasnews.com
Lunch among council members of neighboring cities seldom raises eyebrows.
But when the three are young conservatives with similar strong views about reining in illegal immigration and revitalizing their inner-ring suburbs, some people wonder if something's up.
Tim O'Hare
"Somebody told me they had met at Chili's ... to talk about all of them running for mayor," Carrollton Mayor Becky Miller said about Tim O'Hare of Farmers Branch, Beth Van Duyne of Irving and Matthew Marchant of Carrollton.
The mayor's seat in each of the cities is up for election in May, as are the council seats of Mr. O'Hare and Mr. Marchant.
But the three council members laughed at the idea that they had formed some sort of alliance to get one another elected mayor.
"There's no grand scheme of how the three of us can work together and move on to bigger and better things," said Mr. O'Hare, 38.
"When we've gotten together, it's been shooting the breeze about life. ... They talk about their kids and their husband or their wife, and I talk about how I don't have either and if they know anybody that would like to be one [a wife]."
Ms. Van Duyne, 37, said there was no real agenda for the lunch this fall, except for the three to develop relationships – just as with representatives of other cities – to help them work together for betterment of the region.
But she did say in a speech to Citizens for Immigration Reform in August, according to a transcript, that "Tim and I and some other council members from various metroplex cities have met, and right now I feel we are meeting in secret, but we get together and talk about the day we will all be in higher office and we all work together as a group."
Beth Van Duyne
Ms. Van Duyne now says she doesn't recall using the word "secret."
Several observers said the three council members are already seen as leaders and have the potential to gain prominence and shape their cities for years to come.
"I think all three of them kind of represent a new direction in local politics," Farmers Branch City Council member Tim Scott said. "Their age skews a little younger than what you've seen traditionally get involved at the council level in these three towns, and all three kind of have their finger on the pulse of what a majority of people in their towns want to see happen.
"And from what I've seen and read, all three are aggressive about getting their agenda done."
Mr. O'Hare and Ms. Van Duyne have said it's too early for them to decide whether to run for mayor in May.
Matthew Marchant
Higher office
There's been speculation in Irving that Ms. Van Duyne will challenge Herbert Gears. She unseated him to win a council seat in 2004, but he came back a year later as mayor.
Since then, the two have clashed on several issues, including the federal 287(g) program, which lets local police process and detain illegal immigrants. He opposed joining the program; she favored more discussion and eventually called for Irving's participation. The city has worked with federal authorities to deport crime suspects who turn out to be illegal immigrants, but it has not joined 287(g).
In Farmers Branch, many expect Mr. O'Hare to try to succeed Mayor Bob Phelps, who doesn't plan to seek re-election.
"I'm getting a lot of calls from people wanting me to run again, but I would have to have a divorce if I did," said Mr. Phelps, who spent 11 years on the council before serving 12 more as mayor.
After e-mails about the trio's lunch circulated, Mr. Marchant, 31, said he felt effective as a council member and had no plans to run for mayor in the spring. But he didn't rule out running later.
Ms. Miller said she hoped he would run in three years, when term limits would force her to step aside if she is re-elected in May.
"I'm hoping he and I can work together, and I can start bringing him along to get him engaged in the things I do, so people will get to know him and it will be easy for him to step in," she said.
Immigration cause
The three council members have much in common. All are the youngest on their councils. All have roots in the area and are passionate about revitalizing their aging hometowns. All identify themselves as Republicans. None shrinks from taking a stand. And all agree on aggressive enforcement of the immigration laws. Mr. O'Hare is known as the driving force behind a Farmers Branch effort to prohibit the renting of apartments to most illegal immigrants. Voters easily approved the measure last year, but implementation is awaiting the outcome of court challenges.
Mr. O'Hare also supports police use of the 24/7 Criminal Alien Program, in which officers turn over suspected illegal immigrants in their custody to Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers to determine their immigration status and, in some cases, start deportation proceedings. The city also has applied for the federal 287(g) program.Mr. Marchant helped get the Carrollton council to also apply for 287(g). And Ms. Van Duyne has said she thinks Irving should do the same, though other council members disagree. In the meantime, Ms. Van Duyne has supported the Irving Police Department's use of the Criminal Alien Program, which has resulted in more than 1,600 suspects being turned over the immigration officials.
And in her speech to Citizens for Immigration Reform, she said other cities need to join Farmers Branch in cracking down on illegal immigrants.
"You need to have a regional cooperative until such time as you can have a national cooperative, which is what we are asking our federal government to provide," she said.
O'Hare's profile rises
But immigration enforcement is not all the three are about.Mr. O'Hare also has pushed redevelopment and revitalization initiatives that underlie almost everything Farmers Branch elected officials do these days.
Those efforts, which include monetary incentives for those who remodel their homes or raze them and build bigger ones, are intended to draw more affluent residents, which officials hope will, in turn, attract businesses.
Mr. O'Hare, who was elected to the council unopposed in 2005, has seen his profile rise, particularly in the last year.
"I think the impact he's had on Farmers Branch has been amazing," Mr. Scott said. "The shift in the kind of energy that the council brings and the speed with which things are beginning to happen in the city has been phenomenal."
Marchant's impact
Mr. Marchant, son of U.S. Rep. Kenny Marchant of Carrollton and nephew of Denton County Commissioner Ron Marchant, was only 25 when he was elected to the Carrollton council, but "I've seen him mature so much over the years," Ms. Miller said.
He's perhaps best known for pushing through an ordinance that prohibits registered sex offenders from living within 1,000 feet of schools, parks and other places children congregate. Other Dallas area cities later adopted similar ordinances.
He also pushed through an ordinance that allows for the towing of uninsured vehicles.
And he came up with an idea for city funding to spruce up the exteriors of aging shopping centers. In November, voters approved bonds for the program.As an Irving council member, Ms. Van Duyne has helped drive neighborhood redevelopment efforts and cleanups of apartment complexes. She sees herself as "giving a kick to the good ol' boy network" and getting the council to debate the issues more openly, rather than talking behind the scenes and presenting a united front in their votes.
"She's pragmatic and a good leader," council member Thomas Spink said. "I think she has been right in line with the position of the voting public of Irving."
Mr. Scott said it's natural to group the three council members "because I think they're all young and very eager to see some change come about in their towns.
"I think that philosophically ... all three of them want to be very aggressive in carrying out the will of the people and enforcing the law and trying to attract development and redevelopment into their towns."
ABOUT THE TRIO
Tim O'Hare
Position: Farmers Branch City Council member
Age: 38 Born: July 21, 1969, in Dallas
Education: graduated, R.L. Turner High School, 1987; bachelor's degree, University of Texas, 1991; law degree, Southern Methodist University law school, 1995
Local ties: Has lived in Farmers Branch all his life except for his college years.
Motivation: "I love my hometown. Its location is second to none; its natural beauty is second to none. But we have some issues that need addressing."
Political career: lost race for Farmers Branch City Council, 1999; elected (unopposed) to the council in 2005
Career: lawyer in private practice, 1996-present; founded The Law Offices of Timothy O'Hare & Associates, specializing in wrongful death and injury cases, in 2001
Matthew Marchant
Position: Carrollton mayor pro tem
Age: 31 Born: Aug. 31, 1976, in Dallas
Education: graduated, Trinity Christian Academy, 1994; bachelor's degree, Southern Nazarene University, Bethany, Okla., 1998; law degree, University of Texas law school, 2000
Local ties: Moved to Carrollton with family as an infant, then to Coppell for about six years, returning while in high school. Except for college and law school, he's lived in the city ever since.
Motivation: "My goal in public life is to leave the city and state and country I live in a better place, as hokey as that may sound."
Political career: elected, Carrollton City Council, 2002 and 2003; lost race for mayor, 2005; elected to City Council (unopposed in special election), February 2006
Career: president, Hobart Development Inc., 2000-02; real estate lawyer, Strasburger & Price, Frisco, 2002-present
Beth Van Duyne
Position: Irving City Council member
Age: 37 Born: Nov. 16, 1970, in upstate New York
Education: graduated, Greenhill School in Addison, 1988; bachelor's degree, Cornell University, New York, 1995
Local ties: With her dad in the Air Force, she changed schools at least every two years, landing in Irving when she was 15. "It was honestly the last place I wanted to move," she said. But Irving grew on her, and she returned after college, settling near her parents and siblings.
Motivation: Says she learned from her mom that someone who doesn't like things should be willing to work for change.
Political career: elected, Irving City Council, 2004, 2007; deputy mayor pro tem, 2005-06; president, Irving Women's Republican Club
Career: director of communications, Medical Directions Inc., 1995-97; senior marketing manager, Verizon, 1997-99; private marketing consultant, 2000; owner, BCI Marketing Group, Irving, 2002 to present
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Tim O'Hare doesn't live in Farmers Branch. How is he mayor? He uses his mother's address to run for office, that's how. If someone were to follow and film him, they would know the truth.
This is a little inside tip from a city employee.
the people have spoken, this is a democracy, not another mexican socialist disaster, angel and domingo are typical of the whole bunch