DOJ 3
As we reported to you earlier this week, three citizens who are leading a movement in the City of Nederland to change the face of the city council have begun their campaign to take over the City Council.
Jeff Darby, Jeff Ortiz, and Britton Jones had a presser yesterday where they laid out their plans to change the face of Nederland. They are calling themselves the DOJ 3.
Darby and Ortiz have run for public office in the past and Jones is a first-time outer. All three were polished in their appearance and they were polished in their message.
What is the message?
The focus of the three is the Nederland Economic Commission and their movement to buy land in the city and lease that land, building, or new property. The EDC is run by Kay Ducuir who is now the focus of many in the business community. Ducuir owns a real estate company in the city and runs the EDC as a competitor to those who lease properties in the city. The EDC board is run by city council members and the three believe that they need to remove current city council members and put citizens on the board – as well as remove Ducuir from the board.
Second, is the question of an agreement between the city manager and the city council. There is (was) a document filed where it was a contract agreement between the city manager and the city approved by the city council. The charter of the city does not allow an agreement as the city is an AT-WILL employer and as an at-will employer, the city can remove the city manager at any time. The current city manager signed a contract and now that is a question.
Darby is running for Mayor. He is attempting to break a log jam of what many call the “good old boy” system in Nederland. The current mayor, Don Albanese, has been in office for two terms and was a huge supporter of the Nederland ISD bond. That bond has raised taxes on citizens to the point where young couples, which are the lifeblood of all cities, are taxed out of their homes and cannot afford to build or buy homes. The average home in Nederland pays $5,000 more a year in school taxes than they did ten years ago. Darby seized on the fact that Albanese likes to spend other people’s money and is wrapped up in the EDC and the School board which has hurt the average citizen. He pointed out that roads are falling apart, water mains are breaking and people in Nederland are waiting almost 40 minutes on some calls for EMS services which is now resulting in people dying on the streets. He further called for the city’s fire service to take on EMS and have a unit in service at the fire department run by the fire department.
Ortiz, the “O” of the DOJ3, is a long-time resident with his wife in Nederland. He is well known for his pragmatic approach to politics which some don’t like. However, he was very forceful in his approach and spoke highly of the Police, Fire, and the lack of EMS units in the city – which are zero. He too spoke forcefully about the need for EMS and to remove Acadian EMS like Port Arthur did and have a city-run EMS system run out of the fire department. He too spoke of the infrastructure issues and water main breaks. He took the position in the presser that the city could not compete with the private sector and the embarrassment of the Boston Avenue project. And then Bomb Shelled the room by saying that Kay Ducuir needed to go. He called for the EDC to sell all property back to the private sector and talk of an election to change the EDC. He would be running against current ward 4 David Guillot who simply votes with the Good Old Boys.
And finally, Britton Jones, who is running for Ward 2, against current member Silvia Root, who is seen as good friends with Ducuir and spoke very clearly about the infrastructure and the priorities of the city council. He told the packed meeting room that it was time that the city get back to the basics, being roads, water, sewer, EMS, and fire, and mostly attempt to do more with less when it comes to the EDC and the waste of tax money competing with the private sector. He was very articulate and well-versed in his message.
For the political community of current sitting elected officials, it is a shock to their system. But it shouldn’t be. For months, and in one issue, for years they have been warned that the out-of-control EDC and its director would become a serious issue if they wanted to keep their office. They have ignored it and have not only doubled down but tripled down on it using city funds to compete with the private business sector and allowing the EDC director to run her own company during the day and paying her over $100,000 a year to be a part-time employee. Ducuir also serves on the Nederland ISD board promised only a tax increase of $100 a year, which turned into a $5,000 a year increase in taxes – taxing out young couples and businesses. Another bombshell was that over 176 businesses had left Nederland.
What does this all mean?
Well, our take is pretty simple. There is a groundswell of support for the DOJ3. It will be interesting to see the reaction of the three that are being challenged. And if they are successful it will change the face of Nederland forever – and that is a good thing. No more GOOD OLD BOY routine and focusing on the business of the city.
Nederland is in trouble. And here comes the three whose first goal is to audit the entire city accounting and the EDC accounting.
Sometimes change is good – and welcome to sometimes.
Breaking News – Two Top Leaders In Beaumont
The Southeast Texas Political Review has learned tonight that two top leaders of the city of Beaumont in the Executive Offices are resigning.
We have learned tonight that the Chief Financial Officer, Cheryl Ray, has resigned and will be leaving “as soon as possible” over the next few days. According to our sources, Ray told fellow workers that she “simply cannot work for the city manager any longer” and that she would find work in another community.
And we have learned that today the director of public works Bart Barkowiak is resigning to take the city manager’s position in Bridge City, Texas. When sources close to the director asked him why he was leaving, he said, “The ship is sinking and it is time to take a job with a stable city.”
Sources inside the city who would talk to us late tonight said they were shocked over losing two top positions in one day.
“What in the hell is going on? We have not had anything like this since long ago when Beaumont almost went bust with the investment scandal. People quit as fast as they could. It was horrible and now our city is falling just like Port Arthur,” she said.
Huh? Just like Port Arthur? Isn’t that what we have been saying for the last six years?
Like we said – it is coming and now it is here.
Nederland Citizens Try For A Take-Over
And it begins. As we have been told this morning and announced to the general public three citizens in the city have grouped to attempt a takeover in the town of Nederland City Council.
Why?
Mismanagement, and a lady named Kay Ducuir. We have been warning about this, and there is a groundswell of support.
First up is the powerhouse Union man, Jeff Darby, who we like. Darby is running for Mayor and has had enough of how the city council is being run and the money they have dumped into the Nederland EDC. We have been told that he wants a full accounting of the EDC and he wants it brought back to city council members being disqualified from serving on the EDC. Not only that, he wants to focus on infrastructure and getting away from the GOOD OLD BOY system in Nederland.
Second up is Jeff Ortiz from the Ortiz family out of Port Arthur where politics is in their blood. Jeff is a business owner and preacher in Nederland. He is well known throughout the Nederland and Port Neches area as a caring person who only wants what is right for Nederland. According to our sources close to all three tell us that he too is ready for a big change. What change? Again, that name is Kay Ducuir. He has had enough of the EDC and crazy projects that have done nothing for the city of Nederland. He was visibly upset when he found Ducuir was working as her owner of a real estate agency and chairman of the EDC. In some cities, it is illegal to have two jobs paying more than the city of Nederland. Why? Because the mayor and council allow this to happen as most of the board is made up of city council members. Ortiz also wants roads and services to the citizens improved.
Last, we have another well-known Nederland Citizen Britton Jones who is running for Ward 2. This will be one of the most interesting ones as the current city council member Silvia Root was given special privileges by the good old Boy network when she ran for office and didn’t even live in the district. Jones was upset about this but again was very upset when he found out about the shenanigans of the EDC board and the waste of taxpayer dollars in the downtown district.
What does this mean? Change may be coming and the message is being sent to the Council and the power structure of Nederland – which is enough is enough and change is coming in one way or another.
Let’s watch what happens now.
War
And war has broken out inside the Beaumont City Council! It is not pretty, and it should have come earlier before some of the crazy downtown voting had been had. Now, we are positioning for the upcoming mayor’s race.
This week, last Tuesday, the city council met. As anyone who was sitting in the audience would tell you, the tensions were high. And it was over raises. Well, before the vote, city employees told the Review that City Council member Taylor Neild, who is not running again for office, was walking down the hallway in City Council as he always does every week. As he passed the city manager’s office Mayor Roy West was sitting in the Manager’s office. Neild said hello to both. The manager asked him to come in and he did. Upon talking, the City Manager started getting into Neild’s ass and even said some derogatory words to him, which Neild simply got up and left his office. Seemingly the City Manager had caught wind that Neild was going to vote no to the breach of contract between the City Manager and the city on the raise that was coming. Meaning, that Neild was going to vote not only no but was going to say a few words. And Roy West sat there and let the manager belittle Neild. Which made Neild even more upset.
“I have never seen Taylor so mad and embarrassed. And what shocked us all sitting outside was Mayor West and how he let it happen. He is a wimp. A real wimp. Taylor was gracious and just walked out in the middle of the city manager being a real dick. And you can quote me,” said one of the upset employees.
We learn that the meeting turned itself into a real mess in an email that was sent to the City Manager from Neild. We have requested a copy of it, however, it is the weekend and we expect to get cooperation from the city to release it. Sources close to the City Council tell us that the email is quoted as saying that the city manager told Neild that “he is the best city manager in Texas.” And we are not kidding.
Our take?
City Council has to release the city manager from his contract and he has to leave the city now. He is a divider and not a uniter. If he says he is the best, and we cannot wait to get the email, he has some real soul-searching to do. He just got $23,000 for nothing. Above and beyond his contract and now makes just as much as the president of the United States in salary. He has failed to balance the budget, failed to bring the city and its firefighters together, and failed to solve the EMS issue. Equally, some families cannot flush their toilets in the city STILL, and his excuse for getting the extra money – of course, the DITCH IN DOWNTOWN. But he will bitch at the FIRE CHIEF and his team for overtime in EMS. And made them cut back the hours of EMS and FIRE to cover the city.
The City Manager of Beaumont is now facing three fronts of attack. First, the Fire Department (we say go get him), second, the citizens who have no services in their areas, and 3) inside the council who now are saying it is time for him to go. But our question is how long will this go on? The other three on the council are black – and you know the city manager is black and he is not going to lose even one of those votes and Roy West will not vote outside of that block as he needs the black vote.
Hello Port Arthur!
A message to those of you in Beaumont – GET OUT NOW. Sell your homes and find a better city. There is nothing left for you. NOTHING. The ship is going down fast. But you know, passing a $275,000,000 (million dollar) bond is going to save the city. Not the water issue, not the turds on the floor from overwhelming backups in the sewer system, not the people on the streets dying, not the cops who need new cars, not the trash trucks that need to be replaced, not the roads falling apart, and not the hidden new City Headquarters (shhh…don’t say anything). No no, the DITCH IN DOWNTOWN will save all!
And you ask…and we answer…welcome to Port Arthur! We will post the email when we get it.
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