A.C. Gonzalez

A Modest Proposal For Fixing A.C. Gonzalez's Already Terrible Briefings

A.C. Gonzalez took the time at the end of Wednesday's City Council briefing to at least wink in the direction transparency. He didn't jump into the open government pool by any means, but he took about 15 minutes at the end of the meeting to spew jargon in the general direction of the council. He sp ... More >>

Dallas City Hall's 10 Best Bads (Not Necessarily in Order of Egregiousness)

We're busy wrapping up our Best of Dallas 2014 issue, so we're in a stop-and-smell-the-roses state of mind. No wait. Those aren't roses. 1. Hiring a horse-abuser to run the city's new horse park. See: The Cruel and Unusual Making of the Texas Horse Park. 2. Sucking all the water out of natural ... More >>

Dallas City Employees Are Too Fat, So City Hall Now Has a "Chief Wellness Officer"

It's been six months, 11 days, and, oh, about three-and-a-half hours since City Manager A.C. Gonzalez was voted into office on a promise to shake things up at City Hall, and it's finally happened. The city announced today that Gonzalez has injected new blood into upper management by bringing in two ... More >>

Wherever Mary Suhm's Body Is, Her Spirit Still Haunts City Hall

Virgin America Will Get Two Love Field Gates After All

It's official: the city of Dallas has agreed to let Virgin America move into Love Field. "After consideration of a number of factors, the City of Dallas has provided its consent to the sub-lease to Virgin America requested by American Airlines," City Manager A.C. Gonzalez said in a statement releas ... More >>

Dallas Still Trying to Decide Whether to Meddle With Virgin's Love Field Deal

The exciting part of the Virgin/Southwest/Delta feud for America Airlines' two up-for-grabs gates at Love Field (i.e. Richard Branson crowd-surfing and doing tequila shots at The Rustic) is over. Today was the excruciatingly boring part when the Dallas City Council spent a couple of hours debating ... More >>

A.C. Gonzalez Got $400,000 Because Dallas Is Dumb, Not Because He's a Guy

Before the ink on A.C. Gonzalez' $400,000 contract was even dry, some were suggesting that the $95,000 gap between his salary and predecessor Mary Suhm's might have something to do with their different gender. Here's former City Councilwoman Veletta Lill commenting to KERA that "it looks like they ... More >>

A.C. Gonzalez' $400,000 Salary Makes Him the Highest-Paid City Manager in the Country

The Dallas City Council sealed the deal today with newly minted City Manager A.C. Gonzalez, approving his employment contract. The main thing you need to know about the deal is that it's a big one: $400,000 per year in base salary, plus benefits not enumerated in City Attorney Warren Ernst's brief ... More >>

Blame Cruel Destiny, not Mike Rawlings, for City Manager Pick

With the passage of a few days, my take on the election of A.C. Gonzalez as the new Dallas city manager has come into sharper focus. I have a column in this week's paper saying he was the wrong choice, and I'm sticking by that. But maybe I was a bit wide of the mark in putting the blame for his sel ... More >>

A.C. Gonzalez Was Not the Best Choice for City Manager

Picking the insider guarantees us more of the same.

Hey, A.C. Gonzalez: Forget "Transparency." Here's a Tougher Challenge.

Based on the City Council meeting yesterday where they appointed A.C. Gonzalez city manager, I now have a new least favorite word in the whole English language. Transparency. They kept saying it over and over like a weird chant. I've got something else for them to work on, way before transparency. T ... More >>

A.C. Gonzalez is Dallas' New City Manager

In the end, it was unanimous. Each member of the Dallas City Council voted this morning to hire A.C. Gonzalez as city manager. Gonzalez, a 15-year veteran at City Hall, has been serving as interim city manager since Mary Suhm stepped down last year. His role in the Uber scandal aside, he never stop ... More >>

A.C. Gonzalez, Obvious Shoe-in for City Manager, Now Possible Shoe-out

An editor around here once suggested I could probably blackmail people by threatening to lend them my support. I wonder if acting City Manager A.C. Gonzalez ever thinks about that. Last month I wrote a column saying the so-called search for a new Dallas city manager was a sham because Gonzalez, a l ... More >>

There's No "Search" for a City Manager. Are You Kidding? It's A.C. Gonzalez.

In its own peculiar way, yesterday's editorial in the city's only daily newspaper was the perfect expression of the dilemma Dallas faces in choosing a new bureaucrat to run the city: Most of the people who even talk out loud about the topic are afraid to say out loud what the topic is about. It's ... More >>

Who at Dallas City Hall Put the Severed Horse's Head in a Businessman's Bed?

You own a business and the land it's on. You get a letter from the city. It says the city needs your property for a project. Stuffed in the same envelope is a little pamphlet explaining how the city can force you to sell even if you don't want to. It's called "eminent domain." That's serious. Righ ... More >>

Dallas Should Probably Just Make Yellow Cab Lawyer John Barr the Next City Manager

All, right, that's it, I'm sick of this and I'm not going to take it anymore. Every other day The Dallas Morning News runs another op-ed piece by some unknown New York pinhead about who should be the next city manager of Dallas, and not once have they asked me. So I'm just going to go ahead and give ... More >>

The Uber Secret Session Vote Tomorrow Will Be Everything Wrong with Dallas City Hall

Mayor Mike Rawlings and the new city attorney Warren Ernst want to hold a secret closed-door City Council session tomorrow on a question that has everything to do with the public interest. Watch closely to see how your council member votes. It's a big window. Yesterday we talked about some of the s ... More >>

In the Search for Dallas' Next City Manager, There's One Question: Do We Want Another Inside Guy?

The acting city manager who would be king, A.C. Gonzalez, has always been the inside favorite. And if there is an issue in his way, it's that. Just ahead for City Hall is a decision to make somebody the permanent city manager. But just behind it is a series of scandals that should make anybody won ... More >>

Council Told If The City Doesn't Pony Up for Studio, TNT Won't Shoot Dallas in Dallas

WireImageMary Crosby, Larry Hagman, former Dallas and Walker, Texas Ranger director Michael Preece and Sheree Wilson at the auction of Hagman's memorabilia in Beverly Hills last week​Saturday morning we sneak-peeked an item that was just the subject of much debate during this morning's meeting of ... More >>

In Other Economic Developments, The City Wants To Turn City Lights Back On. And: Dallas Wants Dallas to Furnish a Studio, Apparently.

The old George Dahl library in a cleaned-up rendering found in Monday's briefing​First off, as promised yesterday, here's that Statler Hilton update, which was posted last night to the city's website as the cumbersomely titled Filling in the Missing Pieces Downtown Upcoming Redevelopment Projects ... More >>

City's Going to Need Private-Sector Partners to Design, Build, Operate and Maintain Streetcars

​As we saw this morning, the city's having enough problems funding that 1.6-mile streetcar starter line from Union Station to Methodist Hospital (or close to). So how does it expect to stretch track over more than 40 miles in and three miles around downtown Dallas, which is the ultimate goal? Easy ... More >>

What Qualifies As "a Relatively Small Public Investment"? Let's Take a Look Downtown.

400 N. Akard​This morning, the council's Economic Development Committee will take up whether or not to give Dean Foods a $250,000 economic development grant (and $1,673,964 in tax abatements) for that new factory in the southern sector, which Ron Natinsky mentioned last week.At the same time, the ... More >>

City Hall Wants You to Know: It's Got that Whole Cabbie Strike Thing Covered Tonight

Patrick MichelsFrom the September 15 cabbie protest in front of Dallas City Hall​Not sure how much longer I'm here today -- still need to head out and stock up on celebratory shotgun shells and kegs of Natural Ice, and I'm guessing most of you are in the same solar-powered water taxi. Still, there ... More >>

Complete the Streets! And Sell Executive Airport While Yer At It! A Liveblog In Progress.

A Downtown Dallas 360 rendering, which also graces today's Complete Streets briefing. Because they are, you see, related. Very.​Afternoon, Friends. Thanks for tuning into today's liveblog of the Transportation and Environment Committee meeting up here in City Hall, during which we'll hear about pl ... More >>

Voters Tell City of Dallas That It's Not OK to Sell Elgin B. Robertson and Joey Georgusis Parks

​Dallas City Manager Mary Suhm first suggested selling Elgin B. Robertson Park in mid-May, in a document presented to the city council titled "FY 2010-11 Budget: Brainstorming Ideas." Wrote Suhm and city staff, money raised from dispensing with the 257 acres on Lake Ray Hubbard -- a parcel of land ... More >>

Love and Money: New Airport Concessions Deal Gets Pricey.

Mayor Leppert Just Stopped Checking His E-Mail to Chime In on the Love Field Concessions

Sam MertenMayor Leppert, five minutes into the presentation.​Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Pauline Medrano began this afternoon's Love Field Concession Committee meeting by letting folks know why the committee was formed -- to clear up "perception issues reported by the newspaper" -- and what the groun ... More >>

Convention Center Hotel Referendum Turns One, And, Aw, Lookie, Ain't It Cute?

Photos by Sam MertenConstruction crews are working on the 12th of what will ultimately be 23 floors.​One year after Mayor Tom Leppert and the pro hotel'ers narrow victory at the polls over Harlan Crow and the anti-hotel folks, the Dallas Omni Convention Center Hotel is approximately half its h ... More >>

Amazing But True: City's Not Giving Up On, Um, "Problematic" Bama Pie Project

This is what the Bama Pie building looked like when I drove by it on New Year's Day of this year.​Longtime Friends of Unfair Park probably don't need a recap concerning the tragicomic goings-on at the former Bama Pie Co. building across the street from Fair Park. This blog is littered with stories ... More >>

From the Council Memos, Rising Sales Tax Receipts and Good Grades for Code

​Council's off this week and next for spring break -- which, for Mayor Tom Leppert, includes a trip to D.C. early tomorrow morning to, yet again, ask Washington suits to expedite the stuck-in-a-ditch Trinity River project. After the jump, you'll find the batch of memos that ushered the council out ... More >>

City to Take Film, TV Biz Out of DCVB's Hands and Hand It Over to Economic Development

For the last week, this sign directing folks to The Deep End set has been posted at the Walnut Hill Lane exit on the Dallas North Tollway.​Since its inception in October 2002, the Dallas Film Commission has been charged with trying to lure filmmakers to Dallas -- no easy task, given that until rec ... More >>

What a Difference Five Years Makes: Public Funding and Ownership of Hotel Goes From "Considerable Risk" to $315 Million Cash Cow

flickr member: Angela HuntSo how did Mayor Leppert accomplish what his predecessor was unable to do? It's all in the numbers.In December 2003, the city of Dallas issued a request for proposals to build a convention center hotel after former Mayor Laura Miller and her husband, former state Rep. Steve ... More >>

With More Than $315 Million in Profits Expected From the Convention Center Hotel, Why Don't We Build Two of These Suckers?

Now that we're one vote away from getting a convention center hotel, it looks like the College Football Hall of Fame is a done deal. At least that's what we gather seeing it across the street from Hotel Dallas in this rendering.The city council's Economic Development Committee this morning predicta ... More >>

In Memo to Council, Angela Hunt Asks Colleagues to Stop Talking Out of Their Asses

Angela Hunt has delivered a sound thwacking to fellow city council member Ron Natinsky and Assistant City Manager A.C. Gonzalez over some loose-lipped claims Natinsky and Gonzalez have been making about our upcoming referendum on a city-owned hotel downtown.She says Natinsky and Gonzalez, in their e ... More >>

Wednesday's Planned Construction on Convention Center Hotel Canceled; Bond Issuance Appears Unlikely Before Vote

Since the Dallas City Council approved the developer and operator agreements for the convention center hotel, the Vote No'ers have been eagerly awaiting an upswing in the bond market. A favorable shift would allow the city to land the 5.5 percent interest rate it deems reasonable before asking the c ... More >>

Surrounding Development Sold As "Key Component" to Convention Center Hotel Project, But What Do We Know About It?

We know we're getting this. But what else?When the Dallas City Council started the process of selecting a site for the convention center hotel in August 2007, it was stressed that the location "foster economic development in the downtown core through retail and entertainment establishments." Sure, ... More >>

When Al Lipscomb's the Voice of Reason About the Convention Center Hotel, We're All Screwed

Sam MertenLeppert was too focused on the hotel votes to enjoy today's performance by the Dallas Black Dance Theatre.In separate 10-2 votes, the Dallas City Council approved developer and operator agreements with Matthews Southwest and Omni Hotels for the convention center hotel, leaving the $525 mil ... More >>

Crappy Bond Market Could Make Convention Center Hotel Referendum Relevant

While the city council continues to face delays regarding the selection of an operator for the convention center hotel, the holdup is unlikely to have any effect on Mayor Tom Leppert and the council's plans to begin construction on the project in April. However, the current status of the financial b ... More >>

Playing With The Convention Center Hotel Numbers, And ... Wait. What? Someone Wanted To Build This Thing With Their Own Money?

When Mayor Tom Leppert brought his Christmas list to Capitol Hill yesterday, he wasn't shy about asking for $386 million from the government to pay for a shiny convention center hotel. After taking a look at our story, Becky Mayad, spokesperson for Build the Hotel, sent an e-mail to Robert correctin ... More >>

And The Maximum Price For Your New Convention Center Hotel Is...

Moments ago, Assistant City Manager A.C. Gonzalez announced a GMP (Guaranteed Maximum Price) for the convention center hotel of $356 million to the council's Economic Development Committee, which will be voted on by the full council in January, along with a final development agreement with Matthews ... More >>

Reserve Fund May Not Protect Taxpayers If Trouble Finds Dallas' Convention Center Hotel

Just how safe are taxpayers in the convention center hotel deal? Good question.

Just Checkin' In: Council's Gonna Begin Writing Those Big Hotel Checks Today

A.C. Gonzalez, who, when you glance at him real quick, kinda looks like Dean Stockwell in Blue Velvet Among the many items under consideration by the city council this morning is addendum item 13, which authorizes $4.4 million in costs for the convention center hotel. When the item is likely approve ... More >>

So, How're Those Convention Center Hotel Negotiations Going, Anyhow?

Shocking! Surprising! And Exciting!

Careless Whispers, the "Advantageous" Reunion Site and Other Convention Center Hotel Revelations

The Dallas City Council’s decision to buy land in front of the convention center for $42 million removed the first major obstacle in building a publicly owned hotel. The city now has plenty of room to build Mayor Leppert’s hotel, along with meeting space and other development. Council members A ... More >>

A Vote Could Be the Secret Weapon to Slow Down the Convention Center Hotel Plans

Economic Development Committe to Hold Special Meeting Friday. You're So Invited.

You know who's all for the city getting into the hotel business? Ron Natinsky. Shortly after posting Sam's item about yesterday's closed-door meeting of the city council's Economic Development Committee, during which the council members decided it was in the taxpayers' best interest to run a hotel, ... More >>

Land Owners' Rep Insists He Isn't Hustling City Over Price of Convention Center Hotel Land

View Larger Map After last week’s big non-vote by the city council on the land acquisition for the convention center hotel, the topic was revisited briefly during the afternoon open microphone session. It turns out that as I was writing my wrap-up of the discussion here at Unfair Park HQ, Elizabe ... More >>

Finally, We Appraise the Appraisals for the Convention Center Hotel Land

Look, You Don't Need to Know Jack Squat About the Convention Center Hotel, K?

Assistant City Manager A.C. Gonzalez, more than willing to spend between $40 and $100 million of your money As we noted yesterday, Angela Hunt and Mitchell Rasansky are the only council members fighting for more information before the city uses taxpayers’ money for a proposed convention center hot ... More >>