I AM PAYING ATTENTION SO
YOU CAN GO ON NOT CARING
ABOUT LOCAL POLITICS!
The following are opinions and are intended to start conversations about real issues in Plano, Texas. This site is owned and was created by Bill Lisle III.
Sasquatch Endorses
Cody Weaver ~ Hayden Padgett ~ Carson Underwood ~ Gary Cary
for Plano City Council
In Plano local elections, we don't have Republicans and Democrats. We have the Establishment crowd and the Outsider crowd. The best way to have good governance is to have a balance between the Establishment and the Outsiders. This forces good deliberation because there is equal power. The candidates I have selected have the courage to ask good questions, lead with integrity, be informed by constituents, and be well prepared.
Liars or fools....
you decide
The establishment crowd is endorsed by the Keep Plano #1 Political Action Committee.
They have plastered signs at every polling station that look like this:
These are exactly the people to
VOTE AGAINST!
And this sign makes my point!
According to Section 2-98 of the City of Plano Code of Ordinances, Standards of Conduct:
"Additional standards—Political activity—City council and employees. State law imposes limitations on the political activities of employees and officers...City council members are prohibited from using their position or title in endorsement of city council candidates in city elections."
This Prohibition is clearly spelled out. Yet these signs falsely claim that their list of bad candidates are endorsed by City Council.
Krupa Downs is an attorney FYI.
This group is completely ignorant of the law OR they are being intentionally misleading.
Why would you want either of these possibilities making important decisions for our City?
Sasquatch Endorses
Cody Weaver ~ Hayden Padgett ~ Carson Underwood ~ Gary Cary
for Plano City Council
exposing the mystery of police and fire endorsements
The first thing you should know is that this is not the City of Plano Police Department or the City of Plano Fire Department endorsing a candidate.
These are the Unions or Associations that are created by the Police men and women and the Fire men and women. These Unions or associations exist to leverage the collective voice of the group.
What is the most pressing matter for the Police and Fire Associations you ask?
Money. …..What they get paid!
Police and Fire employees are not required to live in Plano. As citizens of other cities, arguably their largest stake in Plano elections is how the outcomes affect their salaries rather than what is in the best interest of Plano.
After watching 10 years’ worth of elections in Plano, I can say that I have never met a Plano City Council candidate that didn’t support well paid and well-equipped Fire and Police. You would do best to ignore the Police and Fire Associations' endorsements.
Sasquatch Endorses
Cody Weaver ~ Hayden Padgett ~ Carson Underwood ~ Gary Cary
for Plano City Council
IT'S TIME FOR DART
TO GET HIT BY A BUS!
It is estimated that DART will be paid $122,000,000.00 dollars this year (2025) from Plano.
ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-TWO MILLION.
This is a colossal waste of money.
With self-driving technology already existing we should immediately abandon our contract with DART and partner with technology companies to provide needed transportation to the citizens that use public transportation. It is estimated that less than 50% of the money that Plano spends with DART goes to create service options in Plano.
DART is a huge factor in importing crime and homelessness in Plano. Ask a police officer in East Plano how many calls a day they have dealing with crime imported by DART! You will be amazed!
Lastly even if Plano gets out of DART it is expected that Richardson will stay in the DART system. This means that Plano citizens can still park at the City-Line DART parking under George Bush at 75 and have full access to the train system (minus 15th, Parker Rd. Shilo Station and 12th street as these would be shut down once Plano pulls out of the system).
You should also be aware that per Plano’s (horribly negotiated) contract we will have to pay into the dart system for 10 years following our withdrawal. There is no upside limit as to what we can pay DART. If our sales tax revenue goes up so does our contribution to DART. It is time to pull the Band-Aid off!
Sasquatch Endorses
Cody Weaver ~ Hayden Padgett ~ Carson Underwood ~ Gary Cary
for Plano City Council
YOUR VOte IS YOUR VOice ONLY WHEN
yOUR VOTE ELECTS A CANDIDATE
THAT WILL FIGHT FOR YOUR INTERESTS!
We have a huge Voter turnout problem in Plano municipal elections. This sign is intended to drive you to the polls as are all the informational signs provided this year.
Sasquatch Endorses
Cody Weaver ~ Hayden Padgett ~ Carson Underwood ~ Gary Cary
for Plano City Council
LGBT COMMUNITY.... THE ERO IS 10 YEARS OLD.
GUESS HOW MANY INDIVIDUALS SEEKING
PROTECTION UNDER THE LAW RECEIVED PROTECTION?
Every community regardless of sexual orientation deserves decency and common courtesy.
Public and private enterprise hiring decisions and all housing options should be based on merit alone.
The Equal Rights Ordinance (ERO) was written to appease the Toyota Corporation in 2014 when they moved to Plano from California.
This ERO to my knowledge has failed to protect anyone. It should be removed from our Code of Ordinances.
Sasquatch Endorses
Cody Weaver ~ Hayden Padgett ~ Carson Underwood ~ Gary Cary
for Plano City Council
ASKING THE GOVERNMENT TO REDUCE REGULATION
IS LIKE ASKING A FARMER TO REDUCE HIS CROP YEILD.
Government is not the solution.
Programs the government runs and policies that the government passes should be limited to infrastructure (think roads, sewer, water) common good (think parks, arts, zoning, and public entertainment), and safety (think police, fire, and EMS).
Plano should immediately cease the operation of giving away public tax funds for the improvement of private property with the Great Update Rebate Program.
Sasquatch Endorses
Cody Weaver ~ Hayden Padgett ~ Carson Underwood ~ Gary Cary
for Plano City Council
DO Y'ALL EVEN CARE
WHO RUNS YOUR CITY?
GO VOTE!
Sasquatch Endorses
Cody Weaver ~ Hayden Padgett ~ Carson Underwood ~ Gary Cary
for Plano City Council
DART COSTS YOU $300,000.00* PER DAY - *APPROXIMATELY
Plano spends around $300,000.00 per day on empty busses and the light rail system.
It is my understanding that less than 2% of DART revenues comes from ticket fares.
Why not stop paying this absurd amount of money and park at City Line to ride the DART Rail?
Technology will soon eliminate the need for Go Link as cars can drive themselves. We need to get out of DART NOW.
Sasquatch Endorses
Cody Weaver ~ Hayden Padgett ~ Carson Underwood ~ Gary Cary
for Plano City Council
YOUR CITY MANAGER MAKES $396,564.00* PER YEAR!
Mark Israelson Total Compensation* -
$396,564.00 (total compensation) is a ton of Money.
$333,582.60 salary,
$12,000.00 car allowance (Can you imagine a base salary of $333,000.00 and needing more money for a car payment and gas?),
$15,000.00 401c contribution,
457 contribution $15,000.00 annually,
TMRS EE Contribution $23,100.00 annually (Total retirement contributions $53,100.00 annually? That would be a nice base salary, right?).
Mark has worked for Plano for many years. My understanding is that he started in the budget office with a starting salary around $40,000.00 per year. Mark was groomed for the position that he now holds. He deserves to be paid well. He works hard and represents Plano with a buttoned-up professionalism.
My issue is that he has no risk. Comparing running a city with running a company is a flawed comparison because there is no added accountability for profitability. If the Government fails to budget to fund the Government (like last year) it is of zero consequence to Mark.
Additionally, Mark is hired by the Council. Mark spends much of his day babysitting the Council so that they renew his contract. He should be spending his time running the city, yet he leaves much of this work to his 4 assistants.
Imagine making almost $400,000.00 a year in total compensation and having 4 assistants doing your job. His 4 assistants make $255,000.00 a year with another staff person running his office. Additionally, each City department already has a leader, from Public Works to the Police Chief. So why do we need 4 assistants making +/- $255,000.00 a year and a City Manager making almost $400,000.00 a year?
*Sourced from open records request R012055-051924
Sasquatch Endorses
Cody Weaver ~ Hayden Padgett ~ Carson Underwood ~ Gary Cary
for Plano City Council
THANK YOU MARK ISRAELSON FOR WASTING $64,700.00 ON A CHICKEN COOP!
The City Council are elected volunteers. Yes, they get a small stipend for each meeting. They each have families and jobs. They typically have expertise in one field or another, from sales to legal work and others. Here is the issue that the Chicken Coop brought up. It is hard for any of them to say that a million dollars a mile for road work is too much. They are forced due to lack of personal knowledge to just believe that the competitive bidding process is bringing the best possible solution to fixing or replacing the roads.
BUT the Chicken COOP.
Each of them has an idea what a Chicken COOP costs because you can buy them or build one. It is temporary housing for a lost / impounded chicken (or duck… quack). The City of Plano budgeted +/- $64,700.00 for a chicken coop. The City paid around $14,700.00 to put a square on an existing site plan and label it chicken coop and to pay a licensed architect to design a chicken coop. The engineers estimate to build the coop was +/- $50,000.00 yet the bids came in as high as +/- $140,000.00. Bill Lisle spoke at a meeting and brought this attention to council. Currently there is a chicken wire and 2 x 4 structure behind the animal shelter that is still under construction. This will be the chicken coop one day. At this time, we are not sure what the actual chicken coop construction costs will be. Without Bill Lisle's input, it is believed that Mark’s leadership would have led to the government wasting the full $64,700.00 or more on a chicken coop.
Sasquatch Endorses
Cody Weaver ~ Hayden Padgett ~ Carson Underwood ~ Gary Cary
for Plano City Council
TIRED OF BORING POLITICAL SIGNS? HOLD MY WATER... SASQUATCH
This series of signs is intended to bring actual issues to the forefront and start some conversations and interest among Plano Voters. The goal is increased turn out for our local elections.
Sasquatch Endorses
Cody Weaver ~ Hayden Padgett ~ Carson Underwood ~ Gary Cary
for Plano City Council
DOWNS IS THE WRONG DIRECTION FOR PLANO!
Chris Krupa Downs is running for Council. She is the wife of David Downs. David is a past councilman that lost his last election. He was rejected by the people of Plano. He then served for way too long on the Planning and Zoning (P&Z) Commission. His leadership here was one sided towards density and ignoring the Comprehensive Plan. On the issue of short term rentals (STRs) he imposed his will on the weaker of the P&Z Commissioners and what got approved at the P&Z level ultimately was rejected by Council. One of his many nick names is HIGH DENISTY DAVID. It is expected that his wife will give us more of the same bad leadership.
Is this fair you ask?
Yes it is.
If she disagrees with his leadership and she wants to lead, she needs to make her positions known.
Sasquatch Endorses
Cody Weaver ~ Hayden Padgett ~ Carson Underwood ~ Gary Cary
for Plano City Council
WHAT IS THE PURPOSE
OF GOVERNMENT?
The Purpose of Government is to create order.
Sasquatch Endorses
Cody Weaver ~ Hayden Padgett ~ Carson Underwood ~ Gary Cary
for Plano City Council
PLANO HAS GIVEN AWAY
OVER $5,000,000.00!
This Great Update Rebate Program is a perfect example of where Plano has stepped beyond the purpose of government. Through this program Plano takes money from everyone and then returns it to some in the form of a rebate.
This is welfare for the rich.
If you do a certain amount of repairs to your private property, the City of Plano can write you a check. The cost to run this program is unknown but you can be sure it doesn't run itself. Plano has no business taking money from some to give it to others that meet the program guidelines. The City has its own property issues like uneven sidewalks and overhead powerlines that are dangerous and in need of repair. Fixing sidewalks and putting powerlines underground would actually create a safer more beautiful Plano. Updating a private bathroom or residential landscaping is not an appropriate use of taxpayer funds, yet both are allowed under this program.
Sasquatch Endorses
Cody Weaver ~ Hayden Padgett ~ Carson Underwood ~ Gary Cary
for Plano City Council
PLANO HAD A HIRING FREEZE IN 2024. THE GOVERNMENT
FAILED TO BUDGET SO THAT IT COULD STAFF THE GOVERNMENT.
In 2024 the City of Plano failed to budget for the ongoing financial needs for the city. Below you will see an explanation from Jack Carr (one of the 4 assistant City Managers). You will see red comments intermingled as responses from the Sasquatch Slate.
Bill-
Last year, Mark Israelson provided an overview to Council that described the budget shortfall. He explained why the City of Plano activated the budget contingency plan and took steps to reduce expenditures. In his overview to Council, he listed the following elements that contributed to the budget shortfall:
-
Development slowing significantly due to the City having reached buildout.
The development slowing significantly has been foreseen and talked about for years.
-
Inflation and supply chain disruption.
This has been constant back to at least the onset of COVID.
-
Revenues not keeping pace with inflation including property taxes.
Property taxes are capped at 10% on residential (with homestead exemption). Commercial properties do not have a cap. I don’t think inflation has hit 10%. Sales tax (another revenue source) is on spending and increases when prices rise. Maybe that $122 million we are giving to DART is the problem?
-
Cost escalation due to compensation increases and overtime due to job vacancies.
Perhaps the issue is the City Manager’s almost $400k in compensation and the 4 assistant managers' $255,000.00 +/- is the problem? Most City employees didn’t get raises in 2024 to my knowledge. Seems odd to me that not having staff creates overtime and then creates a shortfall that prevents the City from hiring the needed staff that would prevent the overtime. Bad Management?
-
State and local policy impacts to revenue – senior tax freeze, Ch 42 property tax challenges, Public Facility Corporation tax exemptions, revenue caps.
Sasquatch Slate is not prepared to comment on these specific items except for the fact that the senior tax freeze has been in place for years and the additional tax freezed properties are predicable.
-
Reliance on Federal funds and utilization of fund balances.
Perhaps we should not rely on federal funds. How does the utilization of fund balances create a hiring freeze?
Mark explained there was not a single reason for the financial situation, but a culmination and progression of each of these elements, which caused the financial environment for the City to shift. Mark is good at throwing lots of reasons for his government’s failures against the wall. This is a perfect example of zero merit-based accountability for Mark to earn his salary. The other problem is that the City Council who Mark is hired by are all too busy to challenge him or they are very hesitant to publicly admonish any shortcomings. Lastly, Mark’s contract runs for years at a time and is timed in such a way that it is almost impossible to remove or replace him.
Jack Carr
Sasquatch Endorses
Cody Weaver ~ Hayden Padgett ~ Carson Underwood ~ Gary Cary
for Plano City Council
48/96
48/96 is a hot button topic in Plano today. This is a change in the work schedule for firemen.
Today firemen work 24 hours on duty and then have 48 hours off duty. The 48/96 schedule idea doubles the amount of time that firemen are on duty and then also doubles the amount of rest that they have off duty.
A study was done on this new schedule that will be very helpful in understanding more about this schedule change.
Sasquatch would like to make a few points that are not directly for or against the 48/96.
Ideas such as this schedule change should ultimately fall to the Fire Chief. The Fire Department is under his leadership. It is his decision.
The City Council should bring the 48/96 topic and the topic of who makes the final decision to a future meeting for a public hearing.
At the last meeting, after many speakers spoke for the 48/96 schedule change, Mayor Muns made a statement.
My problem with Muns deferral to the City Manager's role in this video is that the City Council are the people's voice. As a citizen, I want my elected officials' influence on topics that deal with public safety such as this. Our government is intended to be by the people and for the people yet decisions such as this get made by the long-term government employee (the City Manager). This equals government run by the government.
Who is government you ask?
Anyone who derives their income from money that was taken through a tax.
I am not saying that we have a bad government. There is a conflict of interest for the City Manager. If he makes an error in judgment his contract renewal could be in jeopardy. If he just sits on the authority of his position and says "this is the way we have always done it," he can’t make a mistake.
Forward progress always carries some risk. Excellence doesn’t come from sitting on your hands. Good leadership makes reasonable changes to better conditions for employees.
The firemen should be able to appeal to the Council and the Council should hold a public conversation on the topic.
Sasquatch Endorses
Cody Weaver ~ Hayden Padgett ~ Carson Underwood ~ Gary Cary
for Plano City Council
who is
bill lisle?
I am a resident and small business owner in East Plano. My main business is landscape construction work through Lisle Inc. I also own some real estate mostly in East Plano through a company called Smith-Lisle Holdings.
I grew up in Richardson, Texas. I moved my business to Plano in 1998 and moved my residence to East Plano in 2007.
Through my experience as a property owner, I became aware of land use restrictions. This is commonly known as zoning. Bumping my head on government regulations along with the Equal Rights Ordinance that was passed in 2014 piqued my interest in local government.
My favorite role in life is being a father. I have one son who is the delight of my life. He is 11 years old and loves playing all kinds of sports from golf to soccer.
I have run for City Council on 3 different occasions and not been elected. Each of these campaigns have created relationships and knowledge that today form my view about how our City is managed and what can be done better. I served on the Planning and Zoning committee for a brief period of time before being removed for questioning the Government. I will make my side of this story known soon as I build out this Sasquatch Slate website.
My last campaign became famous as the “Sasquatch Campaign”. The issues campaign that I am running now is intended to use the positive energy from my last campaign to inform voters and encourage Plano Citizens to vote.
I do hope to have the opportunity to serve as your future Place 1 Council Member in the next election that will happen in 2027.
Sasquatch Endorses
Cody Weaver ~ Hayden Padgett ~ Carson Underwood ~ Gary Cary
for Plano City Council