Wylie Today

Voters residing within the Wylie ISD opted not to change too much at once in the 2008 elections. Two incumbents, Ralph James and Ronni Fetzer, will remain as Trustees for another three years, pending official results. Mr. James will be serving his fourth term and Mrs. Fetzer will be serving her third.

Lance Goff was elected to unseat incumbent D. Baron Cook, who was appointed to the seat last year to replace the departed Eric Lindsey. This particular seat is a one year term, so Mr. Goff will have to run for election again next year.

I don’t know that I have seen a race as close as the Fetzer/Goss race since I have been here (or ever). Ronni Fetzer gained 701 votes while challenger Barbara Goss received 695. Also voting for ‘blank’ were 105 people. Goss was ahead by a handful of votes after early voting results were released.

The decision of who would lead Wylie as Mayor for the next three years was put into the hands of 1240 people Saturday night, May 10th. By 9:15 that evening, the totals showed that candidate Eric Hogue would be the new Mayor of Wylie, surpassing John Mondy by 160 votes.

Although he was working hard all day yesterday retrieiving signs from around Wylie, he still managed to provide a few words to share with everyone.

“Words can not express my thanks and appreciation for all the support I received during this campaign. As I watched the totals come in Saturday evening, my family and I grew more and more excited. With your help and support, we did it! I am very humbled by the honor and trust the citizens of Wylie have placed in my hands. I will not take this position lightly. I want to be a mayor who will listen to the desires and needs of our community and work to make these things a reality.

I want to thank all of the people who have supported me in this campaign, it has been a long journey, but a new chapter in our community is about to begin. I want to thank Mayor John Mondy for his phone call on Saturday night, after the final election numbers came out. He offered his congratulations and support as we begin this transition of new leadership at city hall.. I want to thank my campaign treasurer, Earl Newsom, for his support and never-ending encouragement.

I would love to list every person who helped with this campaign, but I don’t think there is enough room on this paper to list each and every name. These people made the difference in the outcome of this race with their support and encouragement by passing out flyers, talking to their friends, putting a sign in their yard, sending emails, standing near the polls, making phone calls, talking to their neighbors and most importantly, casting their vote. I also want to thank all of the young people who held up my campaign sign on election day near Ballard Street and Highway 78. They reminded people to get out and vote. It was a long day for them, but they did it without question.

I want to thank the current council members and their spouses: Rick and Alicia White, and David and Barbara Goss who supported my campaign from beginning to end. I want to thank our former mayors and council members, along with their spouses, who also supported and encouraged me during this entire race: William and Ann Martin, Jim and Lois Swartz, Earl and Carol Sue Newsom and Steve and Ruthie Wright

My campaign was about bringing people together with different ideas, beliefs and goals for our community. Everyone has something to offer and I believe when we work together, Wylie will come out as the winner!

I want to congratulate Councilman Rick White and Councilman Carter Porter on their victories. I also want to commend Bennie Jones and Chris Trout for their willingness to step up and run for office. I want to congratulate the school board members who were elected, Ralph James, Ronnie Fetzer and Lance Goff. I also want to thank those individuals who placed their name on the ballot and were willing to serve our school district; Barbara Goss, Baron Cook and Jim Griffin.

I want to especially thank my wife, Tammie, and our sons, Zach and Mason, for their never-ending support over the last 75 days. We planned and campaigned each and every night of the week, for this dream to become a reality. I could not have done it without them!

The race is over and now it’s time to get to work!”

Congratulations, Mayor Elect Eric Hogue.

Mr. Byboth asked Wylie Today to run his full letter to the editor, which received the snip-snip treatment in the paper.

Dear Editor, 

I have been a volunteer in the city of Wylie for most of the last ten years. I sat on the Planning and Zoning Commission for a number of those years and ultimately on City Council for the last two years. In that time I have had the opportunity to work with many fine and enthusiastic volunteers on many projects and events. In Wylie we are truly blessed to have so many who want to do so much to make this a better place for all. I have to say though that of all that I have worked with I don’t know one that puts the hours in that our Mayor, John Mondy does.

I own my own business as does John and I am well aware of what it takes and costs to operate in today’s economy, and it’s tuff enough to do that much less dedicate all the time it takes to help the many causes that we get involved with let alone the city council.

For years John Mondy has been doing that taking his sleep in 2-3 hour snippets to ensure he covers all the bases for the citizens of Wylie. It’s not at all uncommon for John to be at a Boy Scout function in the early evening then on to a fundraiser that night only to get up and go to the FFA Show and Sale the next morning to buy some kid’s ag project after having lunch under his big tent that he graciously loans to the FFA or the city for shopping center ground breakings. Until election season began I have never seen his opponent at any of these many functions supporting the citizens or the cause.

In all the years I have known our mayor I have never heard him once complain about this city or his time on council. He has always faced the issues head on whether they be pleasant or not and in the spirit of what is best for the city regardless of his personal position on the issue. I can’t say the same for some of the others that I have served with on council. In one case personal preference of others on council cost a struggling congregation a much needed shot in the arm via a well concealed cell tower and in another instance a much needed hotel from a respected chain. In both cases a loss to the city of much needed ad valorum property taxes which would help with our tax rate. Your mayor instead, in both cases, tried to work a compromise that was amenable to all.

Just a year ago John’s opponent said he didn’t have time to be a council member anymore citing job duties, etc. yet now just one year later he has time to be mayor? And his campaign manager, another former council member, said following his term “I can’t wait to retire and kick the dust of Wylie off my boots”. I can assure you that the office of mayor is far more time demanding that that of a councilman and far more sensitive than to say things like that.

So in closing I have to ask why would anyone want to abandon a proven leader that has taken this city to triple the size it was when he began his service to it, oversaw the development of the finest public safety department for a city this size anywhere, has just led the charge to attract the largest new shopping center of it’s kind in the area, and has doggedly pursued bringing a college campus to Wylie for years. I passionately ask you to allow this good man and proven public servant to continue his service to our community for as long as he has the desire and energy to do so. Change for the sake of change is ridiculous when you already have a proven commodity in hand. Please join me in re-electing “our” mayor John Mondy.

Sincerely,

M.G. “Red” Byboth

Mayor Pro Tem

Letters to the Editor are personal opinions of the author listed and do not necessarily represent the views of wylietoday.com.

Citizens of Wylie:

Mayor Mondy has proven his leadership abilities both as our mayor for the last ten years and through service to our country as a retired Army Major in the Airborne Infantry. Mayor Mondy is a business owner with the responsibility of running a company.  Mr. Hogue is an assistant to an assistant of a large corporation, who doesn’t have to make payroll or balance a budget.

The opposition, this election, is attempting to make the mayoral race about character because they know Mayor Mondy has them beat on experience, ability and leadership.  Mr. Hogue has his campaign treasurer make accusations against Mayor Mondy that are groundless and without specifics.  Let me be specific about character.  Two years ago, Mr. Hogue felt the political winds were changing in Wylie so he publicly opposed Councilman Merrill Young (whom he had supported in years past) in favor of a candidate with no experience. Fortunately the citizens of Wylie didn’t put much stock in Mr. Hogue’s endorsement and Councilman Young was re-elected.  Mr. Hogue then chose to not seek re-election when a strong candidate opposed him, citing job obligations made it too difficult to serve as councilman.  In Eric’s own words:  “A big part of my decision was based on my career at EDS. Over the past two years my job responsibilities have greatly increased. While this has been a positive benefit for me and my family, it has also impacted my free time. For example, it has become more and more difficult to get to the city council meeting by 6:00pm from my office in west Plano.”   Now Mr. Hogue is stating he chose to sit out last year because he wanted to prepare to become mayor and save the city the cost of a special election.  Does he think we don’t remember! The voters in Wylie are smarter than that.

John Mondy is a fine man and leader and does not play the political games that his opponent engages in.  Let’s send Mr. Hogue a message that we haven’t forgotten his betrayal of Merrill Young and his reason for resigning, that he was too busy to be a councilman.  Mr. Hogue do you think that being mayor is going to be less demanding of your time?

Join me in re-electing John Mondy for Mayor of Wylie.

Carl Bodine

Citizen and Voter in Wylie

Letters to the Editor are personal opinions of the author listed and do not necessarily represent the views of wylietoday.com.

City Council candidates had another filing date deadline test last Friday as the “8 Days Before Election Day Campaign Finance Report” was due. This round, all candidates filed their paperwork with the city on time.

City of Wylie Mayor John Mondy reported contributions of $7,450 and expenditures of $8,114.71. He still shows a campaign balance of almost $1,300 as of the reporting period date. The bulk of his expenses went to the USPS for postage and Woodbridge Golf Club for a golf tournament fund raiser. By looking at the 13 pages of donors chipping in $100 or more in the report, I would say that the fund raiser was a success.

Mayoral candidate Eric Hogue received $520 in contributions of $50 or less and listed expenditures of $446.50 for an ad in the Wylie News and an ad with the Wylie Rotary Club.

The other reports should contain a “May Cause Drowsiness” warning label, but that’s what you get with finance reports.

Below is the video from the Meet the Candidate Forum held on April 24th. It is separated into two parts to make sure no one passes out from excitement. The lighting is a little dark in the beginning, but that was fixed during the second question, I believe. One answer from mayoral candidate Eric Hogue was missed as I had to switch out tapes. Sorry!

I hope you enjoy the show and I hope this helps you decide for whom to cast your vote anytime this week, next week, or May 10th.

Part 1


Part 2

Dear Editor,

First, I want to thank the Wylie News for hosting the Candidate forum on last Thursday night.  I think many such forums are needed.  It is in such public settings that candidates’ feelings show best.  Web sites, prepared literature and even newspaper interviews insulate the candidate from the voter.

I saw one particular viewpoint that I hope to spotlight, in order that others may see it more clearly.  There were two questions that dealt specifically with ethics.  One was about a proposed “Code of Ethics”, the other about a demonstration of ethics.  The answers were interesting.  The incumbents were unanimous in stating that they didn’t have a problem with a code being developed, that such a code had been debated and dropped.  Many candidates expressed a willingness to abide by such a code, but most stated that they were pretty confident that they were ethical.

One candidate stood out in contrast.  Eric Hogue spoke resoundingly in favor of a Code of Ethics.  He likened standards to rules of the game.  He said that a clear statement of Ethics is commonplace in “Corporate America” (I was trained repeatedly in ethical decision making at the last Fortune 500 company I worked for).  Playing without rules leaves room for indiscretion.

Another question was asked which was telling about the apparent regard that each candidate places on ethics.  As reported in the Wylie News, and acknowledged by the candidates, only two of the candidates did the ethical thing by reporting their expenditures on time. (Kudos to Rick White, he submitted his early).  Particularly egregious to me was the fact that Mayor John Mondy gave as an excuse that his campaign treasurer (“Red” Byboth) was out of town.  This means that two currently serving officials have a lax attitude towards ethical rules.  (A side note: I know that it is old news, but these two men were also two of the main players in Mayor Mondy writing a letter, as Mayor, not as a private citizen, attempting to influence the outcome of a trial of one of Mr. Byboth’s employees, an accused sex-offender, a few years back.  This should have been a warning, then.)

Mr. Porter stated that we as voters have the right to remove those that act unethically.  We have that opportunity now.  I ask all concerned citizens to vote now for ethics.  Support Eric Hogue and Rick White.  I also call for an appropriate Code of Ethics to be written and adopted, with clear language and appropriate, enforceable results.  We shouldn’t have to wait until an election to see the same consequences expected when unethical behavior occurs in industry.

Sincerely,David Dahl

Letters to the Editor are personal opinions of the author listed and do not necessarily represent the views of wylietoday.com.

My family has lived in Wylie for almost 5 years and have become well- acquainted with the Wylie Political arena. In the 2005 election, I set out on the mission to be an informed voter in our new town. I met with a couple of the candidates and saw first hand how Rick White handled himself in light of many untrue statements and accusations being made about him from the then-incumbent candidate.

Rick encouraged me to inquire and ask lots of questions and find out for myself what the truth was, and in the end, Rick got my vote…and my trust in the 2005 election season. That spoke volumes to me about Rick’s character, integrity, and openness as a person and as a future councilman. Rick White truly is a “what you see is what you get” guy and I can appreciate that in the political arena.

Regrettably during election season, voters get more smoke blown their way or too much rhetoric spoken with no real substance, promise or plan. I do not find that to be the case with Rick. His vision and track record while on council proves over and over he is for the future of Wylie with the best interest of the citizens in mind. I’m honored to call Rick White a personal friend that I would trust without question. He listens, he cares, and has always responded to my questions or concerns regarding our great City. I strongly encourage our citizens to ask questions of ALL the candidates in order to cast an informed vote. As an informed citizen, I will be casting my vote for incumbent Rick White and mayoral candidate Eric Hogue…for the Future of Wylie!

H. Glenn Bolton,
Wylie, TX

Letters to the Editor are personal opinions of the author listed and do not necessarily represent the views of wylietoday.com.

Dear Editor:

May 10, 2008 is a critical day for the Wylie Independent School District.  May 10, is Election Day for several seats on the school board.  Barbara Goss is running for Place One. I believe Barbara Goss is the right person for the job.

Barbara and I met five years ago when she became employed in the Human Resources Department of my company.   As a manager in the company, I had several opportunities to work with Barbara to resolve Human Resource issues.  Barbra was always very well organized and professional.  I know, with her professional experience, she can utilize those skills in being a successful School Board Trustee.

Barbara has children that attend Wylie schools. She has a vested interest in making the sure the schools perform, as well as spend our tax dollars wisely.

For the past several years Barbara has regularly attended school board meetings.  She keeps her friends and neighbors informed on issues at hand and communicates that information clearly.  I believe there is currently a lack of communication from the current school board.

The current school board needs a fresh perspective and fresh ideas. The school board needs to plan for future growth.  There is no reason children should have to switch schools years after year after year. The current school board is reactionary and fails to plan accordingly.

I encourage you and all your readers to speak with Barbara, and read about her ideas, and beliefs.  I believe if you speak with her, you will see the passion that I have seen.  Barbara’s website is http://www.barbara4wisd.com/.

May 10, 2008 is a crucial day for the WISD.  Let’s move WISD forward by voting for Barbara Goss, Place One.  She has earned my vote.
Jeff Cox

Letters to the Editor are personal opinions of the author listed and do not necessarily represent the views of wylietoday.com.

First of all, I want to apologize. I took video of this event, but have run into technical difficulties getting the video downloaded. Old software, new computer. :/ I’m going to be away from the “machines” for the weekend, but I will get it resolved and get it uploaded for your viewing enjoyment. That is, if you are into an hour and eighteen minutes worth of talking.

As a quick recap slash opinion, here is what I liked about each candidate’s performance or values.

Rick White

City Councilman Rick White did a fantastic job communicating with the audience about his passion, drive, motivation and proven experience with success. He was cordial and concise and seemed very comfortable speaking to the group. His direct involvement with the Fire and Police Departments let me know that he is in tune with everything happening in the community.

Chris Trout

I like the fact that Chris Trout is a community friend and a dedicated parent. His daily interaction with people in the community is a great asset. From personal conversations, I believe he is quite the intelligent man.

Carter Porter

City Councilman Carter Porter also did an excellent job speaking to the group. He is available to the community whenever the need is present and has been open and honest about his first three years on City Council. He is an elected member to the NCTCOG and while I don’t know exactly how that has benefited us to this point, I’m sure it couldn’t hurt going forward.

Bennie Jones

Bennie Jones has a definite message and goal. I believe that he believes in what he is saying. He seems frank and honest , speaking from the heart about his vision. He spends time interacting with the teenagers in the City of Wylie, providing a positive adult presence.

John Mondy

Mayor Mondy has a certain swagger about him that makes me feel confident he can get anything done. While he did leave the military long ago, I’m not sure if the military ever left him. He is proud of his accomplishments and is confident in a future vision of Wylie that is larger than anyone could expect. I think he has put a lot of time and effort into city affairs over the last decade. His knowledge and experience is certainly valuable.

Eric Hogue

As I mentioned before, Eric Hogue is a natural public speaker. I believe in his ability to make and secure contacts at any level. His desire and enthusiasm to serve the community is unrivaled. His past tenure on the City Council is valuable in terms of experience and knowledge of city affairs.

Everyone did an excellent job last night and whenever you get a minute, you should let these guys know you appreciate what they are doing for us. Let them know you support them and what their families are enduring right now. Their email addresses can be found on the Wylie Today Voter Guide.