Wylie Today

Dear Friends, Supporters and Citizens of Wylie,

I hope you and your family are having a great Summer! We have been busy at our house with planning our vacation, attending summer camps, visiting with family and friends and supporting our community. I wanted to write to you again this month and share with you some of the activities that are happening in and around our city.

I hope you all have taken advantage of the Summer Concert’s at Olde City Park , as well as movie night last Friday evening. The concerts have been great and it has been so much fun to get out and visit with our citizens at these events. These activities really help Wylie keep that “hometown” feeling. I hope you and your family are planning to attend the Wylie Independence Day program (Fireworks) at Founder’s Park this evening at 9:30pm.

I had the opportunity to attend the June Chamber of Commerce luncheon and listen to Chamber President, Mike Agnew, talk about the State of the Chamber, and all the things they are doing to support our community.

Many of our new businesses are also attending the Business Card Exchange on Wednesday mornings at Woodbridge Golf Club, and this has been a good way to connect with our small business owners and support them as they grow their business here in Wylie.

Also, as you may have noticed, dirt is beginning to be moved at the location of our new shopping center, Woodbridge Crossing. Soon you will have more shopping options available to you right here in Wylie , Texas !

This year’s high school graduation once again highlighted our outstanding Wylie students and their parents, It was an honor for Tammie and I to be able to attend that great event and represent our city.

This past month I also had the opportunity to speak at the Wylie Rotary Club luncheon and share with them our plans for the future of our city.

I have also had the opportunity to visit with Congressman Ralph Hall and Congressman Sam Johnson about our city. They are anxious to support us as we grow forward.

A lot of great things are happening in our community. In the coming weeks, you will start to see activity on the expansion of FM 1378. We will soon be holding a ground breaking ceremony for our new City Hall, Public Library and Recreation Center . Additionally in the coming month’s we will be continuing with our neighborhood revitalization program in some of our older parts of town. It is truly an exciting time to be in Wylie , Texas .

Please mark you calendars for our first Wylie Town Hall on August 11, 2008 at the Bart Peddicord Community Center at 7:00 pm. More details will be forthcoming about this event. We had hoped to schedule this sooner but with all the Summer vacations, we had to hold off until August.

Also in the planning stages is a meeting with our Home Owners Associations to get feedback from them on issues, concerns and ideas within their neighborhoods; and the Mayor’s Quarterly Breakfast. This breakfast will serve as an informal meeting with 15 to 20 citizens to come in and visit with the Mayor and staff on a quarterly basis. Citizens will be randomly selected to attend from our list of people who receive the eWylie Newsletter.

And, check out my updated web site with information about the office of the Mayor and upcoming events at www.erichogue.net

I believe in Wylie and my goal is to promote and grow our city in a positive way. When our citizens think of Wylie, I want them to think, “It’s good to be home.”

Until next time, may God bless the great city of Wylie , Texas as we continue to grow forward!

Your Mayor,

Eric Hogue

Newly elected Mayor Eric Hogue was officially sworn in on Friday night, May 16th, 2008. His family stood by him as Judge Terry Douglas did the honors. Also sworn in for their second term each, Carter Porter and Rick White.

Photos courtesy and copyright 2008 Earl Newsom

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.

Dear Editor,

Well, you can tell the election is getting close, because the mud-slinging is in full force. Eric Hogue and his supporters have been called into question. People supporting our current mayor have questioned Eric’s character, his leadership skills and his commitment. They have even questioned the citizens who have spoken out in support of Eric.

Eric Hogue is my friend. I have known Eric and his family for years, and I can’t sit quietly while someone tries to call his character into question:

Here are the facts:

First, Eric Hogue is not an assistant to an assistant; he is a leader in one of the largest companies in the world. He reports to an executive in a company that does billions of dollars in revenue each year. He leads that Executive’s organization made up of employees not just in Texas, not just in the United States, but from all over the world. He directs the communications, budgets and human resource issues for these employees. By the way this company has an employee population about three times the size of Wylie. He speaks on behalf of this company to customers and government officials from around the world on a regular basis. He has dealt with more employee issues and concerns than most of us will ever face in our lifetime. Eric has to balance a budget and manage a payroll that is larger than that of the City of Wylie. And, that is just his day job. Looks to me like a leader and someone with experience.

Second, for over 10 years he worked with two different churches as their part time preacher. He preached every Sunday morning and Sunday evening. He taught Bible classes on Sunday morning and Wednesday evening. On top of that, he produced the church’s bulletin each week and worked with any of the members in need. A preacher is one who is willing to stand and proclaim something, even when others may not want to hear the truth. I believe it takes someone with a strong conviction, strong character and strong leadership skills to have successfully preached for that length of time. By the way, he got both churches to a point to where they could hire a full-time minister, which was his goal!

Third, Eric Hogue served on our city council for seven years. Over the years, we’ve talked about his voting record and some of the issues that have come before the city council in recent years. I believe that you will find anytime a tough decision had to be made, it was Eric Hogue who made the motion. He stood for what was right for the city of Wylie. Hard choices have to be made sometimes and it takes a leader to stand against the crowd (even a crowd of seven) and take a stand for what is right.

It has been called into question why Eric didn’t support Merrill Young two years ago. I guess people forget this is a democracy and we have the right to support whoever we want to, publicly and on the ballot. I asked Eric about it and found that the current mayor’s supporter failed to tell the rest of the story…Eric Hogue called and told Mr. Young that he would be supporting his opponent…he didn’t let Merrill find out from the rumor mill…that sounds to me like someone with strong character.

Eric’s opponent and his supporters have also questioned why Eric stepped down from the city council last year, and they all know the answer to that question. They all know that our current mayor was not planning to run again this year, and that Eric was planning to run for mayor. The Mayor had told numerous people last year that he was not going to run again. They also know that a sitting council member must resign his seat in order to run for a different office. They also know that the Mayor hit up two other people trying to get them to run against Eric, because he was looking for people who would vote his way and not question him. They all know this, but they’re not telling us that story. Instead they want to label Eric as a man without character, commitment and leadership skills… that is a bunch of baloney!

But the facts are this: Eric had decided nearly a month before the other person submitted their paperwork for Place 3 that he would not be running and would be waiting until this year for the mayor’s race. If Eric had waited and resigned this year, he would have caused a special election that would have cost the tax payers more money. Once again, it sounds like Eric Hogue was trying to do what was right for Wylie. Instead of worrying about political games, he was focused on the good of Wylie…can we say that about our current leadership?One of the opponent’s supporter’s quotes Eric from an article in last year’s Wylie News, but he failed to list the whole quote, so here it is:

Seven-year city councilman Eric Hogue has announced he will not seek re-election to his Place 3 position; real estate salesperson Kathy Spillyard has filed for the seat. “After much thought, prayer and input from my family and friends, I have decided not to seek re-election,” Hogue said. “This decision did not come easy, because I have loved serving this community for nearly seven years. It has been such an honor to represent the citizens of Wylie.” Hogue cited increased job responsibilities as the reason for his decision. “Over the past two years my job responsibilities have greatly increased,” he said. “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 p.m. from my office in west Plano.” He also said he felt uncomfortable with the direction Wylie politics and the council has taken. “A lot has changed over the past seven years, and as our city has grown and changed, so has the politics,” Hogue said. “Seven years ago when I first ran for office, my opponent and I knew each other and ran a clean and positive campaign. We talked to each other during campaign season and laughed together during the candidate debate. And after I won, I supported his appointment to the planning and zoning commission. I guess you might call those the ‘good ol’ days.’ Additionally, the make-up and attitude of the city council has changed, and I no longer feel that I fit the mode of our current council.” Hogue said he hopes whoever wins the Place 3 seat will listen to the citizens and vote as their representative. “In the past seven years, I have always tried to vote for what I believe was the best for Wylie and all its residents. During that time there have been a lot of ups and downs, a lot of exciting and frustrating times and a lot of good things that have happened in our community,” he said. Hogue said he appreciated all of the support he and his family had received during his time on the council and said he is considering a run for the mayor’s position in 2008. “If you know me, you know I love serving on the city council and I will greatly miss it,” Hogue said. “Mayor (John) Mondy has said publicly he won’t seek re-election when his term expires next year. I believe I will be in a position to seek the mayor’s seat in 2008.”

This article told us a year ago that Eric Hogue was planning to run for mayor of Wylie in 2008, so it should have come as no surprise to the current mayor and his supporters. Additionally, Eric is not the only one who has a problem with the meetings starting at 6:00pm, a number of residents don’t understand why the meetings don’t start at 7:00pm to allow for more citizen participation!

These supporters want to talk about how well Eric’s opponent works with others, I wonder how well he really works with others when he has a reputation for ignoring those council members who don’t vote his way or support his candidate of choice.

And regarding Eric’s supporters…the truth hurts, but it is still the truth. Letters were written by the Mayor that should not have been written, Eric was removed as the host of last year’s Christmas Parade by the former Chairman of the Wylie Chamber of Commerce and the Pedal Car Race announcer did endorse the current mayor, I was there and I heard it! These are all facts not rumors, not lies and not made up stories.

In closing, I thought we would actually have a clean campaign season this year, and at least on one side we do. One the other side, it seems to be business as usual: spin, spin, spin and smear. The same old tactics we have seen in Wylie politics for years.

I think if a candidate can’t win on their own merits they certainly should not win on someone else’s demerits true or not.

It’s time for Wylie to grow up and vote for somebody who cares about the city and not just someone who is pushing their own agenda.

Eric Hogue is focused on the positive future of Wylie, Texas. It’s no wonder that two former mayors, two former council members, two current council members, a Collin county commissioner and a Collin county constable are supporting Eric.

My vote goes to Eric Hogue and I want to encourage you to please join me in electing Eric Hogue as the next Mayor of Wylie.

Linda Morris,

Wylie, Texas

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.

Thank you Mayor Mondy,

I have and will always support you in your leadership of Wylie. I feel that Wylie has grown in a way that is unlike several other small towns in our area. Wylie is growing in population but not in its feel of “Small Town America.”

In Wylie our kids still can play outside without parents having to fear all the evil things happening to them. Our Police Department is very proactive towards reducing crime. To explain, near Rush Creek Street my three sons asked if they could go and ride there bikes on the jump ramps. I, not knowing what they were talking about, followed them to see. When we got to the “jump ramps” it was a vacant lot near the old Rush creek, shaded by large trees, between several houses. Several boys’ ages 5-14 were riding bikes jumping and being KIDS. This was great to see! Kids will in all situations find a way to have fun wherever they are. While we were there a Wylie Police Officer drove by and saw the kids riding bikes and he waved at them. At that moment all the kids playing knew that he was there and he was watching over them.

This type of area for kids to play is great! Every man can remember those special places from childhood where they played, made plans and dreamed. I saw for myself that this little spot is great for my children to play and grow outside; I am so excited to see that my sons have found their special place in our wonderful city. I know that they are being watched by not only me but protected by my/your Police Department.

This is only one little snapshot in the big picture of Wylie but it is the future of Wylie and the only real legacy we as parents will leave behind (our children). I as a resident of Wylie would like to say thanks for giving my sons, my neighbors, and me the peace of mind and comfort of living in this great “small town.” Thanks John, I support you and appreciate all you do to keep Wylie my hometown.

Carrol Clore

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

Well, City Councilman David Goss called it as the above picture was being taken by Anne Hiney of Troy Aikman and I on Wednesday evening. “There’s the lead-in picture for the Wylie Today story!”

Turns out he was right. I’m sure you will see plenty of pictures of this event in the next week or so as I couldn’t count the amount of cameras on-hand. I have a few from the event that I will post below, and I might just add a gallery here in the near future.  But to lead-in, yeah, that’s me and Hall of Fame quarterback, 3 time Super Bowl Champion, the greatest Fox Sports NFL analyst and former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman. I like to mix it up.

City of Wylie Mayor John Mondy was completely jubilant this evening and with good reason. The people involved have been working on this deal for over a year and tonight was another step towards $600,000 in additional sales tax revenue for the city. It was another step towards a thousand newly created jobs in the city. It was another step towards keeping the citizens of Wylie shopping in Wylie. I’m really surprised we didn’t see Mayor Mondy break out some Riverdance moves.

Major kudos go out to Wylie’s Public Information Officer, Craig Kelly. Aside from seeing him run around picking up yoga flyers someone had left on the tables, the event went on without a hitch. Hundreds of people were in attendance for the groundbreaking ceremony and Dickey’s BBQ.

On hand to speak at the event was Wylie Economic Development Corporation’s Sam Satterwhite, Texas State Representative Jodie Laubenberg, Direct Development Sr. VP Don Bouvier, City of Wylie Mayor John Mondy and Troy Aikman.

Mr. Bouvier related the event to an Oscar speech as he mentioned so many people involved from the beginning that required accolades. He spoke further about four legs of a table and if one breaks or can’t support the weight, the table fails. He spoke very highly of the City of Wylie staff and administration and said they delivered on everything they said they would do. Now it was Direct Development’s turn to deliver on their promises.

Super Target Summer of 2009!

Some other players that need mentioning are the City of Murphy and the City of Sachse. Murphy made a small plot of land available to Wylie that was required for the development at the corner of 544 and McCreary. Sachse agreed to build a road to connect the back end of the development to Hwy 78. As Mayor Mondy said, “This has truly been a community effort”.

Troy Aikman talked about the special place in his heart for Wylie. You see, his wife was born in Wylie, though she didn’t stay very long. “I’m pretty sure if there had been a Super Target here, she would have stayed a bit longer.” he mused continuing on to talk about credit card statements and things I am so completely familiar with. He went on to talk about how great Direct Development is and how proud he is to be a part of such a great team. He knows that Direct Development isn’t a build and run type of company. They plan, build and maintain. Their developments are works to be proud of and that is why he chose them.

Overall, the event was a huge success and we can expect to see bulldozers out in the fields within a few weeks as road construction begins. This thing is moving forward quickly, people. And a ton of people were involved to make it happen. This is a fantastic day for the Great City of Wylie.

Look for more images soon and the small images above are clickable, leading to a larger image.

Photos © 2008 wylietoday.com (except for the lead-in photo of the 2 awesome dudes. Thanks, Anne!)

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

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.

Don’t forget about the Meet the Candidates Forum tomorrow night! I hope to see you all there.The Wylie News is hosting the 2008 Meet the Candidates Forum on Thursday, April 24th at 7pm. The event will be held at the Bart Peddicord Community Center on 100 W. Oak street in downtown Wylie. All City Council candidates have been invited to attend.

The forum will be moderated by the League of Women Voters. The public is invited to attend and questions will be accepted for the candidates to answer.

For more information, contact news@wylienews.com or call 972.442.5515 x29.

Download this flyer and pass it out to your friends and neighbors!