Rogers: The partisanship that has infected Austin is coming for local city councils

The continued demise of true representative government and the rising control by oligarchs at the state and federal level is well documented. I’ve tried to use this column to shed light on the problem in Austin just as national news outlets have done with Washington, D.C. 

Now, the problem is coming for our local communities. Unfortunately, county and city governments, school boards and other political subdivisions are experiencing takeovers by supposed “leaders” who come to power by their willingness to serve as sycophants for billionaire theo-oligarchs and their dark networks of political operatives.

If that all sounds too conspiratorial, consider Willow Park, Texas, just 50 miles west of Dallas. Currently home to around 7,000 residents, the town is now booming with development and a rapidly growing population. 

It’s also importing partisanship. This once-quiet town has recently become a fiery political battleground. Kooky characters, many connected to the Tim Dunn and Farris Wilks’ hyper-partisan machine and its allied organizations, are fighting for total control of Willow Park City Hall.

This fast track began in May when insurgent mayoral candidate Teresa Palmer defeated four-term incumbent Doyle Moss. Trouble wasn’t far behind. In September, City Council Member Eric Contreras publicly accused Palmer of bankrolling her campaign with contributions from a man named Spencer Hodge who, at that moment, was in the Tarrant County jail on charges of embezzlement. That isn’t Hodge’s only arrest. Public records also show he has faced charges for unlawfully carrying a weapon and driving with a suspended license. In fact, last summer Hodge was arrested while having lunch with Palmer,The Community News in Parker County reported. 

Contreras wasn’t the only one in open conflict with Palmer, either. The mayor accused then-City Manager Bryan Grimes of harassment during a meeting in Georgetown in June. Palmer filed a complaint with Georgetown police, who determined that the complaint did not meet the threshold for harassment, the Weatherford Democrat reported. A surveillance video failed to substantiate Palmer’s story. The city manager soon moved away from his position with the city.

By September, two sitting council members had resigned. Thus began a fight over filling the vacancies. A Parker County Republican Party precinct chair, Gene Martin, took the opportunity to vouch for one of the applicants. In front of the city council, and with a straight face, he described this former state representative as “overqualified” and claimed he was someone “willing to bring calm to this city.”

He was talking about Jonathan Stickland, who was anything but a calming presence in his eight years in the Texas House. During that time, Stickland managed to pass a grand total of one bill. But he later served his donors faithfully as the head of Wilks and Dunn-funded Defend Texas Liberty PAC. He also got caught meeting with known antisemite and Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes. The city council stood its ground and decided to not appoint Stickland. 

Then, in the midst of personnel turnover,Palmer single-handedly appointed a 14-member charter commission to rewrite the city charter, transforming Willow Park from a general law city into a home-rule city, with the hopes of putting it on the ballot for voters to approve. New rules, new governmental structure, a drastic change.

Palmer appointed to the commission Stickland, her former campaign manager, local Republican Party Precinct Chair Gene Martin and other supporters of her campaign. She did not afford the city council any say in selecting members of the committee, even though the city council governs the City of Willow Park.

While the mayor’s supporters get expansive power, her critics get silenced. Recently, Palmer ordered a citizen removedfrom two city council meetings after the citizen criticized the mayor’s job performance. 

A group of activists also gathered signatures and presented a petition that forced the city council to deny a certificate of obligation for a bond issuance to complete a desperately needed infrastructure project. The mayor’s signature appeared on the petition.

One of those activists, Marcy Galle, former legislative director for Texas Rep. Mike Olcott, who exited her position at the Capitol while the 89th Legislative Session was still in progress, is now running for Willow Park City Council. I ran against Olcott in 2022 and 2024. His campaigns were substantially aided by Wilks and Dunn PACs. 

Two of Galle’s allies are running for two other council positions. This trio is determined to replace the city council members who have stood up to the new mayor and her tactics.

Willow Park is a case study. That small town is barely hanging on to a sense of normalcy and decency. This is a critical moment for Willow Park — one that calls for smart, pragmatic investments in infrastructure and public safety to keep up with its rapid growth. Now is not the time to be derailed by Washington Beltway politics. But that’s what seems to be happening. And if it can happen in Willow Park, it can happen anywhere in Texas. 

Hyper-partisan craziness can take a huge toll on a governmental body. Disruptions and disarray prevent public officials from solving significant issues. The need for total control results in the silencing of critics. Citizens are shut down and shut out. Partisan games and political ambitions stand in the way of servant leaders who are trying to do the right thing in the midst of chaos.

Historically, voter turnout for local elections is abysmally low. This May, every voter needs to turn out for their local elections. The stakes for our cities, water districts and school boards have never been higher. Our communities cannot take that risk this year. I urge local voters to support reasonable, sensible leadership and reject those who are controlled more by outside influences than by the citizens who elect them.