Mayor John Harper vs The World – Part IV

Mayor John Harper vs The World – Part IV

We often hear it said, ‘when it rains, it pours’, and I’m not talking about Morton Salt.

It appears that Rowlett Mayor John Harper just can’t catch a break, even our local paper, the Rowlett Lakeshore Times, has finally posted something that is certainly not going to be to the Mayor’s liking.

Tension overload: Tea party meeting shows rift between mayor, council

The tension between the mayor of Rowlett and the city council reached a fever pitch Saturday during a meeting of the Rowlett TEA Party at the Rowlett Public Library.

Mayor John Harper was invited by the TEA Party to address the issue of city sustainability.

Before the meeting could get under way, Harper asked fellow council members Doug Phillips and Chris Kilgore to leave the meeting because he believed their attendance would violate the state’s open meetings law.

“I have to start with an official explanation,” Harper said. “I had invited the mayor pro tem [Todd Gottel] and the deputy mayor pro tem [Patrick Jackson] to be here today; and as you know, we cannot have any more than three. We have Doug Phillips, who’s a councilman. I thought I saw someone else in here that [is a] councilman. We are going to have to go outside the room, Doug — that’s how the meetings law works.”

“My reading of the meetings law says that as long as we are not discussing city business …” Phillips said before being interrupted by Harper.

Full Story Here:
Tension overload: Tea party meeting shows rift between mayor, council

Interrupted by Harper? Imagine that, Doug Phillips couldn’t get a single sentence out before being interrupted by John Harper.

Harper’s reasoning for that interruption?

“This is going to be city business,” Harper replied, “so I’d like to ask you to leave because you are in violation of the open meetings law of the state of Texas.”

And that is about as far from the truth as anything I have heard John Harper say to date! This was NOT a CITY business meeting.

This *meeting* was sponsored by the Rowlett TEA Party and was a PUBLIC meeting held in the PUBLIC library, and John Harper himself invited everyone to come and hear the *whole story*.

John Harper — I invite everyone, Rowlett and Rockwall, to come hear the whole story!

John White and my Rockwall friends…thank you for your support! I am being attacked! Do not let the RINO’s defeat me…and you! SOURCE

A PUBLIC meeting in a PUBLIC facility, sponsored by a TEA Party is just that, a PUBLIC meeting, and John Harper’s rude interruption of Doug Phillips was just another example of Harper’s idea of leadership I suppose. More of his *MY WAY OR THE HIGHWAY* style of leadership.

Are our Council members not citizens too? Are they not allowed to attend PUBLIC meetings?

If *city business* was the intent OF the meeting, should it have not been held in CITY HALL where the Council was assured a seat at the table in a PUBLIC venue? One that could have been witnessed 1st hand by the entire city of Rowlett via the Rowlett cable channel?

I already covered the definition of a MEETING per Texas Govt Code, Sec. 551.001.(4) in this post, Mayor John Harper vs The World, I would have thought that a man as learned as is John Harper would have easily understood what a PUBLIC meeting was, apparently not.

And again I ask, WHY did John Harper, Mayor of Rowlett, feel that his message was an event that the citizens of Rockwall needed to be a part of? Indeed, part of Rowlett is in Rockwall County, but NONE of the City of Rockwall is in Rowlett. Confusing? Sure it is, but the county line that separates Dallas and Rockwall counties happens to make part of Rowlett, the town, a part of Rockwall, the county.

If you think that’s confusing, you should be here come election time when ROWLETT citizens that live on the Rockwall County side of Rowlett go to vote.

To continue, that incredible display of arrogance, the calling in of his few allies from Rockwall, the city, to support him in matters that are specific to Rowlett, the city, is the very reason I have launched this campaign to hold Mayor Harper accountable.

Accountable to the citizens of Rowlett.

This is the comment I made to the Rowlett Lakeshore Times regarding the article that has instigated this very post:

It is the actions by John Harper that are so well documented here, the arrogance, the utter ARROGANCE, that is about to be his downfall…

This one meeting was only a sampling of the exhibitions of temper and arrogance, and what some are now calling a *superiority complex*, or, more to the point, sociopathic behavior, that John Harper has been exhibiting in private…

Mayor Harper called in his friends from the Rockwall Republican Men’s club to be his *solid support* on Saturday last, well, I have a suggestion for Mayor Harper…

Figure out what town you’re Mayor of, Rowlett or Rockwall, and if Rockwall loves you so much, go to them and be their Mayor, within a year they’ll PAY Rowlett to take you back…

It will be interesting to see if the Rowlett paper posts that comment.

Harper then turned his attention to Kilgore.

Kilgore displayed a highlighted document containing an excerpt from the state’s open meetings law showing that his presence was not in violation of the law.

“I know these are a problem for you, Mayor,” Kilgore said, referring to the rules outlined in the document.

Harper replied by stating, “You are the only problem for me and the city of Rowlett.”

“There is no problem,” Harper added. “Now, if you are going to be willing to explain yourself on Monday morning, sit here and do as you wish. This is what, ladies and gentlemen, I have to put up with on the Rowlett City Council.”

“And us likewise,” Kilgore said. “These are the rules. This is the code. This is the law. You don’t have a quorum in here. I am happy to leave just so it will calm you down, but you only have two here.”

I know this is ALL public knowledge, it did occur, after all at a PUBLIC meeting. I’m just surprised, and pleased, that the Rowlett Lakeshore Time addressed it like they have. They do have a bit more readership than my little blog. Thank you Kenny Green!

After Councilman Chris Kilgore made an effort to diffuse the situation by telling Harper that he would leave, Harper then felt it necessary to take another shot at Kilgore and the Council.

Harper mentioned Gottel and Jackson were in attendance but was then informed by Kilgore that they were not there, leaving only two council members in the room.

“I guess you chased them off,” Harper said.

More snide sarcasm Mr. Mayor? I am only stating an opinion here but I have to wonder, what were you like as a child? Did you bully your way through things then? Or in your military service? Were you tyrannical then too? Or, has the position of MAYOR gone to your head and caused you to exhibit these dictatorial mannerisms?

“I see that in the background, and I didn’t realize he was here, is Michael Gallops,” Harper said. “Michael Gallops is either a fool or foolish, and you’ll see why at the end of the presentation. I am so disappointed in what he has been sending out in the way of foolishness. If you care about your city, you’ll sit down and have proper dialog instead of the stuff you’ve been sending out.”

Mr. Mayor, I am not taking up for Michael Gallops, he did a pretty good job of that himself, but I have to ask, “proper dialog instead of the stuff you’ve been sending out.”, seriously?

Mr. Mayor, YOU are the one that impedes, wait, that’s not quite true, YOU are the one that totally blocks proper dialog. Any time a member of the Council or city government disagrees with you, you throw a temper tantrum, and those fits of anger are becoming quite well known. I wonder what fits of anger these blog posts are causing? If the truth were known?

You denigrate Council members, you denigrate city employees, you belittle them, insult them, question their educational backgrounds and talk about what you believe are their personal transgressions in life.

Your lack of professionalism is appalling Sir. Your lack of civility in public, and your downright mean spirited attacks in private are even more-so appalling.

The *meeting* that the TEA Party hosted on the 19th was, in all fact and actuallity, a John Harper Bully Pulpit with a Dog and Pony show thrown in for good measure.

Councilman Gallops said, “If you loved your city, you would tell the truth.”, I am going to go one step further, if you loved this city as you claim, you would use the same persona in PRIVATE that you display for the public. And if you are a man of your word, you will step down as Mayor of Rowlett and stop all the threats of doing so if you don’t get your way!