Vote Official

Yesterday was an interesting day for the city of Arlington.  We started out the afternoon with an Arlington Tomorrow Foundation meeting.  Now this meeting had two elements that I thought were of merit.  The first was $4.0 Million to be granted to the new library from the fund.  The remaining amount is to be issued in certificates of obligation.  This is an example of a new library and Council Chamber that is to be constructed without the use of citizen tax revenue.  That’s correct, there isn’t a burden to the taxpayer for these new structures.  The second item of interest is the “Dream” sign that is to be installed near the Levitt Pavilion.  Although this expenditure passed, I simply couldn’t bring myself to vote for it.  The reason being is simply that I don’t think that it was a good idea to arbitrarily construct something of this nature.  In short I think it will look “cheesy”.  Now I have to print a disclaimer and state for the record that I am no authority on the arts.  That being said I simply could support something of this nature.

Last night the vote was canvassed and became official.  Mayor Cluck pounded the gavel for the last time.  It was a very emotional event for the Mayor.  You can either love the Mayor or not, but you can’t deny the fact that he has dedicated the last sixteen years of his life in the service of our city.  During that time Arlington has evolved into the entertainment capital of the Metroplex.  We, as a city, have thrived in a time where other cities have floundered, through an economic downturn.  Arlington has more projects completed and underway than any other city in north Texas.  Mayor Cluck has played a large part in making those project become reality.  He can be proud of the work that he has done.  So we said goodbye to him at a reception last evening.  Where one door closes another door opens and new opportunities arise.  I look forward to working with the new Mayor and setting out on new challenges for our city.