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Featured Listener Comments Section: Contents List |
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Listener: Burley
Category: Lubbock City Politics
Date: 02 Apr 2008
Time: 20:56:18 -0700
Remote Name: 66.140.100.171
Robert,
Because Dixon Platt will be on your show tomorrow, I wanted to provide a third
party evaluation of Dixon to try to set the record straight. Some of you
listeners may feel that they will have to choose between what he will say on
your program and what some members of the City Council and the City Manager has
said about him. In other words, they may consider it to be one of those—he
said—she said deals. For this reason, I hope you will post my letter on your
“Listener E-Mail” site.
Because of comments I will make about Dixon Platt, I want to make it clear that
he is not a personal friend of mine. He and I do not attend the same church or
any other organization together. I have seen Dixon only a few times since our
first meeting. Sometimes we shake hands and sometimes we just acknowledge each
other with a nod of the head or a wave of the hand.
Let me something at the outset, because some people may not read all the way
through my letter. I think Dixon Platt is a man of honesty and integrity. He is
as fine of a person that you would ever want to meet.
I first met Dixon Platt when I went to visit with Mayor David Miller on his
last, “Mayor’s Night In.” Dixon and I had the opportunity to visit one on one
for more thirty minuets while I was waiting to see the Mayor. I liked the man.
Although he had not been with city very long, I was impressed by his knowledge
about the operation and inside workings of Lubbock city government. After our
visit, I was thinking that the city of Lubbock was indeed fortunate to have an
individual like Dixon doing the job he was doing as the Chief of Staff for the
City Council. I did not come out of my meeting with the Mayor Miller with the
same feelings. But that is another very long story.
After that meeting with the Mayor, I attended some city council meetings and was
keeping up with what was happening on the City Council and with the city staff.
This was just after all the turmoil and controversy being created by the City
Council and the city staff started. I could see the behind the scenes dealing
and manipulation that was going on.
When the charges were made that would lead the termination of this honest and
honorable man’s employment, I could see that he was being railroaded right out
of his job. For this reason I took an active interest in his situation. From the
information I gathered I could see that there was a conspiracy going on that
involved several members of the city staff at the very highest levels and at
least two city council members; one being Mayor Miller.
I attended Dixon’s public grievance hearings that lasted for most of two days
where he was contesting the charges that had been made against him. My
conclusion and that of several other people that I talked to that attended was
that the sworn testimony by his co-workers had exonerated him of all charges
against him. Every single co-employee that testified under oath said they were
not offended by nor considered any statement he made to be sexist as claimed.
In
my opinion Dixon became so emotionally and physically beat down he did not
choose to pursue the hearing beyond the two days. After all, the city had put
him through holy hell for months.
City Manager Lee Ann Dumbaugh, was not allowed to attend the hearing because she
was a potential witness. She did however have her husband and other city
employees there acting as spies for her. Yet after the hearing, Mrs. Dumbaugh
held a news conference stating that the hearing justified the city’s claims and
actions against Dixon Platt. There was absolutely no truth in her statement. She
must have felt that there were so few people there that she could get by without
being challenged for such a statement.
Or she must have felt that, “you can fool most of the people most of the time.”
The AJ echoed her statement that had no basis of fact.
As we have come to know in the last two years, when Mrs. Dumbaugh, the City
Manager, and Mayor Miller hold news conferences, their goal is not to always to
provide accurate information or the truth. But rather they use the news
conference podium as a tool to put forth propaganda to influence public opinion
for a desired outcome. More often than not, they are assisted in their efforts
the AJ.
Another proof that such deception and propaganda takes place is the public
statements Mayor Miller and Mrs. Dumbaugh have made trying to influence the
outcome of a lawsuit involving the city’s former health plan administrator, AAG.
They were way over the line even talking about a lawsuit involving the city. The
judge finally got tired of all their garbage and put a gag order on all the
parties involved. Now Mayor Miller, the City Attorney and the City Manager have
gone in a round about way trying to get this gag order removed so that the Mayor
can use this law suit to promote his reelection campaign for Mayor.
I have had some regrets in my life time. One of those regrets will now be that I
did not get to know this fine man, Dixon Platt, better. But he will always be
held in high esteem by me.
Burley Owen
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