What a refreshing change.

 Judy Liimatainen is a refreshing political candidate in our District 14.

Last election cycle in Dallas someone spent over a million dollars for a city council seat that pays $35,000 a year. Really? Talk about opening the door for graft and under the table deal making. A million dollars — think about that.

Then comes this year’s elections. All the special interest groups are out interviewing candidates wanting to make endorsements — wanting to give money away so that their influence will be heard and felt at city hall. It is grease the palm time in big D.

“What can you do for us?”  They ask.  The Dallas Citizens Council, who has tried to run Dallas for decades — they ask. The bankers. The developers. The city workers and the police and the fire and the‑ well you get the picture. They all want to know what the candidate is going to do for them. Every candidate is out there trying to get their endorsements and their cash.  More cash to run their elections.

All except one.  Judy Liimatainen.

No that is not a typo. Her name is Finnish as from Finland. But Judy is all American. And as such she believes that government at all levels has gotten rotten because of the huge amounts of money changing hands for favors. That is why she is running her campaign as a grassroots operation: contributions from neighbors and friends in District 14. No endorsements. No special interest groups. Just plain folks —people who want a voice at City Hall and who have been shouted out by the likes of Big Banks, Big Energy, Big Developers and the big law firms that  loom over Dallas.

Why is this important? Here is one example. Dozens of sites in Dallas— streets coming to and from downtown —both sides of North Central Expressway frontage roads have lanes shut down for apartment and condo construction. Really?  When did we start yielding our traffic flow to developers and builders who want to use the public streets as their loading docks and parking lots during construction?  Didn’t our last mayor work as the president of a giant construction company?  Maybe it started with him. As an aside,  not a single street was ever closed in any direction when building the Empire State Building in New York. We can’t even build a two-story condo with out spilling into the on-coming lanes of traffic. And when they leave? The streets are torn up and a mess. Who pays to fix them? You and me, buddy. Ye old taxpayer. But try and get one of the establishment-backed city council members to listen to you about this. Deaf ears is what you will get.  Like I said that is but one example. Each of you can think of things in your own neighborhoods that the city looks the other way over. Why?  Big money has told them to.

Judy thinks it is time people have an ear and a voice downtown running the government. That is why she refuses special interest money. Pac money is a no-no, too. Just simple five, ten and fifteen dollar gifts from friends and people who want to see Dallas Government return to the people who live here, not the corporations, special interests and financial folks who work behind the scenes for their own good.

They have always said, ‘you can’t fight city hall.’  But you can sure buy it. And ours has been bought and paid for decades over. It is great to see a candidate trying to buck that system. Let’s hear it for the regular people… and a candidate who will listen to them. A candidate who isn’t owned by a company or a political group or a special interest group. We want a candidate that has our best interests at heart…not a special interest’s checking account at hand.

Thank you Ms. Liimatainen. Your candidacy has restored my faith in American politics. (At least on the local level.)