Ed Oakley had an uphill battle after finishing second to Tom Leppert in the May 12 mayoral election. In my wrap-up, I said the runoff was Leppert’s to lose and later wrote that Leppert’s campaign strategy of failing to back up his ideas with actual solutions could have resulted in the race slipping through his fingers. Leppert hasn’t done anything to change his strategy. However, sitting back and waiting for Oakley to self destruct will prove to be a winner after all.

Oakley’s well-publicized attack on Leppert is one of several miscues, yet it will prove to be most crucial. Attacking his record as CEO of Turner Construction is one thing, but making him look like some kind of freak is another. Leppert, who has a mild facial tic, is shown three separate times in Oakley’s ad twitching and blinking. This was clearly below the belt and has no place in politics. Imagine if Leppert had footage of Oakley kissing a man and aired that in an ad. Oakley would have been outraged. When asked about it in the debate on Channel 8, Oakley claimed he was unaware of Leppert’s facial tic and didn’t use the footage to embarrass him. That was a flat-out lie. If you can watch that ad and claim there was no intent to embarrass Leppert, then you are simply blinded by your politics.

The recent endorsement of Leppert by Mayor Pro Tem Don Hill, a fellow Democrat and Southern sector council member, is another big strike against Oakley. Hill, someone who should have made the runoff if it wasn’t for poor campaign decisions, finished third in the election and ran a campaign similar to that of Oakley. For someone preaching consensus building in the council, a shunning by Hill is quite a slap in the face.

Speaking of endorsements, Oakley’s backing by the Dallas County Democratic Party will likely work against him as he desperately seeks votes in the North. Oakley distanced from the endorsement, claiming he didn’t ask for it. However, it was Oakley who claimed party affiliation in a nonpartisan race in a mailer he sent out to Southern Dallas voters, labeling himself and Hill as Democrats and Leppert and Max Wells as Republicans.

Oakley also misfired in the CBS 11 Debate when Tracy Rowlett asked both candidates to name one thing they would change in the City of Dallas if they had the power. Oakley’s answer was to bring the Cowboys to Dallas. Not reduce crime or increase economic development. Bring the Cowboys to Dallas. Don’t get me wrong, the ball was dropped on that one and it would be great to see JerryWorld in downtown Dallas, but c’mon. Not to mention that as a council member, Oakley shares in part of the blame. Sure, it never came to the council for a vote, but where was his leadership in pressuring the Mayor to bring it to the council? He didn’t care enough about the Cowboys then and the only reason he does now is because people are pissed off that Dallas not only missed out on the Cowboys, but also on a Super Bowl.

Oakley was caught backing an effort by council member Bill Blaydes, who just so happens to support Oakley’s campaign for mayor, to rezone property owned by a northeast Dallas businessman since the 1950s. The rezoning would have effectively forced him to move elsewhere to make way for private developers interested in the land. The council ultimately rejected the effort, with Oakley changing his mind and voting with the majority. Oakley was asked about his flip-flop in the Channel 8 debate.

"I've been a little bit busy with the race," Oakley said. "It should have never happened and I should have paid a little more attention."

Well, it’s a little bit unsettling to know Oakley’s lack of attention could have cost a man a business he’s had for more than 50 years.

As chair of the Trinity River Committee, it has been no surprise that Oakley is against the referendum to stop the toll road from running through Trinity Park. However, he hasn’t provided voters with any concrete reasons why they shouldn’t be allowed to vote on this issue. In fact, any information he gives regarding the toll road is vague, which is strange for someone so closely connected to the project.

In the debate on CBS 11, Oakley mentioned that building the toll road down Industrial Boulevard would cost more than an additional billion dollars. Let’s see, the current cost running through the park is hovering around $1.2 billion. So, according to Oakley, the cost of an Industrial alternative would be at least $2.2 billion then? Craig Holcomb, executive director of the Trinity Commons Foundation, told me the new DEIS provided by the NTTA had the Industrial cost at 32 percent higher than the current plan, which would total approximately $1.6 billion. Somehow we’re talking about a difference of $600 million here, not chump change.

Oakley also said the Industrial alignment would be eight to 10 lanes, yet looking at the alignment on the NTTA Web site, it shows six lanes. The plans clearly show there will be three general purpose lanes in each direction. Now I’m hardy an expert on this project, but Oakley definitely should be and based on what he’s saying, he clearly is not.

Finally, Oakley’s idea that Dallas needs to stay the course and his plan to annually demolish 2,000 crime-ridden apartments won’t resonate with voters. This just in Ed: people aren’t happy about the way things have been going in Dallas. That’s why nobody likes Mayor Miller. As for getting rid of those apartments, you rag on Leppert because the mayor can’t do anything about education, yet the mayor can’t waive a magic wand and start tearing down apartments either. And just exactly where were those people going to end up, Ed?

It’s time for all the local writers to tear up their stories about how Dallas is becoming San Francisco with its first gay mayor and all that jazz. Game over, Ed. Thanks for playing.

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