I’m reading Rules for Radicals right now. Good theories as long as we con’t compromise to do it.

By Brendan Steinhauser on Apr 03, 2009
I just got off the phone with the local organizers of the Burleson Tea Party. They told me that the city’s press statement contained false explanations of what happened, but ultimately the local organizers will be able to hold their tea party. The city manager agreed to cooperate with the tea party planners to ensure that the tea party is safe, and a success. According to organizers, the city manager said that the city ”dropped the ball” and that he could not get any work done all day, due to the flood of emails and calls.

This just goes to show you what conservative activists can do with one dose of technology, and one dose of Rules for Radicals. Local organizers are ecstatic about the success, and they wanted me to extend a warm thanks to everyone that emailed and called the city manager, the mayor and the city council. If you live near Burleson, be sure to get there and support them on April 15th!

“The City of Burleson received a request to close a portion of the State Highway 174 frontage road between McNairn Road and Suzanne Terrace to hold a rally entitled the “Burleson Tea Party” on Wednesday, April 15.
The City’s Special Events Committee (which consists of representatives of the City’s fire, police, public works, and emergency management departments) reviews requests for street closures to determine the impact on public safety, health and welfare. That committee met on Thursday (April 2) to review the request from the group hosting the Burleson Tea Party.

The committee expressed its safety concerns to representatives of the Tea Party group. Principally, the City’s concerns are public safety vehicle access to the adjacent residential neighborhood and the impact on safe traffic movement on State Highway 174 which runs adjacent to the area where the Tea Party is requested to take place.

The City did not attempt to stop the event or prevent the event from being held in the city. Today, the City has placed calls to representatives of the Tea Party in hopes of resolving the City’s concerns and identifying a location for the Tea Party to occur. As of the time this press release is being issued, the City has not yet received a return call from the
Tea Party group.

The event can be hosted in Burleson’s Downtown Historic District adjacent to Burleson City Hall. This area is where the City’s festivals and events are commonly hosted. Alternatively, the event could be hosted at the location requested by the group provided the group is willing to address the City’s safety concerns and ensure fire and police response to the residential area adjacent to the location.

The City of Burleson respects, honors, upholds and defends the onstitutional rights of all citizens, particularly the right to peaceably assemble. The City’s only interest is to facilitate the exercise of these rights in a manner which provides for the safety of both the participants and the public.”

Concerned Citizen:

The City of Burleson is NOT TRYING TO STOP THE APRIL 15 TEA PARTY.

Members of the Burleson Tea Party group have contacted the City of Burleson wanting permission to conduct a demonstration in an area near the intersection of Wilshire Boulevard (State Highway 174) and Hidden Creek Parkway. The area is across the street from the location of the Burleson Super Wal-Mart, and adjacent to a residential area. The area where the demonstration has been planned includes right of way for the state highway, municipal right of way, and a city street. The organizer said the event is expected to draw between 300 and 500 people to participate in the demonstration.

From the beginning the city has made it clear that no city permit is required for the gathering. This being said, the city has also made it clear that there are a number of safety related concerns that need to be addressed at the originally proposed location. It is one of the busiest street intersections in the city. The posted speed limit on Wilshire/SH 174 is 50 mph. It is a 4-lane highway with a center turn lane. It is a heavily travelled highway, particularly during the hours of the planned demonstration (3-7 pm) when school is dismissing and evening going home drive-time traffic is at its peak. The original request also included the barricading of four residential streets to keep group members from parking in the neighborhoods. The city’s main concerns are safety of the demonstrators and other pedestrians, traffic safety, and the ability for fire trucks to get in and out of the residential streets and hook up to fire hydrants. In speaking with representatives from the Texas Department of Transportation, it is clear that TxDOT and the city share the safety concerns.

The city has a special events committee that reviews requests for street closures (for example, neighborhood block parties, festivals). That committee met Thursday to review the request. Due to the topography of the area and the design of the highway, the number of anticipated participants in the demonstration, and the other safety concerns the special events committee has suggested that an alternative site be considered. In fact, in an attempt to accommodate the group, City Hall, site of many community festivals, was offered as an alternative site. Nevertheless, although the site originally proposed for the demonstration presented numerous safety concerns, the committee was willing to take steps to accommodate the event if certain steps could be taken by the organizers of the event to assure safety for everyone involved.

At the time the attached news release from the city was issued this morning, we had not heard back from the organizers of the event. We since have had several discussions with the organizers and it is our understanding that an alternative site has indeed been secured. You can contact the organizers of the event for the final location.

There are a few things that need to be made clear. First, Rey Gonzales, one of the members of the city’s special events committee, is a good man and dedicated public servant that works very hard every day to make our city a great place to live. He is not trying to stop the tea party, and from my understanding has worked hard to accomodate the organizers. Second, our city functions with a Council-Manager form of government. As such, the mayor is not responsible for running the city on a day-to-day basis, and I have no authority to try to stop a function like the tea party. Third, a number of people have e-mailed nasty comments about our city and our city government–Burleson is a great place to live, work, learn and play. The members of our City Council and staff are concerned with one thing only–doing what’s right for our citizens. If you come to Burleson I think you will agree it’s a great place, and I hope you spend some time in some of our great stores and restaurants–you might want to check out our “Old Town” area.

By the way, I have read and studied our Constitution–I’ve even taken an oath to preserve, protect and defend it. I take that oath very seriously.

Sincerely,

Ken Shetter

Mayor of Burleson, Texas