Grim’s Blog

Me: Hi, my name is Grim and I am a recovering Anne-aholic.

Audience: “HI Grim!”

Dr. Phil: “Do you wunt to talk about it, Friend?”

Me: Yes, I believe I would…

That’s it. I have had it with this freakin’ campaign. I am over the money, I am over the deception, I am over all of it… even you Anne-atole.

Okay, so what?! Yes, I admit it, I almost fell into the same trap that the analyst nerds fell into and there were even a few days when I went with them to pick up the signs and then pick up the cups and even spy on the RIP kids.

But seriously, I have changed. I know I don’t have a great reputation, what with the death thing and all, but I have been reformed like a convict-turned-televangelist and I have come here today to confess to the group that I am an Anne-aholic and I need help.

Dr. Phil: “Grim, what would you say to Anne-atole if you could say anything?”

Me: Well, Dr. Phil, I was in love with her. I mean seriously, I was ready to hand in my player’s card and marry her, but things became so clear in the last couple of days and I just realized that they were USING ME!

It just makes me sick. I was a pawn, led to believe that this was about the “taxpayer”, that the Po-lice were not going to patrol my neighborhood anymore, that the streets would not get swept in front of my graveyard, and that Dallas was a terrible city doomed to failure.

Dr. Phil: “Well whut happ’nd Grim? Are ya changin teams?”

Me: You guessed it Dr. Phil. I have decided to break things off with Anne-atole and fight alongside the RIP Dallas kids to defeat Proposition 1 & 2. It is time for a change and Grim is giving up the big H-Flow salary and corner office (My desk was right next to Wick Allison!) and roll my sleeves up to get out the young vote.

What can I say? I’m like the Mavs… down two games to Denver (ironic that they built a convention center hotel and have surpassed us in the rankings), but I have a home game coming up and I think the people of Dallas will come through and VOTE NO on Proposition 1 & 2!

Dr. Phil: Well Grim, you are not alone. On next week’s show, we have anuther woman from the dark-side who has managed to drag down one of our own… Diiiiirrrrrrkkkkkkk!! 

Say what?! Almost $5 Mill total and $2Mill last month alone? This has got to be a joke. Even Grim has his limits, and I am not about to drop that much coin on an election even if it does mean that I get to keep a monopoly on the convention biz.

Look, as a temporary employee of Mr. H-Flow, I will be honest with you and let you know that the Yes campaign has NOTHING to do with the “tax-payer”. I have been around long enough to know that the Mr. Flow is NOT and has NEVER been worried about you and your tax bill. But what is so dang funny about this, is that there are a few people out there are drinking the Crow-ade right now. What can we say, the commercials are working. 

The truth is that my man H-Flow is concerned with ONE thing and that is winning at any cost. So, we have been instructed to pitch Proposition 1 with three primary deceptive messages:

First, we have the “Read-my-lips-no-new-taxes-strategy”. You see we are calling it a “tax-payer owned hotel” so people will not ever know that the hotel will actually be paid for by revenue bonds. (Side note: please don’t tell ANYONE that the Hyatt DFW terminal D, $600+ Million, and the Grand Hyatt DFW Hotel were both funded by revenue bonds and are currently owned by the city- ’cause that would put a hole in our case). Pretty simply, the public is always against taxes, so if we can deceive them into thinking this has something to do with taxes, we figure we can get everyone on board against this thing.

Second, we have employed the “fear-factor-strategy”: a brilliant campaign slogan that I came up with myself about “Safer Streets not Hotel Suites”. It is amazing what a rhyme will do to mesmerize the public into believing that this will cause the city to somehow cut back on basic services for its citizens. (Side note: please don’t tell ANYONE that this has nothing to do with the general fund and therefore the current plan to add police, fire, and emergency workers is still in place and will not be affected in any way, because the hotel is paid for by revenue bonds (see side note above)).

Thirdly, and my favorite, we have the infamous “Swift-boat-ad-strategy” (Anne-atole gets credit for this one). We are going after that squeaky clean, integrity-ridden, honest, open, and conveniently transparent “S.O.B.” of a mayor - who makes me sick. (Side note: please do not tell ANYONE that we are attacking him personally and bringing into question his integrity because then the public will associate a “villain” with the hotel and, hence, vote our way).  

Why is Mr. Flow shelling out dough like Henry Rockefeller wearing a bullet proof vest made of Anne Raymond? Pretty simple really. There is the subtle motivation that comes from having had a father who was able to block this from happening twice. Then there is the fact that the Anatole will no longer have a monopoly on the convention center business the way it does now. And then there is the other fact that he is a billionaire who does not like to lose, among other things.

Be that as it may, rest assured, this HAS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO DO WITH DEFENDING YOU, WHOM HE VIEWS AS THE COMMON, SLIGHTLY IGNORANT, TAXPAYER. But if you are biting off on this scheme of theirs, thanks for not taking the time to get to know the facts, for listening to our commercials and taking part in the most elementary and dirty PR strategy ever submitted to the usually well-thought-of Dallas voter.

Your dearest friend: Grim

Grim-lins-

I hope all is well. Forgive me for not getting back to you earlier, like Timbaland said, “I should’na left you without a dope beat that you can step to”. Unfortunately, things are a bit hectic as the temperature gets turned up on this election. There are about 10 days left for this city and I have a ton of paperwork (TPS reports) to do before I can officially begin to reap.

This week was another week of rallies for VOTE NO! and to be honest, I have really had enough of these cheerleading competitions. I mean how many times do I have to hear that EVERY major organization in town is for the freakin’ hotel? Every chamber with every origin, color, race, creed, gender (that includes transgender) is for this. Every company, from Mary Kay to Eddie Deen’s is for this. Every flippin hotel: Crescent, yadda, Adolphus, yadda, Hyatt, yadda, and 25 other hotels downtown (except for the Anatole, wonder why?).

And then there are the articles. Every day another person comes around and says how much this city needs this hotel. I have to tell you what really got Harlan Flow pissed was when J. Mcdonald Williams, the former CEO of Trammell Crow Company, came out FOR the hotel. The most frustrating thing about this is that every person that is coming out with Vote NO is honest and reputable… nothing gets Harlan Flow and Anne-atole more mad than when people are decent.  That is exactly why I like these two.

On a separate note, if Grim can be vulnerable for a minute… I think I am falling for an elderly woman that I work with (I believe this is referred to as a “cougar” nowadays). Anyway, you know how you feel when THE one comes in the room? I get butterflies in my skeleton when I see her so angry at everyone. Other than being from the same home-town as me, we do not have a ton in common, but I keep thinking about the future Mrs. Anne Reaper. Has a nice ring to it, right? 

See you on the other side.

I never said it was easy being Grim but Harlan Flow, Anne-atole and I had the city walking the plank until these damn kids woke up.

I am not exactly sure who they are, although I have heard a lot of great conspiracy theories and in an amazing display of journalism, one writer discovered that many in the group were friends, had jobs, and some were even related (I know, crazy right?). Good work Trey, you will be running the Daily Planet before long. If not, there is a job waiting for you at the Michael Scott Paper Company.

Try figuring this out – they consist of artists, slackers, musicians, go-getters, politicians, democrats, republicans, not to mention the fact that they have every color in the rainbow on their team, and all they effin care about is voting NO on prop 1 and 2 May 9th!!! And after all that - these punks have the audacity to invite me to South Side Lamar to chew the fat…

So I headed south (had to google it) to hear what they had to say and I’ll be damned if these renegades didn’t have something brewing…

Here is what they told me:

Prop 1
$ Proposition 1 prohibits the City of Dallas from ever buying, leasing, financing, or offering any financial incentive to a hotel or lodging facility. It got  introduced to stop the convention center hotel from being built but will be punitive to the growth of the ENTIRE city FOREVER.

$ The convention center hotel project was passed 11-2 by those fine people who sit around the horseshoe at City Hall. It is supported by every chamber of commerce and countless businesses and organizations that are committed to thwarting Grim and keeping Dallas a thriving city

$ An overwhelming majorityof Downtown Dallas supports the project (click on “OUR TEAM” on the RIPDallas homepage to see this list). Why? Because it’s good for their business and good for Dallas. It is quite simple: downtown hotels don’t like Grim and only support a project when it it good for the community at large.

$ Downtown needs investment to realize its potential. A few years ago, I had downtown on life support and was ready to pull the plug.  But it started reviving about the time Pegasus started spinning again. The convention center hotel and ancillary development will put downtown back even more in the path of development, and will provide a critical push towards a thriving downtown. It will probably mean reassigning it to a room outside of Intensive Care.

$ The economic benefit of creating jobs for and attracting development to the Southern Sector is imperative.

$ Harlan Crow has funded 99% of a very expensive campaign that assassinates the mayor’s character and relies on spreading misperceptions. Grim can think of many other ways those millions could have been spent to benefit Dallas.

Then these whippersnappers starting showing me that although Prop 1 is bad, Prop 2 is absurd:

$ Proposition 2 was introduced by an outof-state union because Dallas would not insert unions into the negotiations of hotel operators. It was born out of spite, and if passed, will grind Dallas business to a halt.

$ If Proposition 2 passes, each time the city of Dallas wants to offer financial incentives of $1 million to developers of hotels, condominiums, or retail; 500 signatures can halt the process. With only 500 signatures, the City of Dallas must hold a general election to obtain voter approval. Each election costs somewhere to the tune of $1 million. That would buy Grim a lot of cloaks and scythes.

So, see, I spend 12 minutes with these kids, they offer me dinner and pepper me with kindness and all H-Flow and A-tole tell me to do is rip them to pieces!!! I must admit, if I wasn’t on the payroll I might hear these kids out…

Stay tuned.
Holler at your Grim.

So Wednesday morning I was chilling at the Vote Yes headquarters with big bad Harlan (he’s not so bad, really) having a Double-Midnight (2 part cranberry, 1 part pomegranete, and 2 parts Vodka) with a hint of lime and we were shopping online for a coffin big enough to fit Downtown Dallas in it when Anne-atole comes in and starts screaming about these “silly-children” and their “publicity stunts”.

She was distraught to hear that the RIP Dallas “kids” were gathering at City Hall about 150 deep with every news crew in the city on hand to watch. Anne-atole rallied to get all of the analysts from her office together (and a few from the mail room) to stand outside City Hall with a strong showing of 11 holding signs looking absolutely pathetic… and lonely. I’m not taking sides… but Grim gotta call like Grim see it. Then there was the TV coverage which showed footage of both groups and that did not go well either, in fact, Anne’s quote was something like “Uh, I think we have a facebook page too?”

Turns out she was spinning the story like vinyl on the 1’s and 2’s. Nothing new I guess.

Love ‘em or hate ‘em- we are all watching to see what is next. As for the RIP Dallas YouTube video, I am not gonna lie- the server at Protect-the-Anatole-HQ was blowing up because we were all watching it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upBgzrLKDTY

Oh, the price of fame- no sleep, cant get off the i-phone, getting twittered to “death”, managing my facebook profile, signing autographs (hard to do with boney fingers)… this is crazy.

I am a fictional character that has evoked the attention of thousands. Why?

Because the truth of the matter is that young people are concerned about the future of Dallas. They recognize that BOTH propositions (keep in mind this is NOT just about Prop 1) dramatically impact the way we will do business in this city for years to come… why wouldn’t the youngsters have an opinion on this?  

My image is symbolic, so don’t worry I won’t be coming for you. Or will I…

So here I am in Detroit when all of the sudden I get an email from my good friend and confidant, Harlan… actually, it was his secretary, Anne something or another. She says that they have an evil plot to doom Dallas and make a ton of dough in the meantime. I know, sounds like a great plan, right? Problem is that I have to finish what I started here in Mo-Town, but I decided to hop in my smart-car (what can I say, I am going Green) anyway and head to Big-D.

Upon my arrival, I was curious to find out that my billionaire buddy has already spent $3 Mill on some anti convention center hotel campaign called Proposition 1. At first, I could not believe that he would waste his time on something like this and could not understand how this involved me until I went to a debate and saw the brilliance in his plan.

You see, he figures if he can prevent people from coming to Dallas for convention business, then he can reduce the annual economic impact of the hospitality industry on the city of Dallas by about $2.6 Billion (that is with a “B”, like buh-bye) and thus he can reverse the progress that has been made in downtown which will in turn cause businesses to rule against relocating to downtown Dallas (and hopefully move out!). When that happens, the taxpayers are left holding the bag and as property taxes rise, homeowners will move out of town and before you know it, I am doing double duty between here and Rock-City!

The problem is, I am kind of a Tony Romo fan and was looking forward to the Super Bowl here… wait a second, that is in Arlington, never mind, continue with original plan.