Join us as we begin the first of a two-part discussion on education.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 14
RODEN HOUSE – 322 Texas Street
9pm

Join us as we discuss this and more…

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 18
9PM
RODEN HOUSE  – 322 Texas Street

Among the seven or so owners of this house during its almost 100 year existence, none stands out as much as Mrs. Anna Burgoon.  Anna was born Anna Bushong in 1875 in Grapevine – the  log cabin where she was born continues to be an historic landmark in that town.  While there, Anna was a charter member of the Bay View Club, a women literary club.  Following the early death of her husband (and while still pregnant with her 10^th child, George Bushong Burgoon), Anna moved to Denton, perhaps due to the educational opportunities for her 6 children (four had died in infancy).  Despite her unfortunate circumstances and her heavy load of mothering responsibilities, Anna served the Denton community well.  She was a prominent member and chairperson for the Shakespeare Women’s Club of Denton where she hosted events in this home, played piano at events, and presented lectures on a range of topics from great operas, to the preservation of trees, to artistic movements in the US, to Chinese folk music, to the necessity of promoting Americanism over the errors of communism, fascism, and the like.  In addition, she served as president of the CIA (TWU) Mother’s Club, home group leader for First Baptist Church bible studies, and was appointed to the Denton Parks Board where she was instrumental in approving the site of the first Denton library.  An early feminist, newspaper articles point to her encouraging other women to vote.  She even served as chairwomen for the local committee charged with the campaign of Texas Gubernatorial candidate Dan Moody in 1926.

Below you’ll find an article out of a Denton Record-Chronicle clipping from the 1940s detailing the content of Anna’s lecture on Americanism and other isms:

TRANSCRIPT:

From the Denton Record Chronicles, 1946:

American Ideals Club Topic

Two talks upholding American ideals were heard Thursday afternoon in the meeting of the home economics department of the Shakespeare Club in the S.C.W. tea room with Mrs. Walker King and Mrs. C.N. Adkisson hostesses.

“Americanism Versus Other Isms” was the subject discussed by Mrs. Anna Burgoon, who said that socialism, communism, sovietism, bolshevism, Nazism, and Hilterism are subversive elements actively at work in America today, and that all are in direct opposition to the American form of government.  A study of all these isms is of important to Americanism, and a thorough knowledge of the constitution of the United States is necessary for every patriotic citizen, she said.

“Americanism tends to perpetuate American ideals and to uphold the principles of democracy, “ the speaker pointed out.  “The security of America lies in its citizenry, in whose minds and hearts is ingrained a true love and understanding of the ideals and principles upon which the nation is founded; and awakening to the duties of citizenship and a willingness to perform the sacrifices to uphold these ideals.  Americianism work is largely educational, and usually divided into three phases – work with the youth, the adult and the community.  All matters pertaining to the flag or patriotic education are rightly classified as Americanism activities.”

– 01.03.11 – Kevin Roden, Drink and Think, and thinkdenton.com featured in 944 Magazine

– 12.09.10 – THINKDENTON coverage of DCTA A-Train issue and interview with Kevin Roden in the Dallas Observer

– 11.10.10 – Kevin Roden featured in UNT InHouse Portrait Gallery

– 08.20.10 – THINKDENTON.com mentioned in this Dallas News article on “On the Town: Denton Square”

– 08.18.10 – THINKDENTON.com listed as “Best Website” by NT Daily’s Best of Denton 2010

– 06.03.10 – Drink and Think the focus of this NT Daily article – “Local Couple Strive to Help People Think Denton”

– 04.24.10 – Andy Odom covers the Will Johnson and Anders Parker house show for MyDentonMusic.com

– 04.11.10 – Sara Button interviews Kevin Roden in an article for Today in Denton

– 04.09.10 – Denton Record-Chronicle coverage of THINKDENTON City Council Forum

– 04.08.10 – THINKDENTON’s City Council Candidate Forum mentioned in NBC-DFW

– 03.27.10 – Andy Odom interviews Kevin Roden in an article for MyDentonMusic.com

– 03.12.10 – NX35 panel on The Future of the Arts, with panelist Kevin Roden featured in the Denton Record Chronicle, KERA Art and Seek Blog, and the Dallas Observer

– 03.11.10 – Drink and Think the subject of the NX35 blog in the Denton Record Chronicle

Today’s editorial in the Denton Record-Chronicle lamented the turn-out of Saturday’s city council election.  Citing only the city-wide turn-out, the editorialist failed to recognize a positive trend emerging out of the District 1 voter stats.  We do not yet know specific voter demographic data from those who came out to vote on election day, but there are hopeful signs from an analysis of the early voting stats of that one district.

A clue for this should have come from the fact that the District 1 early voter numbers surpassed the total number of votes from the 2009 District 1 city council race.  Look at the voter turn-out for the last 4 city council races where the District 1 seat was on the ballot:

At least in District 1, this election served to increase citizen participation in the process – turning around a six year trend in the opposite direction.  And check out these other impressive stats from District 1:

— Many first time voters. 40% of the early voters have no previous record of voting in Denton city elections.  In other words, almost half of the early voters in District 1 were energized to get involved in local government for the first time this year.

— The average voting age dropped dramatically. Previously, the average voter age for District 1 city elections was 61.  The average voting age of District 1 early voters this year was 51 – a ten year drop.  In fact, voters under the age of 40 accounted for 104 of the 254 early voters.

— And they weren’t college kids. Already a local critic has charged the Roden campaign with simply rallying up a bunch of college students for support.  Not that getting university students involved in the process is a bad thing, but this criticism was most likely hoping to diminish any important meaning of this turn-out shift.  Truth be told, only five early voters for this race were under the age of 23.  (This critic based his claim on the seemingly high percentage of apartment dwellers among the early voting crowd, because “only college students live in apartments.”  In fact, only 52 out of the 254 early voters, or 20%, live in apartments.  And the average age of these apartment dwellers?  41 years old.)

These trends are encouraging.  Let’s all work to continue this improvement and to increase involvement beyond the ballot box!

Texas Women’s University is moving forward with an aggressive expansion plan that aims at slowly, but surely dismantling an entire historic neighborhood to the West of the university and taking out a large portion of another to the East.  Despite the fact that recent university budget shortfalls combined with a lag in state money has forced the TWU administration to cut back in a number of key areas (including teacher pay), the current administration has found a way to “fairly recently” acquire at least 36 properties, according to Dr. Brenda Floyd, Vice President for Finance and Administration.  At least 13 of these properties are scheduled for demolition this summer.

The above sign can be found in front of one such house on College Street – a charming, one of a kind, early 20th century cottage that sits on a gorgeous lot of large trees.  After discovering this plan, I offered to move the house at no cost to the university to another lot I own in town.  I was told by Floyd that state law prohibited the school from “giving away” such property.  I then offered to buy it and then move it, but was denied.  With the average demolition costs of these properties rumored to be around $25,000 per house, you would think that this cash-strapped administration would jump at the chance to save money and their reputation with the community at the same time.

The fate of this house is just the beginning.  TWU is aiming to acquire every single property in this neighborhood bounded by Texas Street to the South, Mingo to the East, Bell to the West, and TWU land to the North.  This neighborhood, filled with historic properties of all styles, was once a favorite of college professors and distinguished local professionals.  The TWU administration also has plans to acquire the entire East side of Austin Street, North of Sawyer Street.  And according to the following TWU expansion map, they have already purchased a property on the West side of Austin Street, indicating an interest in moving all the way to Locust with their “local community improvement” project.  Here’s the map (the blue area indicates expansion areas – properties in pink are already owned by TWU):

What is most shocking about this plan of TWU’s to “improve their local community” is what they hope to do with the area.  “We have no plans in place on how we intend to use this property,” stated Dr. Floyd.  Growth for the sake of growth is the trend among today’s public higher education institutions.  It is worth reflecting on what educational and civic lessons are being taught to the students who will soon be witnessing this neighborhood destruction, all in the name of this most unreflected upon principle.

From a city perspective, the timing couldn’t be worse.  Denton’s core neighborhoods, most of which are nearing century-old status, are experiencing a renaissance.  The flight to the suburbs combined with the clear market for student housing resulted in these neighborhoods being seen as investment opportunities, not places where local citizens actually lived.  Today a new generation is starting to grow roots in town that rejects the aesthetics and values of suburban existence.  They prefer to live among economic and ethnic diversity.  They prefer to live where they can walk to employment, recreation, and commercial opportunities.  They prefer to live in a place marked by soul and character.  They long for the return of community.  In short, they are coming back to the core of the city.  The emergence of the town square as a cultural, commercial, and community center is no doubt playing a part in the revitalization of these neighborhoods (most of which are in walking distance).  Those who are paying attention are seeing many previously dilapidated and ignored homes being bought and restored to their former glory.  At a time when the city should be cherishing these neighborhood treasures, our local leaders are sitting by allowing this to happen.  As I have maintained on several occasions, the city has yet to learn the lesson of the demise of historic Fry Street.  Many of our most precious historic resources continue to exist with little to no preservation protection.

Perhaps it is a good time to remind everyone of the goals set forth in the Denton Plan concerning neighborhoods.  On page 37, regarding existing residential land use, the Plan states:

The plan recommends that existing neighborhoods within the city be vigorously protected and preserved.

The chapter on Historic Preservation goes so far as to recommend the Austin-Locust Street area for consideration as a registered Historic Conservation District.  And these are the guiding policies that are supposed to be in place:

The unique and distinctive cultural, historic, and architectural features of Denton should be identified, restored, preserved, and maintained… (p.95)

Existing neighborhoods should be protected and preserved. (p.95)

Protect individual sites or aspects of areas identified as being of historical significance. (p.95)

It is worth reviewing what work has been done by our city to protect this area in accordance with these policies.  It might be a good time to ask them.  Below are folks you might be interested in contacting about this precious part of town:

– Contact your city council person

– Contact Ann Stuart, President and Chancellor of TWU

]]> http://thinkdenton.com/2011/05/twu-plans-to-improve-our-local-community-by-destroying-historic-neighborhoods/feed/ 5 http://thinkdenton.com/2011/04/update-on-controversial-dcta-tower-why-se-denton-deserves-much-better/ http://thinkdenton.com/2011/04/update-on-controversial-dcta-tower-why-se-denton-deserves-much-better/#comments Wed, 06 Apr 2011 16:44:14 +0000 kevin http://thinkdenton.com/?p=1204 04.06.11 – Kevin Roden

This article was originally posted on my City Council campaign website.

The Denton City Council tonight voted to approve a controversial DCTA communications tower set to be built just off Teasley Lane in the SE Denton neighborhood.  The vote passed by a margin of 6 to 1 with District 1 council person Charlye Heggins voting against it.  At issue was the approval of a Special Use Permit allowing the construction of a 180 foot tower on DCTA property.  Prior to approval, the council attached three conditions to the permit including: 1) landscape screening surrounding the tower, 2) monitoring of possible TV, radio, or cell interference complaints for six months, and 3) only DCTA communication can be used on the tower.  DCTA claimed the site was the best of possible options.  Neighborhood concerns centered on neighborhood aesthetics, electrical interference from communication equipment, health and safety concerns, and placement decisions.

After a lengthy work session discussion with DCTA officials, council members at tonight’s meeting said they felt comfortable that the neighborhood concerns were met with the answers to their questions and the conditions placed on the project.

This entire issue sheds light on the problem of a decision-making process that tends to treat otherwise connected issues in isolation from one another.  Sure, the city council tonight technically addressed some of the concerns raised by the neighborhood critics concerning this tower.  But there is a larger narrative at play with this A-Train issue that runs beneath the surface of this specific neighborhood fight.  The fact is that the SE Denton neighborhood, more than any other Denton neighborhood, has bore the brunt of the issues relating to the upcoming A-Train.  They have had to deal with a rail line suddenly becoming active again.  They have had to deal with the future knowledge that a train would soon be running through their neighborhood.  They have had to deal with the constant construction with its associated road closures for the last couple of years.  They have had to deal with the possible safety issues for their children who might play around the tracks.  And much more…

Add to this the more fundamental subtext of a neighborhood that has a tragic history of being slighted by the city ever since the citizens voted to uproot and forcibly move historic Quakertown to make way for a city park back in the early 1920s.

To be sure, DCTA has made attempts to work with the neighborhood on a variety of issues: investing in previously non-existing infrastructure, insulating a house near the train, working with local schools to provide education to the students, and communicating with neighborhood leaders and businesses on key issues.  But at the end of the day, it is not DCTA’s responsibility to make sure neighborhoods are treated fairly with such a process – that is the job of the city council.

Although attempts have been made throughout the process to ease the burden of the coming train and its associated construction, the impression has been that these attempts are “just enough to get by.”  But a more important question must be addressed by our city council: What has been done to get the SE Denton neighborhood on board with the train?

What has been done to meaningfully sell them on the great possibilities this train can create for their families, neighborhood, and businesses?  All the focus of the potential of the train has been aimed in one direction – away from SE Denton and toward the downtown area.  No doubt, the square area stands to benefit from this, as it should.  But what plans are in place to make sure the neighborhood most impacted by these changes stands to gain considerably from this train?

As the train comes to town, it’s time for District 1 to have an experienced, proactive, and visionary voice sitting on the City Council to make sure their interests are represented.  Given the large sacrifice put upon the SE Denton Neighborhood, here are just some of my ideas of how they should benefit:

• – Every school age child living within a certain proximity to the A-Train tracks should be given a free train pass that is good for the entire summer.  This should be done as a joint partnership between DCTA, the City of Denton, and private donors who can even set-up SE Denton neighborhood outings to help the children learn more about train safety and to sell them on the benefit of the train.
• – DCTA is planning a series of Rail Safety days to introduce the train to the public.  The Denton day, scheduled for May 21, is set to be held at the Med Park station.  No such day is scheduled for the downtown station – the station closest and most available to residents of SE Denton.  This is a mistake.  Either the location should change or an additional day should be scheduled to accommodate the needs of that neighborhood.
• – Through adequate signage and brochures, the city should work with SE Denton businesses to develop a “Discover SE Denton” marketing campaign to direct out-of-town train visitors to the amenities to the East when they pull into the Downtown Transit Station.  This should highlight SE Denton eateries and businesses as well as other historic attractions in this historic neighborhood.
• – The city should fast-track a mobile food cart pilot program aimed at helping SE Denton businesses take advantage of rail traffic.  There are already existing taco stands along McKinney and other local businesses just waiting for the relaxing of regulations that would allow such an option.  The A-Train station is a great place to try out such a program and the SE Denton businesses should be given special consideration.
• – and let’s keep brainstorming…

The train is coming – let’s make sure it is a good thing for ALL of our residents.  Justice requires as much.

Avoiding presumption, I restrain myself from attempting to capture “THE” meaning of 35 Conferette.  Various meanings have been explored and will continue to as we reflect on this event.  Last year around this time, I suggested that the a meaning of the Conferette was found in its display of a lost civic virtue: magnanimity.  It’s precisely that attempt at greatness that local thinker/writer/musician Dave Sims claimed was at the heart of the Denton music scene when he was interviewed for the now famous New York Times article about Denton.

“There’s this combination of artistic fervor and small town naïveté.  Artists here don’t know they’re not supposed to be Bob Dylan so when they start a band, they shoot for the moon.”

Denton’s own cultural economist, Michael Seman, makes the case that the Conferette has meaning in terms of its contributions to our local economy and emerging workforce.  He speaks to these things and more in recent interviews to the Dallas Observer and the Denton Record-Chronicle.

Yet, another narrative flows silently under the surface, still waiting to be recognized and understood.  Consider 35 Conferette’s founder and Creative Director Chris Flemmon’s insistence on a downtown festival.  Before crowd size and logistical concerns moved the Midlake and Flaming Lips showcase a mile away to the North Texas Fairgrounds, last year’s vision insisted on this as well.  This vision for an urban-centric Conferette has been questioned from all corners…

Why not keep everything out at the Fairgrounds, where there is more parking and more room for people to roam around?

Why not do it at Civic Center Park where we host all the other outdoor festivals in town? – that’s what that area is there for…

There are too many complexities with doing it on the square – what are we supposed to do about traffic? about parking? about the businesses?

There is meaning to be found behind 35 Conferette when one begins to see that Flemmon’s vision includes a debate with the very assumptions underlying those questions.  It is about a competing vision for the city.  In fact, one might say that these questions assume a vision for the city that is historically anti-city.  This requires a brief explanation…

Post-World War II America saw the rise in a new philosophy of city planning that resulted in a flight away from the city and into newly created cookie-cutter neighborhoods and the emergence of suburbia.  Still wanting to make use of the cities for employment and commerce, imposing highways systems were created in an attempt to make suburban life more doable.  Fragmentation resulted on two fronts.  First, the old cities became fragmented from themselves as roads were built with only the connection to the outside suburbs in mind.  Inner cities communities were literally cut off from one another by ominous freeways.  Second, a new fragmented understanding of human living came about as we began to prefer dividing the various functions of civic life and place into separate neatly-packaged areas.  Zoning laws were adopted that kept living areas separate from working areas, areas of commerce separate from areas of festivity – everything in its right place.

Denton still bears the scars of this way of civic thinking in the form of University Drive and Loop 288.  The diseased condition of the latter is not yet realized precisely because the market choices and brick selections happen to coincide with fashionable trends in commerce and building aesthetics.  Areas of town designed for one thing only – when you are there, you’re only value is as a consumer.  When the stores are closed, there is nothing left for humans and your identity is lost.  “Quick, get that store  open 24 hours!”

Those who question the urban-centric vision of 35 Conferette continue to think this way.  “There is a place for things like humans coming together in festivity – in fact, we’ve created one and this is not it.” But what must be understood is this: the hearts of the younger generations are turning back to the city.  35 Conferette’s insistence on its location is but an expression of this desire to heal what has been previously torn apart.

Lazy thinkers will chalk this all up to a generational shift in aesthetic preferences.  This is lazy precisely because if the whole issue boils down to a question of aesthetics no further understanding of either side’s claims or criticisms ought to be taken too seriously.  There are, however, serious questions of humanity at stake.  The purpose of the city is fundamentally to foster human life.  If how we have set up our surrounding has had the effect of further fragmenting both individuals and communities, then something needs to be reexamined.

And who better than the artists and musicians of our community to first raise these important questions?  Perhaps right here in Denton, the role and purpose of art and the artist in modern life is being (re)discovered – to put our city, and thus us humans, back together again.

In the interest of full disclosure, this website is run by Kevin Roden.

With only a few days before the filing deadline for the May 14 Denton City Council elections, the race to see who will replace three-term veteran Charlye Heggins for her District 1 seat just got a bit wider.  There are now four candidates for the position – Eli Gemini (a local commentator), Damon Bullock (a TWU grad student), Gerard Hudspeth (an account executive for an Irving legal support company), and Kevin Roden (educator and Chair of the Historic Landmark Commission).

Hudspeth ran against Heggins during the 2007 campaign in which Heggins won.  Hudspeth garned 119 votes to Heggins’ 214.

This is Roden’s first attempt at elected office, though he is no stranger to the Denton political scene.  Roden was appointed by Councilwoman Heggins to serve on the city’s 2009 City Charter committee charged with reviewing the term limit language.  Soon after, he was appointed by then-Councilman Joe Mulroy to serve on the city’s Historic Landmark Commission.  After a year of service on the Commission, Roden was elected to serve as the Chair person by the other members of the Commission.

Roden founded THINKDENTON.com in March of 2010 in order to serve as a spot to highlight and comment on interesting news, ideas, reflections, and happenings around Denton.  The website also serves the dual purpose of promoting the popular Drink and Think series of community discussions which are hosted at the historic Roden home on Texas Street and have been attended by thousands of locals over the last ten years.  During the 2010 City Council race, THINKDENTON.com provided the community with some of the most up-to-date coverage and commentary of the candidates and the race.  Attempting new ways to draw a younger demographic into the political discussion, Roden met with each of the candidates for a very lo-fi videotaped interview in his third floor library and called it, “Interviews in the Attic.”

The website quickly became an avenue for community advocacy when in the summer of 2010, Roden broke the news that the Denton County Transportation Authority made plans to do away with earlier-promised evening and weekend rail service for the upcoming A-Train.  The coverage he provided through THINKDENTON.com served as a catalyst for swift and constant community pressure.  After months of debate and controversy, the DCTA Board finally agreed to additional rail service last Fall, including later Friday evening and all day Saturday.

It is through his constant engagement with the Denton community where Roden has learned the best part of Denton – her citizens. Read more about Kevin Roden’s campaign by visiting his website at http://rodenfordenton.com and by following him on Twitter @KevinRoden

The race for the four Denton City Council district seats began recently in preparation for the May 14 city elections.  Denton staggers its elections so that the three at-large seats (Places 5, 6, and 7) take place in opposite years.  This year only the district-specific seats are on the ballot.  If you don’t know which district you are in, go here now and rectify that situation.

Three out of the four district seats are held by incumbents who plan on seeking reelection this year.  District 2 council member Dalton Gregory and District 3 council member Jim Engelbrecht are both finishing up their first term in office.  District 4 council member Chris Watts is currently seeking his second term.  District 1 council member Charlye Heggins is completing her third and final term (the charter specifies term limits after three consecutive terms in one particular council seat).

Although potential candidates still have until March 14 to file for a place on the ballot, here’s an early snapshot of how these races are beginning to take shape:

DISTRICT 1
The inability of Heggins to run again leaves this the only council seat wide open for the taking, yet no one of significant stature has yet to emerge.  Eliborio Beltran, aka “Eli Gemini” announced his intent to run for the seat well ahead of the February 14 start date for filing.  Gemini ran an unsuccessful campaign last Spring against Mayor Pro Tem Pete Kamp for the At-Large Place 5 position.  He continues his claim that deep-rooted corruption lies at the foundation of our city and county governments and agencies.  You can follow his strange rants and conspiracy theories here on his website.

A graduate student studying Sociology at TWU has also thrown his hat into the District 1 ring.  Damon Bullock, who until recently has not registered to vote in the city of Denton and who has no voting track record in past city elections, is hoping to follow in Heggins’ footsteps.  Not much is known about Bullock other than his hometown appears to be in Little Rock, AK.

Although District 1 is home to some of Denton’s finest amenities – the Courthouse Square, the downtown A-Train station, the bulk of retail area (including the mall) along Loop 288, an emerging cultural district, TWU, and many wonderful neighborhoods including Southeast Denton, Township II, the Austin Street area, and the TWU neighborhoods – this voting segment has struggled with low voter turnout in the last several city elections (averaging about 250 voters each time).  Without a strong leader in this spot, District 1 will always be under the control of people who don’t live there and only see this part of town as either a place to visit or a place to buy up rental properties.

DISTRICT 2
Former DentonISD elementary principal Dalton Gregory is hoping to retain his seat for a second term.  Gregory has emerged as a key advocate for livability issues in Denton.  You will frequently find him biking around town and he even embarrassed a few Downtown Implementation Plan consultants this summer when he took to measuring streets himself to point out that some of their bike route recommendations were impossible to implement.  His only challenger thus far is Zorobabel Gomez, Jr., a NCTC student who only graduated from high school less than a year ago (according to his Facebook campaign site).

DISTRICT 3
Jim Engelbrecht is not yet facing a challenger to unseat him after his first term in office.  Sources from some neighborhoods in this district indicate that he is favorably viewed by his constituents, but some are still concerned about his vote to allow natural gas drilling to commence on the Rayzor Ranch property, right next to a city park and well-established neighborhood to the East of Bonnie Brae.  It is unclear why Engelbrecht didn’t get the promise of political cover from his fellow council members in order to allow him to vote against that unpopular drilling permit that energized many in that neighborhood.  No word yet on whether Engelbrecht’s 2009 opponent and 2010 Place 6 candidate Hatice Salih will mount a challenge for this seat.  Last Spring, when Salih ran for the At-Large seat against three others, she was the clear winner among the voters in District 3, beating out the actual overall winner, James King, by nearly 4% of the vote.

DISTRICT 4
Attorney Chris Watts is attempting to secure a third term in office to represent our city’s largest district.  Watts has earned the reputation of being the council’s most prolific question-asker during council meetings.  He is also emerging as an alternative voice to the often unanimous decisions of the other council members.  Recently, Watts was the sole vote against the TIF plan for the downtown area, he was the sole vote against the 35 Conferette proposal to block traffic access in parts of downtown, and he successfully steered a recent West Oak development project away from a vote of approval after being the sole council member to call out the developer for his unneighborly ways.

Former UNT Student Government Association representative Derrick Murray is taking on Watts and takes issue with these voting anomalies on his campaign website.  Murray currently serves Denton as the Chair of the Denton Parks, Recreation, and Beautification Advisory Board and is President of the Denton Chapter of the UNT Alumni Association.  Perhaps it is this latter connection which may run him into some early trouble in his district.  A point on his website seems to criticize Watts for his opposition to a proposed student housing project near the new UNT football stadium.  Murray would do well to take note that the Denia neighborhood mounting this opposition is a rather large and loud voting block in his own District 4.  So far, Murray has only 11 “likes” on his campaign’s Facebook page after having it up for nearly a week.  He’ll need more than that to mount a serious campaign to grab the attention of the nearly 1300 District 4 voters who turned out in last Spring’s city council elections.

STAY TUNED FOR MORE COVERAGE… In the meantime, go here to make sure you are registered to vote in the city of Denton.