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Monday, May 11, 2009
Posted on Sun, May. 10, 2009
Candidates in Fort Worth council runoff narrow focus

By MIKE LEE
mikelee@star-telegram.com
FORT WORTH — The last two candidates in the race for District 3 on the City Council started their runoff by trading barbs, and promised more to come.
Eric Fox and W.B. "Zim" Zimmerman finished first and second respectively among the seven people running to replace the late Chuck Silcox. Neither one received 50 percent of the vote, so a runoff will be held June 13.
The City Council post pays $25,000 a year and represents west and southwest Fort Worth. Both candidates said the runoff will allow voters to get a better look at their positive and negative sides.
"I think it comes down to, Eric has a full-time job," Zimmerman said. "You cannot serve two masters. What makes it worse is the kind of job he’s got."
Zimmerman, who is retired but still works as a consultant, said he has more time to commit to the job.
Fox is the in-house lobbyist for defense contractor Lockheed Martin. Before announcing his campaign, he signed an agreement with Lockheed stipulating what he can and can’t do if elected.
Zimmerman said Fox would have to recuse himself from major votes, such as the proposed dredging of Lake Worth, because they might affect Lockheed. The Lockheed plant property drains into Lake Worth.
Fox said another Lockheed lobbyist will handle city issues, and he won’t have to recuse himself.
"We anticipate him tearing us down," Fox said. "We’re going to try to stay positive."
Fox said he expects to discuss Zimmerman’s record during the race.
The two candidates differ on the Trinity River Vision. Fox supports the plan, which will spend hundreds of millions of local and federal money to divert the Trinity River and spur new development downtown. Zimmerman questions the plan’s cost, although he has said the idea has merit.
Both candidates are making their first run for office. Fox, 43, grew up in Fort Worth, served as a congressional staff member and worked at the U.S. Department of Transportation before joining Lockheed in 1999.
Zimmerman, 65, grew up in San Antonio and worked for General Dynamics and later Lockheed his entire career.
They were the first to announce their intention to run for the office. Silcox died in October after 17 years on the job, leaving a rare open council seat.
During the general election, the seven candidates tended to move as a pack, appearing night after night at neighborhood meetings. Neither Fox nor Zimmerman was sure how the campaign would proceed during the runoff — no debates or forums had been scheduled as of Sunday.
Brenda Silcox, Chuck Silcox’s widow, was mentioned as a possible candidate for the job, but she stayed out of the race and declined to endorse a candidate. The influential police officers’ and firefighters’ associations have also declined to endorse a candidate.
Brenda Silcox said Sunday that she hasn’t decided whether she’ll endorse anyone in the runoff.

Letters to the Editor - Star-Telegram

Star-Telegram - May 18, 2009

Zim in District 3

We now will have a run-off in the District 3 City Council between Eric Fox and Zim Zimmerman. The Star-Telegram has recommended Fox for this seat. Fox is a full-time employee of Lockheed-Martin, a pseudo career politician, a lobbyist and a Fort Worth native.

Brenda Silcox has endorsed Zimmerman because he is honest, forthright, has no conflicts of interest and will work for the residents of District 3 as well as the city of Fort Worth.

I would encourage all to elect Zimmerman for the District 3 Council seat. I will vote for Zim, just as I did the first time around.

— Kenn Poole, Fort Worth

Star-Telegram - May 6, 2009

Fort Worth City Council election

The Star-Telegram’s recommendation of lobbyist Eric Fox for City Council District 3 was factually incorrect.

There is no comparison between having to sign a letter for Lockheed Martin attorneys requiring you to recuse yourself from various issues and being a retired executive from the same company with

no restrictions, as is Zim Zimmerman.

It appears that the only way you distinguished Fox from the other candidates was to tout his advocacy of a sunset review process that already is in place.
I urge all my fellow residents of District 3 to join me in voting for Zim Zimmerman.
— Julie Miers, Fort Worth

Star-Telegram - May 5, 2009

Fort Worth District 3

Zim Zimmerman is the best choice for Fort Worth City Council District 3 because of his:
1. Experience managing as many as 3,000 employees and delivering multi-million-dollar projects on budget and on time, using a listening style of leadership.
2. Civic involvement with leadership roles on the Fort Worth Board of Adjustment, United Way, March of Dimes, Colonial golf tournament and Ridglea Presbyterian Church.
3. Commitment to spend full time on duty.
4. Independence to work fully for Fort Worth residents without business conflicts.
Others do not have these qualifications.
Having worked with Zim at Lockheed Martin for years and having seen Zim in action at church and at the Colonial, he is clearly the best choice. If Zim wins, Fort Worth and its residents win.
— Steve Hadley, Fort Worth

Star-Telegram - May 4, 2009

Fort Worth City Council election

The proponents of Trinity Uptown would tear down the Jim Wright levees that have protected us since the 1949 flood.
The project is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. It is for economic development, not flood control. The Army Corps of Engineers has stated that any needed flood control modification could be done for only $10 million.
According to the April 27 Voters Guide, every candidate for Fort Worth City Council District 3 except Eric Fox is either skeptical, critical or against the $500 million eminent-domain boondoggle.
Fox says he supports the big-ticket project because it will bring economic development but offers not a word about flood control.
Vote for Zim Zimmerman, but any one of them would do except big-spender Fox.
— Joy Douglass, Edgecliff Village

Star-Telegram - April 29, 2009

Independent voice

I’m supporting Zim Zimmerman for Fort Worth City Council, District 3.

A retired Lockheed executive, Zim has the time to serve.

As shown by the recently filed campaign financial reports, Zim has significant support coming primarily from within District 3 and Fort Worth.

Do we want a city councilman representing us who’s been elected with a large amount of his financial support coming from political action committees in Austin and Washington, D.C., as Eric Fox has? I don’t think so.

Zim listens and will speak his mind. He’s not intimidated by anyone. He’ll be our independent voice. He’s the only candidate with the time and skills to do the job. Join me in voting for Zim for District 3.

— Marsha R. West, Fort Worth

Star-Telegram - April 28, 2009

Conflict of interest

I was astounded when I read the Star-Telegram’s recommendation of Eric Fox for Fort Worth City Council District 3. It saw no conflict of interest, yet his Web site has a list of matters from which Lockheed Martin’s Political Candidacy Review Committee has advised Fox he must recuse himself. This will deny District 3 taxpayers complete representation.
W.B. Zimmerman is retired, has proven leadership as a top Lockheed executive, has the support of a broad section of District 3 voters and no such limiting conflicts of interest.
— Larry E. Branham, Fort Worth

Star-Telegram - April 23, 2009

Zimmerman in District 3

I proudly support my longtime friend Zim Zimmerman for District 3 in southwest Fort Worth.
Zim is a "solid citizen" with years of volunteer leadership to local charities, the Citizens Crime Commission and as Chuck Silcox’s appointee to the Residential Board of Adjustment.
As a retired Lockheed executive, Zim has the time to attend council meetings and workshops and to personally attend neighborhood meetings and community events as the residents of District 3 have come to expect.
Most other candidates are still trying to explain how they will juggle their service with their full-time employment.
Zim has no political ambitions beyond serving the people of District 3.
Zim will provide a strong, experienced and independent voice. The best decisions come from discussion of alternatives and diverse viewpoints. If all council members think the same way, we wouldn’t need nine of them.
— Robert G. "Bob" West, Fort Worth

Star-Telegram - April 22, 2009

Zimmerman for District 3

The downtown powers-that-be have gotten the City Council to give yet another tax abatement, this one to Q-Edge, a subsidiary of Taiwanese conglomerate Foxxconn Electronics. It gets the abatement. We get the tax.

Foxxconn cited Fort Worth’s business climate and location as key factors in the company’s decision. (See: "Q-Edge picks Fort Worth for new plant," April 2) With such magnetic allure, why a tax abatement? Foxxconn says its Q-Edge plant will create 500 jobs. Just how many jobs will be filled by Fort Worth residents? Foxxconn closed its Fullerton, Calif., Q-Edge plant, and 50 employees have already moved here. How many more will come? Not to worry. New bond elections and eminent domain can build wider freeways.

Voters of District 3, the signs are clear. Don’t be fooled! Don’t vote for a Foxxconn-thinking tax abater. Vote for "Zim" Zimmerman. He will take up the flag that Chuck Silcox carried so long and so valiantly.
— Fern Beavers, Fort Worth

Star-Telegram - April 21, 2009

Zimmerman in District 3

It appears the downtown elite, the politicians and the lobbyists have chosen Eric Fox, one of their own, to be the councilman for Fort Worth District 3. I beg to disagree. For 17 years, District 3 was represented by Chuck Silcox, a strong, independent and conservative voice for our district. Can Fox be the same? I think not.

I’m supporting Zim Zimmerman for the council. Zim has leadership experience gained through 35 years at Lockheed, culminating as vice president of product support for the F-111 and F-16 programs. He has been active in the community as president of his neighborhood association, as Chuck’s appointee to the residential board of adjustments and as an elder in his church.

Zim is not in anyone’s pocket. He has no obligations to anyone other than the folks of District 3. Join me in voting for Zim Zimmerman.
— Gene Miers, Fort Worth

Letters to the Editor - Fort Worth Business Press

Fort Worth Business Press - May 18, 2009

Playing the percentage

A fiery horse with the speed of light, a cloud of dust and out of a crowd of candidates with a hearty Hi Yo Silcox!, Zim Zimmerman rides to the rescue! The reason there is a runoff in District 3 is because of the valiant efforts of Gary Hogan, Matt Hudson, Elizabeth Jane McCune, Bill Lawson and James Nuttall. They collectively gained a quarter of the vote in the first election, bringing to a grinding halt the blitz of Eric Fox.

Fox spent four times the amount that Zimmerman and all other candidates together spent. With cash from special interests, he bombarded voters with ten giant four color post cards, calculated to win the Chuck Silcox seat without a run off and tighten the iron curtain that hangs over city hall. 

Despite the cascade of post cards, the voters of  District 3 were not fooled. Crash!  Fox fell ten percentage points short of the coveted 51 percent.  Two of the losing candidates – General Bill Lawson and  Elizabeth Jane McCune -- have rushed to endorse Zim in the run off.  And now Brenda Silcox – sound the trumpets! – has given her enthusiastic endorsement to Zim.

I know the dedicated 24/7 service that Chuck Silcox, always wearing a phone in his ear, gave us in District 3. Retired executive Zim Zimmerman is ready, willing and able to give us such service.  

– Don Woodard, Fort Worth

Fort Worth Business Press - April 27, 2009

Seven for three

When cometh another Chuck Silcox?

But search the land of living men,

Where wilt thou find his like again?

So wrote Sir Walter Scott regarding Lochinvar. All seven City Council District 3 candidates are proclaiming admiration for Chuck Silcox who left us all too soon six months ago. Judging from my own knowledge, I believe six of them are sincere in their elegies today. Which of the six-pack would he anoint in this election? Hard choice, but I think it would be Zim Zimmerman. After all, Zim was Chuck’s appointment to the Residential Board of Adjustment.

In the most beautiful Christmas story ever told, St. Luke writes that “It came to pass in those days that all the world should be taxed.” St. Luke could well be writing in today’s Fort Worth Business Press. That’s why Zim‘s cachet gets my attention: “I will keep my eye on property taxes like an eagle on a varmint.”

District 3 will be proud of Zim Zimmerman. In Zimmerman we will continue to have a councilman who will stand up for the neighborhoods just like Chuck Silcox did. He will not be an automatic pull-my-strings puppet for the Downtown tax abatement crowd or the town lake eminent domain developers and levee levelers. He has no political history with the mayor, other council members, or any other elected local or state officials that might compromise his commitment to making the best decisions for District 3.

I knew Chuck Silcox. I knew him well. With the election of Zim Zimmerman to the council, I believe Chuck would tell the voters of District 3: “You have chosen wisely and well. God speed, Zim Zimmerman!”

– Don Woodard, Fort Worth

Recent Star-Telegram Articles - click on the article to view content

Star-Telegram Article May 9, 2009

Star-Telegram Article May 1, 2009

Star-Telegram Article April 11 2009

Star-Telegram Article April 6 2009

Read what the Political Advisor has to say about Zim in their March issue! He is featured on page 3. Click Here to View the Article