7/29/2019 Dallas DA Official Complaint

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7/29/2019 Dallas DA Official Complaint

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7/29/2019 Dallas DA Official Complaint

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February 6, 2013

Mayor Mike Rawlings

1500 Marilla Street, 5EN

Dallas, TX 75201

Dear Mayor Rawlings,

We are writing to express our serious concerns about a possible violation of the Texas Open

Meetings Act due to the actions of Dallas City Plan Commission Chair Joe Alcantar, who is your

appointee on the Commission.

As you are aware, the City of Dallas Plan Commission is required by law to follow the Texas

Open Meetings Act, meaning that deliberations by the Plan Commission must be in public

except when specifically authorized by state law to be in closed session.

However, three Plan Commission members have independently confirmed that prior to the Plan

Commissions reconsideration of the denial of three gas drilling Specific Use Permits on January10, 2013, Commission Chair Joe Alcantar telephoned most, if not all, members of the Plan

Commission to discuss the merits of the reconsideration of the gas drilling SUPs. We believe this

may constitute a criminal violation of the Open Meetings Act.

According to the Attorney Generals Office Handbook on the Texas Open Meetings Act, it is

prohibited under the Act for members of a governmental body who gather in numbers that do not

physically constitute a quorum at any one time but who, through successive gatherings, secretlydiscuss a public matter with a quorum of that body. This is often called a daisy chain.

In this instance, we believe there is a prima facie case that Mr. Alcantar met (via telephone) withmembers of the Plan Commission in number more than a quorum to discuss public business in

private. Mr. Alcantar individually lobbied more than a quorum of Plan Commission members to

vote for a rare reconsideration of the December 20th

denial of the three gas drilling SUPs whenthe matter came up at the January 10, 2013 Commission meeting.

Due to this possible violation of the Open Meetings Act, we also have doubts about whether the

Plan Commission should proceed with its reconsideration of the gas drilling SUPs on Thursday,February 7th. Likewise, because of the possible violation of the Open Meetings Act, any action

taken by the Plan Commission on this matter may be voided in the future. Further, any actions

taken by the City Council based on the actions of the Plan Commission similarly may be subjectto being voided by a court.

As a result of our concerns, an official complaint, enclosed, has been filed with the DallasCounty District Attorneys Office. We want this matter fully investigated by an objective and

independent third party. We ask that you join us in that call for a full investigation by the District

Attorney. Thank you for your consideration.

Raymond Crawford, Dallas Area Residents for Responsible Drilling

Marc McCord, FracDallas

Jim Schermbeck, Downwinders at RiskZac Trahan, Texas Campaign for the Environment