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Former bond committee chair accuses mayor of misrepresenting bridge’s origin at Forney open house
Summary
At the council’s public-comment period, former bond committee chair Nate Detmer said Mayor Robeson falsely claimed the 2021 bond committee recommended the bridge project and accused the mayor of misleading the public.
During the meeting’s public-comment period, Nate Detmer, who said he served as chairman of the 2021 bond committee, accused Mayor Robeson of misrepresenting how the bridge project was added to a roads bond package. Detmer said the bond committee had recommended only three road projects and that the bridge was not part of the committee’s recommendation.
Detmer told the council: "Mayor Robeson, you continue to use the word transparency. But Thursday night at the bridge proposal open house, it became clear that transparency means something very different to you than it does to the citizens of Forney. At that meeting you misrepresented the facts by falsely claiming that the 2021 bond committee recommended the bridge project as part of the roads bond package." He said he publicly corrected the mayor at the open house and that the mayor "doubled down repeating the false claim insinuating that I was lying."
Detmer summarized what he said were verifiable facts: he said the bond committee’s final recommendations, presented on Dec. 7, 2021, included three road projects and did not include a bridge; that the bridge idea first appeared in a Jan. 26, 2022 council meeting; and that on July 12, 2022, staff noted two council members had been advocating for the bridge before a motion — which Detmer said Councilman James Traylor made and Councilwoman Sarah Salgado seconded — added the bridge to Proposition E and the council approved it 7-0.
Detmer asked the council whether members were comfortable allowing the mayor to "spread misinformation while misrepresenting your own actions and votes," and called for "real transparency, real accountability, and real leadership." He added that Mayor Robeson privately approached and apologized to him before the meeting and that he appreciated the apology but still stood by his public statements.
The council did not take action in response to the comment during the meeting; the remarks were made during the allotted public-comment time and were not on the agenda.
