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Edited by Mrph1 on Nov 30th 2023 at 11:03:59 AM
Corpus Christi, Texas mayor Dan McQueen resigned over Facebook only 37 days into his tenure.
Mayor Dan McQueen – who many residents had hoped would be the change agent they desired – abruptly submitted his resignation for one of the city’s highest-profile political seats Wednesday afternoon.
“Consider this my resignation. I resign immediately,” he wrote in the Facebook post. “The city can no longer deal with such differing views and divisiveness. I step down from my position as Mayor, in order to allow the council and city to regain focus on success.”
The resignation was later formally submitted to the city secretary.
The move came on the heels of questions about his stated educational background, his chief of staff hire and a series of Facebook posts that took aim at fellow council members, city staff and the local media.
His resignation may have been for the best, said City Councilwoman Carolyn Vaughn, who is currently mayor pro-tem.
“It’s for the better of the city that he did that,” she said. “I believe it’s the best for the city that we move on. You can’t come back from something like that when you criticize the staff, the media and the city.
“You can’t lead like that,” she added. “I know I wasn’t going to follow.”
In the aftermath of the resignation, council members called for unity and called for a refocus on city business.
Mc Queen was a relative unknown when he was one of three candidates who ran against Nelda Martinez in 2014. He picked up only 13.66 percent of votes.
His second run was dramatically different.
In November, Mc Queen – the lone opponent to Martinez – claimed overwhelming victory, sweeping 55 percent of the vote amid palpable anti-incumbency and anti-establishment sentiment.
Within 36 hours of taking office Mc Queen and a primarily freshman City Council faced a citywide water ban that earned national attention.
That night, he spoke at a Nueces County Republicans event and talked about his plans for the city in the coming months and years.
Still, his social media remarks were filled with blaming the media for the city’s woes and discounting the abilities of city staff and the police department. One post related to the United Corpus Christi Chamber of Commerce prompted the organization to cancel its long planned State of the City event. Mc Queen, who initially said he wouldn't speak at the chamber event, later said he would work with the chamber.
He missed Tuesday’s council meeting, which featured at least one resident calling for him to resign. Late Tuesday night he posted again on Facebook, saying he was being attacked and that his chief of staff had been victimized by media reports.
His campaign platform had focused strongly on infrastructure fixes and fostering opportunities for technological employment and entrepreneurial opportunities – and he frequently mentioned his education and status as an aerospace engineer.
The Caller-Times has confirmed he earned a master’s degree in computer information systems at Boston University, and a bachelor’s degree in professional aeronautics from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University. He also worked at Sikorsky Aircraft as a senior electrical engineer for nine years, according to a company spokeswoman.
On Mc Queen’s campaign website, he wrote that he also held a bachelor’s degree in engineering, but did not specify the institution where he earned the degree.
The page has been taken down, and Mc Queen has not responded to phone calls and texts from the Caller-Times. Before his resignation Wednesday he said in a pre-recorded interview with KIII-TV 3 he didn't have an engineering degree.
Education again came front and center only hours before he announced his resignation.
In a Facebook post, Mc Queen described the City Council of being “comprised of only High School graduates!”
“But that is not the Story, you should ask WHY? I think the answer is MONEY! Attack the most educated and experience (sic) person on the council, FUNNY!”
The statement was inaccurate. Council members have a range of education, from high school diplomas to bachelor's and master's degrees.
After his resignation several of Mc Queen's recent Facebook posts were deleted and his account was later deactivated for the second time this week.
Because there is more than a year left in his term, there will be a special election to fill the position.
Former City Councilman Chad Magill is among those who have expressed interest in running for the seat.
“My wife and I had a heart-to-heart conversation, so we’re all in,” Magill said. “It’s unfortunate that our city is in a situation like this, but now is a time for good people who care about our city to step up and do what we can to help our city move forward.”
The status of Mc Queen's chief of staff is still unclear.
Shari Douglas – whom Mc Queen announced Monday was resigning – has withdrawn her intention to resign, city officials said.
Douglas, who served as Mc Queen's campaign treasurer, called the city’s human resources department sometime Wednesday to notify city officials of her intent to continue working in the mayoral chief of staff role, City Spokeswoman Kim Womack said.
It was not immediately known if that call occurred before or after Mc Queen’s resignation.
The chief of staff position pays about $60,000 annually, and is filled by appointment by the mayor. If a new mayor or interim mayor opts to appoint a different chief of staff, Douglas would then be offered the chance to apply for another position in the city, if qualified, Womack said.
Public records show Douglas and Mc Queen have shared the same home address. Mc Queen said in the TV interview they were longtime friends.
The relationship led to questions over her qualifications for the position, and if her hiring violated city ethics.
The position requires five years of experience and a bachelor’s degree, and Douglas meets both standards.
Without knowing the extent of Mc Queen and Douglas’ personal relationship, it is impossible to determine if any city ethics rules were violated because merely sharing a living space does not qualify as a violation on its own, city officials confirmed.
The mayor's resignation has had an effect on the community because they "looked to the mayor as our leader," said City Councilman Ben Molina.
"I think that the city and the council, we need strong leadership," he said. "So that's what we were expecting.
edited 19th Jan '17 9:48:42 PM by tclittle
"We're all paper, we're all scissors, we're all fightin' with our mirrors, scared we'll never find somebody to love."Rick Perry now claims to regret calling for the abolishment of the Department of Energy
.
Well, Rick Perry having a deer-in-the-headlights look about the Department of Energy is good... That means he's sane, which is more than one can say about most Trump appointees. The worst possible choice for the department that houses the Big Red Button would have been someone with an itchy trigger finger.
Wizard Needs Food BadlyGeorge Soros reckons that Trump's incoherent trade policy will ultimately crush the market's dreams
. Well, it's not like he was going to be able to build a bridge with Trump voters anyway.
Part of me is wondering if I would be doing what he does if I had similar amounts of disposable income. (((Globalist))) detected! Krieger22 exposed! [NEARLY DIED]
I have disagreed with her a lot, but comparing her to republicans and propagandists of dictatorships is really low. - An idiot![]()
Yeah. And at least he actually seems to be learning, and is willing to admit when he is wrong, as seen in the previous page. He might turn out to be the Token Good Teammate of the Trump Administration.
edited 20th Jan '17 1:36:42 AM by Bat178
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So to sum up Soros' opinion: Trump and May are morons who are going to fuck up their countries' economies. TBH, one hardly needs to be a billionnaire hedge-fund manager to figure that out.
Or at least the Only Sane Man.
edited 20th Jan '17 1:48:54 AM by M84
Disgusted, but not surprised
Eh, that never stopped that one Challenger 2 fanboy who decided to double down on how wrong he was by spontaneously claiming that May was going to be the next Merkel...
edited 20th Jan '17 1:55:17 AM by Krieger22
I have disagreed with her a lot, but comparing her to republicans and propagandists of dictatorships is really low. - An idiotI mean, he can't. Most of Assange's crimes (including sexual assault) were committed in Sweden. He can't pardon him for those.
He could refuse to extradite him, and that would be totally in character for the moldy turnip. But that involves pissing off the Swedes.
Pissing off the Swedes is unwise, to say the least.
Still not embarrassing enough to stan billionaires or tech companies.
I know that Trump can't technically pardon Assange for the crimes Sweden wants to charge Assange with. But I'm not 100% sure Assange knows that. He's pretty fixated on the USA.
Granted, all of this is probably just more of Assange's egotistical "look at me, look at me, I'm so special and threatening and manly and virile and powerful dammit look at me!" bullshit.
edited 20th Jan '17 2:55:09 AM by M84
Disgusted, but not surprised![]()
Because it's not like Trump has any history of doing things that could be considered unwise.
We're talking about the man who seems to be deliberately antagonizing China in the worst way possible. To the point where their state-run media is directly threatening military conflict, and their government is making nuclear threats against Taiwan.
edited 20th Jan '17 2:55:16 AM by RBluefish
"We'll take the next chance, and the next, until we win, or the chances are spent."If relations with China somehow remain stable after Trump's time in office, I for one would be happy to chip in for an appreciative fruit basket or something to Xi Jinping. And I don't like Xi Jinping.
Concerning Taiwan: Sometimes I think Mainland China's relationship with Taiwan is like that of a jilted Yandere Psycho Ex-Girlfriend.
China: "You belong to me, Taiwan! You'll remember how good we were together and come back someday. But I swear, if you fall in the arms of that Lady Liberty tramp..."
Taiwan: "C'mon, China. We weren't right for each other then. Maybe that'll change someday, but I'm just not ready to commit."
USA: "C'mon, Taiwan baby. You know you wanna split up for good from China. I've got a sweet TPP here for ya, and I promise I'll sign it if you agree..."
Hong Kong: "Hey, I wanna split too! I've got elections and everything!"
China: "Uh huh, sure, that's cute. Whatever you say, Hong Kong." <yanks hard on Hong Kong's leash>
edited 20th Jan '17 3:04:22 AM by M84
Disgusted, but not surprisedThe scary thing is, a war with China could be very good for Trump. Calamitous for everybody else, but good for him. Manufacturing a conflict and giving your supporters a bad guy to root against is a great way to boost your approval ratings, because suddenly "oh shit, the Chinese are coming! Save us, King Trump!" Look at Dubya.
The Chinese are being turned into a convenient bugbear, the only individual nation capable of posing a serious (existential) threat to us, one that allows him to tap into racist Yellow Peril mentality to boot.
And that's just from the GOP's perspective - Russia would love to break us and China up. It would throw the whole world into chaos and free them up to make all sorts of power grabs in Central Asia. Hell, for all we know they're the whole reason we're antagonizing China so much. (Never mind the fact that we need their help to keep North Korea in check.)
If we get through the next four years without going to war with China, I will be very happy. But all of the signs are pointing that way.
"We'll take the next chance, and the next, until we win, or the chances are spent."
To say nothing of how badly that would screw up the global economy. The US coal workers who voted for Trump had better hope Trump doesn't screw up the USA's relationship with the biggest customer of US coal (China).
Trump himself would have to find a new source of steel too. It's not like he's going to buy more American steel, after all.
edited 20th Jan '17 3:11:01 AM by M84
Disgusted, but not surprisedA war with China would not go well, it would be a potentially cataclysmic crisis. And autocrats thrive on crisis. When people get angry and scared, they give up their rights faster than you would believe.
If everything remains stable for the next four years, we might not slip into full-blown authoritarianism. But is "stable" a word you would ever associate with Trump? Or with global politics?
Oh, and speaking of cataclysmic crisis - a thread on Trump and nukes.
Or rather, a thread on why Trump is almost certainly going to use nukes, and no one will be able to stop him.
Actually, there is a stop to Trump there ... other Senate confirmed appointees. If memory serves, for the US to start a nuclear attack, it needs to be signed by two people, the president and at least one other official that has to be confirmed by the Senate (say, the Secretary of Defense).
Responding to a nuclear attack can be done by many people.
"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard FeynmanMajor Fake News Operation Tracked Back to Republican Operative
No, really? I'm surprised the Grand Old Party would stoop to such low tactics.
1 2 We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be. -KV

And putin uses the cool tactic of surrounding himself with insane idiots so he would appear moderate in comparison.