Top 10 Reasons Harlan Crow WON'T put his Mouth where his Money IS on Hotel Debate

Billionaire Harlan Crow is the money behind a group calling itself Citizens Against the Taxpayer-Owned Hotel.  Just turn on your favorite Dallas/Fort Worth TV station and you'll find a slick anti-hotel PR campaign funded by Crow who ponied up $936,000 to tell the citizens of Dallas why the construction of a Dallas Convention Center Hotel is an "arrogant" move on the part of the hotel supporters.

A million bucks buys some crafty spin, and Mr. Crow has bought himself some big-time BUZZ. His group claims we need "Safe Streets, Not Hotel Suites." If you've received a phone call from the Citizens Against the Taxpayer-Owned Hotel (and I did) you would hear some scary stuff - the project has been decided in secret, building the hotel will affect basic city services, Dallas shouldn't own a hotel because it will hurt other hotels and the City’s occupancy rates can’t support it. Most recently, the group has added Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert is a liar and can't be trusted to the mix.

All of it sounds bad, so much so that Crow & his Citizens group have forced a city charter amendment vote on the hotel on May 9. In all things anti-convention center hotel, Mr. Crow is the Ringmaster, so why isn't he out in front of his money beating the drum on this one?

In his place and leading the charge is one of Mr. Crow's employees, Anne Raymond who claims to be the most qualified individual within the organization to speak on its behalf because she specializes in making real estate investments for Crow Holdings and its partners. During a recent segment of Inside Texas Politicson WFAA Channel 8 Ms. Raymond battled Mayor Leppert in a lively hotel debate. When asked why the bankroll behind the anti-hotel group has failed to appear in person to explain his opposition, Ms. Raymond gave us the answer, almost.

"He’s (Crow) a private businessman. Why should he be accountable to the …?”

Ms. Raymond cut herself off before finishing the thought, but one has to ask - was her Freudian slip about the let loose the word “public?” Perhaps Harlan Crow isn’t out front of this debate because he doesn’t want to answer to the "public" and tackle the tough questions or explain the hard facts. Why?

Consider these Top 10 Reasons Harlan Crow WON'T put his Mouth where his Money IS when it comes to the Dallas Convention Center Hotel debate.

10. Bucks NOT Backers. Spending money on television advertising doesn't mean you have lots of supporters, it just means you have LOTS of money. Writing a big check, especially if you have billions, is easy.

9. The Anatole Hotel. Crow owns it and the 30-year-old Anatole would have to compete with the new convention center hotel for business. "D'oh!"

8. Safe Streets, not Hotel Suites. This is THE BIG LIE.  Building the hotel WILL NOT affect basic city service such as police protection or street repairs be curtailed. Money for the hotel does not come from the General Fund, but from the revenue of the hotel.

7. Transparency. The Dallas City Council has held at least 20 public committee and Council meetings on the hotel project, and lists all the briefings, studies, memos and other crucial documents related to the hotel on its web site. The Dallas Morning News has published more than 100 articles on the hotel. Nothing has been decided in secret, at least not on the Build the Hotel side of the issue.

6.  Support for the Hotel. LOTS of people and organizations are on-board here, including the past five Dallas Mayors, many other Dallas hoteliers (and they all would also compete with the new hotel for business), more than 120 associations and businesses, and thousands of Dallas citizens. Check out the list at http://www.votenodallas.com/

5. Dallas Taxpayers. Although his anti-hotel ad campaign often invokes their interests, Harlan Crow lives in Highland Park and can’t even vote in the May 9 election on the hotel. So who is he really looking out for? Ooops! 

4. Nostalgia. Remember the good old days when just a few wealthy Dallas families made all the BIG decisions around here? Apparently some would like us to return to those thrilling days of yester-year.

3. Accountability. "He’s (Crow) a private businessman. Why should he be accountable to the …?”

2. Arrogance. It takes a special kind of self-importance to think your money will influence voters to make a critical decision on their future based on your personal sense of entitlement. Then again, AIG got away with it. 

1. Real Rich vs. Real World. Last year, Mr. Crow sprinkled more than 1.8 million gallons of water a month across the manicured lawns of his 7.7-acre estate on Preston Road – enough to fill almost three Olympic-size swimming pools - at a cost of $5,859.00 per-month. He owns a Stradivarius violin and collects statues of tyrants, including Mao, Lenin and Castro. And you? 

Wake Up, Dallas. The convention center hotel has been pushed to the side for more than 25 years, losing millions of dollars in convention business for the City and countless job opportuntities for its citizens. Meanwhile, San Antonio, Austin, Houston, Fort Worth, Grapevine and Frisco have seen the light, beat Dallas to the punch with their own convention hotels and are reaping the rewards.

 

Harlan Crow wants us to believe he knows best. This hotel thing is just too risky. It's better to stay status quo and do nothing.

 

But perhaps, Father Knows Best. Trammell Crow, the patriarch of the Crow Family, was lauded by everyone from Fortune, Forbes and the Wall Street Journal as “one of the most innovative developers in history.” He was often quoted as saying, "there's as much risk in doing nothing as in doing something."

 

We would have to agree. On May 9, Dallas, "Say NO to Crow. Vote No on Propostition One.

Billionaire Harlan Crow is the money behind a group calling itself Citizens Against the Taxpayer-Owned Hotel.  Just turn on your favorite Dallas/Fort Worth TV station and you'll find a slick anti-hotel PR campaign funded by Crow who ponied up $936,000 to tell the citizens of Dallas why the construction of a Dallas Convention Center Hotel is an "arrogant" move on the part of the hotel supporters.

A million bucks buys some crafty spin, and Mr. Crow has bought himself some big-time BUZZ. His group claims we need "Safe Streets, Not Hotel Suites." If you've received a phone call from the Citizens Against the Taxpayer-Owned Hotel (and I did) you would hear some scary stuff - the project has been decided in secret, building the hotel will affect basic city services, Dallas shouldn't own a hotel because it will hurt other hotels and the City’s occupancy rates can’t support it. Most recently, the group has added Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert is a liar and can't be trusted to the mix.

All of it sounds bad, so much so that Crow & his Citizens group have forced a city charter amendment vote on the hotel on May 9. In all things anti-convention center hotel, Mr. Crow is the Ringmaster, so why isn't he out in front of his money beating the drum on this one?

In his place and leading the charge is one of Mr. Crow's employees, Anne Raymond who claims to be the most qualified individual within the organization to speak on its behalf because she specializes in making real estate investments for Crow Holdings and its partners. During a recent segment of Inside Texas Politicson WFAA Channel 8 Ms. Raymond battled Mayor Leppert in a lively hotel debate. When asked why the bankroll behind the anti-hotel group has failed to appear in person to explain his opposition, Ms. Raymond gave us the answer, almost.

"He’s (Crow) a private businessman. Why should he be accountable to the …?”

Ms. Raymond cut herself off before finishing the thought, but one has to ask - was her Freudian slip about the let loose the word “public?” Perhaps Harlan Crow isn’t out front of this debate because he doesn’t want to answer to the "public" and tackle the tough questions or explain the hard facts. Why?

Consider these Top 10 Reasons Harlan Crow WON'T put his Mouth where his Money IS when it comes to the Dallas Convention Center Hotel debate.

10. Bucks NOT Backers. Spending money on television advertising doesn't mean you have lots of supporters, it just means you have LOTS of money. Writing a big check, especially if you have billions, is easy.

9. The Anatole Hotel. Crow owns it and the 30-year-old Anatole would have to compete with the new convention center hotel for business. "D'oh!"

8. Safe Streets, not Hotel Suites. This is THE BIG LIE.  Building the hotel WILL NOT affect basic city service such as police protection or street repairs be curtailed. Money for the hotel does not come from the General Fund, but from the revenue of the hotel.

7. Transparency. The Dallas City Council has held at least 20 public committee and Council meetings on the hotel project, and lists all the briefings, studies, memos and other crucial documents related to the hotel on its web site. The Dallas Morning News has published more than 100 articles on the hotel. Nothing has been decided in secret, at least not on the Build the Hotel side of the issue.

6.  Support for the Hotel. LOTS of people and organizations are on-board here, including the past five Dallas Mayors, many other Dallas hoteliers (and they all would also compete with the new hotel for business), more than 120 associations and businesses, and thousands of Dallas citizens. Check out the list at http://www.votenodallas.com/

5. Dallas Taxpayers. Although his anti-hotel ad campaign often invokes their interests, Harlan Crow lives in Highland Park and can’t even vote in the May 9 election on the hotel. So who is he really looking out for? Ooops! 

4. Nostalgia. Remember the good old days when just a few wealthy Dallas families made all the BIG decisions around here? Apparently some would like us to return to those thrilling days of yester-year.

3. Accountability. "He’s (Crow) a private businessman. Why should he be accountable to the …?”

2. Arrogance. It takes a special kind of self-importance to think your money will influence voters to make a critical decision on their future based on your personal sense of entitlement. Then again, AIG got away with it. 

1. Real Rich vs. Real World. Last year, Mr. Crow sprinkled more than 1.8 million gallons of water a month across the manicured lawns of his 7.7-acre estate on Preston Road – enough to fill almost three Olympic-size swimming pools - at a cost of $5,859.00 per-month. He owns a Stradivarius violin and collects statues of tyrants, including Mao, Lenin and Castro. And you? 

Wake Up, Dallas. The convention center hotel has been pushed to the side for more than 25 years, losing millions of dollars in convention business for the City and countless job opportuntities for its citizens. Meanwhile, San Antonio, Austin, Houston, Fort Worth, Grapevine and Frisco have seen the light, beat Dallas to the punch with their own convention hotels and are reaping the rewards.

 

Harlan Crow wants us to believe he knows best. This hotel thing is just too risky. It's better to stay status quo and do nothing.

 

But perhaps, Father Knows Best. Trammell Crow, the patriarch of the Crow Family, was lauded by everyone from Fortune, Forbes and the Wall Street Journal as “one of the most innovative developers in history.” He was often quoted as saying, "there's as much risk in doing nothing as in doing something."

 

We would have to agree. On May 9, Dallas, "Say NO to Crow. Vote No on Propostition One.