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There's still is a status-quo group at City Hall who likes things done the old way, behind closed doors.

It's wasteful spending like this that not only forces tax increases and cuts in vital services... but also really make you wonder: who is City Hall looking out for?

From day one, my focus as a new-breed appropriator was to look for areas where we could save taxpayer dollars.

And we did it because it's time for City Hall to stop looking out for City Hall and start looking out for the people like you and me who are footing the bill.

I think they got caught up in how much money they could get from each of the city governments as far as tax rebates. But that stuff works when you make money. It's a little bit phantom money.

In the year since we brought things into the open with a clean breath of fresh air at City Hall, we have learned about corrupt spending practices and unethical conflicts of interest that waste your money... and keep Dallas from being the great city of our dreams.

Now it's time to focus on basics for people in our neighborhoods... and real ethics reform at City Hall.

Since FDR's New Deal, corporations and wealthy families have been non-stop finding new ways to get tax breaks, deregulation and entitlements from the government.

I think there's been a decline in the public's access to what's being done with their tax dollars, what's being done in their name. I hope that that will be repaired.

Now on a personal level with things like the California Tax Commission... I really think if people started banding together and saying no to this it could snowball and that could really help.