Sagging Pants and First Class Flights: The Priorities of Mayor Moncrief

One would assume that a mayor of a city would have a lot of responsibilities that he would have to address on a daily basis, especially if you are the mayor of as large of city as (let’s say) Forth Worth. One would think that there are important issues a mayor would take priority in addressing, but would you ever imagine that one of those issues would be the fashion trend of baggy pants among our youth?

According to a Dallas Morning News article released on Tuesday Fort Worth Mayor Mike Moncrief has taken it upon himself to fight the growing problem of our youth wearing sagging baggy pants. In fact, Mr. Moncrief is apparently making the "Pull ‘Em Up" campaign a top priority. Not the city’s budget, not crime, but baggy pants! At the same time Mayor Moncrief is flying first class to the United Arab Emirates at your expense. I think the proper question to ask is: How much free time does Mike Moncrief believe he has at the expense of taxpayer money?

According to the Dallas Morning News Mr. Moncrief is spending a lot of time and energy on his campaign to try and get Texas youth to change their fashion style of baggy pants that sink down below the waist. The Mayor of Forth Worth has petitioned the county, the city school district, and the Forth Worth Transportation Authority to put up bumper stickers, posters, and other advertisements to try to persuade young people not to wear sagging pants. The report released by the Dallas Morning News stated that this campaign hopes to reach out to youth-focused businesses like Six Flags and in the future the Ridgmar Mall. While the campaign is reported to be financed by private donors taxpayer money is still being affected. The Mayor and City Council of Forth Worth should be focused on addressing the needs of the taxpayers who put their hard earned money into paying their salaries. I find it hard to believe that sagging pants would be a chief concern among Forth Worth taxpayers.

While the "Pull ‘Em Up" campaign is privately funded a first class trip to Dubai by Mayor Moncrief was not. In fact, according to a CBS 11 news report you paid for Mr. Moncrief and an unarmed bodyguard to fly to Dubai first class to a resort destination. According to the report $18,000 was spent total on the fifteen hour flight to Dubai with an additional $6,000 that you paid for the mayor and his bodyguard to stay at five star hotels. It is getting harder and harder with the rise in oil prices as well as other factors for the average American to afford to travel, but these factors don’t seem to stop members of the board of directors of DFW International Airport who have no problem flying on your dime. The funny thing about the whole situation is that Moncrief flew first class while his bodyguard flew in business. The bodyguard was not even in sight of the Mayor during the flight so he would have been unable to provide Moncrief any protection.

I am sure that the taxpayers of Forth Worth are trilled to know that while their needs are not properly being met by the City of Forth Worth their mayor is willing to spend their money on what should only be described as a vacation