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McBee in front of the abandoned Cowtown Inn: 'Where were the funds?'

When the sector residents take their causes to city hall, she said, "We're always told 'We're working on it,' but that's been the answer for too many years now. And our council representative, for whatever reason, is no longer fighting for us."

Wanda Conlin's admirers call her an Eastside institution. The 45-year resident of Meadowbrook laughs at that description. "I've just been around forever," she said. Still, those with whom she has volunteered over the years -- neighborhood activists, civil servants, politicians, historical preservationists, arts patrons -- praise her for living her belief that citizens must play an active role in the civic life of their community. "We are the government," she said. "People forget that sometimes. And we are sovereign."

Peggy Terrell, whose White Lake Neighborhood Association recently voted to join the effort to defeat the bond package, said that Conlin, an officer of the West Meadowbrook Neighborhood Association, will lead whatever fight is needed for the betterment of the neighborhoods that make up the sprawling east sector of the city. Her removal from the zoning commission, she said, "is a slap in the face to all of us." The group's next project, Terrell said, will be to find a replacement for Haskin.

"Wanda is a very respected citizen here," Terrell said.

Conlin is no less respected at city hall. She is known there for her years of volunteer work on behalf of quality-of-life needs such as neighborhood parks and libraries as well as the issues, like flood control and broken streets, that make people's eyes glaze over until their street fills with water and their cars bottom out on potholes.

City Planning Director Fernando Costa said Conlin's greatest impact on the city probably came during the nine years she served as District 4's representative on the city planning commission, including seven years as its chairwoman. She and Costa worked closely for two years, he said, to develop Fort Worth's Comprehensive Plan for development, which is changing the face of the city and already revitalizing some of its most depressed neighborhoods. "Her leadership led to the plan's passage" by the council, Costa said. "She is very effective with people. I was pleased to have worked closely with her and would like to have continued."

For the past year and a half she has been Haskin's appointee on the Zoning Commission. But that was before she publicly came out in opposition to the bond proposal

At the Botanic Gardens pep rally on Jan. 7, reporters hit Haskin with questions about Conlin's e-mail. Minutes later, Haskin was on the phone to Conlin. Haskin told her bluntly, Conlin said, "I want you gone," from the Zoning Commission. Was it anything Conlin had done? "No, your work has been excellent," Haskin reportedly replied. Conlin was simply too negative, she was told.

Haskin dismissed Conlin's criticism of the bond package as an "insignificant" hurdle to its passage when interviewed by Fort Worth Weekly at the rally. She has not responded to subsequent requests for comment on Conlin's removal.

"This is the work of just two people [Conlin and McBee]," Haskin said that day. "They are always against things. They won't hurt this bond package. I fought hard for a lot of the things they wanted," she said, "but there had to be compromises to keep within the budget."

Karen Coan, Moncrief's executive secretary, said the mayor could not talk about the controversy. "He said he hopes you understand why."

Picht was not so shy. "This is a great civics lesson," he said. "Eastside citizens who dare to disagree just found out how much tolerance their council rep has for dissidents, not to mention free speech." He also wondered, he said, "just how much of a chilling effect this will have on other citizens who might now think twice about volunteering for the city."

McCloud, in whose district Conlin now resides after the redistricting last year, would not comment on the impact Haskin's action might have on the vote. "I am friends [of both women]," he said, "and both have been good for Fort Worth." He praised Conlin for her long years of public work. "She's extremely knowledgeable," he said. "I hope we won't lose her experience and commitment."

Driving at dusk along the two-lane Precinct Line Road that runs through the Trinity River bottoms between Randol Mill Road and Trinity Boulevard is a hair-raising adventure. On a recent Friday evening, autos, monster pickups, and SUVs were bumper to bumper for miles in either direction on a road just about wide enough for the farm wagons it was probably built for.

The reason for the traffic is soon obvious. A couple of miles south of Precinct Line's intersection with Trinity, thousands of rooftops rise out of the flood plain on the west side of Precinct Line. The winding road is the only way in or out of the massive development for the folks who live there. There are no access roads to the east, no access to Trinity Boulevard on the north, and south of the development is the Trinity River.

There is also no money in the bond package for drainage or flood control projects in the area or any serious plan to widen Precinct Line Road, Conlin said.

Such planning, Conlin said, is "incredible. Two years ago, the road was underwater for days, she said, following about a week of heavy rains. Now even more houses have gone up, she said. "Just imagine what will happen out there now when the rains come." NEXT »

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