My name is Jason Whetstone, and I am running for Mayor of Cisco, TX. I have lived in Cisco for nearly all of the last 27 years. I had the privilege of being elected to serve on Cisco City Council Place 1 in 2022. I am a conservative, prolife Christian. I also believe that our Lord teaches us to love and respect all people regardless of who they are.
We all know there was a gross misuse of a large sum of money in Cisco. As a member of the board of directors for the CDC, once it became evident that a large sum of money owed to the CDC had been spent elsewhere and was not available, I reported the situation to the Mayor. Upon further research, other debts were discovered. The total debt was almost $800,000. We, as a council, have been working together to find solutions to lead our city forward from these difficult circumstances. We did turn the situation over to the District Attorney who turned it over to the Texas Rangers for investigation and we have not yet received a final determination from them. We also formed a Finance Committee comprised of a combination of city staff, elected officials, and accounting professionals from the citizenry of Cisco. The city council has tasked them with providing guidance for financial best practices as well as looking into the reasons and actions connected with the financial predicament the city is in.
It is my belief that there has been some of the leadership of this city, over the years, that has adopted practices that have curtailed the growth and development of our city. I believe that this includes a “forgive and forget” mentality that would have us move on from situations like this by finding a way to pay our debts without holding anyone accountable. I am not a part of the “Good Ole Boy” mentality, nor do I believe in a “Buddy-Buddy” system in which the misdeeds of a friend (or “buddy”) is overlooked or even, at times, covered up. I believe every person should be held accountable for their words and actions no matter what title, position, or social status they hold.
