Sometimes, even I’m surprised by how cynical our elected officials are – which is saying something, given how cynical I am. But Mayor Vision reminded me just how little reality matters to the elite who run Dallas during his State of the City speech yesterday. He told the audience that Dallas was doing “very well, bordering on superb.”

Guess his definition of superb is different from the rest of us. What about the 911 budget cuts that cost an Oak Cliff family its home? And cost a woman her life? Has he driven any of the city’s roads and seen how potholed and worn out they are, the consequences of the past five years of failed fiscal policy? Has he driven around the neighborhoods and seen the empty strip shopping centers and for lease signs? Does he understand that payday and title loan companies, which seem to be the only businesses thriving, are not good for the future of the Dallas?

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Apparently not. I’ve always wondered, particularly after Deana Cook died after the 911 debacle, if the people who run the city have any empathy for what happens to those of us who live here. Or,  like so many elites, if the only thing they notice is what happens to them.

Now I have my answer. Anyone who has lived here for the past five years, who has tried to make a living, who has seen homes sit empty and friends lose jobs, knows things are not superb. It’s a shame the mayor doesn’t.