Frisco councilwoman acknowledges secret recordings: "The failure was fully mine, and I own that"
In about a month, Tammy Meinershagen will know if she retains her seat on the Frisco City Council. Meanwhile, a conversation she acknowledges in a safe space could be troublesome.
"As leaders, we are held to a higher standard," she said. "We are expected to listen, to care, to give our honest opinion."
Councilwoman addresses leaked recordings
The 49-year-old deputy mayor pro tem and councilwoman for Place 2 went to social media Monday to explain a series of secret recordings released by the online community content gatherer Frisco Chronicles-Whistleblower on Friday, May 3, the day before the election.
In the recordings, Meinershagen gave her perspective on firefighters approaching her about her campaign, other council members, Indians who live and work in Frisco, and more.
"When we make mistakes, we must own them," Meinershagen said. "Recently, I was asked to go to a friend's house and share my experience, my frustrations — the good, bad, and ugly of being on the council. I shared it all."
Investigating edited recordings
CBS News Texas sent the audio recordings to our CBS Confirms Team, who immediately noticed our observation: The series of videos was edited. Some of the audio edits were easy to hear.
The CBS Confirms Team contacted the Frisco Chronicles-Whistleblower for the original recordings for a more extensive examination to determine if artificial intelligence was involved.
"We received the conversation from a confidential source. It was from a conversation between two parties that took place earlier this year in a private home in Frisco. It was recorded by one of the individuals in the conversation via their iPhone voice recording app. We used a voice comparison app to confirm and verify that it was current Council Member Tammy Meinershagen. To obtain the tapes, we had to agree to remove the second party's voice to protect them. We deliberated on releasing it, but we truly feel that with the political climate in Frisco at an all-time high, voters have the right to know what is truly in the hearts of those we intend to elect. Our goal is simple: We are not here for revenge against any one person or place. We are strictly here to tell the truth wherever it takes us, regardless of who it is about. We believe in always protecting our sources and will never disclose who sent the information and/or how we received it."
Meinershagen vows to heal with words after apology
AI aside, Meinershagen owned the words and the tough road ahead, especially one where she was forced into a runoff.
"I thought it was a safe space, but it was not," she said. "The failure was fully mine, and I own that. Words can hurt deeply, and I sincerely apologize to those I have hurt with my words."
Meinershagen said she plans to use words for healing as she readies herself for the challenging conversations ahead.