To the Editor:
The election August 2, 2022 is just around the corner. I would like to remind Carefree residents who are NOT at their Carefree home this summer but have asked for mail to be forwarded, the Carefree Post office will NOT forward your August 2, 2022 election ballot. To have your ballot forwarded, a CALL to the MARICOPA COUNTY ELECTIONS office is NECESSARY. The number is 602-506-1511 press “0” to speak to a representative. The Elections office will send your ballot to your temporary mailing address if you make the request by July 22, 2022.
The Town hired the well-known election law firm of Coppersmith Brockelman months ago and has paid that firm significant amounts for services related to “initiatives” based on the memo line of the Town’s checks. What are the “initiatives” the Town has hired this firm to work on? Clearly it is not to SUPPORT any of the initiatives.
Has the Town hired this law firm because they don’t want TWO- 2-YEAR TERM LIMITS passing? TWO 2 -YEAR TERM LIMITS will reinstate the responsible term limits that Carefree voters previously voted in place. Despite having been approved by Carefree voters – not once, but TWICE – the current vice mayor (who now is running for mayor) went to court to defeat the clearly expressed will of Carefree voters. Through his legal maneuverings and the technical arguments raised by his lawyers, he personally succeeded in subverting the will of the people of Carefree.
And this man wants to be our next mayor??
Some current council members (Hatcher and Kroyer) have made donations to support an alternative 4-year staggered term limit initiative.
This is supremely ironic since both of them were on the Town Council and did nothing to uphold the clearly expressed will of Carefree residents when Vice Mayor Crane went to court to overturn term limits. Benjamin Franklin summed up term limits more than two centuries ago. “In free governments, the rulers are the servants, and the people their superiors. For the former to return among the latter does not degrade but promote them.”
A limit of TWO 2-YEAR TERMS will result in new ideas, check the power of entrenched government, and bring fresh new faces like Peter Sample running for Mayor, and council candidates Kathlina Lai, Sven Maric and Duke Vukotic.
The OPEN SPACE/EMINENT DOMAIN initiative also on the ballot for August 2, 2022 will give a voice and vote back to the people. It will prohibit the Town from exercising eminent domain to seize private property that is dedicated open space/recreation under the current General Plan unless approval by both a two-thirds vote of Town council members and a majority vote of Carefree residents has been obtained.
Property designated open space/recreation and condemned between 1/1/21 and effective date must be offered for sale back to original owner at price paid plus interest.
If not repurchased, the property may be developed with a supermajority council vote and voter ratification.
I read an article recently that was written in January 1985 in the Los Angeles Times about Carefree. It had glowing praise for the Town, its beauty and quiet, as well as the numerous unique shops and restaurants then in the Town. The article mentioned how Carefree was growing even back then but still remained charming.
“The way things are going, the town could get carried away and become another Scottsdale. That’d be a shame.”
The article ended by asking what would they call Carefree then? “Careless, maybe?”
Our vote matters August 2, 2022 for our town.
Respectfully,
Maureen Benedetto, Chair for
Carefree Citizens for Responsible Government
