Don Sorchych My View

FEBRUARY 9, 2011

Carefree forum
Cave Creek election



Sonoran News held its first Carefree forum in a location other than the Carefree Resort and Villas. After hosting eight forums since 1995 the Resort felt it needed $500 and we passed. Fortunately, the town stepped up and provided the council chambers for the event.

Fifty-five people showed up including many ex-councilmen and GOBs. The questions asked of emcee Shelby Wilson to present to candidates were hostile to Mayoral Candidate Doug Stavoe and council candidate Jim Peirce, not favorites of GOBs, which of course include the ex-councilmen present. So the source of questions was GOBs trying to cast dirt on these two.

canfield
Mouthy apologist for the administration, Lyn Hitchon and her husband, sat in the front row with a video camera, as they do in council meetings. This is supposed to be some form of intimidation, I guess.

Mayoral candidates, to repeat, are Mayor David Schwan and Councilman Doug Stavoe. For council it is Michael Farrar, Arthur Gimson (did not attend the forum), Vice Mayor Glenn Miller, Jim Peirce, Melissa Price, Marty Saltzman and write in candidate Jim Van Allen.
Unfortunately, Karen Smith Lovejoy withdrew her candidacy due to family issues.

Mail-in election ballots will be sent on Feb. 10 and only one candidate won’t be seated for council, so it is a question of who NOT to vote for.

I would not recommend a candidate who is clearly a sop for GOBs and there are two, before we get to the mayoral race and those are Glenn Miller and Arthur Gimson. Miller has shown his Chicago up bringing and imported Chicago culture. He was responsible for a possible illegal procurement and was one of the infamous six who held their secret meeting at the water building while Stan Francom was away.

I talked to Miller on the phone and have reported the conversation, which was hostile and unproductive. Yet at the forum, when someone prented a question he waxed enthusiastic about the need to take Councilman Bob Gimmell and get him out of the doldrums and the advice of “experienced” people, apparently the three who walked out rather than face a run off vote.

The other GOB fancier is Arthur Gimson who had a prior engagement and couldn’t come to the forum. Gimson is the guy who peddles “civility” for everyone but himself. That by the way is the tactic used by Democrats so critics should be politically correct rather than practicing their First Amendment rights!

Gimson was getting petitions signed in front of the Carefree post office when he introduced Sonoran News reporter Linda Bentley to a stranger as the reporter from “Sonoran screws.” Civility? No, hypocrisy!

So take your pick, one or the other has to go.

In the Mayoral race, it is hands down Doug Stavoe. Stavoe could have done much more on council, but with Peter Koteas and Bob Coady they were outgunned by the good old boy four votes. Why do you think Koteas and Coady aren’t running with GOBs in charge?

It is however rumored Coady will be a write in candidate if Stavoe wins in the primary election. Maybe Koteas will too.

GOBs think Schwan is bullet proof because an attempted recall failed. First of all I don’t think there was serious competition and secondly voters were lead to believe he didn’t do anything to deserve to be recalled. If you remember it was Schwan who had Ryan Ducharme, the consultant leading the recall effort, kicked out of the post office parking lot until the Goldwater Institute and the courts called it a First Amendment violation and made the area available for political purposes. Then the town went after him for signs on his recall headquarters.

The town needs to have a council that puts town matters first, not GOB control, which the town now has. As far as I can tell the people running can make a momentous change, wresting control of the town from a few self serving individuals.

Cave Creek

Cave Creek’s opportunities are similar to Carefree.

Mayor Vincent Francia is running unopposed. There are seven candidates competing for six council seats. Planning Commissioner Shelly Anderson, Councilman Jim Bruce, Vice Mayor Ernie Bunch, Councilmen Dick Esser, and Steve LaMar.

Alice Kunka is also running but refused to be heard at our forum and refused to send policy statement information we published for candidates in last week’s issue. Kunka is clueless and has nothing to offer the town except comedy if she managed to somehow become a council person, sort of like Adam Trenk.

Although it is appropriate to vote for everyone except Kunka, you should note community liberals who thought they had a slam dunk vote for a town property tax are furious they lost the council vote, 4-3. Bruce, LaMar and Francia voted for and Bunch, Esser, Mozilo and Trenk voted against.

What is also interesting is three liberals voted for and four conservatives voted against. Talk all you want about municipal political positions being non-partisan but issues like this are decided by deep philosophical beliefs that are often party oriented.

Town Manager Usama Abujbarah had assembled a 25 person liberal team to present a petition for a quick vote to get the property tax on the May ballot and were surprised the vote failed. I will sure miss Ralph Mozilo and even Adam Trenk if he hewed to conservative principles as he did in this vote.

The unhappy big government types that are on the fire committee are now collecting signatures for an initiative to be placed on next years ballot.

It is way premature anyway and there are many alternatives. Property taxes are verboten in my lexicon.

The fire activists can no longer get at Mozilo and Trenk so they are venting about Bunch and Esser. Thank God for their votes.