My View
BY DON SORCHYCH | MARCH 18, 2015
Hurrah for the winning team
Lots of people are breathing a sigh of relief now that the recall election is over. It was long and arduous made testy by Adam Trenk’s use of lawyers, which is typical New Jersey style politics.
But now the slate is gone and four new responsible and dedicated people are at the helm.
There never was a doubt in my mind that people with only one agenda would prevail. Susan Clancy, Dick Esser, Steve LaMar and Mark Lipsky want the best for all Creekers including maintaining this beautiful town as the Western treasure it is. But they will never vote as slate.
In the past twenty years that this paper has been the community watchdog we have seen many administrations come and go. There was a recall of Mayor Bernie Buffenstein. He was the first to try a slate. It didn’t work and was kicked out by three dedicated volunteer citizens who lead voters to rebel.
The major test of voting came when purchasing the water company was approved in spite of a higher than expected price. And best of all the public was marshaled by Friends of Cave Creek headed by Gary Schmidt to win two important needs, first the annexation of property to the North, which included Spur Cross Ranch (SCR) and then the sunset of the property tax to fund the purchase of the remaining 30 percent of SCR that hadn’t been purchased by the state and county.
Driving north on Spur Cross Road the vista of the mountains ahead are inspiring and a beautiful backdrop and, thanks to the voting public, SCR will remain free of developer’s blades.
During the 2013 council election, there was a carefully planned ambush of the sitting council, causing three members, for various reasons, to bail out. This opened the door to the election of an avowed slate which means the four were a majority and had their way. Eileen Wright would have made it a slate of five if Councilman Thomas McGuire didn’t win in the runoff.
Adam Trenk apparently disliked Town Manager Usama Abujbarah and vowed to eliminate him. His “slate,” as Trenk named them on his many billboard advertisings, cowed everybody except the thinking voters of Cave Creek.
Our wonderful cartoonist Bil Canfield contributed the cartoon even before I wrote this editorial. It captures a cartoon of Mayor Vincent Francia wheeling Adam Trenk towards a man hole, which he may have inadvertently done by his endorsement of Trenk. By that incredible maneuver they both lost ground, in my opinion. Desperation often has that effect. Trenk is easy to forget, Francia’s bumbling is not.
I attended few council meetings when Trenk ran the meetings, while Francia sat back. But I went to last night’s meeting to see the new candidates installed. They all were professional and well spoken on the brief agenda. Steve LaMar, the only nominee, was voted in as vice mayor. Although others may have wanted the position, there was no animosity and the vote was unanimous.
Going to town hall is friendly now and it and is clear the staff is pleased and relieved. That they still miss Abujbarah is clear. Remember Town Clerk Carrie Dyrek had a huge offer to be town clerk of a much bigger city but refused because she enjoyed working for Abujbarah. I asked a key town executive about morale and Town Manager Peter Jankowski and the answer was “He is a nice guy but Usama is family.” It will be interesting to see how Abujbarah’s law suits turn out now that the election is over. Perhaps the suits will move expeditiously and finish in his favor. No question Trenk and his slate manhandled the process of firing him.
Trenk and his bobble heads were at the Buffalo Chip Saloon on election night. Trenk told a friend of mine they were there to celebrate their victories. My friend saw Francia and told him what Trenk said. Francia cautioned him and said the election was a toss up. Really, after Francia’s endorsement? I never doubted how the election would go. The slate and their boss were whistling past the graveyard.
However, my friend was at the Buffalo Chip to serve a useful purpose and that was to participate in a fund raiser for presidential candidate Scott Walker. He is my choice and the liberal press is already hammering him. Walker is the best qualified based on his sterling record in Wisconsin.
And, lastly, the special meeting to canvass the results of the recall election was attended mostly by certified dark siders, who gave the slate a standing ovation when they walked in. Celebrating a sound loss? How odd, but then the dark side has always been unfathomable.
