Trenk betting Cave Creek voters can be bought?
By Linda Bentley | April 15, 2009
Mayor and four council members seated during primary know better
CAVE CREEK – Adam Trenk raised an unprecedented $17,381 in campaign funds to run for Cave Creek Town Council.
Mayor Vincent Francia, Councilman Ernie Bunch, who received the highest number of votes in the primary, former Vice Mayor Ralph Mozilo, Planning Commissioner Steve LaMar and Councilman Dick Esser were all elected or reelected with expenditures of less than $500.
Councilwoman Grace Meeth and Planning Commissioner Reg Monachino, a council contender, had campaign funds of $1,910 and $1,775, respectively, and still didn’t make the cut.
If Global Water Resources couldn’t buy the votes of the citizens of Cave Creek a few years ago, what makes Trenk think he can?
However, Trenk wasn’t around a few years ago, so he probably wouldn’t know about that.
He also wasn’t around for the rezoning of the Julie Terry parcel, now owned by T.C.
Thorstenson, and the referendum that followed on Sept. 11, 2001, where an overwhelming number of citizens turned out to vote against it in the single-ballot-measure election.
Trenk would have been just barely old enough to vote back then.
Of the $17,381 Trenk received in campaign contributions, other than the $2,200 he loaned to his campaign, only $1,343 was donated by Cave Creek residents. There are a couple contributions from Scottsdale and Mesa, but the bulk of his contributions are from New York and New Jersey, with a smattering from Las Vegas, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Illinois.
The war chest amassed by Trenk leads one to question why, after arriving in Cave Creek a little over a year ago, he so desperately wants to serve on council. After all, it’s not a paid position.
When Sonoran News asked Trenk why he decided to run for council rather than first seek an appointment to the planning commission, he said he didn’t want to take anyone’s seat on the planning commission.
Well, LaMar, Monachino and Jim Bruce are all current planning commissioners and all were running for council.
LaMar, elected to council in the primary, will be vacating his seat on the commission.
A three-person runoff election will be held on May 19 among Trenk, Bruce and Councilman Thomas McGuire for the remaining two council seats, since Councilwoman Kim Brennan withdrew her candidacy. Early voting begins Thursday, April 16.
