BY DON SORCHYCH | MAY 2, 2012
Chutz should rhyme with Putz
Don is referencing Mike Chutz’s editorial:
I don’t know quite where to start about today’s guest editorial. We have a citizen, a retired lawyer, who drove, not rode, into town after years as a denizen of Pittsburg and professes to tell us how to live and presumably how to vote.
Tell me he isn’t suggesting a shadow government. We have had them before and fortunately they found Creekers weren’t interested and went elsewhere to practice their deception.
Exactly why does Cave Creek need a “foundation” to tell us what to do? We do have a constitution which prescribes a voting process. If we don’t like how they vote, we vote them out. How do you do that with a foundation?
The foundation suggestion defies logic. Is author Mike Chutz afraid to run for office so he wants to run a foundation of miscreants like himself? It is interesting he doesn’t name who the foundation officers are. Let us start with the dark side aginers he represents. Although Anna Marsolo doesn’t live here, she is a control freak who wants everything her way.
Then there is Terry Zerkle the one time town manager who seems to lust to replace Town Manager Usama Abujbarah. As a foundation of one, but with a small cheering section, he sent countless letters to agencies arguing Cave Creek committed various wrongs. Return letters in every case indicated he was wrong. That is what you could expect from a foundation, only multiplied, tying up scarce town resources.
Chutz harangues about future development and how it will change the face of Cave Creek. He ignores past efforts writing and rewriting the general plan, town code and zoning plans. He ignores the lucrative impact fees which anticipated increased infrastructure costs and forced development to pay its own way.
The committees formed by the town had their own set of problems. Remember the white paper group? How about the several fire committees?
Cave Creek learned some lessons along the way and haven’t forgotten them. We might be the only town in the state that recalled its mayor. Bernard Buffenstein was recalled and the town learned to elect rather than appoint the mayor. Buffenstein gained the privilege of being mayor by threatening other council members.
Would anyone run for mayor or council if a foundation looked over their shoulders and basically told elected officials what to do?
Doubtful.
In many ways Chutz’s mutterings are insulting. Here is a guy who has lived here six months and thinks he knows Cave Creek. How could he since he is listening to the town detractors that don’t have the courage to run for office?
I have already heard from citizens who are inside and outside of the ring of dissidents and the message is the same. They raised $44,000 dollars as a political account to take over town government. I would love to see their list of proposed candidates. The only one I have heard so far is ex-Councilman Adam Trenk. Trenk is doing a good job of advocating for a No vote on property tax and bless him for that. However, win or lose, I don’t think it would carry him into office.
A foundation is a bad idea and an indication it’s author thinks Cave Creek voters are stupid. Not only are they sophisticated people, even a moron could see through this transparent attempt to run the town.
