BY DON SORCHYCH | MAY 23, 2012
Hallelujah!
Bless the 64.75 percent of Creekers who voted to negate the idea of a property tax to fund fire protection. Almost twice as many were against the liberal idea of turning over your lives and wallets to government.
This election has far reaching consequences and will affect next year’s council election. Voting to deny the election were Mayor Vincent Francia, Vice-Mayor Ernie Bunch and Councilman Dick Esser. This group, by that vote, has earned another term. They all share a common denominator, being center-right.
On the other hand the remaining four on council, Shelley Anderson, Jim Bruce, Thomas McGuire and Steve Lamar are leftists and naturally vote to collect power in the local government, at the expense of personal freedom. This town didn’t get the reputation as being too tough to govern for no reason. Just pray the 36 percent who voted to deny personal freedom doesn’t get larger.
We do have a representative form of government and the legislative body shouldn’t pass the buck to the voting public since they already voted the council in to vote and vote right.
So the four voters are vulnerable in next year’s election. Do you conservatives have an urge to be on council? The town needs conservative leaders to offset the town administration’s desire to expand its grip on town matters.
Ernie Bunch, who bought a vacation home in northern Arizona, said what a breath of fresh air it was to be someplace where he can do whatever he wants with his property without big brother looking over his shoulder. Cave Creek needs to roll back excessive regulations and give citizens that breath of fresh air too.
I have a personal stake in such an agenda. Many people know I have fought three lawsuits from neighbor Gerald Freeman. One leg of that suit changed on his appeal after he lost in mediation and superior court. Even though the easements we both shared had no provision for sharing road maintenance costs, the appeals court legislated from the bench, that it was an issue of equity and the superior court would have to decide who paid what. There are thousands, perhaps millions, of home owners on private roads in Arizona that don’t yet realize they are vulnerable to costs they never dreamed would arise.
Over the years Town Manager Usama Abujbarah asked that I gift property on the south side of my ten acres as part of a horse trail and the beginning of a public road connecting Old Stage Road to 48th Street. This, in turn, would give me access to the west to escape flood waters in Cave Creek.
I gifted the property to Cave Creek and it was accepted by council on the consent agenda. Freeman threatened to sue because he has a case against me claiming he had exclusive use of the easement overlaying my property.
So guess who on council voted to give my property back? The same four who voted to enable a property tax. Kapish?
I have commented that even the dark side of Cave Creek politics was against the property tax. An old adage applied that even a stopped clock is right twice a day. But also the dark side was emboldened by connecting up with like minded people on the property tax issue.
Information crept out of the few who have seceded from town matters. They were happy to report they had a $44,000 budget to defeat the pending Enchanted Canyon resort on the north east side of town. When the developer decided to pass, Frantics were furious and demanded a meeting, accusing Abujbarah of having exceeded his authority in canceling the meeting, where they planned to have a big show.
Francia agreed to give them space in council chambers where they held the meeting. The beginning of the meeting was started by Frantic’s leader Mike Chutz, who stated he was in Cave Creek and put his bare feet on the table in front of him. That explains what the newcomer thought of Creekers. Chutz is from Pittsburg and claims to be an attorney who had come here to retire. He also has said he contributed $10,000 to the $44,000 kitty.
Francia was not intimidated by the Frantics and did a good job of squelching rumors, which framed their anger.
Insiders say Chutz will run for council next year. They also say Adam Trenk, Reg Monachino and a woman on Morning Star Road will run. There is no question there will be four relatively easy seats available, but it will be essential to get four who are improvements over current members and that means as far right of center as possible – a tea party membership would help.
The next financial report will give a final reckoning of where the YES vote money came from. The last statement seemed understated for their side and either they were good shoppers or saved big expenditures until the last minute.
And again, the Arizona Republic’s recommendations went down in flames. They are never right about politics up here because they only see through liberal eyes.
