Guest Editorial
BY DON SORCHYCH | MARCH 20, 2013
Vote for the proven council
Several Sonoran News readers sent me a partial copy of My View which I wrote on April 18, 2012 concerning the council vote to allow a public vote to fund fire protection with a property tax. The challenging council slate sent some by mail but also stuffed mail boxes with an unstamped mailer, which I believe is a violation of federal law.
Yes, I hammered councilman Jim Bruce and others who chose to allow the vote, since I believe we elect representatives to make that call. But that was one vote and if you consider Bruce’s contributions on the planning and zoning commission and council he deserves to be voted in again. There is no comparison of his abilities and contributions among any of the slate running for council. They are losers one and all because their agenda is flawed. First because they are a slate and secondly because they are subservient to at least two non voters, Mike Chutz and Anna Marsolo. Both want to be behind the scenes manipulators of the potential majority represented by the slate. Objective? They want to eliminate Town Manager Usama Abugbarah and replace him with the ex-Tempe Town Manager Terry Zerkle. Zerkle has tried to cause problems, calling state agencies but always getting responses he was wrong. They would like to get rid of Mayor Vincent Francia too, but he is unopposed for the reason he is the iconic mayor of Cave Creek and will always be regarded that way.
The major issue here is the slate is sending a partial copy of my editorial without my permission and that is a serious violation of copyright statutes. The copy sent to me also had, in the return address spot, a handwritten “Election Alert, Cave Creek.” Investigation will reveal the sender. I have turned over the several copies sent to me to MCSO.
Discussions with several town leaders may have revealed what Chutz, Adam Trenk and company are up to. Chutz is from a suburb of Pittsburgh where politics are down and dirty and Trenk is from New Jersey which suffers from the same corruption.
Clearly they want control of the town. Beware of the innocent sounding statement of Mike Durkin, that the town would be better off if they gave the water company away for a dollar. Who would get it?
Furthermore, the water company has enormous value. Within ten years it would be priceless. There are very wealthy people chasing water rights, not water, but water rights. Cave Creek has 2,606 acre feet of water rights, more than is needed for build out. Those rights are of huge value. Slate members claim, incorrectly, the town doesn’t have enough and that is a lie.
As sources of water dwindle and usage increases water rights prices will increase. Today, in many places in Arizona water rights are valued at over $12,000 per acre foot. In New Mexico prices range as high as $250,000 with many districts averaging over $36,000 per acre foot. At those average prices Cave Creek’s water rights would be worth $91 million dollars. Yet, the slate moans about Cave Creek’s debt of $63 million, even though the town has a surplus of over $4 million and has never missed a debt payment.
Slate members criticize the Desert Hills water utility district claiming we don’t need it. We bailed out many suffering residents and the payoff, which will be huge, is down the road. Eventually, Phoenix will annex Desert Hills and the town will have the option to sell that water utility at a very high price.
Is this Chutz’s plan? He enlisted David Phelps to help lead their PAC even though Phelps has a tainted background and was anti-town as a Global Water employee. Speaking of Phelps, I received a call from a local business man accusing another business man of supporting the slate because two signs were erected on the person’s property. So I called the person who had signs erected and asked why he allowed the signs on his property. The person said, “Tell the guy complaining I’ll give permission for him to erect signs too, if he will give me $250 a month rent like David Phelps did.”
There is much concern about the amount of money being spent by the slate. Council members serve for free and it is asking too much to have to try to buy their election like the slate is doing.
Look at what Trenk must be spending. He has sent at least two colored flyers, a colored door hanger, robocalls and calls from a “campaign woman.” He has signs of two sizes all over town and most recently boasted he was endorsed by Senator John McCain. I am told by politicians downtown the cost of a McCain endorsement is $25,000. Trenk served on McCain’s campaign committee and his family is noted for contributions to both parties. I don’t believe he is doing this and spending this much money because he is a nice guy. Only because of a "friendly" judge is he on the slate since he moved to Scottsdale. According to a friendly judge he had the "intent" to return to Cave Creek.
He has brought what is natural in New Jersey to our little town. Remember he spent over $20,000 of family and out-of-state donations in his first and only election. Yet he tied in the runoff and the luck of a card draw put him on council. He has tried to deny he is a slate member but he most certainly is. Our free council is a major bargain. How will people who love the town like they do continue to serve if they must match the prodigious investment made by the slate led by a non-voter named Chutz.
Don’t let the slate buy votes and take over the town. They are up to no good!
