My View
BY DON SORCHYCH | MARCH 4, 2015
A few of the slate’s wrongs
Please vote for the challengers and vote out the slate. Remember Trenk got on the council the first time because his votes were so low he tied and had to draw cards with Thomas McGuire. Sadly, he won or the New Jersey drug store cowboy might have moved on. Every vote counts since you have seen what slates do and why they need to be vanquished.
Trenk obviously relishes being the head of the slate. His huge campaign signs have “SLATE” printed on them; in other words “Look at me – am I not powerful? I tell the bobble heads what to do, and they do it, Heil Trenkster!”
Writers assume Mayor Vincent Francia put his political future in the trash by choosing Trenk and his followers ahead of the town interests. He says he is Trenk’s friend so he tried to ordain him on an illegal campaign flyer because Trenk asked. Francia says he isn’t going to run again. Only smart thing he has done lately because he is finished. Clearly he has turned the reins over to Trenk anyway and I believe he was mentoring Trenk to be the next mayor. There was an article in the Arizona Republic in which Trenk was interviewed rather than Francia about town matters.
Many believe Francia was bought off and maybe he was. However, I think he fears Trenk because he owns the SLATE and Francia has seen what he has done to others. His firing of Abujbarah was vindictive because in Trenk’s first term Abujbarah called him down for appearing at meetings in support of his friend T. C. Thorstenson’s Hogs ‘N Horses application. So Trenk phoned staff for updates on the progress of the application and, once again, he was reprimanded.
Trenk’s actions, supported by his mindless SLATE, are not what are intended for councils. The slate and supporters question “What rises to the level of recall?” is the most obvious indication of wrongdoing. But right behind it is Trenk’s behavior.
He is being investigated for criminal behavior by the Maricopa County Attorney General’s office for signing as James Gandolfini on a recall petition. If black letter law is enforced, he will be charged.
He sued his opponent, Susan Clancy, as she was going to run for another term on the CCUSD93 school board and knocked her out of the race. His challenge of her signatures left her three short. It was a petty and vindictive action, but classic New Jersey politics.
He fired and libeled Abujbarah and the town has spent over $200,000 defending the lawsuit brought by Abujbarah. If Abujbarah wins he could be awarded $3 million. The town, through its risk pool, is defending against Abujbarah’s active federal lawsuit which alleges First Amendment violations by Trenk in his firing of Abujbarah.
Trenk brought aboard an inexperienced interim town manager named Rodney Glassman, even though the town code automatically places Town Clerk Carrie Dyrek in that role. Glassman was devastating to town employees. He also delayed requests of town information by routing requests through Town Attorney Fredda Bisman. Some requests were never filled. He stripped all advertising with Sonoran News and replaced it with limited Arizona Republic distribution while we go to every mailing address in town. He hired a woman named Patty Pollnow who was supposed to visit and support all town businesses. Although she told the current town manager Peter Jankowski she visited us, it is a lie.
Her contract was extended when it ran out. Do you think that would have happened without slate pressure? Francia probably isn’t the only one who fears Trenk and his slate. Imagine yourself in Jankowski’s shoes.
Then there is the question of whether Trenk really lives in his mailbox, since that is what he gives for an address. When he was challenged in court, the judge ruled because he had an intent to move to Cave Creek he could remain on the ballot, in contradiction to the town code.
He is again claiming to live on Highland Road but a citizen who drives by several times a day only sees his black pickup there on weekends.
The recent $10 million notice of claim against Cave Creek by Trenk’s buddy T.C. Thorstenson and the owners of the Petite Acres trailer court by the Rose Law Group, which is the law firm Trenk is a lobbyist for, does not sit well with citizens. How can a sitting councilman be trusted to sit in executive sessions when he clearly has a conflict of interest? He has been guilty of conflicts of interest before where Thorstenson is concerned.
And let’s not forget about the concerted effort by the slate, the water advisory committee (WAC) and Mayor Francia to pull the wool over the eyes of voters by sending out a political flyer at the town’s expense after failing to have us publish the lies they were telling.
I received these poll results last Friday:
Election Poll – Trenk Slate Predicted to be Replaced on March 10th
February 27, 2015 Vice Mayor Adam Trenk has successfully managed to polarize Cave Creek voters to the extent that his “Trenk Slate” is predicted to be removed from office by a significant margin in the March 10th recall election. With more than 1,100 votes cast in the election to date, it is predicted that Trenk will lose by the widest margin of all the recalled candidates. Voters are expected to reject recalled candidates Reg Monachino, Mike Durkin and Charles Spitzer because of the “Slate” link to Mr. Trenk. The 3 primary reasons Cave Creek voters will elect a new Cave Creek Council: Vice Mayor Adam Trenk’s law firm filing (on behalf of their client) a $10-million lawsuit against Town residents. Vice Mayor Adam Trenk’s signing the name of James Gandolfini to a recall petition causing an investigation by the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office Mayor Vincent Francia’s endorsement of the “Trenk Slate”: Meet your new Cave Creek Council:
But caution is the best policy; get rid of the slate and then – celebrate the saving of Cave Creek!
