Three articles and a “My Turn” column ran in the Scottsdale Republic this week that are very telling.
In the first (and I’ll cover the rest in additional posts here and on ScottsdaleTrails), an editorial entitled, “Pre-election posturing takes over the Kiva,” the editorial staff (presumably Robert Leger and Mike Ryan) said,
“A Scottsdale city election is on the way. You can tell because Tuesday nights in the Kiva are looking more and more like candidate forums. It’s not just that candidates John Washington, Guy Phillips and Chris Schaffner take the podium for public comment on just about every issue, as they did again this week.”
If we only had a newspaper…you might also have been informed that there were 35 numbered items on the City Council agenda Tuesday night.
I spoke on exactly three of those items. One was an entertainment use encroaching on a residential neighborhood, the second an inappropriately high density apartment project, and the third involves fiscal irresponsibility.
I’ve spoke on all three topics for YEARS. Now I’m singled out by name for special criticism because I want to try to do something about these problems by running for office?
The problem with people like Jim Lane and Dennis Robbins is that they don’t understand what it is to represent “the people.” They were bored and looking for networking opportunities when they decided to run for office. They’ve never stood up for their neighbors, never defended quality of life.
Did either Lane or Robbins EVER take stand up at the public comment microphone at the Kiva? I don’t remember it.
Councilman Robbins, on your point of “daring the council to put something on the ballot just so it will fail,” I would remind you that I suggested to you and your colleagues several times in the past few months that, a) this bond was not a good idea given the economic climate, and b) it was doomed to fail if you bundled a bunch of items of questionable need into it.
As I recall, one of comments to this point came at about the same time you used the phrases, “chicken little,” and “candidates on parade,” to describe community advocates speaking before the Council. So much for the “civil dialog” over which you criticized me a few short months ago.
Not only were my suggestions completely disregarded by you and your colleagues (save Bob), you pressed ahead anyway.
Now you would have us believe the charade that you aren’t putting it on the ballot because of “economic conditions?” Didn’t the city treasurer just give us a report that sales tax revenue is up? Did not the Scottsdale Republic print an article about how well the hotels and resorts are doing right now? Did you and your colleagues not discuss this “upturn” at length?
You can’t have it both ways.