When the “North” Scottsdale Chamber of Commerce first formed due to neglect of the area by the Scottsdale “Area” Chamber of Commerce, many of us had high hopes that we’d finally see some real business promotion and advocacy for the area. We also hoped that we’d see a reduction in politicking.
Sadly, it now looks like the North Chamber is poised to walk down the aisle with the Area Chamber.
It has been coming for some time and most of us who were paying attention have seen the signs. Still, sadly, we held out hope. Until now.
I just got a CD in the mail from “North Scottsdale’s BizPAC,” which contains a video clip I presume they’ll run as a TV ad in the near future.
North Scottsdale BizPAC looks to consist of attorney Loren Molever, (chairman of the North Scottsdale) and developer Craig Trbovich (immediate past chairman of the North Chamber).
In their ad, the North Scottsdale BizPAC says that I have a “dangerous agenda,” and that I want to,
“…close downtown restaurants and businesses and force them to move to the airport, costing jobs and hurting our businesses.”
Molever and Trbovich seem to have attended the Jim Lane school of campaign research, which is about headline deep. What they are referencing is a constructive suggestion that I made to the city council to stop issuing conditional use permits (CUPs) in the bar district, next to a historic retirement community.
I also said the Council should revoke the CUPs held by habitual violators of the rules of their CUPs, and shift focus to the Scottsdale Airpark as a place where noisy bars wouldn’t have any neighbors to annoy. I have never advocated for the closure of a law-abiding business.
You can see more of the details of my suggestion in the October 2011 ScottsdaleTrails article, “How About an Airpark Entertainment District.” Ironically, the old Jilly’s American Grill on Butherus has followed that exact recipe with its conversion to El Santo pool bar, owned by the same Old Town Group that owns Spanish Fly.
Of course, you know from my article on TK’s Urban Grill that the Scottsdale Quarter was already leading the charge for restaurants and bars in the Airpark, so is my idea really that bad? Is it a “dangerous agenda?”
For your amusement, click here for the North Scottsdale BizPAC video. The phone number on the ad is 480.889.8987.
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