The latest missive from the Jim Lane for Mayor of Gooberville campaign just showed up in my inbox. When I first read it, I did a double take because it sounds just like something Bill Crawford would write, instead of the polished products of Lane’s campaign PR guy (and taxpayer-subsidized polo match promoter) Jason Rose. Maybe Jason has taken the summer off, and Ray Torres is filling in.
Anyway, I’ve said it before, and now I have the opportunity to say it again: You can tell a lot about a person by the company they keep. In this case, Lane has clearly been influenced by his off-kilter friend Crawford and he’s not making a lot of sense.
I’ve included this campaign email below, along with comments I’ve inserted for accuracy and your reading pleasure.
My opponent is the current Vice Mayor’s husband. As a result, should he become mayor, there would be an ethical and possibly even a legal conundrum. This prospect, along with an anti-business attitude, would disrupt governance and severely harm Scottsdale’s economy.
This was a notion that Crawford introduced in his short-lived fake mayoral campaign. It’s no less misogynistic when Lane uses it, than when Crawford first spouted it. I’m surprised Lane’s wife doesn’t beat him senseless for implying that a married woman can’t have a mind of her own. Or maybe Mrs. Lane doesn’t. And to effectively state there’s some sort of pending ethical or legal violation is laughable. Lane knows good and well that isn’t true. In other words, that’s a lie.
As he has referred to himself as a “weasel,” I fear what his leadership would mean for our great city.
Littlefield at least has the presence of mind to be able to poke fun at himself and for being on the losing end of most of the political battles he’s fought on behalf of the folks he represents. Lane isn’t smart enough to realize that by calling himself a weasel, Littlefield is actually making fun of Lane and his establishment toadies.
That’s certainly not how I’ve led or how I will lead for my final term as mayor should I be fortunate to again gain your vote.
Well, he’s got this one right! In his arrogance, Lane actually believes he’s some sort of messiah who has saved Scottsdale. Stand by…
You see, I think Scottsdale is the best city in America. And it didn’t just happen. We recovered far better than most cities from the Great Recession because of reforms, resolve and results. And we did it without raising taxes as so many cities did. We should continue with this pro-business, pro-tourism, less red tape approach that made this possible rather than revert to the Scottsdale of some 15 years ago which suffocated business and hurt the local economy.
This is not unlike a recent stupid campaign claim in which Lane said he was responsible for the increase in property values along McDowell Road, when in fact those property values actually lagged average property values for the whole city. The difference is that the rest of the city hasn’t yet “benefited” from Lane’s “leadership” like McDowell Road has.
In reality, Lane has had absolutely nothing to do with Scottsdale’s recovery…which has kept slightly ahead of the national recovery, as it always has.
A strong local economy like Scottsdale’s means we can keep taxes low and services for your quality of life.
“Keep taxes low and services?” Services are low? Wow.
My opponent is anti-business and pro-big government.
Translation: Lane gets most of his campaign contributions from developers and the liquor industry, and he’s pro-development and pro-liquor. As for as “pro-big government,” Scottsdale has more city employees, and more of them make over $100k a year than when Lane first took office. A LOT more.
One of his biggest campaign contributions, if not the biggest he’s ever received, came from one of the most anti-business unions in the country.
Why do you think Lane won’t tell you WHICH union? I don’t know for sure because I haven’t looked at the campaign finance reports in a while. But I suspect he’s talking about the contribution from a professional association of Scottsdale police officers. How does Lane leap from that to “anti-business?” My only guess is that he considers law enforcement to be anti-business…anti-bar-business.
So basically you could say that Lane doesn’t support law enforcement and our police officers. That’s not really a surprise because he’s never supported competitive pay for our men in blue. And Lane was even found guilty of committing an ethics violation for harassing the police chief about overtime pay…overtime which was required for dealing with the bar district that Lane champions!
That explains a lot. And it explains the difference between someone who focuses on reforms and results for citizens and our community not anti-business policies as payback for political support.
The choice couldn’t be clearer and the stakes any higher for our community in November. I respectfully ask for your vote to keep Scottsdale headed in the right direction.
In Service,
W.J. “Jim” Lane
Mayor of Scottsdale
Lastly, Lane again is absolutely right. There’s a clear choice between someone who has always represented the residents and taxpayers–Bob Littlefield–and a crony phony who hands out zoning concessions and liquor licenses to his buds looking to capitalize on YOUR quality of life.
5 Comments
Hi John,
Thanks for supporting and standing up for Bob Littlefield.
He and Kathy are wholehearted unselfish protectors of citizens’ rights in what seems to be a losing battle with the
current Mayor and Milhaven, Korte and Klapp on the City
Council. It really is depressing to attend City Council meetings. I am just concerned that Bob will not get the
financial support he needs to defeat Lane. This is such a
negative election year that it seems people are just turned
off by the whole process. There aren’t even any contenders
running against Milhaven and Korte. Depressing, really..
The Demise of the City of Scottsdale
I was a resident of Scottsdale for over 34 years. The loss of the family friendly, highly worldwide respected Scottsdale built lovingly but viciously protected by Mayor Herb Drinkwater, as well as caring and professional prior mayors and city councils for all intent and purposes, has totally disappeared.
The total demise of the REAL family friendly city of Scottsdale is all laid solely in the laps of former Mayor Mary Manross and Cowboy Jim Lane and their rich, money hungry cronies who have apparently bought and paid for many favors and building code changes to facilitate the ruination of the downtown and other areas.
Most of it started with former mayor Mary Manross who, instead of supporting a nationally known professional Hockey team arena at the site of the shopping center, literally gave away the huge shopping center land at McDowell and Scottsdale Rd to ASU for Sky Song which disrupted the flow of businesses and customers into the area.
The area then became a decaying ghost town with Cowboy Lane and the Chamber kissing it off as basically a slum area. In addition, Manross allowed as well as supported an agreement which made the city and taxpayers responsible for many of the costs to maintain Sky Song utilities, access and fundamental services!
With those changes, the businesses and car dealers started leaving for River View in Mesa and Tempe Town Center for the same reason, reducing customer traffic and business into the area and drastically reducing the tax revenues to Scottsdale coffers from that huge area.
Then Manross gave away Rawhide and it went to the Gila River reservation, more tax dollars lost….
Then came Cowboy Jim Lane, the “Savior” of the City of Scottsdale. What a JOKE!! The downtown area has gone from a great place to visit with your kids and out of town friends & relatives to an area with an over abundance of bars and the “bad actors” that visit those bars terrorizing the area which you can witness on the local and sometimes national TV news every weekend.
Most city residents don’t dare take their family down there but instead go to Mesa, Tempe, Glendale or Phoenix for solid family friendly entertainment: more lost tax revenue.
Then came the urban high rise monstrosities to the downtown area and more businesses folded either moving out of the city or closing down….still more tax revenue lost.
The simple reason there are no challengers to Milhaven, Korte and Klapp is the money factor. When you are apparently supporting the wants of “Big Money” that controls Cowboy Lane and the Chamber of Commerce which is available to maintain the “filth hole” now called downtown Scottsdale, what else can you do?
If the Voters of Scottsdale don’t get off their duffs and vote Cowboy Lane and his cronies out of office ASAP and vote for those who really care about Scottsdale, you deserve what you get….
There are sordid stories backed up by and witnessed by many intimidated citizens about Cowboy Lane but then with the support of his big monied lawyers and cronies, no one dares bring them up for fear of being ruined forever by expensive law suits and a City Attorney and staff who apparently succumb to the wants and demands of the Cowboy Lane Establishment…..
Hey Cowboy Jim Lane, what goes around comes around, and in your sad, sorry case with our Blessed God’s help it will come back to bite your sorry, lame, bought and paid for butt in spades!!!!
Pour another for the road Cowboy Jim, you’re going to need it!!!!
Thank you for this accurate and informative article. I could not have said it better myself. We must have a changing of the guards in Scottsdale!! Lane is done destroying our city.
i moved to scottsdale in 1972. i have watched the recent city council and chamber of commerce regularly place big business and developers ahead of the citizens. i think virginia korte is just as responsible as jim lane. bigger, better, bigger, better until we are choking on traffic and assaulted by massive, multi storied buildings and high end shopping complexes being built everywhere. the desert discovery center should NEVER be built in the preserve. that is sacred land purchased for a specific purpose not to create a legacy for certain city council members.i dare them to put it on the ballot. i am thoroughly disgusted with the direction scottsdale is going.