Is there a conflict?

Critics say Richins’ funding links to Mesa present conflict of interest

Look closely at the headline. Who are the critics? Is it his opponent? Is it a voter? According to the Tribune, its some folks in an online forum. When was this forum? Is this the comment section of some other article?

Second, look at the wording of the headline. The word "funding" makes you think that something might be wrong with his campaign funding or perhaps he is trying to skirt the law with some sort of violation.

I admit, it got me. You gotta hand it to headline writers. I thought it was some sort of scandal involving Dave Richins and something that he was doing on his campaign. As it turns out, the non-profit that he runs receives money from the City. According to the paper, the West Mesa Community Development Corp. "helps local businesses and bolsters community projects" and gets some of their money from the City to do it.

Well, heaven forbid the City of Mesa invests in something that would help local West Mesa businesses and bolster West Mesa community projects. Besides, it looks like most of the money comes from Community Development Block Grants which are from HUD. So, the money comes to the city from HUD, and the city sends it out.

How does that make Richins a Mesa employee, which is the claim of these mysterious critics?