Kevin Gibbons makes BIG mistake

I have to admit, it has been interesting to watch the words fly back and forth in the Russell Pearce/Kevin Gibbons District 18 show down. They have done a good job of keeping July interesting, while providing people with a lot of food for thought.

Last week, we learned that only about 20% of Gibbons' donations came from Mesa. At the same time, he had spent a lot of time talking about how he wanted to work with Mesa to make things better. In fact, as someone pointed out to me, if you notice closely, you can see him trying to harness his inner Scott Smith, invoking the "Build a Better Mesa" mantra.

I joked at the time that it looked more like he was running for city council than for the state legislature. However, after the latest revelation, I am not sure if he would be qualified:

Kevin Gibbons Fails to Vote in Multiple Municipal Elections
District 18 State Senate Candidate did not vote in Riverview, Property Tax, and Waveyard Elections - Apparently no interest in West Mesa's Future

MESA – Over the past few years, the City of Mesa has had three key municipal elections that have had a major impact on changing the face of West Mesa and the city as a whole. Each election, Riverview held in May of 2005, Property and Sales Tax held in May of 2006, and Waveyard held in November of 2007, had direct impacts on the voters of District 18.

Although these elections had some of the highest voter participation in Mesa history, Kevin Gibbons failed to vote in any of the three municipal elections.

“Development projects and incentive packages have been a hot topic. In fact, in just the last 3 years, District 18 has had two elections that allowed the voters to decide whether the projects were important for the development of West Mesa,” said Matt Tolman, District 18 Republican chairman and former candidate for West Mesa City Council, “I would like to know how Gibbons voted in May of 2005 along with 52,647 other residents of Mesa. Unfortunately, Kevin Gibbons failed to vote in the Riverview election. I would also like to know where Kevin Gibbons’ vote went in the 45,837 votes cast in November of 2007 for the Waveyard project. Unfortunately, Kevin Gibbons also failed to vote in the Waveyard election.”

According to Kevin Gibbons’ website, Gibbons states that he “has always been interested in politics and has volunteered on many campaigns over the years.” He pledges to work with the city saying, “So much more can be accomplished by working together with the City to improve services, capitalize on the opportunities for economic growth and build a better Mesa.”

“How can we count on Kevin to capitalize on opportunities when he has failed to take advantage of the ones that have already come before us,” questioned Tolman, “It’s not like any of the three municipal elections were a secret.

The Riverview election featured a multimillion dollar campaign focused on our backyards. How can he change anything at the legislature when his track record shows that he refuses to participate in the local voting process?”

Gibbons’ track record of failing to support Mesa extends beyond missing two key municipal elections. In May of 2006, 50,403 residents of Mesa voted in the election to decide a primary property tax and a sales tax extension. Kevin Gibbons failed to vote and be included in that number. Gibbons is also supported by Democrats and tax and spend State Representatives who voted for the Governor’s budget which cut over $30 million to the cities and towns, including taking $2 million away from Mesa.

On his website, Gibbons states his decision to run for the State Senate was because he “couldn’t sit on the sidelines anymore. I just had to get engaged in the process.”

“Gibbons wasn’t kidding when he said he was sitting on the sidelines,” concluded Tolman, “We need someone who is committed to not only what is going on at the legislature, but also what is going on here in Mesa as well. With vote at home early ballots, there is no excuse for not participating in Mesa’s elections. We don’t need a representative in the State Senate who is going to sit on the sidelines and miss votes.”

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I think its a BIG mistake that Kevin Gibbons didn't take the time to vote in these elections. Its not like these were school bonds that were under the radar with no one talking about them. As Matt Tolman points out, people spent MILLIONS to promote Riverview, which was in the newspaper every day for months. Waveyard also directly impacted his part of town.

It seems like Politician 101. If you want people to take the time to vote for you, you must be an example by showing others that you take the time to vote. There are a thousand voting cliches that apply here, all of which would be relevent.

So, this is what we know about Kevin Gibbons:

1. He is Jeff Flake's brother-in-law.

2. He is an immigration attorney.

3. He takes donations from lots of outside groups.

4. He doesn't vote in local elections.

Not exactly what I call a recipe for success.