Cubs prefer Riverview

The Chicago Cubs have announced that they prefer the Riverview location for the site of the new stadium. Of course, no site has been selected yet, but one would guess that the proximity to the freeway and the existing infrastructure appear to be attractive when you compare it to the west valley stadiums which have failed so far to attract development.

We have been saying for almost a year that the site would be a prime location for a Spring Training facility. Now the question remains, can they get a deal done? Will Waveyard get out of the way, or do they still insist that they can get financing done?

Don't get us wrong, the Waveyard project is still a great idea on paper, but we are weighing something with potential against something that has a 50 year track record. Which should Mesa have as a priority, a waterpark struggling for financing, or an annual event that consistently makes March Mesa's highest month of revenue.

While there is still much to be decided, voters will also be faced with the decision of approving the financing for a project (no matter the location) on the ballot in November. One again, the 613 rule rears its head. Regardless of where this project ends up, we all must agree that the Cubs are critical to Mesa.

Glover upsets Linoff

In what many would consider an upset, 23 year old newcomer Christopher Glover soundly beat 67 year old Vic Linoff by a margin of nearly 60-40. Glover knocked on over 800 doors in the race and received the endorsement of Russell Pearce and other Mesa conservatives.

In all a little over 2,900 votes were cast in the District 4 race compared to the 9,000 in District 5 and the 11,000 in District 6. It was long considered that Linoff would align himself with the community folks and downtown organizations similar to Councilman Kavanaugh. Will Glover serve the conservative contrarian role? As a family friend of Kyle Jones, will he continue the same route? Or at the young age of 23, is his style yet to be determined?

West Mesa CDC has new director

Former Gilbert Mayor Cynthia Dunham will be taking over as the interim director of the West Mesa Community Development corporation. Dunham was a West Mesa resident before moving to Gilbert and serving as Mayor. She is not moving back to Mesa, and will also be keeping her job head of The Leadership Centre at Chandler-Gilbert Community College.

Interestingly, the article mentions that the West Mesa CDC may be considering merging with another non-profit, but it doesn't mention which one and if their focuses are aligned or not. We shall wait and see what becomes of this in the upcoming weeks.

Campaign finance update

Kirk Adams has spent $87,000 in his bid for the legislature. Compare that to the $1,853 that Russell Pearce has spent so far and the $25,500 spent by Rich Crandall. Pearce tops the list with over 70,000 on hand. Despite his spending spree, Adams, who currentlty serves as Speaker of the House, still had over $33,000 on hand.

You can read the breakdown in this Republic story.


DISTRICT 18 SENATE

Robert McDonald, Democrat: Received $300; spent $205; balance $437.

Andrew Sherwood, Democrat: Received $1,825; spent $868; balance $1,878.

Russell Pearce, Republican: Received $11,483; spent $1,853; balance $73,549.

Andrea Garcia, Libertarian: Received $403; no expenses; balance $689.

DISTRICT 18 HOUSE

Michael Conway, Democrat: Received $20; spent $2,500; balance $161.

Cecil Ash, Republican: Received $14,140; spent $2,709; balance $11,912.

Steve Court, Republican: Received $21,379; spent $7,232; balance $14,081.

Chris Will, Libertarian: No reports filed.

DISTRICT 19 SENATE

Rich Crandall, Republican: Received $38,817; spent $25,520; balance $17,836. James Molina, Republican (withdrew from race in July): Received $3,420; spent $4,471; balance $3,994.

DISTRICT 19 HOUSE

Kit Filbey, Democrat: Received $14,319; spent $12,168; balance $2,510.

Scott Perkinson, Republican: Received $7,160; spent $16,421; balance $311.

Justin Olson, Republican: Received $8,732; spent $6,453; balance $8,351.

Kirk Adams, Republican: Received $10,715; spent $48,690; balance $33,819.

DISTRICT 21 SENATE

Steve Yarbrough, Republican: Received $7,514; spent $9,886; balance $12,341.

DISTRICT 21 HOUSE

Venessa Whitener, Republican: Received $7,355; spent $13,776; balance $7,373.

Jeff Vance, Republican: No receipts, expenses or balance.

Manuel Torres, Democrat: Late report.

Sharon Spane, Democrat: Received $115; spent $116; balance $609.

J.D. Mesnard, Republican: Received $13,141; spent $13,980; balance $14,477.

Linda Macias, Green: Received $1,292; spent $45; balance $1,247.

Tom Forese, Republican: Received $12,720; spent $15,889; balance $9,216.

DISTRICT 22 SENATE

Andy Biggs, Republican: Received $8,815; spent $4,266; balance $5,958.

DISTRICT 22 HOUSE

Steve Urie, Republican: Received $21,070; spent $15,607; balance $5,788.

Kelly Townsend, Republican: Received $1,683; spent $1,685; balance $197.

Brett Petillo, Republican: Received $3,620; spent $3,805; balance $655.

Paul Howell, Republican: Received $21,422; spent $15,698; balance $6,329.

Laurin Hendrix, Republican: Received $21,619; spent $235; balance $22,219.

Skyler Holcombe, independent: Late report.

Eddie Farnsworth, Republican: Received $24,259; spent $11,708; balance $13,031.

Adam Armer, Republican: No receipts; spent $344; zero balance.

Light rail extension design approved

Service won't start for another 6 years, but the light rail extension into Mesa took another step forward with the Feds approval of the design work. Mesa's end of line stop is currently the busiest along the line. One would guess that this trend will continue with the extended lines.

While light rail has started to become part of the regular life, the slowed economy has yet to show what kinds of economic opportunities can be realized along the line. Perhaps by 2016, the economy will have recovered and we will have a better view of if light rail will be able to reach its potential.

In the meantime, it is a good way to get to downtown sporting events and games at ASU.

The Marine One conundrum

Marine One is the presidential helicopter. Work to replace the current helicopter was started under President Bush and continued under President Obama until the costs began to skyrocket. At that point, Obama halted the replacement.

Now, it looks like work may be underway again and Boeing may be in the hunt. This could be great news for Boeing if they were able to land the program creating jobs and more economic opportunity for Mesa. On the other hand, its another Government funded program which means more taxpayer money for a project that many might find a bit excessive.

It is understandable why the Mayor and other city leaders would want to land the program. The question is, with the continuing growth of Government in the past few years and the relative unpopularity of Obama among Arizonans, will the benefits outweigh the negatives?