The plot thickens on the Mesa Issues impostor

First, I want to tank Exurban Jon for his kind words in the comments section on the impostor site:

"Since there is already a long-established, well-read blog called 'Mesa Issues,' you should rename your site to 'Mesa Politics' or something. Intentional or not, it is definitely bad form to co-opt someone else’s name."

Thanks buddy! The name "Mesa Politics" may not be correct either. Jon and others may like to know that the intentions of this name stealer may be sinister. A political insider shared this interesting bit of information with me this afternoon after doing a bit of Google snooping. Here is an image that was sent to me:



Here is what the insider had to say about it:

Try Googling Mesa Issues and look what it pops up. Nice how he changed it when they figured it would be too obvious of what kind of site it really was. Notice the LDS candidate. Where in the Tribune or any other news report did it ever mention Scott was LDS?"

I didn't know that Scott Smith was running on the LDS ticket. How did he win the title? Does Claudia Walters know about this? Now, perhaps I am reading too far into this whole thing, but I guess I don't have much to go on. The site has 3 posts, two of which are beating up Scott Smith, and one of which decided to bring up religion.

It is interesting if nothing else.

Scott Smith is an "outsider"

Ah, I see how its going to go. Each candidate is going to get a puff piece this week, not over the upcoming weeks as I predicted. Here is the latest piece on Scott Smith from the Arizona Republic. Its an interesting factoid that no one has won for mayor without being on council first since the 1960's. Perhaps Smith knew this when he pumped more of his money into the campaign.

I don't think the insider/outsider thing is going to work so well, especially since Griswold is trying to do the same thing. He probably needs to do a little more to set himself apart from Griswold in that regard. I would be interested to hear more about his "village" concept, which I think might be one of the first real ideas I have heard come from any of the candidates.

I, like some of the commenters, can't wait until tomorrow to read the piece about Walters. Then we can see how these puffs measure up.

Gee, where have I heard that name before?

Looks like someone who doesn't really have any creativity and seems to hate Scott Smith has decided to open up a wordpress account. Good for them.

Of course, they could have certainly contacted me and asked to be a guest blogger before ripping off my schtick, but hey, to each their own I guess. I would have prefered they picked their own name instead of copying mine.

Tribune Candidate Forums

Got questions for the candidates? Here are a bunch of dates below where you can show up and make sure your questions are asked and your voice is heard. I would definitely recommend showing up and seeing at least one of these debates in person. Here are the details:

January 10 - 6:30 p.m.
Legislative District 19 Republicans
MCC Red Mountain
7110 E. McKellips Road

January 14 - 6:45 pm.
Televised mayoral debate
Mesa City Council Chambers
57 E. First Street

January 16 - 6:30-8 p.m.
District 2 and mayoral forum
Mesa fire station
815 N. Lindsay Road

January 22 - 12-2 p.m.
District 3 and mayors forum
MCC Navajo Room in student union building
1833 W. Southern Ave.

January 23 - 12-1:30 p.m.
District 5 and mayor forum
MCC Red Mountain
7110 E. McKellips Road

January 24 - 6:30-8 p.m.
District 1 and mayor forum
Westwood High School
945 W. Eighth Street

January 30 - 6:30-8 p.m.
District 4 and mayor forum
Mesa Southwest Museum
53 N. Macdonald

January 31 - 6:30-8 p.m.
District 6 and mayor forum
Jefferson Elementary School
120 S. Jefferson

Rex Griswold likes puppies and long walks on the beach

Here is an interesting puff piece on Mayoral Candidate Rex Griswold from the Arizona Republic. It is my guess that we will see a series of features like this one each of the candidates in the upcoming weeks. One of my political insiders sent me this link to the Candidate survey responses. I haven't had a chance to read through them just yet, but I am glad to know that they are out there.

Overall, it was a good story with an interesting background on Griswold's business saavy and his experience on the council. I don't know why its a risk to educate people, but hey, I will take his word for it. I thought he had good answers and he really is trying to position himself as a person who could bring change, but one comment really bothered me:

"We're the piñata of the East Valley," [Griswold] said. "We let lies sit on the table, and they become the truth."

The guy has been on the council for 5 years, and he is admitting that they allow lies sit on the table to become truth? Perhaps he is trying to say that Mesa has a perception problem, but thats not really what he said. Plus, if he admits there is a problem, why didn't he use his time to fix it? I see from his questionaire on the side that he had no part in the Bailey's Brake Shop debacle, but has he done anything to fix the problem?

Will Mesa's Election get lost in the Presidential Shuffle?

Here is a very interesting story from the Tribune about Mesa's election. One of the more interesting comments in this story is the notion of the “insider versus outsider.” On the face of it, that seems to be the simple break down. You would think that the question would be: Do you want a change, or do you like the way things are going? However, the candidates aren't making it easy.

Look at what all 3 are saying:

“They want change and to see a city government that understands and responds to their needs,” [Scott Smith] said. “That’s what we’re running on.”

“I do have the experience of five years, and on day one can hit the road running and making vital changes,” [Rex Griswold] said.

“It’s time to change the message in Mesa,” [Claudia Walters] said. “That’s what I’m talking about.”

So, I guess that all three have seen that "change" seems to be popular and are running with it. Going back to my question, since we see that everyone is going with a change message, we can assume the converse: none of the candidates like the way things are going. That really seems to play against the incumbents. It says in the article that Walters has been on the council since 2000. So even after 8 years, she still doesn't like the way things are going?

I guess the real question is: who do you believe with the change message?

Father Dale

Say what you want about him, but people love Father Dale. Even after being told to avoid his services, over 600 people showed up over the weekend to attend Fushek's "parachurch" at the Mesa Convention Center. I bet it was an interesting mix of the hopeful, and those curious to see the spectacle. I'd be interested to see if St. Tims was light this Sunday.

Now, would I attend the services of someone still under investigation? Probably not. Its hard to say if this is some sort of stunt to get people to look past his misdeeds or if this is a genuine attempt on his part to continue to offer his services to those in the community who are in need? It will be interesting to follow this story either way the Supreme Court opinion comes down.

If he is cleared, would he go back to the Catholic Church who has been standing in his way? If he is found guilty, how many of the 600 will stick with him no matter what?

Council jumps in Immigration Debate

Tom Rawles and the city council have jumped in to defend Gascon on immigration. Its not all that surprising that Rawles picked up the mantle on this because "personal freedom" seems to be an issue right in his wheelhouse and because he is one of the people who is falling off the council. Its an interesting way for the council to take a stand without making a commitment of anyone who is sticking around or running for Mayor.

You can read the entire speech by Rawles transcribed in Joanna Allhands' blog. I thought it was interesting that Rawles places the notion of being a "sanctuary city" at the feet of the council and their decisions at least twice. He proceeds to defend their actions and attempts to fight these perceptions.

The problem is that too often perception is reality. People from all over are saying that Mesa is a sanctuary city, and so it goes until Mesa starts to defend itself. Rawles has proven before that he is willing to take a stand, but I wonder if the rest of the council will follow suit. This is going to take more than one outraged speech to turn the tide.

Also, I think its very interesting that the comments appear to have been turned off in the online edition of this story. Is it such a divisive issue that people are unable to have civilized dialogue?

The Property Tax Question Lingers

All three of the candidates for Mayor looked to have ducked the property tax question in their last public meeting. Its the question on many people's mind and I know that there are many people who are basing their decision solely on that answer.

The funny thing is, in this case, I agree with all three of their answers:

- Smith says that people don't trust the council.

- Walters says that steady debt needs a revenue source attached.

- Griswold says that the old timey 1940's model doesn't work.

All three answers sound all fine and good, but none of them answer the question. Two years ago, we were told that there would be major cuts if we didn't have a property tax. We voted it down. What happened?

We have debt backed up and refinanced so poorly, that we are going to be stuck paying it for a long time... and now the council wants to issue secondary property tax to cover that bad debt. Where do they stand on that?

I know that people don't want to hear the answers, but one of these candidates need to step up and tell it like it is.

Scott Smith kicks it up a Notch

Looks like Scott Smith decided to kick off the New Year with a bang. I'd say that he is pretty serious about his run. I know that the guy is a former CEO, but donating $70,000 seems like he is in it to win it. Now, that the limits are off, it will be interesting to see if Griswold or Walters are able to respond by getting some more big ticket donations.

I have hearing more people talk about Smith more recently, but I don't really blame him for wanting to get the word out more. He hasn't been on the council for the past few years, and he doesn't have the city to pay for pancake breakfasts for him to attend. He is going to have to work hard to get the word out. He is probably going to have to work twice as hard in advertising and knocking on doors to beat out the incumbents. Look at Obama and Huckabee, they are kicking it into high gear and its getting results.

You have to love Griswold's comment about "buying the election" especially when he has dumped his own money into the election, broke the spending cap first, and then tried to back off of it by giving money back. The commenters are really letting him have it over that.