In this morning's Republic, possible mayoral candidate Jim Derouin took the position that the City should make public its offers to Jackson along with the economic assumptions on which they are based; and that Jackson's counteroffers also be made public to determine if he is being greedy or City Manager Jan Dolan for the City is being stubborn.  Sandy Barr suggested "giving Jackson what he wants" or selling WestWorld to Jackson.  Another possible mayoral candidate, Art DeCabooter, along with Susan Bitter-Smith, and Joanie Flatt suggested a mediator; while former council member Dennis Robbins suggested the Council take over negotiations.

Reportedly, Jackson has a lease with the City that, on its face, runs in perpetuity.  As a consequence, there is no pressure on him to negotiate.  Further, it has been reported that the City has made multiple offers to Jackson (thereby negotiating against itself), but that Jackson has never made clear to the City what he wants.  The City spent in the area of $32 million to buy additional land next to WestWorld; Jackson reportedly wants some of that land, specifically, the land in the middle of the parcel.  There is some feeling that equestrian events contribute more to the City's economy than does Jackson.  Currently, we don’t know which contributes more to the city, Barrett-Jackson or the equestrian events (which are many) because the City has never made that clear.

The City has generally emphasized the total amount of sales resulting at the car auction, but because most of the sales are consummated out of state, Scottsdale gets relatively little direct sales tax revenue from the auction. As long as the City continues to negotiate in secret and hide the true economic value of the car auction, it is impossible to know whether the City’s negotiators are being wise or pig headed and whether Jackson is being shrewd or a bully.

The facts concerning the car auction are hard to uncover because of the secrecy surrounding the negotiations.  It stands to reason that the City wants the event and therefore, the City is not responsible for not having a deal.  However, because the Republic keeps hammering the City for not having a deal, the City feels under pressure to get a deal, thus it's negotiating against itself. 

On the surface, It would appear that Jan Dolan has refused to give the store away; so now Manross has taken over, but, unless she gives the store away as she did at SkySong, it is most probable that she can't get a deal done either. The Manross connection is nothing more than a cheap ploy to paint Dolan as an incompetent city manager (who’s quietly on her way out anyway) and to show that Manross can put deals together which help her re-election bid; Craig Jackson is not gullible and certainly not stupid, but does he have Manross over a barrel?

Stay tuned to find out what major giveaway Mayor Manross will negotiate this time to try to ensure her re-election, taxpayers be damned.

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The below assessments of possible candidates are the early and preliminary opinions and observations of the editorial staff of the Scottsdale Activist and the candidates listed have not been formally interviewed by our staff.

It’s very interesting to read the comments of probable or even "wannabe" candidates for city offices, be it mayoral or council seats. Being that we elect our officials "At Large", the area of candidate residences as well as all other candidates is inconsequential at this point. Endorsement by The Scottsdale Area Chamber of Commerce which should be apolitical has become too political of late and in many minds could be a major negative for a candidate.

Endorsement by the once liberal Republic has been a positive in the past. Being that the Republic seems to be coming to the conservative side, if only slightly, will that trend continue in 2008? We don't think so as the public is waking up unless it moves much farther to the conservative side of the political spectrum.

Read very carefully what the possible candidates are quoted as saying in the local newspapers. Listen to them when they speak; we mean REALLY listen and understand where they are coming from and going to. Note the discrepancies in their answers from group to group when they speak because there are many with a insincere candidate who is trying to "buy" the election by "stroking" the voters into believing what they are saying.

Ask strong questions. Is this a political career move or a person offering to serve to help the city, not themselves. We have had and currently have council members who ran as fiscal conservatives but are consistently "giving away the farm" after they have been seated. We want to see that stopped in it’s tracks.

Possible Mayoral Candidate Attorney Jim Derouin has always advocated open city government so that the secrecy and under the table dealing cannot exist. He is a stanch proponent of high ethical behavior and honesty no matter the subject. His credentials are of the highest order. He deals with consensus by working with all parties a la Drinkwater to come up with an equitable solution to a problem as we saw while he served on the Ethics Task Force. Derouin doesn’t belong to any of the local political groups but works well with all of them. Derouin is a strong advocate of an open door policy for the mayor and all offices of city management.

Possible Mayoral Candidate Art DeCabooter has been an excellent college president for 30 years and had the advantage of being able to surround himself with those who follow his ideas and work to bring those ideas to fruition. This is an advantage he will definitely not have as a mayor of Scottsdale should he be elected which could be a tragic stumbling block for him and the citizens of Scottsdale. DeCabooter is tied very closely to the Manross doctrine as well as the Scottsdale Area Chamber of Commerce. There is still some unfinished financial and mismanagement business under audit at the college which will have to be "vetted" before any serious consideration can be given to a very nice, polite, and kind man.

Professed Mayoral re-election Candidate Mary Manross has been a champion of massive miscommunication, reported verbal lies to a number of citizens, failed to land the Coyotes, Gave away a reported 77 cents on the dollar of Scottsdale transportation tax dollars to MAG, Gave ^$42 million to Ellman (twice the appraised value) as well as another ^$100 million to ASU gratis for infrastructure at SkySong, advocated high rise and high density for the downtown area without regard for the infrastructure which is up to 60 years old and without consideration for the feelings of the local residents who have to look at the buildings on a daily basis and deal with the massive traffic increases. Manross has advocated still another Bond to finish the Preserve when she had said at the last sales tax increase that those taxes would be enough to finish the preserve and she wouldn’t ask for any more money. Anyone who has followed the career of Manross can easily see she is a fence walker and always jumps to the winning side to maintain her image as a "winner" claiming she had held that position all along when in fact she may not have agreed with the decision at all.

Manross knows only too well that if Barrett-Jackson leaves Scottsdale, she is dead in the water; but what part of the family farm will she give away to save her career? Her deeds show that she is much more career oriented than public service oriented. When Manross can no longer count on her long time super supporter and city Icon Frances Young for support, there must be a major problem. Need we go on?

Possible Council Candidate and graduate lawyer Nan Nesvig is a long time resident, and has been a behind the scenes activist for a number of years learning all she can about what the city needs, and as or more importantly, what it doesn’t need based on discussions with residents from all parts of the city. She has been involved in some conflicts with the city where what was proposed and promised to the residents at city council meetings by the snake oil salesmen attorneys wasn’t followed and in fact, were constructed entirely different that proposed, yet the Manross administration and council majority never batted an eye or raised a hand to correct the problem. Nesvig ran for council in the last election but was bounced out through some possible collusion and some personal naiveté about how elections are won and lost. She won’t make that mistake again. She too professes open government and a completely open door policy. She does not support high rise and high density just to put more money in the city coffers. It has it’s place, but not in historically single family residential areas. She is not affiliated with any local political groups or the Scottsdale Area Chamber of Commerce.

Possible Candidate Carla (her legal name) has been a candidate before but lost a close race to Dennis Robbins in 1998. She hasn’t yet committed one way or the other on running for council again. Her health may be a huge detractor for any run for office. We are not sure of her political affiliations at this point in time. Her professed main goals for which she will settle for nothing less is for the completion of the Preserve and Discovery Center but so far, we don’t see her having any burning interest in the other problems of the city but we will possibly meet with her in mid June for a discussion which we will report back to you on her concerns and plans.

Possible Candidate Suzanne Klapp is another name that has been bantered about as another possible council candidate. She has served on commissions and supports open government. She is very interested in clean, ethical, lean, and effective city government but we really don’t know her position on density, high rise infill, and how she plans to address the aging infrastructure downtown. The only negative we can see is that she is a member of and works closely with the Scottsdale Area Chamber of Commerce which has become far too political and doesn’t represent the thoughts of local residents and many local businesses. The Chamber represents Phoenix as well as Scottsdale businesses which, in our mind, isn’t in the best interest of Scottsdale businesses, city government, or the residents.

There are a few other possible candidates but we have not been able to put a finger on just who they are or what they stand for. We’re sure that they will contact us with some kind of plan for the city. The test will be if the plan is reasonable, implementable, cost effective, and without "Career Move" or "State Retirement" plastered all over it as has been seen with candidates many times before.

It is brutally apparent from the barrage of recent newspaper articles, opinions, letters to the editors, and guest editorials in all local media publications that the people of Scottsdale are absolutely and positively fed up with our less than esteemed Mayor and her stooge-like Council majority members. Worse, these same citizens, who, for years, have been tolerant and patient, are finally ready to rip a few select key Staff members a new one.

Bravo! Citizens of Scottsdale: Why did it take you so long?

For years activists in both North and South Scottsdale have been attempting to get our citizens off dead center and help them realize that our city’s government is a bonafide farce.

What was the straw that finally broke the camel's back?

While all of those issues have been important in their own right, it is the accumulative effect of the embarrassments, lack of decision-making ability and leadership, as well as the obvious overall incompetence of our Mayor and Council majority, which have been struck with a resounding "Enough" from the citizens. Never have there been so many letters from formerly unknown authors in the history of the city condoning the actions of the council majority and the mayor as well as the city manager.

Council and Staff alike neither want to listen to the citizens nor do they want to make constructive, ethical, sound decisions for the benefit of Scottsdale with actual citizen input. Their agendas are personal and based upon resident perceived kickbacks, popularity, and pats on the back. Our city is run by a boatload of drunken sailors out on a spending "toot" with haphazard wishes and pipe dreams, who freely spend, spend, spend on worthless projects, while fanny patting developers and zoning attorneys at every opportunity! They never seem to remember that these debts will have to be repaid, but obviously not by them; or do really give a rat's patoot about the future of Scottsdale? NOT!

These "leaders" lack requisite knowledge, ability and reasoning to actually do the jobs they were hired to do. Our city government isn’t a well-oiled machine, as Councilman Ecton might have you think. It is a joke of gargantuan proportions and well, finally, the joke just possibly could be on them.

The over the top negative activism that Ecton states as a problem in Scottsdale is finally paying off in spades in a very positive way. Thank you citizens for listening, for seeing, and for realizing that we have a defunct band of egotistical "flunkies"" running our City.

It is time to clean house, make change and take back our city. This time, however, it’s different as we are armed with far more soldiers. A revolution has begun to take shape in Scottsdale, AZ. When Manross is dethroned, Robberson and Dolan fired, who will emerge as our leaders?

Hopefully, as citizens, we won’t make the same mistake twice or in this case, three times in a row.

Now, please, do something about it come election time.

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First, We would like to sincerely thank the Scottsdale Community Council for all the work they are doing to make Scottsdale a better place to live by bringing issues to the front with their informative meetings geared to the average resident.

A number of us attended their meeting on Thursday night with guest speakers Frank Gray and Raun Keagy. After the Bitter-Smith entourage left the room, the zoning questions started to fly Frank’s way.

We felt he struggled to adequately answer them and we know he would have used Bitter-Smith as a crutch had she been there. Frank seemed very tentative at best with most of his answers to citizen questions, nothing concrete you could take to the bank, so to speak. Frank said that he had been doing City Planning for 38 years and thought, jokingly, that maybe he should stop…Frank – not a joke – RETIRE, you owe it to yourself, and us!

Raun Keagy tried, mostly successfully, to explain the code enforcement issues and the way they are handled as well as some other related issues. His reason for Malcolm Hankin’s failure to appear as promised was very lame though. Raun and Frank were somewhat set back by a question concerning the hedges and oleanders on the front and sides of properties which are over 3 feet tall and have been against city codes for years. They promised a resolution to the problem soon.

Hey Raun & Frank, it’s not rocket science; any shrubs, walls or anything else within 15 feet of the sidewalk are to be no taller than 3 feet high unless it’s a tree which shall have 4 feet clearance from the ground to the branch portion of the tree as well as a minimum 8 foot clearance above the sidewalk and 15 feet on any portion overhanging the street. It’s all about the safety of our children and other users of the city sidewalks. Oleanders in particular are prone to disastrous fires due to the oily nature of their leaves which dry and fall to the center of the shrubs midway down to the bottom and they burn very hot and quickly.

Our current city government finds more ways to waste time and money that any other entity that we know! It is just a huge embarrassment for such a fine city.

Thanks again to the Scottsdale Community Council for helping to expose the good things or the scams being perpetrated on the unknowing residents.

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The Headline says "WATERLINE CONSTRUCTION TO TAKE PLACE ALONG INDIAN SCHOOL ROAD CORRIDOR STARTING THIS WEEK THROUGH JUNE".

As usual, this city announcement is smoke and mirrors as it fails to tell the true use, that being for a booster station. They imply it is to provide water which it is not. It is for back up pressure. This continues to expose the personal agenda and apparent secrecy of city personnel involved.

It still is not too late to ask some tough questions. We believe not even simple questions were asked regarding the following.

The city has two city owned sites on both the north and south sides of Indian School Rd. fronting on 68th street. Keep in mind the major waterline that needs to be tapped is just feet from these sites. Why are not either of these sites qualified?????

We do not understand why the city brass and city council are letting Ed Gawf and Frank Gray get away with this economically and utilitarianly unsound plan. We can only guess that in part, because there has only been one vocal Whistle Blower (the additional 122 petition signers protesting the site of the pumping station are not counted) and the whistle blower owns land near the Marshall Way site.

It just should not really matter. Council, the city manager, and planning should be watch dogs over taxpayer waste like this. The unnecessary cost of ripping up a full city block will, in fact, bring smiles on Gawf and Gray's faces knowing now there is no turning back on their ill-conceived plan.

We cannot believe, or do not want to believe, the council is comfortable with this situation. The Council can single-handedly order a one month holding period and reinvestigate the potential use of one of the other, more convenient, more economically viable, and more reasonably located city owned sites.

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It has been an interesting week. I have been included in discussions about everything from traffic congestion to the "stink" at the Waterfront to land use decisions and, more closely to home, housing.

Staff in Scottsdale covers a lot of ground and some of their jobs overlap, significantly. With each issue and ensuing discussion, it becomes even more clear that staff is doing their jobs. They are working with what they have at hand. They do not have all of the tools that they need, nor do they have the desperately needed policies in place to back them up.

There have been many recent anonymous messages to various BLOGS, Vents, and other such columns commenting on the impact on staff of "activist efforts." Some of those comments have stated that "activists" are making life "hell" for staff and "activists" should shut up.

If nothing else, "activists" are pointing up that leadership, elected and appointed and special interest powers, are not doing their jobs of addressing critical issues and policy or providing staff with all of the "tools" to do the multitude of jobs necessary to keep this, so called "World Class City," World Class.

One would tend to think that if any member of staff was being made miserable by an issue put forth by any "activist," then someone in authority can't figure out what is wrong, what to do, and how to make positive change to solve the issue at hand. What is even worse, that authority figure is afraid to step up and admit to their inability to do the job they were hired to do.

We elect people to office almost expecting them to walk on water and that is just not practical (especially in the desert).

What we should be expecting is that they will be up front in addressing every issue that needs to be dealt with and more importantly if they don't have the answers to problems, they will pursue, promptly, those who can and will solve problems.

The political arena is full of promises and egos, and the egos are getting in the way of solving problems effectively and efficiently. That means that thousands of human beings living in Scottsdale (and any community) live with situations, not of their making. This creates more detractions from quality of life than just about anything else.

We MUST think about who leads, not just us, but who is the boss at City Hall and who is willing to accept responsibility for how the City works, or doesn’t work.

Staff is directed by the Mayor, Council and City Manager. How they relate to the community as a whole, not just special interest groups or power brokers, is the crux of the problem created by a lack of leadership at the top of the pyramid.

"The People Shall Vote," and their votes should be dependent upon the willingness of leadership to openly and publicly address issues promptly and effectively with substantial public input and involvement.

Nancy Ann Cantor, Co-Chair
Scottsdale Coalition

My husband and I wanted to extend our appreciation to Connie Padian, who is the Interim Chief Planning Officer (replacing Randy Grant) for the City of Scottsdale, and to Councilman Tony Nelssen, for their assistance in satisfactorily resolving a matter concerning the Paradise Valley Arsenic Removal Facility in the Cattle Track Art District. A few months ago, AAWC, who is now 18 months behind on build-out of this project, began erecting a brown slump-block like wall to enclose their property west of the canal.

This exterior wall was originally supposed to be a Taliesin-architect designed rammed earth model, at a height of 8 feet, as touted by John Berry in his dog-and-pony show to the City Council for this project two years ago. The rammed earth model shown to the citizens during community outreach sessions was not the exterior wall that AAWC had begun building. The change in wall structure was solely approved by Tim Curtis, who lacked requisite authority to do so, and without a timely change request submitted to DRB. This appeared to be a classic example of an applicant/builder flying below the radar to make ad hoc changes to originally approved plans to a project just to get it completed!

When we learned of this issue, my husband and I petitioned City Council members for their support in following protocol for this project. In addition to Councilman Nelssen’s assistance, Connie Padian stepped up to facilitate this matter on behalf of the City. She exchanged numerous emails with us and with the contractor, and also personally met with us to discuss types of walls that would please east side residents with regard to aesthetics. AAWC was then required to hold another Open House for neighborhood input on the wall issue before presenting a second plan to DRB for approval.

On Thursday, May 17^th, DRB approved the dual wall design, pleasing residents east and west of the canal. The interior wall west of the plant will consist of a brown adobe and block construction; the east side wall, with its exterior facing 110 residents, will be more ornate with a Tuscan like inlaid rock design. This east-facing wall will be seen by hundreds of persons who walk and run along the canal bank on a daily basis, and will cost AAWC thousands of dollars less to build and maintain than the original rammed earth model that was approved by Council.

In the past, we have been met with extreme opposition with regard to our input on this Arsenic Removal facility project. Thank you Connie Padian and Councilman Tony Nelssen for diligently working with us to see this matter through to a satisfactory conclusion. We appreciate it!

Nan Nesvig
Scottsdale

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 ~ More Press Comments, Dolan Should Quit

Isn't it interesting how the press has started to turn on Mayor Manross and Jan Dolan? Could it be that they too are reading the Scottsdale Activist and actually seeing that both Manross and Dolan are being seen as incompetent and inept by many citizens?

I can't write too much due to my arthritis but I get tickled every time I see a new person's letter pop up in the local papers. There's getting to be quite a large chorus out there isn't there?

Maybe it's time Jan retired as she should have her Arizona retirement fund vested by now and can move on. I guess we can only hope and pray that will happen sooner than later. Thank God Manross will be retire by the results of the next election.

E Slocomb
Scottsdale

~Living in the Land of Oz

Sorry but the Land of Oz will be less than a little short this week and it is not for lack of Oz like creatures who run this city. It is because I lost both my Air Conditioner and my Swamp Cooler in one day due to a problem with my duct work which disintegrated, came loose, and is cooling my attic instead of the house.

We're still working to get everything back working and cleaned up so I'll see you all next week!

 Maricopa County Professor Forced Out for Citing George Washington

A tenured college professor is set to be fired for simply sending out an e-mail to colleagues containing George Washington’s "Thanksgiving Day Proclamation of 1789."

Already professor Walter Kehowski at Glendale Community College in Arizona has been placed on forced administrative leave and the school’s chief has recommended his termination.

"It simply boggles the mind that a professor could find himself facing termination simply for e-mailing the Thanksgiving address of our first president," said Greg Lukianoff, president of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE).

On Nov. 22, 2006, the day before Thanksgiving, Kehowski, a professor in mathematics in the Maricopa County Community College District (MCCCD) sent the e-mail containing Washington’s message to all MCCCD employees, using a district-wide service designated for "announcements."

  Within weeks, five MCCCD employees filed harassment charges against Kehowski, claiming his message was "hostile" and "derogatory." They complaining employees also cited the fact that the e-mail contained a link to Pat Buchanan’s Web site, where Kehowski had found Washington’s proclamation. Buchanan, a conservative commentator, had also posted to his Web site criticisms of immigration policies.

On Jan. 3, 2007, MCCCD found that Kehowski was guilty of violating policies limiting e-mail usage to messages that "support education, research, scholarly communication, administration, and other MCCCD business."

These policies also prohibit "mailings to large numbers of people that contain unwanted solicitations or information."

However, MCCCD employees commonly use the "announcements" service to send out unsolicited information, according to a statement from FIRE.

Recent e-mails sent out using this service include an advertisement for purchasing goats for orphans in Uganda, quotes about Women’s History Month, and a reminder about the health benefits of eating bananas.

"To FIRE’s knowledge, not one of the senders of these e-mails has been forced to cease teaching or threatened with dismissal," according to the organization’s statement.

On March 9, MCCCD Chancellor Rufus Glasper placed Kehowski on administrative leave and recommended to the MCCCD governing board that he be dismissed. Kehowski has since appealed that decision and will defend himself at a hearing before a panel of three faculty members on June 5.

Kehowski contacted FIRE for help, and FIRE wrote to Glasper on April 25 to protest the actions against Kehowski, asserting that e-mailing a proclamation from George Washington or including a link to Pat Buchanan’s Web site does not constitute punishable harassment.

FIRE reminded Glasper that the U.S. Supreme Court has held that for workplace expression to be considered "harassment," it must be "severe or pervasive enough to create an objectively hostile or abusive work environment."

Sending a link to a Web site, which readers can either visit or simply ignore, does not fit this standard, FIRE maintains.

Glasper responded with a letter on April 30, but failed to address any of FIRE’s concerns, according to the group’s statement.

"It is dark day for free speech and common sense in Arizona," Lukianoff said.

"If the MCCCD believes at all in the importance of the right to free expression, or even just in basic fairness, it will undo its illiberal actions and exonerate professor Kehowski immediately.

"This situation is an embarrassment to MCCCD and would be laughable if a professor’s most basic rights and very livelihood weren’t on the line."

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But these inconvenient facts haven’t stopped Assoc. Prof. Maggie Rivas-Rodriguez of the University of Texas-Austin (mrivas@mail.utexas.edu) from having a huge tortilla chip on her shoulder over the absence of Hispanics, er, Latinos, in the documentary. Appearing on the PBS News Hour tonight, she spouted more racial gas than what I get from eating refried beans at my favorite Mexican restaurant, where I’m often the only customer not of Mexican ancestry.

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~ Information You Can Use

Just click on the logos below to go to these websites.

Send our Brave Troops "Something from Home", Click on  Links below.

Gathering of  Eagles Website was launched 2/9/07. Click on the Logo above for more information on how they are protecting America's Memorials.

 ~ Prop 13 Arizona

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~ UPDATE!! A "Must See" for All Americans

Every American should check out all of these websites to learn more about what the American population is about to have to deal with.

This is NOT for Children.

I don't normally allow anything but Scottsdale information in the Scottsdale Activist but after receiving many emails about this and viewing it, I think that it's imperative that every adult at least look at what's offered here if for  nothing more than their own education and to have everyone stop and think about the future of our country. Click on the link below,

 www.obsessionthemovie.com

If you don't have Adobe Flash, install it from the bottom of the page that comes up after you click on the link above. You should be able to view all available links within the main page.

The website below is of great interest as seen from a Lebanese point of view:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8fa9yKQeTY

The website below gives some history of Terrorist attacks:

http://patriotfiles.org/civilizationcalls.htm

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~ View Past City Council Meetings

We can now access the city council meetings by clicking on the following link:

If you have any problems, check your firewall and other safety features which could block access to the city site.

~Continuing Light Rail Information

The Scottsdale Citizens Transportation Study Committee invites you to view their website for more questions and answers at  www.norailforscottsdale.com .

================================================================

Simply click on the links below to get all the information you'll ever need concerning Light Rail.

     Goldwater Institute Report

     American Dream Coalition

    The Public Purpose

If you have any questions about light rail, send them to editor@scottsdaleactivist.com and we'll get the answers to you as soon as we can.

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~ For Continuing Information on Photo Radar,
Click on the Logo below.

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 ~Are Red-Light Cameras Fair to Drivers?

These modern-day robocops make ticketing easier and can be huge moneymakers for local governments. But critics question their accuracy and fret over privacy issues.

Click on the link below , then scroll down to read the article:

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Insurance/InsureYourCar/AreRedLightCamerasFairToDrivers.aspx

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The Scottsdale Activist is very pleased to announce an effort on the behalf of the residents and taxpayers of the city of Scottsdale to promote open, honest and accountable city government. The Scottsdale Legal Defense Fund (SLDF) has been created to take legal action to hold the City accountable when its actions are contrary to state law, the City Charter, City ordinances or the public interest.

The most necessary ingredient to make the SLDF work will be confidential contributions from concerned Scottsdale citizens who are willing to help their community.  By contributing, we can change the way City Hall does business and insure that our tax dollars will be spent wisely.

No funds from the SLDF will or can be used for any political purpose.

Contributions shall be kept confidential as permissible by law and can be made in any Washington Mutual Bank to account number 3114165786 for the Scottsdale Legal Defense Fund. Branch locations are listed below. Contributions are not tax deductible.

The SLDF has retained the law firm of Miller LaSota & Peters, PLC, in connection with the patently illegal action taken by the Mayor and Council appointing the most recent Scottsdale City Attorney, while ignoring the residency requirement of the Scottsdale City Charter even though the new City Attorney’s contract (according to Scottsdale Republic reporter Laurie Roberts) requires that she reside in Scottsdale.  The City Council action was based on a legal opinion which was reportedly rendered during a closed door Executive Session of the City Council by a subordinate to the then acting City Attorney, who was subsequently appointed to the City Attorney position by a vote during a public City Council meeting. The opinion has been requested as a public document under state law, but the City has not yet provided it. The SLDF will take other appropriate legal actions based on the conduct of the Mayor and Council.

Washington Mutual Bank Locations at which contributions to the SLDF can be made are:

72^nd & Shea                    7337 E. Shea Blvd #120                480-609-8524
Hayden & Chaparral     7908 E. Chaparral # C-113            480-949-0069
Horizon                            14854 N Frank Lloyd Wright         480-614-6660
Scottsdale Ranch          10155 E. Via Linda Blvd #131       480-767-2060
Kierland Village              6501 E. Greenway Pkwy #133     480-315-2905

There are many other branches throughout the Valley.