[poll id=”29″]Disclaimer: The comments in this blog are my personal opinion and may or may not reflect an adopted position of the city of Glendale and its city council.

On July 5, 2018 the Glendale Chamber of Commerce announced its endorsements for the three city council seats to be voted upon in Glendale’s next election. The endorsements were for all three incumbents: Vice Mayor Tolmachoff from the Cholla district; Councilmember Bart Turner of the Barrel district; and Councilmember Jamie Aldama of the Ocotillo district. All candidates were interviewed and their written responses reviewed by the Chamber’s Public Policy Council. Those recommendations were then forwarded to the Board of Directors for approval. Here are the members of the Glendale Chamber’s Public Policy Council:

• Bill Toops, Glendale Star, Chairperson (also serves on Board of Directors)
• Steve Adams, AlphaGraphics, (also serves on Board of Directors)
• Rachel Aja, Cox Communications
• Kathi Beranek, Blue Cross Blue Shield (company also represented on Board of Directors)
• Judy Butler, Butler Creative & Consulting
• Ron Castro, BNC National Bank, (company also represented on Board of Directors)
• Michael Cavaiola, Redflex Traffic Solutions
• Stephanie Colbert, Chance Mikos Farmer’s Insurance
• Donna Davis, Expect More Arizona
• Patricia DiRoss, Salt River Project, (company also represented on Board of Directors)
• Yvonne Knaack, State Farm Insurance
• Matt Ligouri, Southwest Gas
• Bobbi Magdaleno, Arizona State University, (also serves on Board of Directors)
• Dave Mitchell, Ideal Insurance Agency
• Liz Recchia, WeMar
• Brent Stoddard, Director of Public Affairs, City of Glendale
• Lyndia Vescio, Vescio Law Firm, (also serves on Board of Directors)
• Robert Heidt, CEO Glendale Chamber of Commerce, (also serves on Board of Directors)

Here are the members of the Chamber’s Board of Directors;

• Maria Brunner, Chair of the Board, OneAZ Credit Union
• Lily DeBileux, Chair-Elect, Pendergast Elementary School District
• Steve Adams, Treasurer, Alphgraphics
• Scott Spillman, Vice Treasurer, BNC National Bank
• Jean Higginbotham, Past Chair, Blue Cross Blue Shield,
• Robert Heidt, CEO, Glendale Chamber
• Victoria Coley, Humana
• Ariana Deerman, Wells Fargo Bank
• Stephanie Klingener, VitalFit Training
• Kate Kochenderfer, Salt River Project
• Wayne Lawson, Signarama on 51^st Avenue
• Patrick McDermott, Arizona Public Service
• Bobbi Magdaleno, Arizona State University
• Kevin Phelps, City Manager, City of Glendale
• Mary Pritchard, Pritchard Insurance Group
• Richard Sherry, Dignity Health Arizona
• Bill Toops, Glendale Star
• Jeffrey Turney, Military & Veterans Affairs
• Lynda Vescio, Vescio Law Firm
• Judy Walter, Dignity Memorial
• Mayor Jerry Weiers, City of Glendale

Of the 18 members of the Public Policy Council, 8 members (44%) also serve on the Board of Directors or have another person from their company serving on the Board of Directors. Once the Public Policy Council has made a recommendation for endorsement it is very probable that the Board of Directors will ratify the recommendations. After the 8 members have made a decision those same 8 companies can ratify the recommendations made to the Board of Directors needing only one more person to constitute a majority of the Board.

It is also worth noting that seven (38%) of the 18 members of the Public Policy Council members represent large companies (Cox Communications, Blue Cross Blue Shield, BNC National Bank, Redflex Traffic Solutions, Salt River Project, Southwest Gas, Arizona State University). All have a Valley-wide presence. Should Valley-wide, major companies be empowered to make recommendations about local candidates for office?

What criteria were used to make their recommendations for endorsement?

• “Candidates were selected who have distinguished themselves as knowledgeable and supportive (emphasis mine) of issues positively affecting the business community in the city of Glendale.”
• Bill Toops, Chair of the Chamber’s Public Policy Council said, “The Glendale Chamber Board of Directors is pleased to endorse candidates who have demonstrated accessibility and collaboration (emphasis mine) in support of promoting interests most important to our local businesses.”
• Robert Heidt, the Chamber’s CEO, said, “Throughout this process we heard from those running for office and have endorsed candidates who has the clearest understanding of the challenges facing the business community and those whose policies align with our initiatives (emphasis mine) to foster a pro-business environment focused on the creation of quality jobs, along with business retention and expansion.”

These criteria seem to favor incumbents. Their positions as elected officials provide many opportunities to “distinguish themselves as knowledgeable and supportive,” to have “demonstrated accessibility and collaboration,” and to have advocated for “policies that align” with the Chamber’s initiatives.

Incumbents have the decided advantage as they have the opportunity to interact with the Chamber in a variety of ways in their official capacities as well as the opportunity to approve/disapprove actions that benefit the Chamber’s interests. It’s not a level playing field. Often those running in opposition to the incumbents have no experience or knowledge of specific city initiatives or actions, especially any that could benefit the Chamber. It’s not their fault. They haven’t been playing ‘inside baseball’ for the previous four years (term of an incumbent). They simply do not have any experience serving as an elected and therefore are at a disadvantage. It takes any newly elected official time to learn how the city works, to become familiar with its policy positions and to establish relationships with various stakeholder groups within the city.

Perhaps the better criterion to be used would not to be rely upon experience (that is weighted always toward the incumbent) but rather to review candidates’ positions on the issues and which policies would be supported. If two candidates for the same office shared the same views perhaps using incumbency to tip the scales should not be the option for recommendation. Perhaps in some cases there should be no recommendation or a recommendation to support either candidate.

I remain troubled with the process used by the Chamber to select endorsements in a local campaign. It will be another two years before the Chamber issues its next set of endorsements for local office. That time might be well spent in developing a process that recognizes an incumbent’s advantage and levels the playing field for those who have never held office.

^{© Joyce Clark, 2018}         

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