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Joyce Clark Unfiltered

For "the rest of the story"

Jul 24

24

One last look at the two Lupes

Posted by Joyce Clark on July 24, 2024
Posted in Barrell District • Cactus District • City issue and actions • City of Glendale • Glendale elected officials • Glendale election 2024 • Primary Election August 2024 • Yucca district  | Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , | No Comments yet, please leave one

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.

The primary election is in one week, July 30th. Please do vote. It’s now too late to mail your Early Ballot but you can drop it off at the Glendale City Clerk’s office at the Civic Center Annex in downtown Glendale or you can drop it off on Election Day at a polling location.

Here are a couple of recent observations that have come to my attention. Lupe Encinas in a recent mailer used this photo:

I have learned that a complaint has been filed for its use of Glendale’s employees, namely police officers with no disclaimer or permission. A candidate cannot use Glendale’s employees in campaign literature. She will probably plead ignorance and that she didn’t know it was a violation. If she is found to have violated election law I suspect she will be fined.

At the candidate forum held by the Glendale Women’s Club, only the Lupe twins appeared. The Vice Mayor had a previous commitment and Dianna Guzman had had emergency surgery. During the forum, Conchas said at one point, “When I’m knocking on doors I hear a lot about speed enforcement and speed safety… I have been talking to residents about solutions and that includes more motorcycle police and giving out a few more speeding tickets.” This is the height of irony considering that Conchas has two traffic citations in his background and a Failure to Appear at one of those court hearings. Yet now he’s concerned about traffic safety and speeding. Check out these:

A recent anti-Vice Mayor Hugh was mailed out recently. It was paid for by the political action committee, Moving Glendale Forward, ID# 24-02. It was created specifically to do one action – print and mail a hit piece on Councilmember Hugh. The contributors to this PAC are 3 people, no one else, Art Othon of Othon Consulting, donated $500; Andy Konasek of Arizona Strategies, donated $500; and surprise! Bart Turner, Glendale City Councilmember representing Glendale’s Barrell district, $2,325.09. The printing and mailing cost $3,325.09. Bart Turner paid for 70% of the mailer. It appears that Turner despises Hugh and not just Hugh, but me, Mayor Weiers and Councilmember Malnar. In other words, the majority on Glendale’s city council.

He is financially supporting the two Lupes, Conchas and Encinas, both Democrats. There are more skeletons in Turner’s closet, but they are for another day in his future.

Turner appears to be a RINO Republican. When Democrat Mark Kelly was running for office Turner endorsed him and was subsequently censored by Republican Legislative District 24.

Several observers from that night at the Women’s Club shared their comments with me. One said Encinas is really “dumb” and another said she has “no grasp of the issues.” The last observer to reach out to me said both candidates had a golden opportunity to share specific solutions and to identify specific issues. Instead, they used platitudes and spoke in generalities. They both showed that they had no real understanding of Glendale’s policies or issues.

I’m sure you’ve heard the expression, “Me thinks thou doth protest too much.” It’s from Shakespeare’s Hamlet. The continual protests coming from the Encinas camp about connections with the radical Conchas should raise eyebrows. They had more than one Meet n Greet together. It certainly wasn’t a one-off.

The last thing Glendale needs right now are radicalized Democrats who espouse Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), defunding the police, higher taxes, gender transformation of children and open borders…the Democrat Pary platform.

Glendale is in a good position, economically and socially. Let’s keep it on a path of prosperity and safety for all of Glendale. Please vote for Ian Hugh and Dianna Guzman.

© Joyce Clark, 2024    

FAIR USE NOTICE

This site contains copyrighted material the use of which is in accordance with Title 17 U.S. C., Section 107. The ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Section 107 of the US Copyright Law and who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democratic, scientific and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such material. For more information go to http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use,’ you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Jul 24

13

Jose “Lupe” Conchas…too radical

Posted by Joyce Clark on July 13, 2024
Posted in Cactus District • City issue and actions • City of Glendale • Glendale elected officials • Glendale election 2024  | Tagged With: , , , , | 1 Comment

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 13, 2024, Shawn Raymundo, a reporter for the Arizona Republic, wrote an article that should have been labeled as opinion rather than as straight reporting, entitled Glendale Council Candidates: Opponents claim about ‘far left radicals’ is misleading.

Raymundo is a liberal and if I were to guess, supportive of the Democrat party. He also appears to be lazy having copied and pasted pure campaign rhetoric rather than interviewing the candidates.  It seems that if he is fed information he will run with it. If it’s Democrat it’s glowing. If it’s another party, not so much. When you read articles such as his it is important to consider the source.

In his article Raymundo says, “Two of Glendale’s council candidates have launched partisan attacks on their opponents, painting them as far-left radicals or sympathizers who want to defund the police.  

There’s little to no evidence supporting such claims.”

Let’s do some fact checking. Today, Dave Goita, President of the Glendale Fraternal Order of Police, Lodge 12, posted an interview Lupe Conchas did 3 years ago, in 2021. in response to the Eric Garner situation in his interview Conchas says that he joined Black Lives Matter (BLM) and became an activist.

Here is Conchas verbatim: “That’s what really prompted me to join my, uh, black brothers and sisters, uh, and the Black Lives Matter movement. To protest on the streets and really call for the universities to be more equitable when it comes to how we’re treating our black students at U of A. So, that’s what really got me into activism and into politics. And so that’s what really got me into activism and politics. So, ever since then that’s what I have been doing.”

A mailer supporting Vice Mayor Ian Hugh as the incumbent candidate for the Cactus city council seat stated that Lupe Conchas was part of Black Lives Matter movement (BLM) and it was immediately denied. Facts don’t lie. Conchas himself states that he joined BLM. No one made this up. Conchas said it. This link will take you to Glendale FOP President Dave Goita’s X page on which he posted Conchas’ interview:  https://x.com/GlendaleFOP12/status/1812154636553637924 .

Then there is a recent mailer on behalf of Conchas that has incumbent Glendale Barrel city councilmember Bart Turner endorsing Lupe Conchas with this, “I am disgusted by the way incumbents on our city council (and others) are distorting the truth to try to paint him as anything other than the good man he is.

I am confident we can count on Lupe to support our Police and Fire departments…”

Turner may be confident but obviously police and fire are not. That is why the Arizona Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) and the International Association of Firefighters (IAFF) have endorsed Vice Mayor Ian Hugh. He has demonstrated his long-time support of Glendale’s public safety and they know it and appreciate it.

There is no distortion of the truth.

Make no mistake. Jose “Lupe” Conchas is a radical organizer for George Soros organizations that do not represent you, the mainstream voter and Glendale resident. All we want is to live in a safe community and want to enjoy a good quality-of-life for everyone’s family. He is a disrupter advocating for causes that will destroy our American Dream. Jose “Lupe” Conchas is not right for Glendale.

On July 30th please vote and I urge you to vote for Vice Mayor Ian Hugh for the Cactus district city council seat. He has demonstrated his love for Glendale and will continue to advocate for you and your family.

© Joyce Clark, 2024    

FAIR USE NOTICE

This site contains copyrighted material the use of which is in accordance with Title 17 U.S. C., Section 107. The ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Section 107 of the US Copyright Law and who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democratic, scientific and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such material. For more information go to http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use,’ you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Jul 24

7

Hockey Memorabilia

Posted by Joyce Clark on July 7, 2024
Posted in Arizona Coyotes • City Council Actions • City of Glendale • Desert Diamond Arena • Glendale elected officials • Jobing.com arena  | Tagged With: , , , , , | No Comments yet, please leave one

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.

I have been on the Glendale City Council since 1992. During that time many momentous events have occurred in Glendale. One of the most memorable was the opening of the city’s arena with the first season of hockey played there. That was back in 2002, twenty-four years ago and I still remember the excitement.

I am now in my 80’s and we are downsizing our life style. Tucked away in a dark, cool closet I found my hockey memorabilia. In 2003, there was the Grand Opening of the city-owned arena and the first season of play by what was called at that time, the Phoenix Coyotes.

All of the councilmembers received special commerative gifts to celebrate the Grand Opening and the start of hockey at the arena. Each councilmember received a hockey stick signed by the team at that time as well as a hockey shirt, also signed by the team. To my knowledge there are only 7 sticks and 7 shirts. I do not know what the other councilmembers did with their gifts. I tucked mine away in a cool, dark closet and there they have been until I decided to clean out the closet.

The reason I am sharing this info is because I have decided to sell the stick and the shirt. If nothing else, they are historical and reflect a time of hope and excitement.

If you would like to purchase either or both of these items, please email me at clarkjv@aol.com and make an offer. The highest offer will become the owner of these wonderful items.

© Joyce Clark, 2024    

FAIR USE NOTICE

This site contains copyrighted material the use of which is in accordance with Title 17 U.S. C., Section 107. The ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Section 107 of the US Copyright Law and who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democratic, scientific and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such material. For more information go to http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use,’ you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Jun 24

12

Who is Lupe Encincas?

Posted by Joyce Clark on June 12, 2024
Posted in City issue and actions • City of Glendale • Glendale elected officials • Glendale election 2024 • Yucca district  | Tagged With: , , , , , | No Comments yet, please leave one

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.

Lupe Encinas has been a Glendale resident since 1993. She is a wife and mother. I’m sure she is a nice person. I have no issues with her as a fellow resident but as you will see, I do have issues with her candidacy for the Yucca district council seat.

She is the owner of four businesses and a manager of a fifth business. All of the following information regarding those businesses can be found on the Arizona Corporation Commission website.

  • On 4/4/2005 she and her husband started Goodie’s Glass, a commercial vehicle glass replacement company.
  • On 4/3/2017 she became a manager of Monsin LLC, finance and insurance.
  • On 9/3/2019 she established LE Services Enterprize LLC, real estate, rentals and leasing.
  • On 11/12/2020 she opened the Pink Door Tea Room
  • On 8/11/2022 she started Cactus State Insurance, insurance company

There is an old Elizabethan saying, “Jack of all trades but master of none.” It implies by definition, “a person who is good at a wide variety of things, but who isn’t great at any one thing.”

In choosing a Yucca district councilmember, voters should consider do they want a person that is good or a person who is great at responding to you and representing your interests?

Another issue to consider is that of time to give to the job of councilmember. Owning 4 businesses and managing a fifth business creates incredible demands in terms of time. Just when will Ms. Encinas find the time necessary to also serve as a councilmember?

Serving is not only time-consuming as two full Tuesdays a month must be devoted to attending council workshops, executive sessions and voting meetings. These meetings are absolutely critical.  That is certainly not all the job entails. She will be expected to do her “homework” in preparation for those meetings as well as attending various meetings with city staff, attending city events, working with district constituents, and serving as a representative of Glendale regionally. It is possible on any given day that a councilmember will attend a groundbreaking in the morning or a networking breakfast; meet with staff members or a member of the development community during the day; and then attend a city or regional event in the evening.

It is not a 9 to 5 job, and one has to be extremely flexible in devoting time to the job. Ask yourselves, when considering her qualifications, does she have the time needed or is she already spread too thin?

I think we can get some insight into her future performance as a councilmember by observing how she has run her campaign. She filed to run over a year ago in 2023. She could have been out collecting petition signatures during that entire year. Instead, she waited until the last minute…the month before signatures were due to actually collect them. As a result, she barely collected enough signatures to meet the minimum required and was scrambling to get them.

Her campaign finance reports have had missing information and some of the figures she reported have been wrong. She has a campaign chair, Natalie Stahl and a campaign treasurer, Jody Serey. Did they help her to double check her campaign reports to make sure they were accurate? Apparently not. These errors demonstrate that the candidate is not detail oriented, a necessary prerequisite when reviewing the city’s annual budget in addition to city contracts and much of its business dealings.

At a recent Meet N Greet Ms. Encinas was asked why she was running. She never truly answered and appeared at a loss to explain her motivation. She did say something along the lines of she wanted to “do good.”

At recent interviews where she was seeking endorsements it has been reported that her answers demonstrated that she has no knowledge of basic Glendale government. She could not respond to Glendale budgetary questions and did not know that the legislature’s removal of a city’s ability to collect rental tax meant that Glendale took a $14 million dollar hit.

How about her political alliances? Although she has done some door knocking, she appears to be relying on a series of Meet N Greets at Bitzee Mama’s. In attendance, among the few who show up, are Jamie Aldama, the failed mayoral candidate who withdrew after his nomination petitions were challenged for allegedly fraudulent signatures and Jose “Lupe” Conchas, an extremely radical, woke Democrat, running against Vice Mayor Ian Hugh for the Cactus city council seat. There’s another old saying, “You are judged by the company you keep.” The two Lupes (Encinas and Conchas) have aligned with one another because they share values that you may not support.

Many of her endorsements include the buzz words, “gracious” and “kind.” Great if you are running for Mother of the Year. Those attributes do not appear to be prerequisites for a city council candidate. Rather the call is for someone who is knowledgeable about city affairs, has demonstrated the desire to serve the people who will be represented, has the time to give to the job and doesn’t end up owing supporters who are a small, disgruntled, downtown contingent or disaffected councilmembers whose goal is to turn this city upside down.

Her endorsements include Natalie Stahl, her campaign chair; Jody Serey, her campaign treasurer; and David Serey, Jody’s husband. Additional endorsements include several downtown Glendale people including Yvonne Knaack (who no longer lives in Glendale or has any businesses in Glendale). These folks represent that faction of downtown Glendale who have opposed many city initiatives and appear not to be happy with anything the city does.

She has also received the endorsements of Councilmembers Lauren Tolmachoff and Bart Turner. That is no surprise. Their agenda for quite some time appears to be that of getting rid of our City Manager, Kevin Phelps. The strategy they have pursued in hopes of accomplishing that goal has been to support candidates who will align with them. Currently they are a minority on city council and their path requires them to try to create a new majority. If Encinas and Conchas are elected Tolmachoff and Turner will have achieved the goal of a new majority of council.

One recent, very interesting endorsement has been that of Arizona List. Its mission statement says, “Arizona List is a statewide membership network that works to recruit, train, support and elect pro-choice Democratic women running for office in Arizona.” This organization wouldn’t be endorsing Encinas unless she was a proven Democrat, and she is registered as such. Even though political races are declared as non-partisan, a candidate is often asked which party they belong to.

As a member of the Democrat party whose policies include open borders, gender transformation for young children, and the defunding of public safety one can assume that she shares those values.

Councilmember Tolmachoff is a Republican. I wonder how all her Republican friends, allies and constituents feel about her support for and endorsement of a Democrat?

The purpose of this blog is to educate you, the voter. It is important to know as much as possible about the person who wants to represent you. Lupe Encinas is a good person but she is not ready nor she is the right person for this job. She is relying on people with their own agendas to help her but they will expect her to support those agendas should she be elected.

Glendale is a city that is stable and financially strong. Our great bond ratings have allowed us to refinance existing debt at lower interest rates saving our city millions of dollars. Property taxes have not gone up in 8 years. This council has made it a priority to rehabilitate our streets, our parks and street right of ways. We have added more police and fire employees to serve you better. We have created a major employment center of 24,000 jobs at total build out in the Loop 303 area. Westgate and the surrounding area has become a major destination for sports and entertainment. These policy decisions were made by a majority of city council, Mayor Weires, Vice Mayor Hugh, Councilmember Ray Malnar and myself.

This election is perhaps the most critical in Glendale’s history. Do we continue to build a strong, welcoming, vibrant Glendale or do we do a 180 degree turn around and upend the values we all hold? I urge you to vote for a team that will continue to make Glendale prosper and that team is Mayor Jerry Weiers, Vice Mayor Ian Hugh, Councilmember Ray Malnar and the candidate for my seat, Dianna Guzman.

This is a team that will put Glendale first and just like you, want a finally sound city, a safe place to live with good amenities for a family and that provides outstanding basic services. Police and fire share these goals and that’s why they have endorsed Weiers, Hugh, Malnar and Guzman. Please be sure to early vote or vote on Election Day, July 30th in person. Let’s not turn Glendale into Chicago or Los Angeles. Please join me in keeping Glendale going in the right direction.

© Joyce Clark, 2024    

FAIR USE NOTICE

This site contains copyrighted material the use of which is in accordance with Title 17 U.S. C., Section 107. The ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Section 107 of the US Copyright Law and who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democratic, scientific and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such material. For more information go to http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use,’ you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Jun 24

4

Do you have the time to meet a candidate?

Posted by Joyce Clark on June 4, 2024
Posted in City issue and actions • City of Glendale • Glendale elected officials • Glendale election 2024 • Heroes Park • Yucca district  | Tagged With: , , , , , , , | No Comments yet, please leave one

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.

As you know by now, I am supporting Dianna Guzman for my Yucca district city council seat. Coming up is your opportunity to meet her and ask her the tough questions. Dianna is well prepared about Glendale government and the city’s budget and is looking forward to meeting you.

Dianna is hosting a Meet & Greet event at Heroes Library on Wednesday evening, June 12th from 6 PM to 8 PM. Not only that, but Mayor Weiers and I will be there as well to take your questions and to tell you why Dianna is the right choice for Councilmember representing the Yucca district.

Dianna would appreciate an RSVP for the purpose of providing refreshments that evening. Please click on this link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/meet-dianna-guzman-candidate-for-glendale-city-council-tickets-918936984257?aff=oddtdtcreator

Please join us that evening. We look forward to seeing you again or meeting you for the very first time.

© Joyce Clark, 2024    

FAIR USE NOTICE

This site contains copyrighted material the use of which is in accordance with Title 17 U.S. C., Section 107. The ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Section 107 of the US Copyright Law and who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democratic, scientific and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such material. For more information go to http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use,’ you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

May 24

15

Glendale’s Guzman Picks Up Key Endorsement From Arizona Fraternal Order Of Police

Posted by Joyce Clark on May 15, 2024
Posted in City issue and actions • City of Glendale • Glendale elected officials • Glendale election 2024 • Yucca district  | Tagged With: , , , , | No Comments yet, please leave one

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.

It is no secret that I am endorsing Dianna Guzman to replace me as the Yucca district councilmember when I retire after 24 years of service this December. Dianna has proven that she wants your vote. Every week she and her crew go to different Yucca neighborhoods and place door hangers. She is attending every city council workshop meeting and voting meeting so that she is prepared to hit the ground running when she takes office. She attends city events with regularity. She can carry out the duties of the office. She understands that there is a major time commitment and is prepared to fulfill it.

Not so much with Lupe Encincas. Her campaign thus far has consisted of attending two Meet n Greets at Bitzee Mama’s. At the most recent one coming out to support her were failed mayoral candidate Jamie Aldama and the radical Democrat Lupe Conchas, Cactus district candidate. Has anyone ever told her that we are judged by the company we keep? She was overheard to have said that she wasn’t sure why she was running but she did want to help people.

Lupe Encincas is a nice person but she’s in way over her head. It appears she has no idea how to run a campaign for office. If she is not committing the time needed to run, that demonstrates that she will not be committed to giving the time needed to be a councilmember.

On May 9, 2024, the Arizona Independent ran the following story about Dianna Guzman, Yucca district city council candidate:

“A long-time advocate for the residents of Glendale, Dianna Guzman, received a key endorsement from the first responders who provide for the residents’ safety. Guzman, a candidate for the Yucca District seat on the Glendale City Council, picked up the endorsement from the Arizona Fraternal Order of Police.

Supporters say the endorsement underscores Guzman’s commitment to ensuring public safety for the residents of Yucca District.‘Receiving the endorsement of the Arizona Fraternal Order of Police is a tremendous honor,’ said Guzman. ‘I am deeply committed to ensuring the safety and security of the residents of Yucca District, and I am grateful to have the support of the brave men and women who serve on the front lines of law enforcement every day.’

Guzman says her platform focuses on implementing proactive strategies to address public safety concerns, advocating for increased resources for law enforcement, and fostering stronger relationships between the community and local police departments.

Guzman’s comprehensive approach to public safety has resonated with voters and community leaders alike, say politicos, putting her on the Ballot with the maximum number of signatures and receiving the endorsement from current Yucca District Councilmember Joyce Clark.

In an official endorsement letter from the Arizona Fraternal Order of Police, it states, ‘based on your demonstrated support of significant public safety issues and reflects our belief that you best understand the difficult job faced by members of the law enforcement community. Your support of those efforts has not gone unnoticed.’

‘As a lifelong resident of Glendale of 27 years and a passionate advocate for her community, Dianna understands the unique needs and challenges facing the Yucca District,” said Clark. ‘With the support of the Arizona Fraternal Order of Police, she is poised to bring positive change and effective leadership to the Glendale City Council’.”

I urge you to vote for Dianna Guzman in Glendale’s Primary Election on July 30, 2024. Early ballots will be mailed out starting on July 3, 2024. Please mark your ballot for Dianna Guzman and mail it back promptly.

© Joyce Clark, 2024    

FAIR USE NOTICE

This site contains copyrighted material the use of which is in accordance with Title 17 U.S. C., Section 107. The ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Section 107 of the US Copyright Law and who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democratic, scientific and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such material. For more information go to http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use,’ you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Apr 24

15

Lupe Conchas…at it again

Posted by Joyce Clark on April 15, 2024
Posted in Cactus District • City issue and actions • City of Glendale • Glendale elected officials • Glendale election 2024 • Mattel Adventure Park • VAI Resort • Westgate  | Tagged With: , , , , | No Comments yet, please leave one

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.

Some candidates can’t help but run a negative bashing campaign and it looks like this Lupe is one of them. Recently he posted a video attacking his opponent, Incumbent Councilmember, and current Vice Mayor Ian Hugh.

The video had 3 themes. The first was that Vice Mayor Hugh is too old and out of touch. Let’s take a deeper dive into this allegation. The Vice Mayor is 70 years old. I am 82 years old. The last time I ran I was 78 years old. Age is not the determining factor. It’s mental competency. Vice Mayor Hugh is mentally sharp, and he is in very good physical condition. At 82 I am as sharp mentally as ever but physically, my legs are failing me.

Keep in mind that the majority on City Council comprised of Mayor Weiers, Councilmember Hugh, Councilmember Malnar and me, despite the constant opposition of wanna-be mayor Aldama and Councilmembers Tolmachoff and Turner, have moved Glendale forward in many positive ways. We have a Pavement Management Program designed to keep every road in Glendale in good condition on a rotating schedule. We have started a years long program to upgrade every park in Glendale. We have also instituted a multi-year program to improve the landscaping in every right-of way.

We have embarked on a 3-year program to renovate City Hall, Council Chambers, the Amphitheater and Murphy Park. This city investment in downtown Glendale has spurred developers to invest in downtown. Soon you will see a Hilton Hotel under construction in downtown to name but one major, private investment.

Look at Westgate with a nearly one billion dollar investment in the VAI Resort and Mattel Adventure Park. The city owned arena, Desert Diamond, is earning higher revenues than ever before. Bell Road corridor is thriving and continues to reinvent itself to remain relevant and successful. The “New Frontier,” the  Loop 303, is still exploding with new growth. Witness the latest company to invest in the area, Amazon. We have grown nearly 24,000 jobs in the area.

Age is simply not a factor. Mental acuity is. To borrow a quote from the late President Reagan who was 74 in 1984 when he ran for President, “I am not going to exploit, for political purposes, my opponent’s youth and inexperience.”

At the bidding of Worker Power, who has real heartburn about the VAI Resort, Conchas threw in the proposed city-owned parking garage at Westgate as his second theme. He and Worker Power contend the public parking garage is not needed. Not so. There is not much land left in the Westgate area and as surface parking continues to disappear as new buildings are constructed, the need for public parking becomes greater. If we want Westgate to continue to thrive and grow, thereby earning more sales tax dollars for Glendale to be used for the benefit of you, the residents of Glendale it becomes more and more critical to have adequate parking in the area.

Conchas’ last theme in his video was to accuse the Vice Mayor of allowing schools in Glendale to close. What planet is Conchas on? Obviously, he doesn’t know that the Glendale City Council has no authority over school districts and their school boards. Nada. None.  This demonstrates how ill informed he is about what a councilmember does.

There is nothing the Vice Mayor can do about the school districts’ policies regarding school closures or anything else school related. Yet Conchas has said, he is “focused on addressing the basic needs of students.” He wants to, “increase school funding at the State Legislature, support teachers, advocate for pay increases, reduce class sizes, and educate the whole child.” That’s fine. He’s also running for the Alhambra School Board. That seems to be his priority. If you agree with him, then you will vote for him for that position…not Glendale City Council.

It’s time for Conchas to stop playing in the mud. Let’s hear what his priorities are as a city council candidate. Haven’t seen or heard anything? That’s because he hasn’t offered anything.

But that’s what you can expect from a Progressive Democrat, Marxist candidate.

© Joyce Clark, 2024    

FAIR USE NOTICE

This site contains copyrighted material the use of which is in accordance with Title 17 U.S. C., Section 107. The ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Section 107 of the US Copyright Law and who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democratic, scientific and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such material. For more information go to http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use,’ you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Apr 24

8

Who is Lupe Conchas?

Posted by Joyce Clark on April 8, 2024
Posted in Cactus District • City issue and actions • City of Glendale • Glendale elected officials • Glendale election 2024  | Tagged With: , , , | 1 Comment

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.

Lupe Conchas is running for the Alhambra School Board and the Cactus City Council seat. He was residing in the Ocotillo District for a few years and then in 2020 moved to an apartment in the Cactus District around 45th Avenue and Ocotillo Road. He owns no real property according to the Financial Disclosure Statement he recently filed with the Glendale City Clerk. He is 31 years old.

He lists his employment as Regional Organizer Manager for One Campaign and Regional Organizer for Bread for the World. He also lists himself as a Volunteer Coordinator for both non-profit organizations which are based in Washington, D.C.

In October of 2023 he started a business called Mobilizing Strategies, LLC. To date, after researching, the only client he has had is Analise Ortiz, a Democrat candidate for the Arizona Legislature. Her campaign committee paid him $2,500 for consulting services in December of 2023.

In 2019 he was the Arizona Democratic Party Affirmative Action Moderator. In 2023 he became the Vice Chair of the Executive Board of the Arizona Democratic Party. He proudly calls himself a Progressive Democrat.

When asked in an interview while running for the Alhambra School Board, who were his role models? He said, two union organizers Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta. In the same interview he said, “We need to review our discipline policies, safety protocols, and curriculum with a racial equity lens and protect our BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) students from discrimination, racism, and police violence. We have an opportunity to implement ethnic studies and cultural studies in our classrooms.”

As Vice Chair of the Arizona Democrat Party he said in another interview, “Arizona Democrats have resoundingly rejected the politics of Senator Sinema and are united in our determination to replace her in 2024,” explained Lupe Conchas, a vice chair of the Arizona party. “She turned her back on Arizona and today we turned our back on her. She does not represent us. It’s time for us to put our time and effort behind a candidate that puts working-class people first—not Wall Street hedge fund managers.” 

As a Progressive, not even a moderate Democrat, he supports a radical, progressive agenda that includes defunding the police, not holding criminals accountable for their crimes, and an open border agenda along with all the violent crime we see every day across the country. He supports the climate change agenda as well. As a Democrat, his agenda includes support for LGBTQIA and gender transitioning for young children.

In this photo you can see he is wearing a T Shirt with the Black Lives Matter symbol.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here’s a very short history on the origin of the raised fist. It began as a Russian and Communist Party symbol. In the past few years, the Black Lives Matter organization adopted it. Obviously, it is a very polarizing symbol that Mr. Conchas has no problem associating with.

It went from this

 

 

 

to this

 

 

 

to this

 

 

 

 

If you are a Progressive Democrat, you will have no problem in voting for Mr. Conchas. Glendale, historically, traditionally, and culturally is a conservative community that still looks upon the American flag with respect. A majority of its residents still believe in faith, family, and community. They respect law enforcement and support it. They believe when someone commits a criminal act, he/she should be held accountable. They want their children to be children and they abhor the excessive violent crime created by an open border policy.

Here are the values of our City Council today, including the Cactus incumbent, Vice Mayor Ian Hugh. We have a great City Council that took Glendale from the brink of bankruptcy to earning the highest financial ratings from Fitch and other rating agencies. We have created nearly 24,000 new jobs in the Loop 303 area and that does not include all the new businesses in greater Glendale. We support our Police and Fire. We remain fiscally and culturally conservative and are focused on raising the quality of life for every Glendale resident.

Mr. Conchas has every right to run for the Cactus council seat, but he would be polarizing and he embodies the very values that a majority of Glendale’s residents and especially Cactus district residents do not hold. He would move Glendale in a direction that a majority of our residents do not want or accept. Would he organize demonstrations about policies adopted by a majority of city council that he did not agree with? After all, his major job is as an organizer and he has participated in many demonstrations. 

I urge the voters of the Cactus District to vote for Vice Mayor Ian Hugh for he is the true embodiment of Glendale’s values.

© Joyce Clark, 2024    

FAIR USE NOTICE

This site contains copyrighted material the use of which is in accordance with Title 17 U.S. C., Section 107. The ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Section 107 of the US Copyright Law and who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democratic, scientific and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such material. For more information go to http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use,’ you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Apr 24

6

Desperation

Posted by Joyce Clark on April 6, 2024
Posted in Cactus District • City issue and actions • City of Glendale • Glendale elected officials • Glendale election 2024 • Sahuaro District • Yucca district  | Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , | No Comments yet, please leave one

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.

As of April 1, 2024, we know the final slate of candidates running in Glendale’s Primary Election this July. This is the final slate of candidates:

MAYOR                                Incumbent Mayor Jerry Weiers vs. Jamie Aldama

CACTUS DISTRICT              Incumbent Vice Mayor Ian Hugh vs. Lupe Conchas

YUCCA DISTRICT                Dianna Guzman vs. Lupe Encinas (to fill my seat as Councilmember)

SAHUARO DISTRICT           Incumbent Councilmember Ray Malnar unopposed

Now is when desperation begins to set in for some candidates. Two cases in point.

Dianna Guzman’s campaign manager is a person by the name of Darius Diggs. I have met Darius. He is a fine, young man with a bright political future. It has been said that Dianna’s opponent, Lupe Encinas, has passed around a social media assertion from a person claiming to have been assaulted by Darius. It is defamatory, untrue, and pure, unadulterated dirt. In fact, Darius filed charges of assault against this person. Recently in court, the judge ruled in favor of Darius and found against the person who had been circulating his unfounded claim. Hopefully, this will put this episode to rest but I think we all know it will continue to be used to smear Darius and by association, Dianna Guzman.

Another case in point is the other Lupe, Lupe Conchas, and his recent actions. Recently Vice Mayor Ian Hugh hosted his twice yearly Cactus District meeting/BBQ. I attended as did the Mayor and Councilmember Malnar. All of council is invited. Some attend and some have other commitments. Also in attendance was the Vice Mayor’s opponent, Lupe Conchas. He appeared to be actively campaigning to those citizens in attendance. Not only that, but he stood on the street at the entrance to the event, waving his campaign sign. Was it illegal? No. Was it classless and tasteless. Yes.

These kinds of actions by candidates speak to their desperation. Let’s hope they will talk about issues. What are their platforms? What are the most important initiatives they seek to champion? What are their qualifications to serve?

Rest assured, as we go through the next several months before the Primary Election, I will be sharing answers to just such questions. Let’s hope the candidates have publicized their answers!

© Joyce Clark, 2024    

FAIR USE NOTICE

This site contains copyrighted material the use of which is in accordance with Title 17 U.S. C., Section 107. The ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Section 107 of the US Copyright Law and who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democratic, scientific and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such material. For more information go to http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use,’ you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Mar 24

4

Political pandering is an art form

Posted by Joyce Clark on March 4, 2024
Posted in City Council Actions • City issue and actions • City of Glendale • Glendale elected officials • Glendale election 2024 • Glendale finances • Ocotillo District • Primary Election August 2024  | Tagged With: , , , , | No Comments yet, please leave one

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.

As you may be aware, Councilmember Jamie Aldama is running for mayor against the incumbent, Mayor Jerry Weiers and former state legislator, Paul Boyer. If and when Aldama turns in his nominating petitions he will be required to resign from his Ocotillo District council seat. The drop-dead date for turning in nominating petitions is April 1, 2024.

This could mean that Aldama is attending his last few city council meetings. As a mayoral candidate opposing the incumbent, Mayor Weiers, Aldama is desperate to position himself in opposition to the Mayor on every issue he can dig up.

It was evident that is exactly what he was doing at the February 27, 2024, City Council voting meeting. The last item on the agenda was seeking council approval for a garage construction agreement between the city and Fisher Industries, developer of VIA Resort, to build a city-owned, public parking garage.

Here is the verbatim transcript of Aldama’s remarks before voting ‘no’ on the agreement:

Starting at the 44 minute, 33 seconds mark: “Mayor, explain my vote. Yeah, I, uh, this is a data driven organization I, uh, and I have not yet to see any data that demonstrates a need for a parking garage for the VIA Resort. Absent the VIA Resort, Glendale does not require a parking garage. Uh, our City Manager shared with us awhile back that there was some area footage taken of Westgate and the, uh, stadium area and there was tons of parking left over. There ya go. We don’t need a parking garage. Um, our resident spoke very clearly, very concise about some of the issues I wanted to, uh, talk about. Uh, there’s no competitive process. There was no selection process. We spend more time on RFPs for lower dollar amounts than the $72 and a half million dollars. And I asked the question, was that a legal way of doing business and the answer is yes. Well, I don’t believe that it is. Um, and it should be a practice that the City of Glendale hold on the RFP process or any type of procurement process. Um, this has, in my opinion, have favor written all over it and, ah, I am not in favor of building a parking garage for the VIA Resort. We don’t need a parking garage absent the VIA Resort. I vote nay.”

Let’s take apart what he said. “I have not yet to see any data that demonstrates a need for a parking garage for the VIA Resort.” That’s because the parking garage is to be a public, city owned garage for anyone visiting the Westgate area. Yes, it will also serve VIA and the Mattel Amusement Park. With a projection of $32 million dollars annually in revenue earned by the city from these two projects, it is anticipated that the garage will be in constant use with the city earning a portion of the parking fees.

It is also important to point out that as Westgate develops the last vacant parcels it will result in no or very little on-site parking. That makes the need for a public parking garage all the more essential to keep the area thriving.

Another factor Aldama refuses to acknowledge is that VIA will have at least 2,500 parking spaces on site, either underground or above ground.

Aldama goes on to say, “Uh, there’s no competitive process. There was no selection process.”

Here is a portion of the packet of information relating to this agreement that was in every councilmember’s voting meeting  agenda packet:

“The City published a Request for Qualifications (RFQ), for design-build services of a parking garage at the City-owned Black Lot, in the Arizona Republic Newspaper on December 20 and December 27, 2023. The City held a mandatory pre-submittal conference on, Thursday, January 4, 2024, at 9:00am at the City of Glendale’s Adult Center. Twenty-four (24) firms attended the mandatory pre-submittal conference. Of those twenty-four firms, four (4) firms submitted statements of qualification for the RFQ.
A selection committee was formed, and each panel member reviewed the four submittals to score each firm according to the scoring criteria provided in the RFQ. The panel scored Fisher the highest scoring firm and agreed that Fisher demonstrated the capabilities to deliver this project according to the schedule and budget outlined in the RFQ.”

Again, this information was provided to Aldama in his council agenda packet. Saying that there was no process does not make it so just because he said it publicly.

Aldama accuses senior management and city council of favoritism by saying, “Um, this has, in my opinion, have favor written all over it…” That is a serious accusation that is unfounded. As The information above provided to council shows that a selection process did occur.

Lastly, Aldama says, “And I asked the question, was that a legal way of doing business and the answer is yes. Well, I don’t believe that it is.” Aldama’s belief is not fact.

Aldama’s statement should cause you to ask several questions. Did he read the material in his council agenda packet? If not, he did not do his duty to become fully informed on the issues that he was to vote upon that evening. If he did read the material, why did he reject the staff report stating that the procurement process was followed?

The answer is simple. This is election season and Aldama wishes to become the mayor of Glendale. He picks any topic that he thinks will draw a contrast between himself and Mayor Weiers. This wasn’t the issue to use this tactic.

Was there political pandering on the part of Aldama? You bet there was.

© Joyce Clark, 2024    

FAIR USE NOTICE

This site contains copyrighted material the use of which is in accordance with Title 17 U.S. C., Section 107. The ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Section 107 of the US Copyright Law and who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democratic, scientific and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such material. For more information go to http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use,’ you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

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