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Joyce Clark Unfiltered

For "the rest of the story"

Dec 24

28

Velma Teague Library…elegant or eye sore?

Posted by Joyce Clark on December 28, 2024
Posted in City Council Actions • City issue and actions • City of Glendale • Downtown Glendale • Glendale Economic Development • Glendale elected officials • Ocotillo District  | Tagged With: , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

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 a preface to this blog, I am pleased to tell you that I now have the luxury of time to write again. I started this blog in 2013 and over the years I have written many pieces. For the last two years, taking care of my husband of 89 years and fulfilling my council responsibilities left no time to write. I retired from my council position this December. That action has provided me with time to do one of the things that I love and that is to write again. Look for more consistent and frequent pieces about Glendale.

Many years ago, for at least 40 years ago, my children and I used Velma Teague all the time. It was the only library us south and west Glendale residents had. As the children grew, they soon had access to other libraries and Velma Teague faded as our resource.

What is Velma Teague today? It is small and outdated. It has no room to expand or to accommodate another generation of readers who rely on computers and phones.

Suddenly and unexpectedly, the city’s Promenade space became available. Did you know that the Promenade features a unique history walk featuring 59 images relating to the history of Glendale imbedded in the sidewalk? Each vibrant mosaic offers insight into the evolution of Glendale. 

The majority of council sees this as an opportunity to move the library out of its old, cramped space into a larger space that can bring it into the 21st Century while meeting the needs of economically disadvantaged children. It is an opportunity to provide them with the tools they need to succeed in an ever-advancing digital economy. The city council views this proposal as an opportunity to provide our children with learning to meet the demands of the highly technical world we live in today.

Not only that but the new larger space can accommodate and encourage more programming of classes and learning experiences for our children. It seemed to be a win-win for all.

Not so fast. Remember the group that sported green T-shirts emblazoned with “Save Murphy Park”? They were opposed to the city hall remodel project, convinced that it would destroy the park. This very same group, against anything the city council proposes, is at it again. This time, it’s save the library. One would think from some of their rhetoric that city council was banning books!

Their two major arguments against removing the Velma Teague building are first, its enormous sentimental value. I ask to whom? 99% of Glendale’s residents don’t know it exists and have never used it. It is not a historical building as there have been several iterations of this library over the years. Its sentimental value is limited to the small group of activists desperately searching for any reason to override the direction of the city council.

Last year I started to clean out our home after 50 years of “stuff” had accumulated. Some of it had sentimental value but if I had saved it all we would still be drowning in an overabundance of “stuff.” Sometimes you just have to get rid of things, if for no other reason than to make room for the new. It’s so nice to use uncluttered rooms with space to accommodate new looks and new gadgets. Velma Teague is exactly the same. Sometimes you get rid of the old with perceived, limited sentimental value to make room for the new and often more useful items that can enrich your life. A new Velma Teague holds the promise of enriching the lives of a new generation of children.

The second reason our merry band of nay sayers say they don’t want to see Velma Teague removed is that city council has a nefarious plan to enlarge the amphitheater. Here are a few facts that they deliberately prefer to ignore. The plans for the remodeling of city hall, the amphitheater and council chamber have been approved and are final. The budget is set. The only changes in the budget that have come forward are an increase in the cost of building materials or unexpected glitches that have been found in the old building that required an unbudgeted remedy.

Have you seen or heard senior management come forward with a plan to increase the size of the amphitheater and an accompanying request for more funding to cover that expansion? The answer is ‘no’. It hasn’t happened and it isn’t going to happen.

Just for a minute, can you imagine Murphy Park, wide open and newly landscaped without that intrusive old building? Imagine Murphy Park, enlarged for an even more spectacular Glendale Glitters when it returns to that location? Without that building there is suddenly more room for people and the events that attract them to downtown Glendale. As I said previously, it’s a win-win for the children and a win-win for the downtown merchants.

What will happen? Now I will use my crystal ball. The dozen activists will win this round, and Velma Teague will stay as the proud, old lady in her tattered finest. We know that Councilmembers Tomalchoff and Turner oppose any plan to remove Velma Teague. Add newbie Councilmember Conchas to the pro Velma Teague faction. All these councilmembers have to do is turn one more councilmember to gain the majority. My guess is that they are gunning for Ocotillo Councilmember Baldenegro. He is a smart, common sense, compassionate guy with the genuine best interests of his constituency at the forefront. Whisperings have started that if he doesn’t support keeping Velma Teague where it is, he can look forward to a recall in his future.

I think that would be enough to get him to change his position. A recall filled with lies, smears and innuendos comparing one to Hitler or Al Capone, no matter how untrue, is something no one wants to face.

So, after all the political sound and fury, I suspect Velma Teague will stay where it is and the children of the Ocotillo district will be the losers, having gained nothing for their future well-being. It will be a sad ending to a project that could have provided these children with enhanced opportunities to move into the digital age.

Suffer the children.

 

© 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.

Oct 24

3

Lies and more lies

Posted by Joyce Clark on October 3, 2024
Posted in 2024 General Election • City of Glendale • Glendale Economic Development • Glendale elected officials • Glendale election 2024 • Phoenix Metro issues • Worker Power Super PAC  | 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.

Before I begin this post there is a question that should be asked. What is Councilmember-Elect Lupe Conchas’ position on Proposition 499. He was endorsed by Worker Power and received contributions from various unions. Which master will he serve? Worker Power and their Proposition 499 or the residents of the City of Glendale? It will be interesting to find out.

The Worker Power PAC, initiators of Proposition 499, to be voted on by Glendale voters on the November 5th General Election ballot is at it again. Who is paying for this flyer? Three groups. The Worker Power PAC is one. In a previous blog, Worker Power Part 1, I provided information about Worker Power. The second funding source is Unite Here PAC. It represents…wait for it…hospitality workers. The third funding source, Workers Vote, is the most interesting. This year they received $250,000 from George Soros’ Super PAC. Proposition 499 is supported by George Soros.

Worker Power is passing out a flyer in support of their initiated Proposition 499. Here is the front of the flyer:

 

LIE #1: The only worker on the front of the flyer that Prop 499 applies to is the cleaning person. It does not cover the chef/cook or the two fast food workers depicted.

The front of the flyer is all warm and fuzzy and without knowing the facts one assumes this Proposition applies to all of the workers depicted. It does not. They want you to think that it covers all Glendale workers. It does not.

Let’s begin with some basic definitions regarding the hospitality industry and exactly who is a hospitality worker. The definition of hospitality industry work is services that support people traveling or visiting certain places for pleasure. The industry includes businesses classified as performing hospitality work, such as hotels, sporting event venues, restaurants, cruises and other tourism-related businesses.

Hospitality Worker means any individual who works for a Hospitality Employer and who performs a service for which a Hospitality Employer imposes a Service Charge. “Hospitality Worker” does not include a managerial employee.

Proposition 499 targets hotels and events but not exclusively. Events included in the definition of the hospitality industry include sporting events, concerts, conventions and fundraisers. Venues catering to personal special occasions also fall into this sector, such as businesses that handle weddings, birthday or anniversary parties and family reunions.

However, the principal target of Prop 499 is lodging (hotels, especially VIA Resort). Places where people sleep when away from home fall under the umbrella of the hospitality industry’s lodging segment. These establishments may be anything from small bed and breakfasts and Airbnb rentals to midsize motels and corporate hotels.

Here’s the back of the Worker Power flyer:

 

LIE #2: “Glendale needs a raise!” They want you to think all Glendale governmental employees or the City of Glendale initiated this Proposition and support it. This is not true. This proposition was not started by the City of Glendale.

Glendale governmental employees get an annual cost of living increase as well as merit pay. They did not propose this.

General, non-governmental employees did not propose this either. This proposition by Worker Power is targeted toward VIA Resort, which will have about 1200 rooms. In Worker Power’s eyes, that is a juicy target.

LIE #3: “Prop 499 will boost our local economy.” No, it won’t. It will put Glendale at an economic disadvantage with every city in the state because none of them have such a law. The Common Sense Institute reports that Proposition 499 will reduce Glendale’s economy by between $120 million and $1.9 billion. Associated job losses will be between 1,700 and 32,000.

LIE #4: Ensure local hospitality workers are compensated fairly. How fairly, you ask?  For hospitality workers it would be $20 an hour and $40 an hour overtime. The minimum wage for all workers in the state is $14.35 an hour and in January, 2025, goes to $14.75 an hour. Increasing one segment of workers to $20 an hour hardly seems fair to all workers.

LIE #5: Keep Glendale dollars in Glendale pockets. Only if they are allowed to be pick pockets. Not all of Glendale’s workers live in Glendale. In fact, about 70% of Glendale’s workers come from other Valley cities and that is where they spend their money.

This proposition is smoke and mirrors. They are trying to sell you, the Glendale voter, on something that is not wanted nor needed.

This proposition was not Glendale’s idea. Please vote ‘no’ on Proposition 499, a California union’s scheme. Don’t California Glendale!

© 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.

 

Sep 24

23

Worker Power initiative – will cost you more money

Posted by Joyce Clark on September 23, 2024
Posted in 2024 General Election • City of Glendale • Glendale Economic Development • Glendale elected officials • Glendale election 2024 • Phoenix Metro issues • Worker Power Super PAC  | 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’ve done a series of blogs on the facts about the Worker Power initiative now known as Proposition 499 on your November 5th General Election ballot.

Here are some final thoughts. This initiative did NOT come from the City of Glendale. It is NOT sponsored by the City of Glendale. It came from the Worker Power Super PAC, a radical group with California ambitions. Various cities in California have adopted higher minimum wages, especially for fast food workers. It is destroying that industry in California.

Legally, all that the city is allowed to do is explain what is in Proposition 499. It legally, cannot support or oppose it.

As a citizen and registered voter in Glendale, I can oppose it and I do. It is bad for Glendale. It will have the effect of raising the prices for all kinds of entertainment and that cost will be passed on to you, the consumer. It will cause workers to be laid off or to face a reduction in their work hours, as has occurred in California.

It will cause you, the taxpayer, to pay a million dollars a year for the creation of a new Labor Department to monitor all the rules and regulations that are part of this initiative. That’s just a minimum estimate. If it is created, it will grow over time. In this year’s budget, each department’s expenses range from $1.2 million (city clerk) to $122 million (police).

The unintended consequences of such a draconian law will hurt Glendale. It puts Glendale at a disadvantage with every city in the state. What businesses will want to locate in Glendale knowing that its minimum wage is higher than every other city in the state? No one.

California has some of the most breathtaking scenery. I used to love to go over there and spend time by the ocean. No more. Homeless people, drug addicts and trash everywhere. Prices are sky high. Have you ever purchased gas over there?

Now I call it “the land of fruits and nuts.” Statistically, more people are leaving California than moving into it. Let’s not turn Glendale into another California.

This is a bad idea and deserves a “no” vote at the November 5th’s General Election. I urge you to vote by Early Ballot or in person on election day. Tell Worker Power that their California-style initiative is not good for Glendale.

NO ON PROPOSITION 499

© 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.

Sep 24

20

Worker Power Initiative Part 5…A disaster for Glendale

Posted by Joyce Clark on September 20, 2024
Posted in 2024 General Election • City issue and actions • City of Glendale • Glendale Economic Development • Glendale elected officials • Glendale election 2024 • Glendale finances • Phoenix Metro issues • Worker Power Super PAC  | 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.

In preceding blogs you’ve learned about the Worker Power Super PAC, what facilities would be affected, the proposed minimum wage and the requirement to create a new Glendale governmental department.

The consequences for the City of Glendale and affected workers are quite consequential. Kamryn Brunner authored the following September 2024 report for the Common Sense Institute Arizona. It is entitled, The fiscal implications of Glendale’s Hotel and Event Center Minimum Wage Protection Act. Here is the link to the entire study: CSI_AZ_REPORT_GLENDALE_MIN_WAGE_SEPT_9_2024_FINAL (1)

Their conclusion is, “Common Sense Institute estimates the Wage Act would reduce Glendale’s economy by between $120 million and $1.9 billion. Associated job losses would be between 1,700 and 32,000; up to 47% of this is a dynamic effect on businesses indirectly supported by the city’s tourism sector.”

I have cited some excerpts from their study:

  • “An analysis of data from hotels.com and Expedia, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, VisitGlendale.com, and other public information sources, CSI estimates that 19% of Maricopa County’s events and accommodation industry can be found in Glendale alone.” 
  • “While Glendale has only 3.4% of the state’s population and 3.3% of state personal income, but approximately 15% of the state’s entire sports and tourism sector is found in Glendale.”
  • “CSI estimates that there are up to 4,954 employees in the City of Glendale who may be directly impacted by this proposal.”
  • “This initiative specifically targets the niche industry into which Glendale has heavily invested and is today heavily concentrated. Because of the significant costs the initiative could impose on targeted businesses, and the relative ease with which affected activity could move to other nearby jurisdictions while staying close to sports and event hubs, the potential negative impacts for Glendale are likely to be more significant than if this were either a more isolated community or a statewide initiative.”
  • “For Arizona to pass a $20 minimum wage for hotel and event center workers in Glendale, it could cost employers up to $10,756 per affected worker -through a combination of either direct increased wage costs or efficiency losses as employers mitigate the impacts by reducing staff, cutting hours, or moving business activity. Much of this cost will likely be passed onto consumers in the form of higher prices and increased fees (as has been the case in California). This may further incentivize both customers and operators to seek alternatives outside the city.”
  • “Ultimately, if enacted, the Act would have dramatic implications for the city of Glendale and its economy. Those implications would likely play out over a period of time, rather than immediately.”                                                                                             “There will be some combination of:
  • Employment losses and reductions in work hours among hotel and event staff.
  • Hotel and event cost increases in Glendale, including price increases.
  • The movement of hotel and event activity outside of Glendale and to nearby cities, particularly over time as part of normal business maintenance and expansion cycle.
  • An increase in the rate of unionization among Glendale accommodation and event staff.”

“Under all outcomes, the nominal wage increase implied by the Act for existing workers never occurs.”

© 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.

Sep 24

18

Worker Power Initiative, Part 4

Posted by Joyce Clark on September 18, 2024
Posted in 2024 General Election • City of Glendale • Glendale Economic Development • Glendale elected officials • Glendale election 2024 • Phoenix Metro issues • Worker Power Super PAC  | 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.

In previous blogs I presented who and what the Worker Power Super PAC is, what facilities this proposed ordinance would impact, and the minimum wage provisions. In this blog I will share what new regulations are imposed on Glendale.

The Worker Power initiative mandates that the City of Glendale, effective June 1, 2025, will create a Department of Labor Standards as well as an online and a paper method for individuals to file complaints. It further mandates that there be a Director of Labor Standards and investigators. This new department will publish all labor regulations and is empowered to make labor rules that comply with this proposed ordinance.

The proposed ordinance also requires this Labor Department’s access to all records, and it can impose a civil penalty of up to one hundred dollars ($100) per day to be paid to the hotel or event center worker. The maximum violation per employer can be up to one thousand dollars ($1,000) per day. Statutory damages can be awarded. The party that loses a court case must pay the opponent’s attorney’s fees and any court costs. There is a 3-year statute of limitations during which any harmed individual can sue.

At our last city council workshop, I asked what the estimated cost of creating this new department would be. The estimated cost is one million dollars. That’s just for a bare bones, new department. I ask you this. Have you ever seen a governmental department go away or shrink? Never happens. One million dollars is just the starting point.

Where will the money come from? That’s for the city council to decide but every other department is fair game to lose money. It could be parks and libraries, transportation, public safety. That will be decided next year, if this initiative passes.

In my next blog I will share how this initiative will impact Glendale and you.

© 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.

Sep 24

12

Worker Power Initiative, Part 1

Posted by Joyce Clark on September 12, 2024
Posted in 2024 General Election • City issue and actions • City of Glendale • Glendale Economic Development • Glendale elected officials • Glendale finances • Phoenix Metro issues • VAI Resort • Worker Power Super PAC  | 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 am starting a series of blogs on a very complicated issue. Worker Power PAC (political action committee) successfully obtained enough Glendale voters’ signatures to, they hope, get a minimum wage of $20 an hour for hospitality workers on Glendale’s November 5th General Election ballot.

Glendale appealed to the Arizona Court of Appeals stating that the initiative language encompasses more than one subject. In 2022, Arizona required that all ballot measures must have one subject. The Court of Appeals upheld Worker Power’s position. Glendale has now appealed to the Supreme Court of Arizona, and we await their decision. Hopefully by next week.

Before there is an explanation of the Worker Power initiative, let’s find out more about this Super PAC. According to media reports, “The Worker Power PAC is a Democratic Party-aligned Super PAC founded in 2020 as the Working Arizona PAC that expanded to conduct activity in other competitive states in 2022 after changing its name. The PAC is closely aligned with organized labor and has received money from labor unions and other left-of-center advocacy groups including Unite HERE Local 11, the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), the American Federation of Teachers, and the Arizona AFL-CIO.”

Worker Power in 2022 supported these Arizona candidates: Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs (D), Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes (D), and Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes (D). It also claims through its efforts, it was responsible for radical Democrat Raphael Warnock’s win against Herschel Walker for a Georgia Congressional Senate seat.

As of July 20, 2024, Worker Power had reported total contributions of $4,106,415 and total expenditures of $3,737,230. It may be assumed that “Dark Money” from such groups as George Soros has secretly made its way into Worker Power coffers.

Locally, Worker Power endorsed radical activist Democrat Lupe Conchas in his successful bid to become the next Cactus district councilmember in Glendale. You can be sure that Conchas has greater ambitions than that of a councilmember in Glendale. After all, failed Glendale mayoral candidate Jamie Aldama on his Facebook page congratulated Conchas on his win and referred to him as the next US Senator Ruben Gallego.

Getting back to Worker Power. Their target has always been VIA resort which will be the largest resort hotel in Arizona with over 1200 rooms. That is a target just too juicy for them to pass up.

Their first round of attacks failed as they attempted to kill the use of a GPLET between the city and the VIA Resort. When the city declared that there was no GPLET nor would one be used, they had to come up with another plan of attack.

Why Glendale? They assumed that Glendale would be too unsophisticated to fight back and would be easy picking. They also wanted a win with the largest hotel in Arizona. With unlimited money at their disposal, this would be their signature fight. Then they could use the same tactic with other cities picking them off, one by one.

If history repeats itself, Glendale voters will reject this initiative just as in Phoenix when its voters rejected Worker Power’s candidate, Carlos Garcia, a former immigrants’ rights activist. Instead, Kesha Hodge Washington, his opponent won despite their $300,000 investment in Garcia’s candidacy.

In part 2, I will start to unpack their initiative, concept by concept.

© 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

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.

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