PLEASE CHECK OUT OUR NEW VIDEO TO THE LEFT OF THIS COLUMN ABOUT CHAVIRA’S MOMENT WITH ANTHONY LEBLANC, OWNER OF ICEARIZONA BEFORE VOTING APPROVAL OF THEIR $15 MILLION A YEAR MANAGEMENT CONTRACT.
Several friends received Sammy’s first campaign mailing and gave me copies. As I forewarned this mailer was paid for by Truth and Leadership, a Political Action Committee (PAC). Its Chairman is Bill Scheel, of Javalina, a consulting firm. He managed Chavira’s last campaign in 2012. It is registered as an Independent Expenditure Committee.
An independent expenditure committee, by law, may not consult, share information or its plan of action in support of a candidate, with the candidate. That means no personal contact with a candidate.
The mailing clearly says, “Not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s campaign committee.”
One has to wonder if Bill Scheel, chairman of the Truth and Leadership PAC, and Ben Scheel of Bright Consulting (paid $1500 on 5/13/2016 by Sammy for campaign consulting) are relatives.
The mailer was also paid by “major funding provided by United Food & Commercial Workers Union of AZ Local 99 PAC” (Stan Chavira works for the UFCW). Is this yet another relative? The major funding for the mailer from the UFCW is in addition to another $6250.00 it already contributed to Sammy’s campaign. It’s eerie…Bill and Ben Scheel and Sammy and Stan Chavira. It makes you wonder.
Are we to assume that Sammy Chavira has never discussed funding for or the content of this mailer with his relative Stan Chavira and are we also to assume that Bill Scheel and Ben Scheel (are they also relatives?) never discussed this mailer either? Ben Scheel is Sammy’s current campaign manager. So how would that work? If these actions occurred – and we don’t know if they did – that would be collusion and a direct violation of the Truth and Leadership PAC’s requirement to be a truly independent expenditure committee.
Let’s give Mr. Bill Scheel of the Truth and Leadership PAC an “A” for creative writing in fiction. Mr. Scheel describes Sammy as an “independent voice.” Pure fiction easily seen if you ever watched Sammy in action (or non-action) at the council meetings he did attend. Sammy and former recalled councilmember Gary Sherwood were in lock step on many issues including Sammy’s deciding vote to approve the $15 million dollar a year arena management contract with IceArizona. So much for any voice from Sammy as he has become legendarily known for not offering anything meaningful at council meetings other than to thank everybody for any and every thing. So much for an “independent voice.”
Mr. Scheel, in bold text, offers you, the voter, two tag lines: “Yes to stopping special interests” and “No to cutting public safety and quality of life.” It sounds wonderful, doesn’t it? Saving Glendale — all by himself. Sammy has looked out for the interests of every major contributor to his campaigns, from this campaign as well as his 2012 campaign. Sammy didn’t stop IceArizona, a special interest group, did he? Perhaps it was because he’s a full time Phoenix fire fighter and doesn’t have time to listen to his constituents.
We wouldn’t expect Sammy to ever say no to cutting public safety because his interest and agenda, as a fire fighter, is to other fire fighters including those in Glendale. But if it’s for the citizens of his district he settles for crumbs. His action to approve a 7,500 square foot trailer as the West Branch Library has certainly been devastating to the quality of life for all Yucca district residents. He settled… for less than any other Glendale resident enjoys with the Foothills Branch Library ( 4 times the size of the trailer library west Glendale residents will get…eventually) and Velma Teague Branch Library (twice the size of the trailer library) .
His approval of the John F. Long application for the residential project known as Stonehaven with 46% of the lots being only 5,500 square feet has a real impact on Yucca district residents’ quality of life as they see their property values lessen. He didn’t protect the district’s quality of life with his yes vote for Stonehaven. He settled.
Bill Scheel, chairperson of the Truth and Leadership PAC, Patrick Barrett (another campaign consultant being paid handsomely by Chavira in the amount of $4,000 to date) and Ben Scheel ($1,500 to date) are masters at using smoke and mirrors to divert the voters’ attention away from Chavira’s transgressions and failings.
They deliberately use buzz phrases like “led the charge” or “stood up to special interests.” They have no choice but to paint Sammy as a hero to divert voters’ attention away from his misdeeds. They don’t want you to remember about his nearly $25,000 thousand dollars worth of unethical travel on the taxpayers’ dime. Yes, you read that correctly. He used your tax dollars as his own personal check book to take trips and to entertain his Phoenix fire bosses with an extravagant dinner ($420) – all of these actions are wholly unrelated to his responsibilities to Glendale.
They don’t want you to remember his speeding ticket and failure to appear in court or his subsequent driver’s license suspension and hundreds of dollars in fines. They don’t want you to remember that he called it “a minor glitch.” They don’t want you to remember that he paid his fines only after being questioned by the media.
They don’t want you to remember that he held only one district meeting during his term in office, or that he has been absent from a dozen council meetings, the equivalent of 6 months of absent time for which he continued to be paid; or that he doesn’t return constituent calls. Because if you remember these things you will not vote for him.
They have shown utter contempt and disrespect for the voters of the Yucca district. They assume you are ignorant or perhaps stupid. They assume if they put in writing that Sammy is a hero and you receive a slick campaign mailing saying so, since it’s in print, you will believe it.
They don’t know how smart Yucca voters are and they certainly have not gauged the level of anger people feel about Sammy’s misbehaviour. It looks as if Sammy is just another sleazy politician who believes he can charm you enough so that you will ignore his unethical actions.
It’s up to you, with your vote, to show Sammy and his paid, hired gun consultants and the fire PACs that will pour thousands of dollars into Sammy’s campaign, that you will no longer vote for Sammy as a councilmember. We simply cannot afford his outrageous spending of taxpayers’ money or his lack of ethics any longer.
© Joyce Clark, 2016
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