It has been 18 years and 60 days since the city’s pledge to build the West Branch Library.
The general assumption is soon Councilmember Sammy Chavira of the Yucca district in Glendale will be running for his council seat. There are all kinds of theories floating out there as to why he hasn’t pulled a nomination packet already. One is that is he stalling to make his campaign season as short as possible. That leaves less time for voters to take a critical look at his record or lack thereof. The other is that he is going through the hiring process to obtain a lucrative paying job at the new Tohono O’odham casino in Glendale. Hmm…this could prove problematical for him. Remember his ouster from the National Hispanic Firefighters Association (NHFA)? One of the urban legends is that Sammy and his buddies drove around in a golf cart during the event collecting all of the event revenues for themselves. It is known that NHFA made no money on the event and had to cover event expenses in excess of $12,000.
It’s a good time to look at his campaign pledges and his record of delivery. Sammy ran on 4 central campaign promises revealed in an October, 2012 campaign mailer:
- “Too many sweetheart arena deals for out-of-state corporations have left us deeply in debt. Sam will prioritize public safety, education and public libraries and isn’t afraid to say no to special interests.”
Sammy was the deciding yes vote on the $15 million dollar a year arena management agreement with IceArizona. The irony is that yes, IceArizona is an out-of-state corporation but many of its owners are Canadian. In addition on June 11, 2015 Sammy and recalled Councilmember Sherwood were the only two votes against voiding the costly $15 million dollar arena management contract with IceArizona. It appears Sammy’s agenda was to support his good buddy Sherwood and IceArizona. It seems as if Sammy wasn’t afraid to say no to special interests but rather he supported them wholeheartedly.
- “Sam understands that good jobs and good schools go hand in hand. He will fight to fully fund Head Start, support education tax credits for our local schools, and make after school programs more curriculum based.”
This is the biggest lie of the century. Local city councils have no control over local education. That is the job of local school boards. The council can be supportive of local schools but it cannot create policy for any local school. So why did Sammy use this? Many voters, but not all, are unsophisticated. They are busy with their lives and don’t follow school or city issues unless it directly affects them and their families. Did he fight to “fully fund Head Start,” a federal program? No. Did he support “education tax credits for our local schools,” either state or federal? No. Did he “make after school programs more curriculum based?” No.
- “Sam will go to the city council to represent the people, not a particular ideology, because he knows that results are what’s important.”
Has Sam represented you? Unless you are a political junkie you couldn’t pick him out of a line up. He’s had one…just one… district meeting back in 2013. The only other scheduled district meeting was cancelled at the last minute. Have you ever met him? Talked to him about issues that concern you? I think not. If he knows that “results are what’s important,” why hasn’t he delivered any to the people of his district?
- “No more sweetheart deals. The city needs to be a tough negotiator, making smart planning decisions that preserve Glendale’s future.”
Sammy’s entire term of service seem to be based on sweetheart deals. Apparent deals with recalled Councilmember Sherwood; apparent deals with the Tohono O’odham, supporters of his campaign in return for his support of the casino; apparent deals with the fire union, supporters of his campaign in return for his support of their agenda. Deals in support of his constituency…not so much.
Sammy Chavira made a lot of promises to the voters of the Yucca district. He didn’t deliver. He made a lot of promises to special interests. He did deliver. He made a lot of campaign promises to the voters of the district and he broke them all.
© Joyce Clark, 2016
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In my opinion Sam Chavira has done little to nothing for the Yucca District. He has had NO district meetings, he cancelled a “Holiday Party” due to scheduling conflict. He cannot be unbiased in his dealings with all Departments because he is a Phoenix Firefighter & his support will ALWAYS go to the Firefighers whether or not it is good for the City. He simply does not have the time to represent the Yucca District. How can he possibly do a good job with holding down a full time job in Phoenix & representing the best interests of the Yucca District! Being on a City Council is time consuming & given his track record he had shown that Yucca District is low priority.
These words could not be more accurate. As a resident of the Yucca District for over 23 yrs, I have never felt so out of reach from the people who are voted in to represent the best interest of my community.
All the words in this article are truly spoken from someone who has the experience, compassion and most importantly the knowledge of what is needed to keep my district looking to the future while keeping our city a true community who cares about the residents.
The most powerful sentence in this article was when it was when it asked the question, could you pick out your councilmember from a line up.
I couldn’t. Yet, when our family grew from 2 to 5 it was such a comfort that not only my husband and I knew who was on the council, but all five of us, my husband, myself and my 3 children knew, our council member and we knew our district was well represented.
Residents must get knowledgeable about the city, our districts and about the people who represents us.