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Joyce Clark Unfiltered

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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

3

Last look at Glendale candidates

Posted by Joyce Clark on July 3, 2024
Posted in Cactus District • City issue and actions • City of Glendale • 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.

Today Early Voting ballots were mailed out. I would expect you to get yours within the week. Please do vote. Fill out your ballot when you receive it and mail it back promptly. The longer one waits to vote, the more likely it will be forgotten and never mailed back.

Two incumbent candidates, having no opponents, are reelected. Mayor Jerry Weiers has no opponent and Councilmember Ray Malnar has no opponent.

The two district city council seats yet to be determined in the Primary Election on July 30, 2024, are the Cactus and Yucca districts.

In the Cactus district incumbent Vice Mayor Ian Hugh faces off against Lupe Conchas and in the Yucca district, Dianna Guzman is vying for the seat against her challenger, Lupe Encinas.

I endorse Vice Mayor Ian Hugh and I encourage you to vote for him. I have worked with Ian Hugh for 8 years, since 2016. I know Ian very well. He is smart, reliable and his word is his bond. He has an extensive understanding of the issues Glendale faces. What you may not know about him is his kindness and compassion toward others. He doesn’t make a big deal about it but he often drives people around to go food shopping or to make medical appointments. The same compassion he voluntarily offers to others is the same compassion he feels for all of Glendale’s residents. I know he makes policy decisions taking into consideration, his concern for others. Over the years he has demonstrated time and time again his love for his hometown, Glendale. He is a genuinely good person.

Lupe Conchas is not good for Glendale. He is a radical Democrat that believes in the far-left ideology of that party. He supports diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) but at what cost to African-Americans and Hispanics? He is endorsed by the LGBTQ community and supports gender reassignment for children. Police officers are the very people we rely upon to keep us safe yet his record is one of disrespect and non-support for them. His background includes traffic citations with a failure to appear and financial judgements against him. When he breaks the law he shows that he cannot or will not support the laws. If he can’t manage his money, he cannot be expected to manage the city’s $1.2 billion dollar budget.  He is ambitious and would use this city council seat to move to higher offices. Some unions are throwing a boatload of money-tons of it- into his campaign. He is more than willing to have them buy his seat on city council.

I am also endorsing Dianna Guzman for my Yucca district city council seat when I retire this December. Dianna Guzman has proven to me that not only is she working hard to get your vote but that she is ready for the job. She has lived in the district for 27 years and was part of our citizens’ group that saved Heroes Park land from being sold for yet another cookie cutter residential development. She has attended every city council workshop and voting meeting in person since she announced her run for office. She serves on Glendale’s Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission. She is a graduate of Glendale University and the Citizen’s Police Academy. In the crazy heat of July, she is out there three times a week with her volunteers door knocking and talking to residents. In fact, just now, one of Dianna’s volunteers knocked at my door. She is supporting Dianna as they are fellow church members. She knows Dianna and believes in her candidacy by walking and knocking on doors. Dianna not only has my support but my respect as well. If, and I hope, she is elected I know the Yucca district will be well represented.

Lupe Encinas is a well-meaning person, but she is just not ready for the job. It appears that she went into this race half-heartedly. She was slow on getting nominating petition signatures and just barely got enough to qualify. Her campaign finance statements are rife with errors.

What has proven to be interesting and amusing is that her campaign manager, Natalie Stahl, co-founded a group called Arizona Law Enforcement Wives Network. It is a small, mostly inactive group. It’s last Facebook post was in December of 2021 and its site, www.alewn.com doesn’t go to any page. If you have seen Encinas’ campaign signs they say endorsed by the Arizona Law Enforcement Wives Network. Yes, the same, small inactive group co-founded by her campaign manager, Natalie Stahl. Sounds great but signifies nothing.

Encinas is simply spread too thin as an owner of 4 different companies. I don’t care how good a time manager she claims to be, she won’t have sufficient time to do justice to you as a councilmember. She has aligned herself with Lupe Conchas and shares his values as a registered Democrat espousing a “Woke” agenda. It’s not Lupe Encinas’ time and deep down I suspect she and her supporters know that as evidenced by a lack luster campaign.

Police and fire support and endorse Vice Mayor Hugh and Dianna Guzman. You can trust their judgement. They vetted all of the candidates before making their endorsements. Please don’t let them down by choosing candidates that don’t wholeheartedly support them.

Please make sure that you vote by Early Ballot or at the polling location on July 30th. This may prove to be the most crucial election in Glendale’s history and the nation’s.

© 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

24

Jose “Lupe” Conchas not the right fit for Glendale City Council

Posted by Joyce Clark on April 24, 2024
Posted in Cactus District • City issue and actions • City of Glendale • Glendale election 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.

Glendale, with a current population of 253,000, is a conservative community, fiscally, culturally, and socially. Our residents want to raise their children in a safe environment. They expect to continue to receive the excellent service provided by its Public Safety Departments. They want the city to protect their property values. They recognize the value of services they receive such as water and sanitation. To this day, it is one of the very few Valley communities that provides once a month bulk trash pickup. They expect good roads and amenity-filled parks for their families to enjoy. Its City Council shares these values and works every day to make policy decisions that meet these expectations.

Jose “Lupe” Conchas is running as a candidate for the Cactus District City Council seat. He is not the right fit for the city council. Past performance is an indicator of future performance.

In July of 2019, the Party for Socialism and Labor (PSL) held a march in Phoenix to protest the treatment of illegal aliens by ICE. Lupe Conchas was one of 16 protesters arrested at that march. Here’s what the PSL stands for based upon information easily obtained from their website:

“The Party for Socialism and Liberation believes that the only solution to the deepening crisis of capitalism is the socialist transformation of society.”

“The Party for Socialism and Liberation exists to carry out the struggle for socialism inside the United States, the center of world capitalism and imperialism.”

“…revolution is a necessity and a right.”

Make no mistake. The PSL is a Socialist/Marxist organization and Lupe Conchas was an active participant in their organized march.

Here are just a few photos of the march taken by the Arizona Republic in a July 2019, story about the march. In this photo you can clearly see the PSL sign.

In this photo Lupe Conchas was front and center.

 

 

 

 

 

This is the only flag used by the group during the march. Not a single American flag in sight.

In the July 2019 Arizona Republic article, Conchas said, “…that he hopes to raise awareness that his arrest was nothing compared to the conditions at the U.S. southern border. Even though I might have slept very uncomfortably last night, it’s nothing compared to what children and families who are seeking legal asylum are facing at the border.”

Conchas has demonstrated through his actions that he is a Socialist/Marxist democrat, a member of the most radical faction of the Democrat party. His actions appear to demonstrate that he will be divisive within the community. His support for an open border policy will continue to allow the smuggling of drugs such as fentanyl resulting in countless deaths as well as more crime and violence. He shares a “defund the police” mentality.

His social media posts claim he is a “fresh” voice but his opponent, Vice Mayor Ian Hugh has a wealth of experience and knowledge and has successfully demonstrated his leadership within his district as well as city-wide. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”  It’s not a matter of age but rather a matter of mental acuity and the Vice Mayor is as mentally sharp as ever. Experience does matter.

Conchas also wants to start or expand the Head Start program in our district schools. This statement alone shows how much he doesn’t know about city government. The City Council has no authority over the policies, practices, and procedures of any school district within the community.

Lastly, he wants a program to improve our streets. Again, he appears unaware of the fact that the council instituted a Pavement Management Program that is resulting in the resurfacing or reconstructing of every street in Glendale over a multiple year program and it has invested millions of dollars in the program.

I ask that you reject Lupe Conchas and all that he represents. Please vote for Vice Mayor Ian Hugh as your Cactus councilmember.

© 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.

Jan 24

21

City Council Candidate Committee Reports of January 2024

Posted by Joyce Clark on January 21, 2024
Posted in Barrell District • Cactus District • Cholla District • City issue and actions • City of Glendale • Downtown Glendale • Glendale elected officials • Glendale election 2024 • Primary Election August 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.

City Council candidates never seem very interesting to the public as a Mayoral candidate or a Congressional candidate. I don’t know why because your city councilmember is the closest form of leadership to you, the public. These are the people who determine what your water bill is. When you have a problem with the city, these are the people you call. They determine city policies on virtually every aspect of your daily life and represent your city on a myriad of regional, state, and national committees.

Your choice of a city councilmember should be guided by someone who shares your values and who is responsive to your comments, questions, and concerns. If they can’t be bothered doing that as a candidate, I can assure you that they will not be responsive when elected.

Let’s look at the very first Candidate Financial Reports for those running and who is no longer running for council seats in Glendale. In general, none of the candidates have raised a lot of funding yet. Their campaigns start off slow as they hustle for signatures from registered voters for their nominating petitions. Once those petitions are turned in this March, they will be in full candidate mode as they start to raise money in earnest, order their campaign material and go to any groups’ meeting that they are invited to.

Patty Ortega expressed an interest in running for the Yucca Council seat last spring. Since then, she has changed her mind and is no longer interested.

The only uncontested city council race is that of incumbent Councilmember Ray Malnar, representing the Sahuaro District. It’s easy to see why. He’s doing a good job. He is sensitive to and responsive to his district residents. He is also even-handed in his policy discussions and decisions. Here’s what his financial report states. He started with $1,830.37 from his last campaign for Sahuaro district and loaned his committee $250.00. He has received $853.70 in campaign contributions. His expenses to date have been $954.21 leaving him with a balance of $1,729.86. His campaign contributors to date are:

  • Connie Kaiser
  • David Mitchell
  • Marion Malnar
  • Ron Kolb

He has received no Political Action Committee (PAC) contributions.

His major expenses are:

  • GoDaddy, $46.34 for a domain site
  • Wix, $267.87 for a web site

There are no rumors or speculation to report.

Incumbent Councilmember Ian Hugh also has a good record with his constituency. His policy decisions have been good for the city. He is one of the best and most responsive councilmembers. He is caring and will help his constituents out personally whenever possible. Here is his financial report. He starts with $23,753.74 from his last campaign for the Cactus District. He has raised $6,800.00 and has spent $843.14 to date leaving him with a balance of $29,710.60. He has received one maximum contribution of $6,550:

  • Louis Sands, owner of Sands Chevrolet

His other contribution:

  • Ron Kolb, Glendale business owner

He has received no PAC contributions. His expenses to date have been:

  • Costco, $650.57 for election announcement refreshments
  • Staples, $68.97 for petition copies and walking maps
  • Mail and More, $51.60 for petition copies and walking maps

There are no rumors or speculation to date.

A recent contender has surfaced to oppose Councilmember Hugh, Guadalupe “Lupe” Gonzalez, Jr. He pulled a packet and filed a Statement of Organization last week. Consequently, there is no Candidate Financial report available. According to his filing he is the Organizing Manager for a non-profit organization, ONE Campaign, devoted to fighting poverty and disease throughout the world. He is also running for the Alhambra Elementary School Board.

Diana Guzman is a candidate for the Yucca Council seat. She has raised $5,304.84 with $1.602.71 coming from a state legislative senate campaign committee. She has loaned her committee $3,102.13. She spent $1,602.64 leaving her with a balance of $3,702.20.

She has no contributors who have given the maximum amount of $6,550.00. She has received no PAC contributions. Here are her contributors:

  • Ernie Guzman, relative
  • Jane Breakiron, Behavioral Health

Her expenses to date include:

  • Vista Print, $98.27 for business cards
  • Office Max, $64.73 for petition copies
  • Hondo’s Screen Printing, $390.20 for ?
  • Next Day Flyers, $171.11 for pull up sign
  • Phoenix Print Shop, $651.60 for flyers
  • Hondo’s Screen Printing, $168.00 for shirts
  • Plotters Doctors, $52.13 for laminate map

Rumor and/or speculation to date is that I am supporting Diana. This is true. I encouraged her to run and am endorsing her wholeheartedly. She is smart, compassionate and shares our values and goals for the Yucca District and the City of Glendale.

Guadalupe “Lupe” Encinas is also running for the Yucca District Council seat. She has raised $2,618.07and has loaned her committee $1,270.70. She spent $967.69 leaving her with a balance of $1,650.36.

She has no contributors who have given the maximum amount of $6,550.00. She has received no PAC contributions. Here are her contributors:

  • Lauren Tolmachoff, occupation not listed, incumbent Glendale Councilmember, Cholla District
  • Luiz Guzman, occupation not listed
  • Craig Jennings, occupation not listed
  • Grant and Dana Hickman, occupation not listed
  • Glenn and Audry Hickman, occupation not listed
  • Yvonne Knaack, occupation not listed, former Glendale Councilmember
  • Bart Turner, occupation not listed, incumbent Glendale Councilmember, Barrell District
  • Natalie Stahl, occupation not listed, Chair of Encinas Campaign Committee
  • David Serey, occupation not listed, husband of Treasurer of Encinas Campaign Committee

Her expenses to date have been:

  • GoDaddy, $78.49 for email
  • La Art Printing, $889.90 for shirts, flyers and yard signs

Rumor and/or speculation include Councilmember Lauren Tolmachoff encouraged her to run and is or will be, endorsing her. Watch Encinas’ level of missing information in her reports. She fails to enter information that is required. Some of the contributors’ addresses and ALL job titles and employers are missing. These are glaring omissions of fact that are reporting requirements. If she can’t follow the state law for reporting requirements what else will she fail to report?

As you can see, these initial reports don’t contain a great deal of information and the next set of reports due March 2, 2024 won’t have much new information. Once these people have turned in their nominating petitions later in March, more information will be available.

In my next blog I will be discussing the current atmosphere of politics in Glendale. Watch for it. There will be some interesting dynamics to share.

© Joyce Clark, 2023     

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.

Nov 23

9

Heroes Park sports fields coming

Posted by Joyce Clark on November 9, 2023
Posted in Cactus District • City Council Actions • City issue and actions • City of Glendale • Glendale Economic Development • Glendale elected officials • Glendale finances • Heroes Lake • Heroes Park • Ocotillo District • West Branch Library • 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.

I am so pleased and excited to give you an update on the Heroes Park sports fields. I expect construction to begin early next year (2024) and to be completed by December 2024. However, an additional hurdle will be to gain council approval for additional funding for the project. Due to continued inflation price increases for all components, it will require council approval for the additional cost increase. Council approval will be sought later this month (November).

I have included the final conceptual, but it may be hard to read so I will offer some of the more prominent elements for you. The sports fields complex’s location is to the northeast of the existent library and directly north of the existing ramadas. The main components are 3 soccer fields. There are 8 pickle ball courts with shade sails and 3 adjoining ramadas. A centralized, large ramada and restroom is just south of the soccer fields.

In between the 2 large open lawns is a children’s play area. South of the pickle ball courts is a shaded picnic area. South of the picnic area is a food truck court designed specifically to encourage food trucks to come to the park. Southeast of the picnic area and food court area is a 1.6-acre dog park.

North of the sports fields is a pollinator garden and a fitness loop with fitness nodes. There is a generous amount of landscape buffering between the sports fields and the homes to the north and east of the park. A generous and shaded pathway is provided between the library and the sports fields area as well as a raised intersection and crosswalk from the existing ramadas to the sports fields. Included are 390 parking spaces located to the east and west of the sports fields.

You know, this park was approved by the city in 1998, 25 years ago. During my years in office, I have consistently advocated for its completion. I have been successful in getting a library that can expand, a fishing lake and now the sports fields complex.

This area of Glendale warrants the park’s completion, including finally, the design and construction of the long-awaited Recreation/Aquatic Center. With all the new residential construction of single-family homes as well as 15 apartment complexes, the population of the Yucca district has exploded from 41,000 to an estimated 55,000 people. The tremendous population growth that has occurred is now seeking recreational opportunities.

It isn’t just the people of the Yucca district that will benefit from a Recreation/Aquatic Center at Heroes Park, but the residents of the Ocotillo and Cactus districts will benefit as well. Did you know that nearly 70% percent of all the city’s recreational programming occurs at Foothills Recreation/Aquatic Center? For all who live in south Glendale it’s a 10-mile trip, one way, to Foothills. That’s a long haul for many families. A Recreation/Aquatic Center at Heroes Park will redress this imbalance and provide programming for many families and children in south Glendale. It’s time…

I want to thank the councilmembers who have remained steadfast in the city’s pledge to finish this park. It simply would not have occurred without their support.

It would be wonderful if you would take the time to thank them as well and ask for their support in completing Heroes Park by approving the funding for the design and construction of the last element – the Recreation/Aquatic Center by emailing them at:

© Joyce Clark, 2023     

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 21

8

It’s time to redistrict Glendale

Posted by Joyce Clark on September 8, 2021
Posted in Barrell District • Cactus District • Cholla District • City issue and actions • City of Glendale • Glendale elected officials • Ocotillo District • Phoenix Metro issues • 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.

Every ten years, Glendale is required to redraw its City Council districts based on data from the U.S. Census. The process is called redistricting and the goal is to make sure each Council district has approximately equal population.

Let’s begin with the Census data for 2020 provided to the city.  On July of 2019 the Census Bureau’s estimated population for Glendale was 252,387. It’s final, official count of Glendale is 248,325.

Everyone in the State believes the Bureau’s count is wrong and the population was undercounted. Experts said they expected to see even higher rates of growth. William Frey, a demographer at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C., who specializes in census data and urban populations, said he expected to see a higher growth rate in Arizona. Cities with council districts redraw those boundaries every 10 years after each U.S. census.

Four cities looking to redistrict by the next election in November include: 

  • Mesa
  • Glendale
  • Peoria
  • Buckeye

Other Valley cities, such as Chandler, Scottsdale and Goodyear, don’t use a district system,      instead electing council members on a citywide basis.

Look at this chart for Glendale.

City-data.com got its numbers from the Maricopa County estimates. I have no idea how the County arrived at these figures.

Please note, according to Census data, that every council district but the Yucca district added from 2,000+ in population to 6,000+ in population. Yet the Yucca district supposedly lost 315. Can anyone in their right mind believe this? The Yucca district has exploded over the last 10 years with new residential subdivisions (Copper Cove, Bethany Ranch and Positano to name just a few) as well as new apartment complexes. Yet, in the past ten years the Yucca district lost 315 people? Ridiculous. It’s nuts. The data makes no sense. The city should be requesting a recount of the Yucca district data. Someone, somewhere screwed up. If you put garbage in, garbage comes out. I suspect that the Yucca district, in fact, gained about 10,000 in population over the last decade.

Not only that, but the Census Bureau has also been late in releasing census block data (will do so this month, September) on population counts, the very data needed to redraw districts.  As a result, Glendale has until December 15, 2021, about 3 months, to submit their new council districts to the State.

Here are the guidelines, city council adopted, that shall be used to redraw the districts:

  • Each district shall respect communities of interest as much as possible;
  • District borders shall follow visible natural and man-made geographical and topographical features as much as possible;
  • District borders shall be drawn to avoid locating more than one current Councilmember in any one district as much as possible;
  • Each new district shall preserve the corresponding existing district’s population and territory as much as possible;
  • Districts known to be areas of higher-than-average population growth in the two to five years following redistricting, based on development projects that have received final plat approval from the City, may be under populated within the population deviation amounts allowed by law;
  • To the extent possible, consistent with constitutional law and the requirements of federal and state statutes, each district shall contain a substantially equal number of electors.

 

 

 

The city has created a dedicated web site allowing all Glendale residents not only information about the redistricting process but on or about September 16th the public can see the population data by census block and draw their own redistricting maps. Here is the link to the web site:

https://glendaleaz.com/your_government/connect/departments/city_clerk/redistricting/current_district_map

You can learn more and get involved by attending one of three public Glendale workshops. By the time of these city hosted workshops occur the appropriate data should be available on the city website to any citizen who wants it. Here are the workshop dates:

 Monday, September 20  2:00 p.m. Glendale City Council Chambers
5850 W. Glendale Avenue
 Wednesday, September 22  10:00 a.m. Glendale Main Library Auditorium
5959 W. Brown Street
 Monday, September 27  6:30 p.m. Foothills Recreation & Aquatics Center
Coyote Room
5600 W. Union Hills Drive

Why should we focus on redistricting whether it be on a local, state or national level? We all vote for those representatives that most closely align with our values and goals. With redrawn districts you may find that now you are in a district that has a representative with whose values and goals with which you disagree. By involving yourselves in the redistricting process your input will contribute toward making sure that your representative actually represents you.

© Joyce Clark, 2021       

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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.

Feb 21

27

Glendale Elementary School District meeting

Posted by Joyce Clark on February 27, 2021
Posted in City of Glendale  | Tagged With: , , , , , , | 4 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.

On Thursday, February 25, 2021, the Glendale Elementary School District (GESD) held a meeting to take comments from the public regarding its plan to close 5 elementary schools within its district boundaries. I am providing information about this meeting to keep my Yucca district residents informed. Here is the link to the video of the meeting: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehx1KVJCOik

There is one misconception I would like to clear up. The western boundary of GESD is 83rd Avenue. Some speakers asked what would happen because of the development of Stonehaven, between 83rd and 91st Avenues, Bethany Home Road to Camelback Road. Those 1,365 homes reside in the Pendergast Elementary School District (PESD) and those children will not be attending any schools in the GESD.

One of the speakers was Martin Nowakowski, a Yucca district resident, and my appointee on the Glendale Planning Commission. He spoke from 1:38:50 to 1:43:32. He made several particularly good points that, in my opinion, deserve further exploration and answers from the GESD Board.

  • He stated that the process has been flawed. The proposal to close schools during the COVID pandemic is ill advised. The pandemic has been an impediment to allow full participation by the community and has resulted in little to no parent involvement.
  • He called for a forensic audit of GESD’s budget and contended that community perception is there is a pattern of “top heavy” spending.
  • He questioned what costs for transportation would be incurred because of a realignment of pupil attendance boundaries.
  • He said that the district uses the rationale for closures because of declining student enrollment and asked how many students are learning online.
  • He expressed concern about the possibility of increasing class sizes. He questioned will there continue to be class sizes of less than 30 students per class and if that number increases, how does it affect the quality of education for struggling students?
  • Lastly, he characterized the school board’s actions as discriminatory by focusing on closing schools in more disadvantaged neighborhoods and catering to wealthier neighborhoods by keeping those schools intact. He referred to Isaac Imes as being known as the “Mexican school.”

It appears that the community is genuinely concerned and to date has expressed nothing but opposition to the GESD proposal. Perhaps the Board would be advised to slow its proposal down until it has made a full explanation to its community as to why their actions are necessary. There may be good reasons and then again, there may not be but until the community understands why the Board has chosen this path it will be met with distrust and anger. Just think about all those parents who have no idea what is about to happen to their children…and there will be many.

© Joyce Clark, 2021       

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