Header image alt text

Joyce Clark Unfiltered

For "the rest of the story"

Mar 16

21

The cloak of invisibility

Posted by Joyce Clark on March 21, 2016
Posted in City issue and actions • City of Glendale • Glendale elected officials • Glendale finances  | Tagged With: , , , , , , | 1 Comment

It has been 18 years and 95 days since the city’s pledge to build the West Branch Library.

PLEASE NOTE: To the left of this blog you will see how you can donate to my campaign. You may write a check and mail it to me or you may use the PayPal button. Sammy already has a war chest of $16,000+. The last campaign contribution he received was in December of 2015, 3 months ago, from…yep, Mark Becker of Becker Billboards in the amount of $5,000. Becker tried to get his billboards sited in north Glendale at Arrowhead.

Any amount is gratefully accepted from $5 to $5,000. You must include your name, your address, your employer and your job title. That is required by law. Donations from companies and corporations are prohibited. You do not have to live in the Yucca district, or Glendale, or the state of Arizona or even the United States to make a donation. Please take a moment to help me to regain the City Council seat representing the Yucca district and to “get their voice back.”

Sammy’s invisibility continues. Paul Giblin wrote an article on March 19, 2016, entitled Glendale expenses get more scrutiny. It is not online as of this date so no link to the story is provided. In it Giblin says, “Chavira declined to discuss the matter (of council’s plan to hold a workshop on travel expenses) after a City Council work session Tuesday, his first public appearance at City Hall since returning from another trip to Washington to attend a National League of Cities conference. Chavira previously said in an email that all of the trips he expensed were for legitimate purposes.”

In another Paul Giblin story he reports on the election rematch for the Yucca district council seat between Sammy and me, saying, “Chavira has been less public about his intentions (regarding his campaign for his seat). He did not return messages from The Arizona Republic and his campaign website and Twitter account were silent on the matter Monday.” Here is the link: http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/glendale/2016/03/15/sammy-chavira-joyce-clark-could-have-council-election-rematch-glendale/81590186/ .

Interesting observations emerge from Sammy’s quotes. He says his trips were for “legitimate purposes.” Of course he does. What else can he possibly say? It’s perfectly legitimate for Sammy to fly to D.C. and watch the Pope on a large screen TV…but not on the taxpayers’ dime. It’s perfectly legitimate for Sammy to fly to D.C. to watch his buddy and mentor, Rueben Gallego, get sworn in as a U.S. Representative…but not on the taxpayers’ dime. It is never legitimate to use one’s position and power to host a dinner and curry favor with one’s bosses…especially on the taxpayers’ dime.

Sammy requested and received City Attorney Michael Bailey’s opinion that Sammy’s expenses did not violate any law. I bet that statement was well crafted and carefully worded. Well, of course one would expect Sammy to request that from Bailey and Bailey would comply. After all, Bailey’s bosses are the councilmembers and he serves at their pleasure. It wouldn’t do to make one of them angry.

I have been an incumbent and I have been the opponent of an incumbent when running for the Yucca council seat. Let me tell you, City Hall does protect the incumbent in a myriad of very subtle ways. Be warned — City Hall, this election cycle. City policy is that a councilmember may not take advantage of city resources, such as appearing on the City’s cable channel, six months before an election. The primary election is in on August 30, 2016.  As of February 29, 2016 the six month restriction began. A councilmember may not use city resources, financial or otherwise, for district newsletters, any sort of mailing or event if it has not been the habit and practice of the councilmember during the entire course of a person’s term. Sammy cannot use city resources to send out a special mailing or newsletter or to host an event between now and the Primary because he has never done it during his term of office. He may continue his Friday e-newsletters as they have been produced for him since he took office.

The other observation is Sammy’s remarkable disappearance and utter silence. Many Yucca district residents are saying that since Sammy has no good defense for his actions he seems to be saying even less than his usual “thank you” and has disappeared.  That’s not a new stance for Sammy. In the past year he was AWOL from nearly a dozen council meetings or workshop meetings. There were some other instances when he participated telephonically or when he arrived late for a meeting. Sammy hasn’t exactly been on the job lately.

Other residents believe Sammy is scared realizing that he’s in a heap of political “do-do.” Some feel he is being deliberately invisible in the hopes that this will blow over by election time. That’s not going to happen. Every Yucca district voter deserves to know that Sammy’s travel expenses and his other decisions or actions, at the very least, constitute an abuse of trust voters placed in him. Yucca district deserves better. Residents want to “get their voice back.”

© Joyce Clark, 2016

FAIR USE NOTICE

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

Mar 16

20

And so it continues…Chavira’s questionable spending

Posted by Joyce Clark on March 20, 2016
Posted in City Council Actions • City issue and actions • City of Glendale • Glendale elected officials • Glendale finances  | Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

It has been 18 years and 94 days since the city’s pledge to build the West Branch Library.

On March 19, 2016, Paul Giblin’s article is entitled Glendale expenses get more scrutiny. It is not online as of this date so no link to the story is provided. In his article Giblin solicits reaction to Chavira’s questionable travel expenses from his peers…the Glendale city councilmembers. Giblin reports, “Sammy Chavira’s colleagues on the Glendale City Council said this week they want to strengthen the city’s travel policy following reporting by the Arizona Republic on Chavira’s travel expenses.”

Mayor Weiers said, “‘We’re going to have to do something. Weiers said one option to tighten the travel policy would be to require councilmembers to use personal credit cards, rather than city-issued cards, for all city-related travel. If you want to be reimbursed, then you have to provide us with all the information – who, what, when, why, where. If you don’t provide that, then you’re not going to get reimbursed,’ he said.”

A majority of councilmembers have said this is a future public city council workshop topic of discussion. Silent on the issue were Councilmember Chavira and Councilmember Aldama. “Vice Mayor Ian Hugh and City Council members Lauren Tolmachoff and Bart Turner told The Republic they expect a formal discussion at a public meeting about improving the city’s travel policy for elected officials.”

The reactions from various councilmembers are varied. “Hugh said he is opposed to granting council members authority to approve or disapprove of each other’s trips.” Frankly I agree with his assessment. In towns and cities there are councilmembers who don’t like each other, don’t get along with each other and may downright hate each other. In most cases, the public is never aware of councilmembers’ animosity toward one another because publicly they remain polite to one another. Political animosity (or even revenge) would be a constant threat if councilmembers’ had the power to approve or disapprove of one another’s expenses.

“‘Council members should be held to at least the same standard as rank-and-file city employees,’ Tolmachoff said.” Councilmember Tolmachoff almost got it. Councilmembers should not be held to the same standards as other city employees. They should be held to the highest standard. They should be a model for all employees to follow. Councilmembers are in a unique position. There are only 7 of them elected by the people of Glendale. There is no comparable position in Glendale. That makes them unique. Their major responsibility is to develop all policy for the city. It is an enormous task requiring their best efforts and a commitment to impartiality. It is their responsibility to strive to be above reproach at all times and in all instances.

Councilmember Ray Malnar thinks that a periodic audit of councilmembers’ use of their expense accounts is in order. “Periodic audits of council members’ expenses would help keep members attuned to existing guidelines, Malnar said. ‘There’s always the ability, no matter what kind of controls you have in place, for abuse. And a lot of it is a matter of trust and follow-up.’ he said.” It is a solid suggestion. It bears serious consideration and has the appeal of having a councilmember’s expenses related to his or her budgets scrutinized on a regular basis.

Councilmember Turner, surprisingly, offered very little concern about councilmembers’ travel expenses and instead focused on lost receipts. “Turner said he’s interested in reviewing the city’s policy for lost receipts and perhaps capping the amount allowable for reimbursement using lost-receipt forms. ‘There’s no transparency around a lost receipt, and I think we owe it to our taxpayers to be as transparent as possible,’ Turner said.”

From the councilmembers’ comments two viable themes emerged. Councilmember Malnar suggested audits. If such audits are not publicly posted prominently and instead are buried in the bowels of city hall paperwork, what good is an audit? Councilmember Turner made reference to transparency. However, currently there is no transparency related to any expense incurred by a councilmember. Why tailor transparency narrowly to a lost-receipt? It’s illogical. Transparency only serves the public interest when it brings to light a practice formerly buried and generalized in the city’s annual budget book.

Perhaps audits and transparency should be used in tandem. City councilmembers should consider revising their policy to include an annual audit performed by Glendale’s Audit Office of both their communications/professional development budget and their infrastructure improvements budget to be completed by October 1 of every year. I can hear the City Auditor now saying that it is an onerous burden upon her department. It is not unreasonable. Each councilmember’s two budgets total approximately $35,000 a year. They are simplistic and not as complicated as one would find in auditing an entire city department comprised of millions of dollars. They could be completed quickly and would not require an inordinate amount of audit staff’s time.

These audits should be posted in each councilmember’s Friday e-newsletter no later than the end of each October. If a councilmember had to publicly announce what expenditures he or she made during the course of a year it would constantly reinforce the concept that each and every dollar is a taxpayer dollar and not “theirs.” This is a reasonable policy. It would create an unmatched level of transparency for Glendale’s citizens. Glendale would be the first city in the state to adopt such a model and it is expected it would cause other cities to follow suit. It would have the effect of helping the public to determine if a councilmember was making effective and ethical use of their taxpayer dollars. It would certainly be a breath of political fresh air.

In the meantime, Giblin reported, “While Glendale officials talked about Chavira’s expenditures, Phoenix officials acted on them. Phoenix officials submitted five checks to Glendale on March 9 to reimburse the city for their portions of the seafood dinner, said Glendale spokeswoman Sue Breding.” Obviously these Phoenix officials, such as the Phoenix Fire Chief, by reimbursing the city, are tacitly acknowledging that Chavira’s payment for their dinners was inappropriate. That cannot be good for Chavira who keeps repeating that he did nothing wrong. Perhaps he’s hoping if he repeats it often enough people will believe him…Hmmm, I think not. I wonder if former Glendale Fire Chief Mark Burdick or Phoenix Councilmember Danny Valenzuela (who happens to be a Glendale fire fighter) reimbursed Glendale. There’s no way to know as that information is not forthcoming.

Come on, Glendale councilmembers, think outside the box. Develop a policy that sheds light on the issue for all of Glendale’s taxpayers. After all, it’s not about you. It’s about the citizens and city that you are elected to serve.

© Joyce Clark, 2016

FAIR USE NOTICE

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

Mar 16

18

Spending your tax dollars

Posted by Joyce Clark on March 18, 2016
Posted in City issue and actions • City of Glendale • Glendale elected officials • Glendale finances  | Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , | No Comments yet, please leave one

It has been 18 years and 92 days since the city’s pledge to build the West Branch Library.

The media recently reported on Sammy’s questionable spending of tax dollars for trips and meals. Here is the link: http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/glendale/2016/03/04/glendale-councilman-sammy-chavira-charges-24k-trips-3-years-taxpayers/78857734/ .

During my 16 years of service as your Yucca district councilmember I spent your tax dollars on pilot projects for the benefit of the entire city and infrastructure improvements in the district. I always tried to be mindful of the fact that it wasn’t my money but the people’s money.

Councilmembers have 2 discretionary accounts. One is for communications/professional development  and the other is for district improvements. I can’t remember every project or improvement but here are examples of how I used your tax dollars:

  • In 1995 I spent $1,387.57 for street identification signs as a pilot project in my district. They are placed lower than most city signs and a hundred feet or so before
    Street identification signs

    Street identification signs

    major intersections. Their purpose was to announce to the driver what street they were approaching. I saw them on trips to Tucson and thought they were very useful while driving in an unfamiliar town. It was a pilot program adopted by the city and today you can see them all over town.

  • That same year I placed two, recycled plastic gazebos, benches and waste receptacles for approximately $2000 each; one in Windsor Park and one in Pasadena Park. The
    Recycled plastic gazebo

    Recycled plastic gazebo

    photo I am using is of a much more elegant gazebo than the ones from 20 years ago. They lasted for quite some time (approx. 15 years) but eventually after years of use they became beyond repair and were removed.

  • In 2002 for $14,356.52 a radar speed trailer was purchased and donated to the Glendale Police Department with the agreement that Yucca district neighborhoodsradar-trailers222[1] could request its use at any time. That same year $2,109.00 went for sidewalk installation and repair for Desert Mirage Park.
  • In 2003 $3,000 was used to purchase an Advanced Life Support Unit for the Glendale Fire Department.
  • In 2008 a surveillance camera was purchased for approximately $1,500 for use in the Grand Canal Linear Park. It was another pilot project designed to improve security and I worked very closely with the manufacturing company. Unfortunately, it did not live up to its claims and was returned with the money being reimbursed.
  • In 2010 in another pilot project, 6 e-book tablets, were purchased (I no longer remember the exact purchase price but it would have been approximately $600 each) and lent to Yucca district residents for several weeks at a time. The purpose was to find out how well they would be received and how easy or difficult they were to use to access the library system to download and read books. They were a hit and were donated to the Glendale library system. The concept was adopted but I am sure the original tablets are so out of date technologically that they are no longer in use.
  • That same year approximately $5,000 was spent to place a graveled gecko design in a retention basin along 83rd Avenue. There are 3 retention basins of just dirt that are the responsibility of the city on the east side of 83rd Avenue between Camelback and Bethany Home Road. Two of them remain as dirt basins to this day.

I did attend National League of Cities Conventions out-of-town or within Arizona. Travel costs averaged between $600 to $900 with the largest expense being a hotel room and registration for a convention. I also was on the League’s Public Safety Steering Policy Committee that generally met an additional two times per year.

I communicated with constituents on a regular basis. I issued two district newsletters per year (spring and fall) at a cost of approximately $5,000 per newsletter. The major costs were printing and postage. I also held a minimum of 2 district meetings per year. Costs for those meetings ranged between $50 to $300. If a school charged a room rental the cost was generally in the $250 range. No more than $50 was used to purchase refreshments for the attending citizens.

My expenditures of your tax dollars as a councilmember were used to promote innovation as pilot projects, to improve district infrastructure or to communicate with constituents on a regular basis. That is quite a contrast to Sammy’s use of your money to travel to D.C. to see the Pope on a TV screen or buying $400 dinners for his bosses including the Phoenix Fire Chief or spending $8,000 on a failed Watermelon Festival.

© Joyce Clark, 2016

FAIR USE NOTICE

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

Mar 16

17

Chavira’s trips

Posted by Joyce Clark on March 17, 2016
Posted in Arizona Coyotes • Camelback Ranch Spring Training Facility • City issue and actions • City of Glendale • Glendale elected officials • Glendale finances  | Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

It has been 18 years and 90 days since the city’s pledge to build the West Branch Library.

In Paul Giblin’s March 4, 2016 Arizona Republic story about Councilmember Chavira he wrote: “Concerning the California trips, Chavira noted in expense records that the purpose for a trip to Montebello, Calif., in November 2015 was ‘Economic Development-grid projects & special events in CA.’

“He wrote that the reason for a trip to West Covina, Calif., in October 2015 was ‘Light Rail and bring LA restaurant to CB Ranch in CA,’ a reference to Glendale’s spring-training park Camelback Ranch.

“In his email to The Republic, Chavira stated that the trips combined multiple opportunities.

“‘I met with the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI), which is an excellent model for innovation and entrepreneurship that I hope to implement in Glendale. Additionally, these two trips involved meetings with a number of political and sports-world leaders concerning the possibility of partnerships back home in Glendale,’ he stated.

“Chavira did not include names of business, political and sports leaders with whom he met. Officials with the clean-tech concern did not return messages about the matter.

“The October 2015 trip followed an introduction Chavira facilitated between Glendale resident Luis De La Cruz and officials at Glendale’s spring-training stadium.

“De La Cruz is the majority owner of Manuel’s Original El Tepeyac Café, a Los Angeles restaurant known for its five-pound burrito. During the meeting, De La Cruz proposed the idea of El Tepeyac selling items at Camelback Ranch stadium, according to De La Cruz and stadium President Jeff Overton.

“The group met at Camelback Ranch on Sept. 1, 2015, but no deals were struck. In October, Chavira sampled the food at El Tepeyac in Los Angeles and De La Cruz introduced him to officials at the clean-tech incubator, De La Cruz said in an interview.

“The Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago White Sox play spring-training games at Camelback Ranch.

Brian Friedman, the city’s economic-development director, said he did not accompany Chavira on the trips and that the councilman didn’t coordinate with him about them. Friedman said he is unfamiliar with the term ‘grid projects.’ “ Here is the link to Giblin’s entire article: http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/glendale/2016/03/04/glendale-councilman-sammy-chavira-charges-24k-trips-3-years-taxpayers/78857734/ .

There’s more to the Luis De La Cruz and Chavira connection. In Chavira’s 2012 run for his council seat Luis De La Cruz co-hosted a $100 a person fundraiser at Bitzee Mama’s for Sammy. They appear to have been friends since at least 2012 when the fundraiser occurred. De La Cruz, in addition to being a majority owner of El Tepeyac Café is also a director of Andale Construction located in Buckeye and Andale Towers located in Phoenix. Chavira seems to aspire running with those who have money and lots of it.

Chavira offered Giblin no back up information for his California trip other than a rather general statement of creating partnerships.  Could he have been there for another purpose? As Giblin reports Chavira did not offer specific information on who he met on this trip. Why travel to California to see a man who lives in Glendale? There has been unsubstantiated speculation that Sammy may have taken this trip primarily to attend a sporting event. Who knows?

Chavira’s explanation for all of his questionable trips to Washington, D.C. and to California was that he was there on city business as well. To the general public it appears that Sammy went on “fun” trips such as seeing Pope Francis on a big screen TV and attending his buddy’s, Ruben Gallego, installation as a Congressman and then to cover his butt made the assertion that he also attended meetings to benefit Glendale. No one is buying his explanation. No one, not the Mayor or other councilmembers have behaved in this fashion.

More troubling is Sammy’s habit and pattern of repaying “favors” to large benefactors supporting his run for office. Is it coincidence that Mark Becker of Becker Billboards made a substantial contribution to Sammy’s campaign and Sammy supported Becker’s request for billboards in north Glendale during, at the very least, one council meeting? Is it coincidence that an attorney for IceArizona made several hundred dollars in contributions to Sammy’s campaign and then Sammy voted for the deal even though he ran on a platform of no more bad (financial) deals for Glendale? Apparently he didn’t think Glendale’s payment of $15 million a year to IceArizona as a management fee was a bad deal. He did not support the canceling of IceArizona’s contract with the city and did not support the city’s issuance of a request for bids to manage the city’s arena.

In response to reading Paul Giblin’s report on Chavira’s trips A Letter to the Editor written by Ron Myers, Constable at Arrowhead Justice Precinct was published. Here is the full text:

“As an elected public official in Maricopa County who lives in Glendale, I am appalled and dismayed to read a story in The Republic that Glendale City Councilman Chavira has abused the trust of the taxpayers in Glendale by spending lavishly on questionable trips and meals charged to his expense account that we all pay for.

What possible city business could it be for him to fly to Washington, D.C., to observe the Pope’s speech on a TV monitor or to watch his friend get sworn in as a congressman? Does he really think he can justify spending over $400 on dinner for his superiors in the Phoenix Fire Department while out of town?

The City of Glendale takes one more black eye from out-of-control politicians. Shame on him and shame on the City of Glendale for allowing this fraud and abuse.”

— Ron Myers, constable

Arrowhead Justice Precinct

Glendale

Chavira’s ethics while serving as an elected official have called into question his fitness to serve. From all appearances he has done “favors” for those who supported him substantially in his run for council. Current news reports question Chavira’s abuse of Glendale’s citizens’ trust by using taxpayer dollars to fund his jaunts. Hopefully the current city council will institute policy to oversee their use of taxpayer dollars for travel. Disappointingly it appears that some councilmembers believe that Sammy “did nothing wrong.” If that is true, perhaps it will call into question their ethical decision making skills as well.

© Joyce Clark, 2016

FAIR USE NOTICE

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

Mar 16

5

Repercussions

Posted by Joyce Clark on March 5, 2016
Posted in City issue and actions • City of Glendale • Glendale elected officials • Glendale finances  | Tagged With: , , , , , | 5 Comments

It has been 18 years and 79 days since the city’s pledge to build the West Branch Library.

It seems the latest Sammy saga is not quite finished. In the Arizona Republic of March 5, 2016 Paul Giblin has yet another story about it entitled Phoenix employees to repay $420 dinner bill sent to Glendale. It is not online yet so I cannot provide a link.

This story reminds me of the symbolism of throwing stones into a pond. The ripples made by the stones intersect and affect how each reacts.

The first three lead paragraphs say, “Several Phoenix employees will personally reimburse Glendale for their portions of $420 seafood dinner in Washington, D.C., that Glendale Councilman expenses to Glendale taxpayers in 2014, according to a Phoenix spokeswoman.

“Phoenix Communications Director Julie Watters requested an itemized receipt for the meal from Assistant City Manager Tom Duensing on Friday, the day a story about Glendale Councilman Sammy Chavira’s travels appeared in The Arizona Republic.

“ ‘The city of Phoenix is requesting a copy of this receipt with the intent that Phoenix employees who were at the dinner will personally repay their portion of the meal,’ Watters stated in the email.”

There are a lot of sub texts to this story. It is amazing that Julie Watters’ information request to the City of Glendale was filled almost immediately. The general public’s requests for information are not nearly as timely. I guess as Phoenix’s Communications Director her public information requests take precedence.

For two years this dinner was unnoticed and unreported publicly. None of the participants, including the Phoenix contingent, appeared to be ethically challenged about their action and never offered repayment for their portion of the dinner. It wasn’t until it is revealed publicly that the wagons are circled and repayment is forthcoming.

It leads to an assumption that the Fire Chiefs Kalbrenner and Burdick had no problem with a subordinate employee picking up the tab for their high priced meal. The question arises, is there a pattern of such behavior? Of course, Sammy was using his office as a Glendale councilmember but in terms of the Phoenix Fire Department he is a subordinate employee, quite far down on the food chain.

Giblin in his article states that Fire Chief Kara Kalkbrenner and Kalkbrenner’s husband, Kevin, Phoenix Director of Emergency Management were two of the attendees. It appears Phoenix does not have a nepotism policy.

Also in attendance was Phoenix Councilmember Danny Valenzuela, a good buddy of Chavira’s. Nowhere in the article does it state that Valenzuela will be using personal funds to pay for his portion of the dinner. Then Glendale Fire Chief Mark Burdick was in attendance as well. He happens to be Danny Valenzuela’s boss as Danny is a Glendale firefighter. How ethical is it to grant access to some subordinates and not others? If I were a Glendale or Phoenix firefighter I would not be thrilled to learn of Chavira and Valenzuela using their councilmember positions to gain extraordinary access to their fire chiefs.

This story about Sammy’s dinner is probably the tip of the iceberg. There are many tangled interrelationships in politics and municipal affairs and generally they turn out to not serve public interests very well. The repercussions of Sammy’s dinner may have a far greater effect than anyone could have imagined.

© Joyce Clark, 2016

FAIR USE NOTICE

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

Mar 16

4

Sammy the spendthrift, Part II

Posted by Joyce Clark on March 4, 2016
Posted in City issue and actions • City of Glendale • Glendale elected officials • Glendale finances  | Tagged With: , , , , , | 3 Comments

It has been 18 years and 78 days since the city’s pledge to build the West Branch Library.

As I announced in my blog of March 3, 2016 I am in the process of deciding whether to run for my former Yucca district council seat. Today on the front page of the Arizona Republic is a major story by Paul Giblin on Councilmember Chavira’s use of his council discretionary funds for travel. Here is the link: http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/glendale/2016/03/04/glendale-councilman-sammy-chavira-charges-24k-trips-3-years-taxpayers/78857734/ . Thank you Paul Giblin for fleshing out with extensive research what I had discussed in my February 28, 2016 blog, Sammy the spendthrift. Giblin’s article is just one more reason to tip me toward serious consideration.

Here are some bullet points from the story by Giblin:

  • “Glendale Councilman Sammy Chavira expensed a trip to Washington to see U.S. Rep. Ruben Gallego sworn in.”
  • “He billed city taxpayers for another trip to Washington to see the pope.”
  • “Chavira has taken the most trips of any current council member.”

 

I am dismayed and disgusted by Sammy’s cavalier approach to spending your money, taxpayer dollars, and you should be as well. This much I can tell you. While there is no oversight (and there should be) of how a Glendale councilmember spends his or her discretionary funds. 95% of the time they are mindful of the fact that it is not their money and treat its use with respect.

As a former councilmember on the occasions that I took out-of-town trips to the National League of Cities Conventions and as a member of the League’s Public Safety Steering Committee, I turned in receipts for all of my expenditures. I often submitted Public Safety Steering Committee summary reports to senior staff and my fellow councilmembers. When I attended state League meetings sited, for example, in Scottsdale, I would not stay in a nearby hotel but rather traveled from my home to the meeting site daily. When the sites of state League meetings were too far away to accommodate this practice, such as Tucson, then I would stay in a hotel. During my entire tenure as a Glendale councilmember I never had your dollars pay for my cell phone or its monthly charges even though much of its use was city related. I never submitted monthly car mileage reimbursements. There were a handful of occasions, such as state League meetings, for which I did ask for mileage reimbursement. The point is that I was careful because it wasn’t “my” money. A majority of Glendale’s councilmembers are mindful of their council expenses. All it takes is one bad apple to destroy the people’s trust in how elected officials operate and act on their behalf.

Perhaps the most disturbing of all of Sammy’s D.C. trips was his expensing taxpayer dollars to spring for a dinner that included his bosses at the Phoenix Fire Department (Sammy is a Phoenix firefighter); now retired Glendale Fire Chief Mark Burdick; and Glendale firefighter and Phoenix Councilmember Danny Valenzuela. Oh, to be a fly on the wall. Clearly Chavira used that to self-aggrandize himself. I wonder if Phoenix Councilmember Danny Valenzuela expensed this D.C. trip to Phoenix taxpayers. I wonder if the attendees were informed of Burdick’s plans to retire as Glendale Fire Chief and subsequently run for the Glendale mayoral seat.

His trip to see the Pope and another trip to see his good friend Rueben Gallego’s inauguration are certainly questionable. No matter how he tries to spin these trips they were certainly not “city business.”

Giblin states that he set up at least three meetings with Sammy to hear his side of the story and all three meetings were cancelled. It’s reminiscent of the many meetings Sammy has scheduled with Glendale residents only to have them cancelled as well. Instead he sent an email to Giblin saying in part, “I made these trips on behalf of the city for legitimate purposes…”

Don’t forget there are other sketchy Chavira financial dealings. One was his and Councilmember Danny Valenzuela’s involvement in a Hispanic Firefighters Association event fundraiser that netted not one dime to the organization. In fact the organization lost money as it had to pay for the actions required to hold the event. How about his $8,000 sponsorship of the failed Glendale Watermelon Festival or his $2,500 sponsorship of the Glendale Dia del los Muertos, an event that allowed political activities favoring Democrat candidates for elected office.

Sammy has demonstrated a pattern of questionable financial decision making as a Glendale city councilmember. If he makes poor decisions with his council budget can you really trust him to make good decisions about the city’s budget?

© Joyce Clark, 2016

FAIR USE NOTICE

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

Mar 16

3

Will Clark do it again?

Posted by Joyce Clark on March 3, 2016
Posted in City of Glendale  | Tagged With: , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

It has been 18 years and 77 days since the city’s pledge to build the West Branch Library.

IMG_1171

This newspaper clipping is an old headline from 2000 when I won an election for my council seat. In that election I was the only elected official in the state to run as a write-in against an incumbent and to win.

Imagine my surprise last week when I received a call from the Star editor, Carolyn Dryer, telling me she had received a Letter to the Editor from former Councilmember Norma Alvarez who represented the Ocotillo district. She told me Alvarez has publicly asked me to consider running for the Yucca district council seat. Here is the link to the Alvarez letter: http://www.glendalestar.com/opinion/article_93660af6-e088-11e5-8fca-07da10ddf430.html . Here is my response to Dryer’s question asking me if I intended to run: http://www.glendalestar.com/news/article_a08de88c-df3b-11e5-9b98-8749566839f1.html .

I have been asked repeatedly by my former constituents of the district since 2013 to do so. The reasons they offer are various. They would express their appreciation of my accessibility, my problem solving of their complaints and my representation of their voice. For years I had resisted even consideration of their pleas. But no longer.

They have also expressed their frustration and disappointment in their current representative. He is inaccessible. In fact, he is often AWOL. They cite his flip-flopping on issues and the exorbitant amount of money he has spent on travel, especially on trips that they contend are not city business.

I will spend the next week picking up the phone and talking to Norma to listen to her reasons as to why I should run again. I will also talk to my family and close friends to hear their thoughts on the subject. It is not a decision to be made lightly for it requires a major time commitment. It requires councilmembers (such as I was) to spend weekends “doing their homework” as council material for consideration and discussion at workshops and meetings is usually provided on Friday afternoons. I have the stamina and the intellect but do I have your support?

I would like to hear from you – readers of my blog, many of whom live either in the Yucca district or live in Glendale. The answer I seek is not only do you think I should run but are you willing to give of your time and talents in my campaign? I cannot take on a major commitment such as this without your support. You may contact me at: clarkjv@aol.com or leave a comment on this blog. Obviously your email response will remain private but any comment you leave on this blog will be instantly public.

Here is an excerpt of an email I received this morning in response to Norma’s call for my running for the Yucca district council seat. “I read the article about you in the Glendale Star and I also read Norma’s editorial, endorsing you! I say YES, go for it!! The Yucca and Glendale residents deserve a councilmember like you who cares about the community.”

This much I promise. I will seriously think about it. I will talk to others. I will wait to hear from you. After that, I will make a decision and publish it on this blog. So the question is: Will Clark do it again?

© Joyce Clark, 2016

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.

Feb 16

28

Sammy the spendthrift

Posted by Joyce Clark on February 28, 2016
Posted in City issue and actions • City of Glendale • Glendale elected officials • Glendale finances  | Tagged With: , , , , , , | 7 Comments

It has been 18 years and 73 days since the city’s pledge to build the West Branch Library.

The Oxford dictionary definition of a spendthrift is, “a person who spends money in an extravagant, irresponsible way.” Sammy certainly appears to be the embodiment of that definition. It seems as if Sammy likes to travel…on your dime.

Chavira took office in January of 2013. From that date through January of 2016, three years, he has spent $25,574.49 on travel. Here is how it breaks down by year:

  • 2013               $2,954.14
  • 2014               $5,297.56
  • 2015              $11,876.62
  • 2016               $5,446.17

He appears to really, really like to travel. Then again, he’s not spending his own money. He’s spending your money, taxpayer dollars. Many of his trips have been to National League of Cities meetings across the country. However, some of his trips may be questionable. It appears that he traveled to the East Coast when Pope Francis visited the United States. He needs to explain how this trip served the best interests of Glendale residents. It seems he also traveled back to Washington, D.C. when his mentor, Ruben Gallego, was inducted into the Congressional House of Representatives. How did this trip serve the best interests of Glendale residents?

Sammy also likes to eat…on your dime and he doesn’t seem to bat an eye when he picks up the tab for his guests. On one of his many trips to D.C. on October 13, 2014 he spent $419.76 at Johnny’s Half Shell restaurant. According to Glendale’s Follow Your Money in October of 2015 he spent $120.28 at Cuff restaurant and another $120.45 at the Yard House restaurant.

Sammy also fancies himself a promoter of festivals. Remember his dubious involvement in the Hispanic Firefighters Association event when the association not only lost money but had to pay security and other vendors? Shortly thereafter he was invited to leave the organization. Well, he’s still at it. On June 6, 2013 he donated $8,000 of taxpayer money to sponsor the Glendale Watermelon Festival. Were you even aware that there was a Watermelon Festival? Apparently no one else was aware either. At your local supermarket during the year you can see cardboard cartons filled with watermelons. Sammy had the bright idea to do the same and there were cardboard cartons filled with watermelons on nearly every street corner in downtown Glendale. The problem was after the festival was over, all of those filled cartons remained on every street corner in downtown Glendale. They were virtually a symbol of a festival that bombed and an embarrassment.

On October 20, 2015 Sammy donated another $2500 of your money to sponsor the Dia de Los Muertos Festival in downtown Glendale. So did Councilmember Aldama. This was another winner…not. An audit of this event has never been publicly released by the city. The producer of the event…you guessed it…is a friend of Chavira’s and Aldama’s. Democrat candidates set up booths at this event yet the city is strictly prohibited from sponsoring events that advocate for a particular political position or candidate.

Sammy the spendthrift has no problem spending over $35,000 of taxpayer money in three years on questionable trips and festivals. More definitively than anything else these actions demonstrate his lack of fiscal constraint and questionable decision making. Be concerned. His decisions about use of taxpayer money within his council budget reflect future decisions regarding the city’s budget which affects all of us.

© Joyce Clark, 2016

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.

Feb 16

25

Fox 10 Newsmaker Sunday…fair and unbiased?

Posted by Joyce Clark on February 25, 2016
Posted in Casino • City issue and actions • Glendale elected officials • Glendale finances  | Tagged With: , , , , , , , , | No Comments yet, please leave one

It has been 18 years and 70 days since the city’s pledge to build the West Branch Library.

On Sunday morning, February 14, 2016, Fox 10 presented its weekly show Newsmaker Sunday. Here is the link: http://www.fox10phoenix.com/newsmaker-sunday . Guess who is one of the sponsors of this show? You would be correct if you said Desert Diamond Casino. So we already know how this show is going to go. John Hook is the moderator and his guests were none other than Councilmember Sammy Chavira and Trina Parvello, Director of Public Relations, Desert Diamond Casino. Hook, as will be seen, obviously had a difficult interview on his hands. Neither spokesperson appeared to be the brightest bulbs in the pack.

Hook asked Ms. Parvello how the Tohono O’odham Nation finally prevailed. Ms. Parvello attributed their success to “tribal leadership; the right to build a casino at that location and community support.” To many people it was tribal leadership based upon deceit; there was no “right” to build in Glendale under the state compact and majority community support came from Peoria and Avondale rather than Glendale.

Mr. Hook then asked Sammy if he supported the casino all along. Sammy said, “Oh yes sir. Even well before I was elected I supported the efforts of the Tohono O’odham Nation and uh…” Sammy certainly did support the TO and they repaid him with a boat load of campaign mailers.

When Hook asked Sammy how many jobs the casino created he said, I’m going to defer to my expert on that (referring to Ms. Parvello).”  Her response was, “…up to 600 jobs…”  

Hook asked Sammy what people in Glendale were worried about with reference to the casino. Sammy replied, “From my perspective it all started with misinformation. And it all, uh, started with, uh, the Nation not having their say, their time in the light to give their part of the story. And, uh, it wasn’t until, ah, 18 court cases later and I wish you were a baseball player because if you were you’d be batting a thousand. And the thing is, even with all that, you’re right. It was part of a bureaucracy. It was part of people thinking that, uh, that, uh, it wasn’t something that the Nation should do.” How’s that for being a responsive answer?

Chavira was asked what was the reason that all of those powerful politicians did not want a casino in Glendale. His response was, “Well, like I say, all of the above; politics, self interest. The longer a fight lasts the more billable hours you have depending on which side you’re on. But at the end of the day, the ones who suffered were the citizens. Ah, I mean just from jobs, from the economic impact we’re having not only in Glendale but in the whole West Valley. What people seem to forget is that the casino is already a sovereign nation and it’s on unincorporated land surrounded three sides by the City of Glendale and on the north side by the City of Peoria.” The mind freezes as one listens to him. I guess we can blame this entire issue on the lawyers. How Sammy can cite the great economic impact to Glendale now and later in the interview admit there is no way to gauge its impact is mind boggling.

Hook asked Sammy if the NFL was skittish about the casino and if the NFL supported it. Chavira responded, “I can tell you I heard nothing from the NFL on that issue. Me, personally, I didn’t hear anything. Trina, did you hear any concern from them?” Ms. Parvello neatly sidestepped the entire issue by saying, “…they are supportive of the community…” As for Sammy the NFL probably never even heard of him much less communicated anything to him.

Hook asked Chavira if people opposed the casino because it threatened the integrity of the neighborhood. Sammy responded, “Yes, it ran the gamut. It ran (sic) the integrity of the neighborhood, being across the school, uh, a street from the high school. Um, such things as it would bring crime, unsavory people and um…”

Hook asked Chavira if he had heard anything from his constituents. Sammy said, “Ok, well, I haven’t received anything negative from any of my constituents.” Could it be because Sammy has been unreachable and invisible to his constituency?

Hook asked Ms. Parvello if the Nation contributes to the larger community. She responded that the Nation has a strong responsibility to the community. However she failed to mention that it is mandated through the state compact that a percentage of their net must go to the non-profits and communities throughout the state. It is distributed through a grant application process.

Sammy was asked how much does Glendale benefit from having the casino in terms of dollars. He responded, “Well, right now because of the Nation being an entity that’s a sovereign nation, um, they don’t get taxed. But at the end of the day what happened, the agreement was to receive a payment from them annually. For how many years, Trina?”  She said, “Throughout the life of the compact.”  You would think Sammy would have prepared for this interview by obtaining some facts and figures instead of continually punting to Ms. Parvello.

Hook again asked for clarification about the financial benefit to Glendale and Sammy melts down by saying, “So what we’re doing now is that we’ve moved forward with our partnership. But at the end of the day, um, where we’re at today is…sorry, I lost my train of thought.”

Hook responds with that’s ok but will there be money going to the city? Sammy, in an attempt to recover says, “Oh. Absolutely. I’m, I’m, let me apologize for that. The money we will be receiving…Let me take you back to the liquor license. Liquor is, is, is taxed, is taxed by the state before it even goes to the, uh, store. Well, at the end of the day, now we’re having an opportunity. We’re avoiding an opportunity to make money by not letting us have that liquor license. So right there, we, I don’t think we’ll have a metric to measure the economic impact the casino is gonna have on the entire West Valley.” Can you figure out what Sammy said?

Ms. Parvello was asked how many jobs would be created at final build out and her answer was, “1500.”  Hmmm…that’s a far cry from the figure of 6,000 jobs the TO has used routinely.

Thank God this show runs at the ungodly hour of 5:30 AM on Sunday mornings. The viewership is probably 3 people. I bet John Hook wishes this is one of the interviews that could be erased forever. So much for the Fox slogan of “fair and unbiased.”

“At the end of the day,” sorry Sammy. We “lost our train of thought.”

© Joyce Clark, 2016

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.

Feb 16

18

Sammy, where are you?

Posted by Joyce Clark on February 18, 2016
Posted in Arizona Coyotes • City Council Actions • City issue and actions • Glendale elected officials  | Tagged With: , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

It has been 18 years and 63 days since the city’s pledge to build the West Branch Library.

Please Note: I have added a Contact form to my blog page. So far about a dozen readers have used the form. My apology to those of you who have used it. I am not deliberately ignoring you. I am taking it down until I get the bugs worked out. However, I am having problems with the app. It is not sending me your contact info or your message.

Councilmember Chavira when he first took office seemed bright-eyed and bushy tailed. How has his attendance at workshops, executive sessions and voting meetings been? I reviewed all of the city’s meeting minutes and it is possible that I could have missed some of his absences. Based upon a cursory review here are his absences since he took office:

2013

  • 4/9/2013       Special workshop followed by an executive session
  • 9/24/2013     Voting meeting
  • 9/24/2013     Special workshop followed by an executive session
  • 12/10/2013   Voting meeting

2014

  • 10/7/2014      Workshop followed by an executive session

2015

  • 2/24/2015      Voting meeting
  • 4/14/2015      Budget workshop followed by an executive session
  • 4/14/2015      Voting meeting
  • 7/20/2015      Special workshop followed by an executive session
  • 8/11/2015      Voting meeting
  • 8/13/2015      Special workshop followed by an executive session

2016

  • 1/28/2015     Special workshop followed by an executive session
  • 2/16/2016     Arrived late at 9:43 AM for a 9 AM meeting

There have been additional meetings, both workshop and voting, at which Sammy participated telephonically and was not physically present for the meeting. There is no way to determine an accurate count of his telephonic presence at meetings. These are more difficult to research by going through old council minutes.

Virtually every workshop is followed by an executive session. So not only has he missed workshops but at least 7 executive session meetings. Executive sessions provide information on contracts, land issues and personnel issues not available to the public. Keep in mind that a councilmember cannot and never participates in an executive session telephonically.

Over the course of the 3 years and 2 months of his term to date he has missed over a dozen meetings. In 16 years of service I probably missed less than a half dozen meetings. The councilmembers with whom I served also took their service very seriously and rarely, if ever, missed a meeting.

Every councilmember knows that it is critical to reserve every Tuesday for council business knowing that there will be a workshop meeting usually followed by an executive session or a voting meeting.

Is Sammy’s job conflicting with his ability to carry out his one major responsibility…his attendance at council meetings? Forget about participation and meaningful conversation. He is known widely for his habit of thanking people and not saying much else. If that is the case then he is doing a disservice to his constituency as well as all of the people of Glendale.

Sammy ran on a bogus platform of promises to the voters of his district…education, for which he had no policy making authority; his support of an out-of-state corporation’s successful bid to manage the city’s arena for $15 million dollars a year; his lack of representation of the people of his district and his failure to meaningfully reach out to his constituents; and his broken promise to not enter into sweetheart deals…unless it happens to be a quid pro quo with a fellow councilmember.

Sammy’s record of service as the Yucca district councilmember is a testament to his invisibility…at council workshop, executive sessions and voting meetings and in interacting with and representing the people of our district. The question is a valid one…Sammy, where are you?

© Joyce Clark, 2016

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.

« Previous Page — Next Page »