Header image alt text

Joyce Clark Unfiltered

For "the rest of the story"

Sep 24

20

Worker Power Initiative Part 5…A disaster for Glendale

Posted by Joyce Clark on September 20, 2024
Posted in 2024 General Election • City issue and actions • City of Glendale • Glendale Economic Development • Glendale elected officials • Glendale election 2024 • Glendale finances • Phoenix Metro issues • Worker Power Super PAC  | Tagged With: , , , | No Comments yet, please leave one

Disclaimer: The comments in this blog are my personal opinion and may or may not reflect an adopted position of the city of Glendale and its city council.

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

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

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

I have cited some excerpts from their study:

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

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

© Joyce Clark, 2024    

FAIR USE NOTICE

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

Sep 24

18

Worker Power Initiative, Part 4

Posted by Joyce Clark on September 18, 2024
Posted in 2024 General Election • City of Glendale • Glendale Economic Development • Glendale elected officials • Glendale election 2024 • Phoenix Metro issues • Worker Power Super PAC  | Tagged With: , , , | No Comments yet, please leave one

Disclaimer: The comments in this blog are my personal opinion and may or may not reflect an adopted position of the city of Glendale and its city council.

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

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

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

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

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

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

© Joyce Clark, 2024    

FAIR USE NOTICE

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

Sep 24

17

Worker Power Initiative, Part 3

Posted by Joyce Clark on September 17, 2024
Posted in 2024 General Election • City issue and actions • City of Glendale • Glendale Economic Development • Glendale election 2024 • Glendale finances • Phoenix Metro issues • Worker Power Super PAC  | Tagged With: , , , | No Comments yet, please leave one

Disclaimer: The comments in this blog are my personal opinion and may or may not reflect an adopted position of the city of Glendale and its city council.

In previous blogs the Worker Power Super PAC was explained and the types of venues that could be covered by this proposed initiative. Some aspects of this proposed initiative are vague and leave room for expensive interpretation, probably by a judge at some point, if it passes.

What is the minimum wage proposed? The initiative says, “Beginning thirty days (30) after the effective date of this ordinance, a hotel employer or an event center employer shall pay its hotel workers or event center workers, as applicable, a wage of no less than $20 per hour, not including tips, gratuities, service charge distributions, and bonuses.” There is more, “Beginning January 1, 2025, and annually thereafter, the minimum wage will increase annually to reflect increases in the cost of living. The cost-of-living increase shall be the greater of (1) three percent (3%) or (2) the percentage increase as of September 30, 2024, and as of September 30 in any subsequent year for further annual adjustments, over the level as of September 30 of the preceding year.”

In English, that sets the minimum wage for hospitality workers at $20 per hour with a cost of living increase every year. That $20 an hour does not include tips, gratuities, service charge distributions or bonuses. Currently, Arizona’s statewide minimum wage is $14.35 per hour. In January 2025, it will become $14.70 per hour. This initiative requires $5.30 per hour more than the minimum wage of any other Arizona city.

Wait, there’s more. If a hotel has less than 60 rooms, the room attendant who cleans more than 4,000 square feet in an 8-hour day gets a double pay rate of $40 an hour for the entire 8 plus hours. For example, the worker who cleans 3,999 square feet in an 8-hour day gets $160 ($20/hour). But if the worker cleans 4,100 square feet in 9 hours, that worker gets $360 for a 9-hour day ($40/hour). If a hotel is larger than 60 rooms (and nearly everyone is) anything over 3,500 square feet in an 8-hour day gets double pay.

All service charges are split between the event center and the hospitality worker but there is no specific proportion as to who gets what.

This proposed ordinance applies only to hospitality workers, not managerial, supervisory staff, bartenders, bellhops, valets, custodians, etc. It doesn’t apply to maintenance staff. You know, the people that keep the lights on, the A/C working and the plumbing from backing up…just hospitality workers. Is that fair? I think not.

In the next blog we will learn what requirements are imposed on Glendale if this initiative passes.

© Joyce Clark, 2024    

FAIR USE NOTICE

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

Sep 24

16

Worker Power Initiative, Part 2

Posted by Joyce Clark on September 16, 2024
Posted in 2024 General Election • City issue and actions • City of Glendale • Glendale Economic Development • Glendale election 2024 • Phoenix Metro issues • Worker Power Super PAC  | Tagged With: , , | No Comments yet, please leave one

Disclaimer: The comments in this blog are my personal opinion and may or may not reflect an adopted position of the city of Glendale and its city council.

In my last blog I laid out some background on who and what the group running this initiative, the Worker Power Super PAC is. This blog starts to explain what their proposed initiative includes. I have offered a link so that you can refer to the entire initiative as submitted.  Initiative

The initiative applies to all event centers within the City of Glendale and is defined in the initiative as, “An event center means a publicly or privately owned structure in the city of more than 20,000 square feet that is used for public performances, sporting events, business meetings, or similar events. An event center includes, but is not limited to concert halls, stadiums, sports arenas, racetracks, coliseums, and convention centers.”

Please note that “similar events” is pretty broad and covers just about anything. Hotels are not referred to in this section but are in section 21-187 and is as follows, “A hotel means an establishment in the city that provides temporary lodging for payment in the form of overnight accommodation in guest rooms to transient patrons for periods of thirty (30) consecutive calendar days or less. This definition includes hotels, motor lodges, motels apartment hotels, transient residential structures, private residential clubs, tourist courts, hostels and private guest rooms that may be reserved, meeting the hotel definition.”

Let’s break this down. First, it applies to all public and private facilities. Here are some examples: Midwestern University, Glendale Community College, all high schools and elementary schools (public or charter) that have a football field and/or basketball court or any other large meeting area. It includes government facilities like the Civic Center, the arena, the main library and the Glendale Public Training Facility. It includes private facilities that rent space for meetings or weddings or your favorite performing arts theater or movie theater. It would also include places like the pickleball venue in Westgate and the under construction Mario Andretti cart racing venue. Of course, the football stadium and the arena, both in Westgate, are included.

In other words, any location, public or private where people gather in large groups. Many mistakenly believe that this proposed initiative only applies to hotel workers but as you can see, that is not the case.  That is why they have purposefully referred to “hospitality workers.” It’s smoke and mirrors to make you think one thing when it is actually more broadly written.

Keep in mind that this proposed initiative only applies to the City of Glendale. IT WOULD NOT APPLY TO ANY OTHER CITY IN THE STATE OF ARIZONA! Mind you, should Worker Power be successful in getting this initiative passed on November 5th, at the General Election you can be sure they will take it to other cities in Arizona. The only voters that can deny or pass this proposed initiative are Glendale voters since it currently applies only to Glendale.

Coming in my next blog, how much is the proposed hourly wage and are there any other wage provisions?

© Joyce Clark, 2024    

FAIR USE NOTICE

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

Sep 24

12

Worker Power Initiative, Part 1

Posted by Joyce Clark on September 12, 2024
Posted in 2024 General Election • City issue and actions • City of Glendale • Glendale Economic Development • Glendale elected officials • Glendale finances • Phoenix Metro issues • VAI Resort • Worker Power Super PAC  | Tagged With: , , | No Comments yet, please leave one

Disclaimer: The comments in this blog are my personal opinion and may or may not reflect an adopted position of the city of Glendale and its city council.

I am starting a series of blogs on a very complicated issue. Worker Power PAC (political action committee) successfully obtained enough Glendale voters’ signatures to, they hope, get a minimum wage of $20 an hour for hospitality workers on Glendale’s November 5th General Election ballot.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

© Joyce Clark, 2024    

FAIR USE NOTICE

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

Sep 24

8

First day without my Koi

Posted by Joyce Clark on September 8, 2024
Posted in City of Glendale • fish pond • Koi pond  | 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 I walked out to the back patio and it was eerily quiet. No waterfall…no fish. It also meant no birds coming to bathe or get a drink. No fish to feed at 5 o’clock. No filters to clean in the morning and evening.

Pond drained

It is literally a shock to hear nothing and to see algae covered rocks in what was once a thriving eco-system. I imagine with time I will get used to it. I am looking forward to the construction of our pool with another waterfall. The next step will be to start totally dismantling the pond and the landscaping surrounding it.

Netting the fish

Anita and Sebastian, from Koi Rescue, came and took the fish today. They were gentle with the fish and very professional. They had all the equipment they needed to take them. In all, they took 31 fish. One tragedy occurred, however. One of the Koi, apparently very frightened, would not leave the cubby under the fish shelf and so we missed collecting it. After the pond was drained, we discovered that fish who by then, had succumbed to the lack of water.

I’ve included some photos of the now drained pond, the collection process and some of the fish in the bins ready for transport.

In bin ready for transport

Almost as large as the bin

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

© Joyce Clark,

2024 FAIR USE NOTICE

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

Sep 24

7

Goodbye after 15 years

Posted by Joyce Clark on September 7, 2024
Posted in City of Glendale • Koi pond  | 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.

After 15 years of enjoying and caring for our Koi fish we decided it was time to get rid of the pond. We are in our 80’s and taking care of the pond has become too difficult. That was made abundantly clear recently while trying to clean vegetation around the pond I took a fall. I scraped up every available limb on my body!

So, sadly the decision was made to let the Koi go. I could have sold them for some of them are valuable, but I just didn’t want to scatter them. Instead, I contacted Koi Rescue and one of the members lives a stone’s throw from my home and was willing to take all 30 Koi and put them in their pond. Perfect solution. I will be able to go 5 minutes away occasionally and visit my fish.

By the way, after 15 years we have named most of them. We know their individual characteristics. Some have always been shy and nervous. Others are more adventurous. Still others are pigs at feeding time and as a result have outstripped the smaller ones in size. That is not to say any of them are small anymore. They range in size from 18 inches to 36 inches. When we bought them, a few at a time from California Koi farms, all were no bigger than 4 to 5 inches.

Over 15 years we have probably lost only 3 fish. I don’t know what we are doing right but they are healthy and happy Koi.

What will happen to the hole that the pond occupied? Well…we’ve decided to install a pool and spa in its place. I’m looking forward to soaking these old bones in the spa. We’ve decided on a conceptual design and have secured a contractor to oversee building it. It won’t be a typical, square, modernistic looking pool. I want another waterfall and to use as many of the rocks as possible that made up the Koi pond. We are saving the 3 pigmy palms and 1 date palm, but the rest of the landscaping will go as they are common plants. Our plan is to acquire plants easily maintained that complement the ‘naturalness’ of the new pool.

As we go through this process of building the pool/spa I will share our experiences. It will probably turn out to be both interesting and frustrating at the same time. At least I will not be freaking out about the time needed to build. Over the years I have at least acquired some patience.

Another life’s chapter is about to begin, and I am looking forward to it.

© 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.

Aug 24

25

Trump rally in Glendale, AZ

Posted by Joyce Clark on August 25, 2024
Posted in City of Glendale • Desert Diamond Arena • National issues • Westgate • 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.

On Friday, August 23rd, I attended the Trump rally at the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, AZ. As the Councilmember representing the Yucca district which encompasses Westgate and the arena, I was excited to attend.

Trump Rally at Desert Diamond Arena, Glendale AZ

The arena was packed and is typical of Trump rallies, there were thousands more who couldn’t fit into the arena. The line up of speakers were:

  • Sheriff Mark Lamb
  • Riley Gaines
  • Bob, CEO and President of Goya Foods
  • Glendale’s very own Mayor, Jerry Weiers
  • Tyler Bower
  • Maricopa County Schools Supervisor candidate Shelli Boggs
  • Congressman Eli Crane
  • Congressman Paul Gosar
  • Sheriff candidate Jerry Sheridan
  • Congressman Andy Biggs
  • Maricopa County Recorder candidate Justin Heap
  • US Congressional candidate Abe Hamadeh
  • Turning Point President Charlie Kirk
  • US Senate candidate Kari Lake
  • President Donald Trump

Mayor Weiers did a great job of welcoming all attendees to Glendale and offered some

Mayor Jerry Weiers
Glendale AZ

Glendale highlights before he spoke about the importance of reelecting President Trump.  In my opinion, there were two speakers who were outstanding. Their speeches had fire and passion. One was Congressman Andy Biggs who questioned the state of our nation today and contrasted that with  the country when President Trump left office. The other was Charlie Kirk who spoke about the importance of this election and rallied all to get involved and to make the effort to encourage others to vote. Each was able to electrify the crowd.

President Trump was his usual warm and amusing self and gave the speech I had seen

President Trump
Robert Kennedy Jr.

on TV many times. The highlight of the event was the appearance of Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The crowd went wild, chanting, “Bobby, Bobby.” Kennedy announced that he was suspending his campaign and endorsing President Trump. He urged unity between both groups. It was obvious that he could no longer be a part of the Democrat party in this election as it had worked to kick him off the ballot in numerous states. He basically said the Democrat party was no longer the party that his Father had once led. It was an amazing event, and I am so glad I was able to witness what was an historic political event.

Am I voting for Trump? You bet I am. If for no other reason (and there are plenty of them) than the cost of food and the cost of gas. Just ask yourself, “Are you better off financially than you were four years ago?” The American Dream is no longer attainable for our young.

I urge you to vote in November and to cast your vote for Donald Trump.

© Joyce Clark, 2024    

FAIR USE NOTICE

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

Jul 24

24

One last look at the two Lupes

Posted by Joyce Clark on July 24, 2024
Posted in Barrell District • Cactus District • City issue and actions • City of Glendale • Glendale elected officials • Glendale election 2024 • Primary Election August 2024 • Yucca district  | Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , | No Comments yet, please leave one

Disclaimer: The comments in this blog are my personal opinion and may or may not reflect an adopted position of the city of Glendale and its city council.

The primary election is in one week, July 30th. Please do vote. It’s now too late to mail your Early Ballot but you can drop it off at the Glendale City Clerk’s office at the Civic Center Annex in downtown Glendale or you can drop it off on Election Day at a polling location.

Here are a couple of recent observations that have come to my attention. Lupe Encinas in a recent mailer used this photo:

I have learned that a complaint has been filed for its use of Glendale’s employees, namely police officers with no disclaimer or permission. A candidate cannot use Glendale’s employees in campaign literature. She will probably plead ignorance and that she didn’t know it was a violation. If she is found to have violated election law I suspect she will be fined.

At the candidate forum held by the Glendale Women’s Club, only the Lupe twins appeared. The Vice Mayor had a previous commitment and Dianna Guzman had had emergency surgery. During the forum, Conchas said at one point, “When I’m knocking on doors I hear a lot about speed enforcement and speed safety… I have been talking to residents about solutions and that includes more motorcycle police and giving out a few more speeding tickets.” This is the height of irony considering that Conchas has two traffic citations in his background and a Failure to Appear at one of those court hearings. Yet now he’s concerned about traffic safety and speeding. Check out these:

A recent anti-Vice Mayor Hugh was mailed out recently. It was paid for by the political action committee, Moving Glendale Forward, ID# 24-02. It was created specifically to do one action – print and mail a hit piece on Councilmember Hugh. The contributors to this PAC are 3 people, no one else, Art Othon of Othon Consulting, donated $500; Andy Konasek of Arizona Strategies, donated $500; and surprise! Bart Turner, Glendale City Councilmember representing Glendale’s Barrell district, $2,325.09. The printing and mailing cost $3,325.09. Bart Turner paid for 70% of the mailer. It appears that Turner despises Hugh and not just Hugh, but me, Mayor Weiers and Councilmember Malnar. In other words, the majority on Glendale’s city council.

He is financially supporting the two Lupes, Conchas and Encinas, both Democrats. There are more skeletons in Turner’s closet, but they are for another day in his future.

Turner appears to be a RINO Republican. When Democrat Mark Kelly was running for office Turner endorsed him and was subsequently censored by Republican Legislative District 24.

Several observers from that night at the Women’s Club shared their comments with me. One said Encinas is really “dumb” and another said she has “no grasp of the issues.” The last observer to reach out to me said both candidates had a golden opportunity to share specific solutions and to identify specific issues. Instead, they used platitudes and spoke in generalities. They both showed that they had no real understanding of Glendale’s policies or issues.

I’m sure you’ve heard the expression, “Me thinks thou doth protest too much.” It’s from Shakespeare’s Hamlet. The continual protests coming from the Encinas camp about connections with the radical Conchas should raise eyebrows. They had more than one Meet n Greet together. It certainly wasn’t a one-off.

The last thing Glendale needs right now are radicalized Democrats who espouse Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), defunding the police, higher taxes, gender transformation of children and open borders…the Democrat Pary platform.

Glendale is in a good position, economically and socially. Let’s keep it on a path of prosperity and safety for all of Glendale. Please vote for Ian Hugh and Dianna Guzman.

© Joyce Clark, 2024    

FAIR USE NOTICE

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

Jul 24

13

Jose “Lupe” Conchas…too radical

Posted by Joyce Clark on July 13, 2024
Posted in Cactus District • City issue and actions • City of Glendale • Glendale elected officials • Glendale election 2024  | Tagged With: , , , , | 1 Comment

Disclaimer: The comments in this blog are my personal opinion and may or may not reflect an adopted position of the city of Glendale and its city council.

On July 13, 2024, Shawn Raymundo, a reporter for the Arizona Republic, wrote an article that should have been labeled as opinion rather than as straight reporting, entitled Glendale Council Candidates: Opponents claim about ‘far left radicals’ is misleading.

Raymundo is a liberal and if I were to guess, supportive of the Democrat party. He also appears to be lazy having copied and pasted pure campaign rhetoric rather than interviewing the candidates.  It seems that if he is fed information he will run with it. If it’s Democrat it’s glowing. If it’s another party, not so much. When you read articles such as his it is important to consider the source.

In his article Raymundo says, “Two of Glendale’s council candidates have launched partisan attacks on their opponents, painting them as far-left radicals or sympathizers who want to defund the police.  

There’s little to no evidence supporting such claims.”

Let’s do some fact checking. Today, Dave Goita, President of the Glendale Fraternal Order of Police, Lodge 12, posted an interview Lupe Conchas did 3 years ago, in 2021. in response to the Eric Garner situation in his interview Conchas says that he joined Black Lives Matter (BLM) and became an activist.

Here is Conchas verbatim: “That’s what really prompted me to join my, uh, black brothers and sisters, uh, and the Black Lives Matter movement. To protest on the streets and really call for the universities to be more equitable when it comes to how we’re treating our black students at U of A. So, that’s what really got me into activism and into politics. And so that’s what really got me into activism and politics. So, ever since then that’s what I have been doing.”

A mailer supporting Vice Mayor Ian Hugh as the incumbent candidate for the Cactus city council seat stated that Lupe Conchas was part of Black Lives Matter movement (BLM) and it was immediately denied. Facts don’t lie. Conchas himself states that he joined BLM. No one made this up. Conchas said it. This link will take you to Glendale FOP President Dave Goita’s X page on which he posted Conchas’ interview:  https://x.com/GlendaleFOP12/status/1812154636553637924 .

Then there is a recent mailer on behalf of Conchas that has incumbent Glendale Barrel city councilmember Bart Turner endorsing Lupe Conchas with this, “I am disgusted by the way incumbents on our city council (and others) are distorting the truth to try to paint him as anything other than the good man he is.

I am confident we can count on Lupe to support our Police and Fire departments…”

Turner may be confident but obviously police and fire are not. That is why the Arizona Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) and the International Association of Firefighters (IAFF) have endorsed Vice Mayor Ian Hugh. He has demonstrated his long-time support of Glendale’s public safety and they know it and appreciate it.

There is no distortion of the truth.

Make no mistake. Jose “Lupe” Conchas is a radical organizer for George Soros organizations that do not represent you, the mainstream voter and Glendale resident. All we want is to live in a safe community and want to enjoy a good quality-of-life for everyone’s family. He is a disrupter advocating for causes that will destroy our American Dream. Jose “Lupe” Conchas is not right for Glendale.

On July 30th please vote and I urge you to vote for Vice Mayor Ian Hugh for the Cactus district city council seat. He has demonstrated his love for Glendale and will continue to advocate for you and your family.

© Joyce Clark, 2024    

FAIR USE NOTICE

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

« Previous Page — Next Page »