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Joyce Clark Unfiltered

For "the rest of the story"

Oct 16

1

Sept. 29th campaign finance reports

Posted by Joyce Clark on October 1, 2016
Posted in City issue and actions • City of Glendale • Glendale elected officials • Glendale's Fire Union  | Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Campaign finance reports were due by 5 PM on Thursday, September 29, 2016. As of this posting (after 5 PM on Friday, September 30, 2016) Sammy Chavira’s campaign filing report has not been posted by the City Clerk. Why, you say? Because Sammy has not turned it in. Sammy apparently believes that the laws that everyone tries to uphold do not apply to him. It’s not terribly surprising considering his attitude toward a simple traffic ticket. He failed to appear in court and subsequently had his driver’s license suspended. In addition the Campaign for Truth and Leadership committee and Fire Fighters interested in Registration and Education PAC have not turned in their latest and now overdue campaign finance reports either. These organizations spent a considerable amount of money in support of Sammy’s reelection.

The amount of money spent on the Glendale mayoral race is truly astounding. Burdick reported spending $121,489.60 and Weiers spent $107,356.97. The total for these two races is $228,846.57 or slightly over a quarter of a million dollars. What bumped up the numbers was for the first time there were TV ads, notoriously expensive. Burdick led the way with TV ads beginning during the Republican convention in mid-July and they were run repeatedly and relentlessly until August 30, 2016, the day of the Primary Election. Weiers had no option but to run his own series of TV ads.

It appears from now on a person should not consider running for mayor in Glendale unless he or she can amass a war chest of a minimum of $100,000. That will put many would-be candidates out of the race. It’s a shame that it has come to that.

There could be as many as four aspirants in the 2020 election for mayor. Many suspect that former Councilmember Yvonne Knaack still harbors ambitions. Add to that Councilmembers Turner, Tolmachoff and Aldama, all of whom seem to be jockeying for a run. Throw in a dash of former Assistant City Manager and major player in the Burdick failed contest, Julie Frisoni. During the election season some voters received a survey call asking for a favorable or unfavorable opinion of Julie Frisoni. Many considered it strange since she wasn’t running. It seems she may be preparing for a political future and could decide to run against Lauren Tolmachoff for the Cholla district seat or perhaps…gasp…mayor. A Cholla city council seat  seemed a far more likely proposition if Burdick had won the mayoral contest but despite the outcome Frisoni and her backers may decide to give it or a mayoral race  a try in 2018.

In the other races more modest sums were spent: Vice Mayor Ian Hugh spent $26,815.31; Councilmember Ray Malnar spent $11,696.13 and I spent $11,489.70. Collectively that amounts to $50,001.14. However, we do know from Sammy’s previous campaign report that he had already spent $57,905.98 and we will await seeing what shows up in his overdue report. So far, the collective total for council races is $107,907.12. Anywhere from $10,000 to $40,000 is a typical amount that is usually spent on a Glendale city council race. In its previous campaign report, The Campaign for Truth and Leadership spent $45,218.56 (donated to it from the United Food Workers). The committee is now terminated. The entire amount was not spent on pro Burdick and pro Chavira mailers or anti Weiers or anti Clark mailers (about $30,000). Some of the funds (about $15,000) was spent in support of Larkin and Andrade.

Let’s total what we know has been spent in Glendale’s elections per the latest submitted campaign finance reports. Two candidates spent $228,846.57 on the mayoral races; $107,907.12 was spent on the 3 city council races; and another $30,000 was spent by an Independent Committee. That totals $336,753.69. I suspect Sammy’s missing report will show additional expenditures of about $20,000 bringing the total spent in this round of Glendale elections to somewhere in the neighborhood of $350,000. That’s a surprisingly large amount of money to spend in a Glendale election cycle and has never occurred before.

I don’t have an answer to this escalation of political spending. A friend suggested that perhaps there should be a cap of maybe $50,000 for a mayoral race and $20,000 for a council race. It’s intriguing. It would cause the candidate to spend wisely and effectively. This person believes it would force candidates to have more interaction with voters and perhaps more reliance on social media which costs relatively nothing. What’s your take on the state of Glendale races?

© 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.

Sep 16

21

Loose ends

Posted by Joyce Clark on September 21, 2016
Posted in City Council Actions • City issue and actions • City of Glendale • Glendale elected officials • Glendale finances • Glendale zoning issues  | Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

No contest of the formally accepted final election results has been filed by either of the losing candidates within the 5 day time limit as stipulated by state law. Now, let’s see some loose ends cleaned up. Sammy still has campaign signs up, well past the proscribed 15 day limit. Sammy, take your campaign signs down. You are not above the law.

In August of 2016, Mark Burdick, former Glendale mayoral candidate, sent out a campaign mailer without the disclaimer, “Paid for by …” as is required by state law. Arizona State Statute 16-912 says, “A political committee that makes an expenditure for campaign literature or advertisements that expressly advocate the election or defeat of any candidate or that make any solicitation of contributions to any political committee shall include on the literature or advertisement the words ‘paid for by,’ followed by the name of the committee that appears on its statement of organization, or five hundred dollar exemption statement.” Burdick publicly admitted the omission of this required disclaimer.

In mid-August, City Clerk Julie Bower notified City Attorney Michael Bailey of a violation of ARS 16-912(A.) Bailey had said that he received the City Clerk’s notice and had taken action by shipping the complaint to an outside counsel, namely the Scottsdale City Attorney.

This is a cut and dried situation. Burdick sent out a campaign mailer without the legally required disclaimer. Burdick admitted that it had occurred. So, what’s the problem? Why the delay? It has been over a month. We should have been made publicly aware of the fine imposed upon Burdick and that it has been paid. Instead…silence.

On or about August 17th the City Clerk requested that Burdick provide the cost of producing and mailing the piece. The fine is 3 times the amount spent for production (includes the consultant’s time for designing the piece) and mailing. Since it was mailed to voters within all of Glendale the cost would be substantial. To mail a piece in my district (with perhaps one of the lowest active voter totals) is about $3,000. Multiply that times six districts and a conservative figure would be somewhere in the $15,000 to $18,000 range. Three times that cost puts Burdick’s fine in the neighborhood of $45,000 to $54,000.

Has the fine been assessed? Has Burdick paid the fine? Either the City Clerk or the City Attorney has the responsibility of public notification…for an action that should have been completed by now. It’s the city’s loose end and merits being tied up.

On another note city council met in workshop this afternoon. Councilmembers Jaime Aldama and Sammy Chavira were absent although Sammy did participate, sort of, telephonically. There were only 2 agenda items: 1. Costs associated with workmen’s’ compensation claims and 2. Proposed regulations for donation drop off boxes and permissible flagpole heights.

The presentation on item #1 generated no council comments or questions…not one. Item #2 generated a great deal of comment and questioning by councilmembers present. It holds true that councilmembers tend to spend more time and energy on issues that directly affect residents than on big picture issues. After nearly an hour of discussion council gave consensus to bring both items back with the request for further information related to how other Valley cities handle both issues. Upon advice of the City Attorney Bailey other “clean up” code/zoning items staff had been prepared to present to council were tabled due to insufficient notice to the public.

© 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.

Sep 16

16

TGIF

Posted by Joyce Clark on September 16, 2016
Posted in City issue and actions • City of Glendale  | Tagged With: , , , , , , | 6 Comments

A few thoughts after a very eventful week in which the Glendale city council unanimously accepted the Canvass of Votes thereby acknowledging Mayor Weiers, Vice Mayor Hugh, Councilmember Malnar and me as winners of the recent election. It’s over.

image2

Courtesy of Dawn Monaghan

The photo below is from the September 13, 2016 city council meeting. The gentleman kneeling is Bill Toops, publisher of the Glendale Star. After the Glendale Star did not endorse me or my rival I had a conversation with Mr. Toops. He stated that in the event that I won, he would publicly acknowledge my victory.

Every Friday I check out home sales in Glendale. There are about 350 sales a month and about 4500 sales a year. Some sales obviously reflect existent residents either moving up to a larger home or downsizing but the majority are new families moving into Glendale from someplace else. Is it any wonder that voter turnout is so low in Glendale? One of the reasons for voter apathy is the city’s failure to educate and to engage these new residents.

It came as no surprise that the contested election results were so close. Look at the Jones-Biggs contest in Congressional District 5. It appears to be a reflection of a national trend as general analysis suggests that the presidential contest will be close. Remember the hanging chad? Will there be another Florida-type situation this year? Electronic voting will be under tremendous scrutiny because of concerns about hacking into the national voting system. I’m not sure the country is prepared to deal with electronic voting and assuring the public that the results are tamper proof. Perhaps we would be best served to continue the use of paper ballots that at least leave a trail that can be verified.

Social media has grown up and is a legitimate and extremely useful in connecting to voters. With my shoe string campaign budget I know that my use of a blog, Facebook pages, blast emails and a campaign website were extremely important and may have tipped the scales in my favor.  Today any candidate who does not make full use of social media does so at his or her peril.

I will continue to blog about Glendale issues as I am not a formal member of the city council yet. The installation for mayor and councilmember is scheduled for December 13, 2016. After then I will continue to blog but I will make very clear that as a councilmember I am duty bound to support council decisions on issues but that will not preclude me from expressing my personal opinion. I will be sure to delineate those positions to readers.

Look for an announcement concerning an October victory celebration for Mayor Weiers, Vice Mayor Hugh, Councilmember Malnar and me. I will share the details of the event as they become available.

© 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.

Sep 16

14

Sound and fury, signifying…nothing

Posted by Joyce Clark on September 14, 2016
Posted in City Council Actions • City issue and actions • City of Glendale • Glendale elected officials  | Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The Glendale city council held its regular voting meeting on September 13, 2016. Sammy Chavira was absent again…gasp. He did participate telephonically. In a Hillary Clinton-esque move he claimed he has pneumonia. If he is ill, I wish him a speedy recovery. Yet, one can’t help but wonder. Pneumonia seems to be the current rage in illnesses since presidential candidate Clinton’s diagnosis.

All items but two were on the Consent Agenda and were voted upon in one motion, quickly. The next agenda item was a land planning issue and was also quickly dealt with. The last agenda item was the Canvass of Votes, a formality without legal standing which directs the City Clerk to record the results of the election, those results having already been approved by the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors (which does have legal standing).

The backdrop to this agenda item was Sammy’s request to the entire city council requesting that they vote to delay acceptance of the Canvass of Votes. In a September 13, 2016 story entitled Chavira asks council to delay canvass of votes by Darrell Jackson of the Glendale Star, he reported, “Yucca District Councilmember Samuel Chavira is attempting to get other councilmembers and the mayor to stop the canvass of votes at the Sept. 13 council meeting after losing his seat in the Aug. 30 primary. Chavira, who lost his seat on the council to former councilmember Joyce Clark by 46 votes, sent an email to fellow councilmembers obtained by The Glendale Star asking them to ‘delay official canvassing of the election results’.” Here is the link to Jackson’s story: http://www.glendalestar.com/news/article_55d713b0-79d5-11e6-8a39-5f815c2ea5eb.html .

Jackson goes on to say, “Chavira also may have violated Arizona State Statues on open meeting violations by sending the email as the statute states that councilmembers ‘may not send or verbally communicate with (any) councilmembers requesting their assent on a council meeting agenda action item’.”

The Arizona Attorney General’s Office in its handbook on the Open Meeting Law states the following:

“7.5.2 Circumventing the Open Meeting Law.  Discussions and deliberations (in person or otherwise) between less than a majority of the members of a governing body, violate the Open Meeting Law when used to circumvent the purposes of the Open Meeting Law.  See Ariz. Att’y Gen. Op. 75-8; Town of Palm Beach v. Gradison, 296 So. 2d 473 (Fla. 1974).  Public officials may not circumvent public discussion by splintering the quorum and having separate or serial discussions with a majority of the public body members.  Splintering the quorum can be done by meeting in person, by telephone, electronically, or through other means to discuss a topic that has been or later may be presented to the public body for a decision.  Public officials should refrain from any activities that may undermine public confidence in the public decision making process established in the Open Meeting Law, including actions that may appear to remove discussions and decisions from public view.   

For example, Board members cannot use email to circumvent the Open Meeting Law requirements.  See Ariz. Att’y Gen. Op. I05-004 at 2.  “[E]ven if communications on a particular subject between members of a public body do not take place at the same time or place, the communications can nonetheless constitute a ‘meeting.’”  See Del Papa v. Bd. of Regents of Univ. and Cmty. Coll. Sys. Of Nev., 114 Nev. 388, 393, 956 P.2d 770, 774 (1998) (rejecting the argument that a meeting did not occur because the board members were not together at the same time and place).  Additionally, “[w]hen members of the public body are parties to an exchange of e-mail communications that involve discussions, deliberations, or taking legal action by a quorum of the public body concerning a matter that may foreseeably come before the public body for action, the communications constitute a meeting through technical devices under the [Open Meeting Law].”  See Ariz. Att’y Gen. Op. I05-004 at 1.  This may be true even if none of the members of the public body respond to the email.  Id. at 2-3.  If the one-way communication proposes legal action, then it would violate the Open Meeting Law.  Id.  However, other one-way communications, with no further exchanges, are not per se violations, and further examination of the facts and circumstances would be necessary to determine if a violation occurred.  Id. at 3.” 

If you believe, as I do, that Sammy has clearly violated the Arizona Open Meeting Law, you may go to the State Attorney General’s website and file a complaint. Any citizen can do so. Here is the link to the site which contains the Complaint Form: https://www.azag.gov/sgo  .

The Canvass of Votes was approved unanimously by the city council but it was not without comment. In the same Darrell Jackson article cited above, he reported that Councilmember Bart Turner prior to the council meeting said, “I have concerns about several irregularities about the election and I feel that by canvassing the votes, we are just accepting the numbers presented by the county and not confirming them,” Turner said by phone. “By canvassing and passing the vote, that, then opens the door for any candidate to challenge the procedure. Our duty is to be sure that to the best of our ability, the election was fully fair and respects the manner of all voters,” Turner said. “If I were to challenge the canvass, it wouldn’t be for one candidate of the other, but on policy and procedures that may not have been completely followed. As far as challenging results, that is the responsibility of the candidates.” His rhetoric was virtually parroted word for word by Councilmembers Tolmachoff and Aldama.

The “irregularities” to which Turner referred were: 1. Delayed opening of the voting location at Glendale High School and 2. The “missing” voter data discovered at Mensendick Elementary School. In his illegal email letter to all councilmembers Chavira asked the County Recorder to provide evidence that the voter data was not tampered with. Here is the response from the County Recorder’s Office regarding both issues that was sent per the Glendale City Clerk’s request and distributed to all councilmembers the day before their evening voting meeting. The first incident did not occur at a Yucca district polling site:

“Subject: Timeline of events at Glendale High School poll site on Primary election day 8/30/2016

 Primary election day 8/30/2016

 Sometime after 6:30am I was sent to 51 avenue and Maryland to pick up the equipment of a troubleshooter who was rear ended in a car accident. While moving supplies/equipment from the troubleshooter to my truck, I received a call at 6:51am directing me to go the Glendale High School poll site ( one of the rear ended troubleshooters polling places) and assist the inspector who was by himself, in a wheelchair with limited mobility to open the poll site.

 Upon arrival, I saw his wife, whom he called, putting out the vote here sign. Myself and another troubleshooter who arrived just after myself, assisted in putting the rest of the signage. I saw no voters waiting around, just kids and parents dropping the kids off.

 Around 7:30am a gentleman in a walker came in, signed the e-poll book and voted a ballot. 7:58am call send me to another poll site to swap out equipment.”

“Primary Election August 30, 2016 – Affidavit re: Precinct 0513

Polling Location:               Don Mensendick School – 67th Ave & Missouri

Election Night – MPS Site reported no black bag no memory pack received

The first call made was to the Inspector Pat Burgett. She let me know that all materials were taken to the MPS truck by John Bowen, the Inspector for the co-located precinct 0045 Bethany Park

I then called John Bowen at approximately 1030pm.

He advised that he along with another board member, turned in all of the materials for both precincts and that he had a receipts. In our conversation I asked specifically about the memory packs to which he advised that both packs were sealed in their designated pink bubble bag and then those were sealed inside their individual black bags for each precinct.

We then waited for the MPS truck to arrive at MCTEC.

I did not know that the MPS site did not have the black bag for precinct 0513 until they arrived and we unloaded the truck.

After searching the truck and finding that the black bag was not in house, I volunteered to go first thing on Wed morning to the school.

I first called John Bowen at approx. 715am on Wed to let him know that we did not receive the black back with the memory pack and advised for him to please check his vehicle. He checked and called me back to let me know it was not in the vehicle. But he did have the receipts from the MPS site. I advised to bring them to the school to meet me so that we could retrieve the bag.

We agreed to meet at the school at 8am to gain access to the room where the equipment/supplies remained. (band room)

John arrived a few minutes before me, he had a school representative escort him to unlock the room and retrieved the bag as I was walking up to the room. He called me as I was approaching the school to advise that the bag was indeed in the room and that it was completely intact and that the seal was not broken.

John had his receipts. I confirmed that the receipt for 0513 did not have the top 2 items checked off (black bag & memory pack) All other items were marked. I wrote in Green ink pen on the receipt for 0513, the number to the seal that was on the black bag. I broke the seal with John there to verify that the pink memory pack bag was inside the black bag.

I then picked up a coworker (Jaime Sumner) at 8:35am from her home (approximately 2 blocks across the street from the school) and we drove together to the office with the black bag/memory pack.

We arrived with the black bag at approximately 9:15am.”

As Councilmember Ray Malnar said at the council meeting, the people who work the polls are volunteers and human. He felt that while some mistakes had occurred, none had risen to the level of voter fraud or vote tampering. I concur with his assessment. Originally I expressed concern regarding the “missing” votes at Mensendick School but after reading the above Affidavit I am satisfied that there was no vote tampering.

Apparently these answers from the County Recorder’s Office are not good enough for Chavira, Turner, Tolmachoff and Aldama. Yet they accepted the County Recorder’s and Maricopa County Board of Supervisors Official Canvass of Votes. If they were really concerned about Glendale’s election results, why did they vote to accept those very same results? Turner made one interesting remark when he said, “As far as challenging results, that is the responsibility of the candidates.” The only one who can contest the results is Sammy.

In another Glendale Star story also posted on September 13, 2016 by Darrell Jackson entitled Weiers wins, Clark reclaims Yucca seat, Chavira’s campaign manager, Ben Scheel, said, “At this point, we are following very closely and we will keep all our options open,” Scheel said. “We have spoken to an attorney, but are not calling for anything at this point. We just want to make sure all the votes are counted and after the final votes are posted, we will examine everything closely and make our decision.” Here is the link to this story: http://www.glendalestar.com/news/article_36fc4d94-79c0-11e6-92fd-7f16a95eaf36.html .

Mayor Weiers stated in response to the possibility of a challenge, “Challenge what? The fact is the machine was still sealed and verified and based on any other voting machine, there was no discrepancy. I believe it is fruitless (to challenge) and there is a point where you have to understand that it is time to do what is right for the city.”

Will Sammy contest the results? At this point, I simply don’t care what he does. Mathematically, any action by him will not change the final outcome – quite simply, I won. The margin of my win could change incrementally but the outcome remains the same. Sammy has a steep financial hill to climb in filing a contest to the election. He has to pay for an attorney and he has to pay for any recount should such an action be approved by a judge. The only two grounds, by state statute, that would allow for a recount are voter fraud and vote tampering. He has no proof of either and the burden of proof rests with him. His court adversaries would not be me but the attorneys representing the County Recorder’s Office. That office has clearly and unequivocally stated that all seals on the bags containing the voter data were intact.

It’s time for Burdick and Chavira to publicly concede. Their sound and fury signify nothing but sour grapes and at this point we are seeing not only sour grapes but grapes that have become moldy and rotten. While we are at it…Sammy take your campaign signs down. All signs belonging to losing primary candidates need to be down 15 days after the polls close. That’s Wednesday, September 14, 2016…today.

© 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.

Sep 16

3

Glendale, post campaign

Posted by Joyce Clark on September 3, 2016
Posted in City issue and actions • City of Glendale  | Tagged With: , , , , , , | 7 Comments

I’m going to take one moment to brag. In 2000 I ran for councilmember of the Yucca district as a write-in candidate and beat my opponent, the incumbent Martin Samaniego. No other candidate in the State of Arizona has done that. Sixteen years later, I ran for councilmember of the Yucca district and beat my opponent, the incumbent Sammy Chavira. No other candidate in the State of Arizona has defeated two incumbents for the same position.

The results are now final and both Mayor Weiers and I have won our contests. They were close elections. I garnered 1591 votes and Sammy had 1545, a margin of 46 votes. Mayor Weiers received 13,172 votes and Burdick had 12,767, a margin of 405 votes. Again, every vote counts.

Why were both races so close? I am not a political analyst but I think it comes down to 3 factors.

The first factor is money. Chavira raised $79,435.74 and spent to date $57,905.98. I raised $13,081.80 and spent $8050.53 to date. Chavira’s campaign outspent me 7 times to date. Burdick raised $108,376.00 and spent to date $98,779.15. Weiers raised $130,226.95 and spent $85,423.66 to date. I suspect the final figures will be greater once we see the Post Primary Campaign Finance Reports due to the City Clerk by September 29, 2016.

The amount of money spent on these two Glendale races is incredible…$250,159.32…a quarter of a million dollars just by the candidates’ campaign committees. Now add in the Independent Expenditures by Political Action Committees (PACs). The Truth and Leadership PAC appears to have spent $45,000 in opposition to Mayor Weiers and myself. The Fire Fighters Interested in Registration and Education spent $13,000 in opposition to Weiers and me. I have not been able to find the figures on what the Revitalize Arizona and Residents for Accountability PACs spent but I would estimate at least $50,000. Now the figure combining candidate expenditures and independent expenditures balloons to an estimated $350,000. That is stunning for local races.

With that kind of money both Chavira and Burdick send out scads of campaign mailers touting their credentials with fire…one as a Phoenix fire fighter and one as a retired fire chief. For many voters who don’t really pay attention to elections and just show up at the polls, what’s not to like? Fire fighters are heroes who save us. Both Chavira and Burdick banked that this alone would cause the uninformed voter to vote for them.

The second factor is involvement. Sammy is a strong case in point. Although I did not raise the kind of money that he did, I possessed something far more powerful…the interest, support and commitment of so many Yucca district residents that invested themselves in my campaign. Sammy, just as he had performed his job as a councilmember, was AWOL. He paid a company to get his petition signatures. He paid the same company to distribute his campaign material within the district and…are you ready for this? He paid each poll worker (and there were many) $120 plus lunch and dinner, to work each voting location. I had volunteers, citizens who did all of these things willingly and fervently.

The third factor is indefensible records and lies. Burdick and Chavira had records of previous service that they simply could not defend. Burdick never stood up to the fire union as chief and ceded his authority to it. Burdick admitted publicly that he lied about Weiers’ record upon advisement of his campaign consultants. Chavira used the same rhetoric against me that he used in his last campaign. They were lies then and they were lies this time. It’s like the boy who cried wolf. He couldn’t sell his lies a second time around. Sammy’s lack of service as a councilmember angered many Yucca district voters. Burdick’s and Chavira’s lies and exaggerations were deliberately used as smoke screens, to divert the voters’ attention away from their own poor records.

I will have two more blogs on this campaign’s analysis upcoming. One will be on the politics of the actors/supporters of this election and the other will be on the performance of the County Recorder’s Office. Once they have been posted we can all return to the issues facing Glendale. My blog will continue for those who have expressed concern that once I was elected, I would cease to write. I appreciate your continued readership during this campaign season. I bet you are glad Glendale’s races are over. I know that I am.

© 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.

Sep 16

2

Your vote counts

Posted by Joyce Clark on September 2, 2016
Posted in City issue and actions • City of Glendale  | Tagged With: , , , , , , | No Comments yet, please leave one

PLEASE NOTE: I AM LEAVING “DONATE TO MY CAMPAIGN” UP FOR NOW. I DO HAVE CAMPAIGN DEBT. I DON’T KNOW THE FINAL FIGURES YET AS INVOICES CONTINUE TO ARRIVE.

I WILL LEAVE THE CHAVIRA VIDEOS UP THROUGHOUT THE MONTH OF SEPTEMBER FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE NOT YET VIEWED THEM.

We’ve all heard the expression, “Every vote counts.” Two of the current Glendale races as well as some state races demonstrate exactly how important your vote is.

In the US Representative race for Congressional District 1 the lion’s share of votes come from Pinal County but a few votes, and I mean a few, come from Maricopa County. Paul Babeu has 2 Maricopa County votes and Wendy Rodgers has 5 votes. Every vote counts.

In Congressional District 5 Christine Jones and Andy Biggs are separated by 733 votes out of a total of 77, 126 votes. Every vote counts.

In the County Recorder’s race Helen Purcell leads Aaron Flannery by 374 out of 283,552 votes. Every vote counts.

In Glendale Mayor Jerry Weiers leads challenger Mark Burdick by 339 votes out of a total of 24,367 votes. Every vote counts.

In my race I lead Sammy Chavira by 34 votes out of 2,886 votes. Every vote counts.

It appears that with the results of September 1st, Glendale’s votes have been counted. There may be a very few stragglers left to count but they will not affect the fact that Mayor Weiers and I have led our races throughout the count and have won our contests. I suspect our leads may increase by a few, very few, more votes.

That is not the case in the county. There are still 88,000 votes uncounted. In the tight races listed above these final votes will most certainly impact those races.

What many potential voters fail to appreciate is that Primary races are just as important as General races. Often Primary races are 2 person contests. In those races, you are electing your representative at the Primary, not the General. Yet voter non-participation is traditionally higher for Primaries. Primary participation is usually about 9% to 10% of total voter registration. That’s crazy. 10% of the voters decide the outcome for everyone.

It’s especially true in local, city races. Often there are just two candidates for an office. Whomever wins the Primary, wins the race and is elected. The race is done. It’s over. There is no need for the contest to appear on the General Election ballot.

You and I know the Presidential race between Trump and Clinton is tightening up every day. It may well turn out to be the closest Presidential contest in U.S. history…and you think your vote doesn’t count? Believe me, it will.

© 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.

Aug 16

28

My campaign: Last thoughts before Election Day

Posted by Joyce Clark on August 28, 2016
Posted in City issue and actions • City of Glendale  | Tagged With: , , , , , | 2 Comments

The Primary Election is this Tuesday, August 30, 2016. For Glendale candidates the election will be over with the day’s results. Councilmember Ray Malnar and Vice Mayor Ian Hugh are running unopposed and will continue to serve in their capacities.

Mayor Jerry Weiers is facing former Fire Chief Mark Burdick and I am running against the incumbent, Sammy Chavira. Since there are only 2 candidates in each of these races, they will be decided in the Primary. A candidate must receive 50% of the vote plus 1 vote. Historically, there has been only one time in the state when neither primary candidate received 50% plus 1 and had to continue on to the General Election. It’s a rare occurrence.

As I sit writing I immediately think about all of the people who had enough faith and trust in me to become part of this campaign…there are too many to list but know this…I am in your debt.

Several people deserve special mention. Former Councilmember Norma Alvarez of the Ocotillo district insisted that I give running serious consideration and made a good case for my consideration. Norma, thank you for setting me on a path that provides me an opportunity to serve my community once again.

The other is my long time friend and confidant, Dawn Monaghan. She, as always, is a sounding board, editor and someone who keeps me on track when I tend to stray. Thank you Dawn.

Lastly, but certainly by no means least, is my family. It was they whom I asked about the idea of running again. They were immediately enthusiastic and urged me to do so. They walked with me, they hung signs and in true familial fashion, got angry about the lies my opponent spewed about me.

Based upon the feedback I have received from hundreds of former constituents, I feel very confident. A phone survey is no more than a snap shot in time and we had enough money to do just one. The results were that I was leading Sammy two-to-one. I guess we will find out if the phone survey was accurate very shortly.

I will be with my supporters on Election night. Mayor Weiers is hosting a viewing party for election results and I and my people will attend. If, and when I win, I will host a thank you party for my supporters and contributors at a later date.

Now is the time when all candidates get nervous. No one is ever certain whether they will win or lose. You hope you’ve done everything you could do to persuade and to educate voters and now it’s their turn to judge you with their votes. In a peek into the review I and my campaign staff made, here’s what we did:

  • Put up 80 campaign road signs 4’X4’
  • Put out 250 yard signs 18”X24”
  • Called an estimated 5,000 voters
  • Sent out weekly blast emails
  • Sent out 5 campaign mailings
  • Personally walked and called voters
  • Made automated calls to voters
  • Produced mini videos posted on my internet sites
  • Went to meet n greet events
  • Participated in the Glendale Women’s Club forum
  • Placed an ad in the Glendale Star
  • Responded to media requests for biography and answered their specific issue questions
  • Distributed 7,000 flyers within the district
  • Handed out campaign material at voting locations
  • Established a campaign website, www.joyceclark.com
  • Wrote numerous posts on www.joycelclarkunfiltered.com , on Facebook/Clark for Council and Facebook/joyceclark
  • Had many, many late night phone conversations tossing ideas back and forth and sometimes just musing over observations re: the campaign. Thank heaven I’m a night owl.

Being detail oriented here are a few funding facts. My campaign donations came from:

  • 21 contributions of $100 or more were from Glendale/Yucca district residents.
  • 10 contributions of $100 or more were from outside of Glendale. They were from friends, former colleagues and retired Glendale employees.
  • 22 contributions of $50 or less were from Glendale/Yucca district residents.
  • 5 contributions of $50 or less were from outside of Glendale. Again, they were from friends, former colleagues and retired Glendale employees.
  • I did receive 3 unsolicited PAC contributions totaling $1200 from 3 police associations that came with the endorsements I received from the Arizona Police Association and the Arizona Fraternal Order of Police.
  • No special interest money or PAC money was sought.

This campaign was funded by people, just like you. Unlike my opponent, I am beholden to no one except the people of the Yucca district and greater Glendale. I serve you, not special interests. For as you see, my campaign was funded primarily by Glendale and Yucca district residents. I can’t thank them enough.

Sammy and his big money, special interests have tried to divert the voters’ attention away from his shameful record. He violated his campaign promises almost immediately and the most disturbing was the use of taxpayer dollars as his personal checkbook for travel. Here is a link to the original Arizona Republic story by Paul Giblin: http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/glendale/2016/03/04/glendale-councilman-sammy-chavira-charges-24k-trips-3-years-taxpayers/78857734/ .

Sammy receives two paychecks. One is from the Phoenix Fire Department and is estimated to be approximately $100,000. The other is his $35,000 paycheck as a councilmember. Yet he still used nearly $25,000 of taxpayer money for personal trips to DC, for example. He has missed a dozen council meetings, has been late and has participated telephonically in others. He hasn’t done the job of a full-time councilmember yet he wishes to be reelected. He is a man with a broken moral compass and a man whose only priority is that of the special interests that bankroll his campaign.

Over my 16 years as councilmember I had an excellent record of service. I introduced innovations such as a Care Card program that provided discounts on prescriptions. I was fully accessible by phone, in person and by email. I helped so many of you with code issues or other issues with the city. I sent district newsletters to every household twice a year and held regular district meetings. I did not abuse the taxpayers’ trust and did not charge mileage or my monthly cell phone bill to the city, as some councilmember’s did. I challenged city personnel to defend their financial and policy recommendations to city council. I was honest, ethical and tried to make decisions that served the best interests of the people of my district and the city as a whole.

I have done the best I could and am at peace with my efforts. I sincerely thank those who have believed in me and worked so hard to elect me and I thank my family as well. I look forward with hope to writing a thank you to those who voted for and elected me.

© 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.

Aug 16

27

Latest campaign finance reports: Clark and Chavira

Posted by Joyce Clark on August 27, 2016
Posted in City issue and actions • City of Glendale • Glendale's Fire Union  | Tagged With: , , , , , , | No Comments yet, please leave one

There is no doubt that Sammy raised a ton of money for his campaign. Upon review of his campaign finance report filed on August 26, 2016, 99.9% of his money does not come from Yucca district residents or even Glendale residents for that matter. Here is the link to his campaign finance report: http://glendaleaz.com/Clerk/documents/PrePrimary-ChaviraforGlendale.pdf .

Where did Sammy get his money? Can you say special interests? Here are a few that should be of interest. Jacob Long gave $750 and his family attorney, Jim Miller, another $500. They benefitted recently with the approval of Stonehaven (between 83rd and 91st avenues; Camelback to Bethany Home Road). Stonehaven is a planned residential subdivision of over 1,200 homes with 46% of the lots being 5,500 SF (less than Glendale R1-6 standard of 6,000 SF lots). Sammy approved Long’s development with gushing words of praise. Gee, I  wonder why?

There were 3 Glendale residents who contributed: John Phebus, an attorney with offices in north Glendale gave $1000 (I wonder who he represents?); Tom Schmitt with no occupation or employer listed (it is a requirement per Arizona campaign law) gave $200; and Reginald Martinez gave $50. That’s it. No other Glendale or Yucca district resident thought enough of him to contribute.

But guess who did? Why, the fire fighters, course. Three individual fire fighters, from Mesa, Phoenix and California contributed a total of $500.  The big money ( a total of $11,300) comes from Fire Political Action Committees (PACs):

  • International Association of Fire Fighters          $6250 (the maximum allowed)
  • Avondale Fire Fighters                                           $ 500
  • Casa Grande Fire Fighters                                      $ 500
  • Gilbert Fire Fighters                                               $ 500
  • Glendale Fire Fighters                                           $2000 (violation of federal Hatch Act?)
  • Los Angeles, CA  Fire Fighters                                 $ 500
  • Prescott Fire Fighters                                             $ 250
  • Sedona-Verde Valley Fire Fighters                           $ 250
  • Surprise Fire Fighters                                            $1000
  • Tempe Fire Fighters                                              $1000
  • Mesa Fire Fighters                                                  $ 750
  • Peoria Fire Fighters                                                $ 500

I decided to run a grassroots campaign. If district residents and Glendale residents wanted me back they would support me. Here is the link to my campaign finance report: http://glendaleaz.com/Clerk/documents/PrePrimary-ClarkforCouncil.pdf . My campaign donations came from:

  • 21 contributions of $100 or more were from Glendale/Yucca district residents.
  • 10 contributions of $100 or more were from outside of Glendale. They were from friends, former colleagues and retired Glendale employees.
  • 22 contributions of $50 or less were from Glendale/Yucca district residents.
  • 5 contributions of $50 or less were from outside of Glendale. Again, they were from friends, former colleagues and retired Glendale employees.
  • I did receive 3 unsolicited PAC contributions totaling $1200 from 3 police associations that came with the endorsements I received from the Arizona Police Association and the Arizona Fraternal Order of Police.
  • No special interest money or PAC money was sought.

In terms of Sammy’s campaign expenditures, they paint a picture. He paid Ben Scheel of Bright Consulting another $5,570.85. Sammy did not plan or participate in his own campaign. He paid someone else to do it. He paid the LA Machine $7324.00 for field operations. Sammy did not walk his district. He paid someone else to do it.

Just as Sammy has been invisible as a councilmember and unresponsive to the people of his district who he is supposed to serve, he has been invisible as a candidate. He paid to have someone run his campaign and he paid someone to walk his district. In his three campaign reports now filed, he has not received a single donation from a Yucca district resident.

Sammy is about big money from special interests. That is who he will vote for and represent. Not you, not the people of the Yucca district.

© 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.

Aug 16

26

To the voters of Glendale: Weiers vs. Burdick

Posted by Joyce Clark on August 26, 2016
Posted in City issue and actions • City of Glendale • Glendale's Fire Union  | Tagged With: , , , , , | No Comments yet, please leave one

PLEASE CHECK OUT THE LATEST CHAVIRA VIDEO. IT WAS INDEPENDENTLY PRODUCED AND NOT PAID FOR OR AUTHORIZED BY CLARK FOR COUNCIL. IT IS TO THE LEFT OF THIS COLUMN.

Glendale’s local election this year, just as the national one, is one of the strangest I have ever seen. Mark Burdick, candidate for mayor, has been running TV ads for well over the past month, most of which have been against Mayor Jerry Weiers, also a candidate. His TV ads are based on one tiny snippet of information with liberally applies doses of innuendo and outright lies.

The kind of money needed to run TV ads for 2 months is very, very large and that money comes from special interests. The most notable special interest by far is the fire union. They desperately want Burdick to win. Think of the power they would have with the 5th largest city in this state having sway over its mayor and agenda.

Recently when interviewed by the Glendale Star Burdick admitted to lying about Weiers and also admitted the advice came from his campaign consultants because that was the only path to winning. Here is what he said to the Star editorial board on June 28, 2016, “As a ‘city insider’ by his own admission, Burdick has publicly stated his willingness to use deceptive claims and misleading statements to garner votes his political advisors assure they will render.”

His campaign consultants are the likes of Julie Frisoni, former City of Glendale employee and apparently at one time in former City Manager Ed Beasley’s inner circle; she is also allegedly responsible for aiding and abetting IceArizona while it was in contract negotiations with the City of Glendale.

Mark Burdick, when he was the city’s Fire Chief, never stood up to the fire union. Consequently, the union virtually ran the City of Glendale’s Fire Department. Burdick was also unable to control his department’s budget and in nearly every fiscal year had asked for more money to cover overtime.

Burdick’s inability to draw a line between the best interests of the city and the fire union’s agenda is demonstrated by his past performance as Fire Chief.  Burdick’s position as a former Fire Chief doesn’t qualify him to be mayor. The two positions are drastically different. If that is what you want, go no further. Vote for Burdick.

But I ask you to consider this. There are many Glendale residents who want city infrastructure, including our streets repaired and maintained; they want to see not only restoration of but more recreational opportunities for their families; they want to see a permanent West Glendale branch library and Heroes Park completed as designed; and they want to see library hours restored.  They have many pent up needs unmet because of the national recession.

None of these citizen wants will be realized if Burdick becomes mayor. Burdick has made a large part of his election rhetoric making sure “public safety” receives more money.  Burdick will insure that all available money will go to “public safety” – but not all public safety — just the fire department. Look for new fire stations, more personnel and enhanced salaries and benefits for fire personnel…and of course, more overtime at time and a half pay. If your choice is to use all available city money for public safety rather than distributing it in an equitable manner, insuring that there will be money for needs other than public safety, read no further. Vote for Burdick.

When Glendale residents picked up the Glendale Republic of May 23, 2015 the headline screamed Fire department understaffing stirs concerns in an article by Matthew Casey. It reflected a deliberate strategy by Joe Hester, then President of the Glendale chapter of the fire union, (who really ran the department) to use scare tactics to get additional revenue …immediately…to expand the fire department. Hester said, “It seems pretty obvious there is a crisis by any way you measure it. Our folks are extremely disappointed in the budget process.” Here is the link to the original article: http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/glendale/2015/05/22/glendale-fire-department-understaffed/27713737/ .

The most telling statistic in the article was provided by then Glendale Fire Chief Mark Burdick. He offered Glendale Fire Department response times for 90 percent of calls by year:

  • 2010   8 minutes 11 seconds
  • 2011   8 minutes 10 seconds
  • 2012   8 minutes 6 seconds
  • 2013   8 minutes 12 seconds (Jerry Weiers becomes Mayor)
  • 2014   8 minutes 12 seconds

Burdick said publicly that fire response times had not deteriorated and in fact, had remained constant for 5 years. What he said last year is in complete contradiction to his campaign rhetoric of today. Will you believe what Burdick said last year when he was not running for office or the hype he has offered now that he is running?

There are many factors that impact fire response times. Two of them are major determinants: the city’s transportation system and Automatic Aid. The city’s rigid grid system of streets often impacts response times. Glendale’s congested major arterial streets often make it difficult for fire to respond quickly. Fire’s Automatic Aid system is valley wide. All city signators to Automatic Aid are required to answer neighboring cities’ calls if there is no close unit within the affected city. Did you know that Glendale answers more calls into Phoenix than Phoenix answers calls in Glendale? That is not the only imbalance between Glendale and its neighboring cities. It is imbalances like these that require units farther away from an incident to respond. It is not uncommon for Glendale to receive an emergency call only to find the closest unit is answering a call in a nearby city.

Those who are assisting Burdick’s effort to become mayor have their own agenda and that is to regain the power and influence they lost when Jerry Weiers became Glendale’s mayor.

Burdick’s only “economic plan” is to ensure that the fire union’s demands are met. At what cost? Forget your libraries, forget your parks, forget more recreational opportunities for your children, and forget improved sanitation or water services.

Voters in Glendale, you have a choice and as you make your choice I ask you to consider the following. Mayor Jerry Weiers is a good and decent man and during his first term he has silently and without any fan fare, done much to benefit the city we all love. Jerry Weiers lead the city’s economic turn around and has begun the city’s trek toward restoration of financial stability. The city’s bond rating has been upgraded in the process. Few people know that Weiers was able to obtain 18 free (no cost to the city) police cars. He also started the city’s Christmas parade, sure to become a tradition like Glendale Glitters. He convinced Westgate to restore the city’s 4th of July. He is fully involved with many charity groups and his major focus is always on our veterans. He has lead a council not as unified as people would believe. He has restored Glendale’s credibility with other Valley cities.

Glendale voters, the choice is clear between a man whose first and apparently only priority is to use all available city resources for the fire department and a man who realizes that Glendale has many needs and the distribution of city resources must be prioritized and used as equitably as possible; a man who continues to hold as priority #1 the continued financial health of the city. That man, a man I believe who has earned your vote, is Jerry Weiers.

© 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.

Aug 16

25

Why me?

Posted by Joyce Clark on August 25, 2016
Posted in City issue and actions • City of Glendale • Glendale finances • Heroes Park • O'Neil Pool • West Branch Library  | Tagged With: , , , , | 6 Comments

CHECK OUT THE VIDEO TO THE LEFT OF THIS COLUMN. IT IS A VIDEO INDEPENDENTLY PRODUCED. IT WAS NOT PAID BY OR AUTHORIZED BY CLARK FOR COUNCIL.

I have offered my biography and my platform of 5Es: Equity, Environment, Engagement, Economy and Ethics. I have shared some of the accomplishments I achieved in my previous service to you. I have honed in on Sammy’s unethical record as a councilmember. Yet you may not be ready to vote for me.

For the years that I served as your councilmember I was honest and ethical. I never abused your trust. While some councilmembers charged mileage or their cell phone expenses to the city, I never did. All of the Sammy mailers implying that I mismanaged city money is simply a lie. I have already stated why he is using these lies. It’s his only path to reelection for his record is a shameful one.

I am not the type to brag about myself but it seems now is the time to offer some instances of my service to you. There was a constituent who had a front yard full of weeds, knee high. City Code Compliance had cited her repeatedly and she was facing a deadline. She was unable to do the work and furthermore did not have the money to rectify the problem. I used my own money, not a dime of city or taxpayer money, and had rock delivered and spread on her front yard. She didn’t ask for help other than my intervention with the city. That I could not deliver. So I delivered a permanent solution instead.

There was another instance out of so many… the time when a small neighborhood had a problem neighbor. Lots of teens/young adults, late parties, constant noise, cars parked everywhere, perhaps drugs, refusal to acknowledge a problem…you get the idea. After I met with the neighborhood to learn the extent of their problem, I called my “go to” Glendale police officer. Within a matter of days the problem was solved. I was a facilitator. Once I knew what the problem was, I knew where to go to get it solved.

There was a time when an entire apartment complex’s water was about to be turned off. The tenants called me desperate for a solution. The owner of the complex owed back payments and was refusing to pay. I contacted the media who then ran stories on TV about the situation. Within 24 hours the complex owner had made arrangements to pay his bill in full.

There was my request to council, approved, for the first 50,000 Christmas lights in Murphy Park. Today those first Christmas lights have grown into over a million lights for Glendale Glitters or my tour of my district for senior management resulting in the Neighborhood Partnership Program.

Another instance that comes to mind was the battle of the burned out house. It took constant prodding of various city departments, including the city attorney’s office, to finally have the house demolished, perhaps not as quickly as nearby residents expected, but I did get the job done.

Land use and zoning was a constant battle. Although I did not win all battles, I won 90% of them. I believe, as many Yucca district residents do, that Yucca is a prime location for large lot development. If you travel along 83rd Avenue you see many large lot developments…Desert Sunset, Missouri Ranch Estates and Missouri Ranch are just a few. I am especially proud on my work on Rovey Farm Estates with lots from 7,000 to 9,000 SF on its western side to one acre lots on its eastern side. On each of these residential developments, I worked closely with the residential developer and the city’s Planning Department, insisting on larger lots and making a successful case for them.

I have not bragged about any of my accomplishments because I felt it was just part of my job as your councilmember. Sammy Chavira has no such record other than a string of unethical actions.

Yucca district residents could always reach me. To this day, I readily offer my home phone number and my personal email address. While I could not successfully solve all constituent problems with the city I did solve an overwhelming number of them. I listened respectfully to all and occasionally there were arguments that changed my mind on an issue. I did not pander to people. If I could not solve their problem, I told them so. They may have gone away unhappy with me but I did not play games with them and promise something I could not deliver.

I have always been active and engaged. To this day, I know the problem areas in our district and welcome the opportunity to address the city’s attention to them. I have demonstrated over and over again that I cared about people and offered my services to help them.

There is still so much to do for our district. It’s time to complete Heroes Park as designed. Even though it is not in my district (I lived in this area for 30 years), O’Neil Pool in the Ocotillo District must be repaired or replaced. It is a disgrace that this economically challenged area has lost its only major recreational amenity.

There is still so much to do for our city. The major focus must be the city’s financial position. While the city has begun its financial recovery there is more to be done.

I have shown that I was an active and engaged councilmember. I want to continue to be that councilmember. I want to help you. I want a fiscally healthy Glendale. I want what you want, safe neighborhoods, the availability of good-paying jobs within Glendale, and a variety of recreational amenities for your families. If you want the same things, then I ask for your vote on Tuesday, August 30th. Together we can make Glendale better.

© 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.

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