What Works in Mesa is NOT Good 'Ole Boys Crony Politics

All in good faith: There was just a short-lived blip in local media a couple of weeks ago about a new candidate running for election to the Mesa City Council who was immediately endorsed by both the present and previous mayors - did anyone else think these politicos are trying to do a "quick fix" by  a certain political machine to maintain its decades-long monopoly of the City Council.?

A political machine is a organization in which an authoritative boss or small group commands the support of a corps of supporters in wards and districts and businesses where the stakes are high and who receive rewards for their efforts.
Are these two mayors trying to "jumpstart" the political machine in an upcoming election to the Mesa City Council? Fair question - it's probably safe to say that for over 125 years those elected have been very male, very white, and very Mormon

from FoxLatinonews

Who's this candidate - Jerry Lewis - seen in the image to the right giving a high-five to supporters from a photo in an article
Latinos Were Key Factor in Arizona Recall Vote by Elizabeth Llorente on November 11, 2011 published on foxnewslatino.com.
The single-issue strident campaign at that time was to defeat Russell Pearce in the first recall election in Arizona for his support of SB1070.  Pearce balked at the notion that his defeat was a rejection of SB1070. He called the Lewis victory a sort of fluke.
Democrats voted overwhelmingly for Lewis, who also got most of the Independents support. Pearce won the support of Mormon voters by a 16-point margin. Both Pearce and Lewis are Mormons. Lewis had a short-lived AZ Senate term. He was defeated by a Democrat from Tempe two years later, with the position now open for the Maricopa Board of Supervisors to fill by selecting one candidate from a short-list of three.
In another online report on November 10, 2011 in  Arizona Capitol Times by Evan Wyloge titled "Grassroots ‘Mormon Fall’ aided Lewis victory" he writes:  Though Jerry Lewis was cautious about saying exactly how important the Mormon church was to his campaign, the political newcomer’s upset win over Senate President Russell Pearce largely relied on a quiet, grassroots effort among Mesa’s faithful.
Tyler Montague an integral campaign insider for Lewis stated this: “Yes. I can finally say it. From the beginning, we went to stake presidents and bishops to get their support,” Montague said of high-ranking Mormon members.
. . . Their approach: Offer a simple choice to the most influential Mormons in Mesa.

Fair Question [or two] A tax-exempt religion financing politics? That's a no-no isn't it?
. . .  and in the interests of fairness, transparency and accountability - all values promoted by Bloomberg's WhatWorksCities - how many former and present members of the Mesa City Council have been stake presidents or bishops?