“The U.S. Constitution grants states all powers not delegated to the federal government, thus the emphasis on local control by states is appropriate. In contrast, cities, towns, and counties are subdivisions of the state and only gain their authority from the state, . . "
How did Mesa Mayor John Giles get that all wrong when he said "if you want an aircraft carrier, you get it from the federal government; everything else comes from cities . . "
Looks like 3 days last July in New York at Mike Bloomberg's School for Mayors was not enough for John Giles, who's a crafty campaigner, but being in office requires a different set of qualities.
See if you can pick out the Mesa mayor in the class of 40 last July in this image from Bloomber'g "summer school" >
Perhaps some more remediation and higher learning might help?
But then again, Giles may be the top elected public official but Mesa City Manager Chris Brady is the Chief Executive who sets the agendas, offering all kinds of ordinances for approval.
Some might not pass muster, or the Sunshine Test.
Looks like the Arizona State Attorney General Mark Brnovich, who'll be keeping his state job while taking on a Trump appointment at the same time, is giving fair warning to municipalities that ordinances, violations of open meetings laws, rules, policies, and misuse of public funds are all fair game
QUESTIONS:
1. Something out of whack in east Mesa?
2. Would any Mesa State Legislators dare ask if any ordinances are illegal?
Arizona Capitol Times-3 hours ago
"If the attorney general finds that an ordinance may violate state law, then the office must ask the Arizona Supreme Court to settle the question of whether the ordinance is illegal. ... “Personally, I wouldn't feel comfortable driving out to east Mesa or up to Mohave County and deciding something's out of whack there.”.
Legislators’ complaints of lawbreaking by cities on the upswing
SB1487, a 2016 law that allows any state legislator to ask the attorney general to investigate an ordinance, regulation or other policy enacted by a municipality or county to determine whether it complies with state law.
Attorney General Mark Brnovich requested nearly $1 million to pay for eight staffers in the newly established unit, which also focuses on election law complaints from citizens, open meeting law violations and misuse of public funds.
Blogger's Note: Here in Mesa there's this option that says "You can remain anonymous" but
Supporters of the bill, which was sponsored by then-Senate President Andy Biggs, say it ensures uniformity of laws across the state, and is aimed at making cities comply with state law and not meant to punish them.
No comments:
Post a Comment