Most people who do live here just don't care what's going in the City Council!
https://councilchronicles.com/tag/arizona/page/2/
"Somewhere out there, a city council meeting is happening. And you're not watching it. But I am.
Each week, I bring you the highlights, lowlights, and weirdlights from places you don't live."
_________________________________________________________________________Each week, I bring you the highlights, lowlights, and weirdlights from places you don't live."
At least two - Kevin Thompson in District 6 and David Luna in District 5 - will get termed-out. They served their time for two terms and can't run again.
Both the current mayor John Giles and current District 3 Councilmember Frank Heredia were first appointed to fill-in the unfinished terms of their predecessors.
Mark Freeman is the Vice-Mayor and Councilmember representing District 1. Jeremy Whittaker represents District 2, and Jennifer Duff represents District 4
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One person who's been a frequent face City Council meetings is the silver-throated Kevin Christopher, one of whose responsibilities is to speed-read rapidly through the meetings' Consent Agendas where items are all thrown together in the hope that there are no questions or no requests to have the item(s) removed or pulled for individual attention.
Sad to say, but oftentimes some Mesa City Council members know little about the meeting details ahead of time.
"It’s a troubled time in America. People are confused. Searching for answers. They want a calm, steady presence to chart the way forward.
Ladies and gentleman, I think I found the hero we are looking for at the Mesa city council meeting.
His name? Kevin Christopher.
“Good evening, mayor and council members. These are the items on the consent agenda,” the bespectacled, baritone-voiced city employee announced. Then, attempting the unthinkable, he turned a standard agenda-reading into a can’t-tear-your-ears-away vocal marathon. . .
Minutes ticked by. The man raced through FORTY-THREE items without so much as a drink of water!“Item 6G–authorizing the city manager to enter into a subgrantee agreement for grant funds for the Fire and Medical Department’s Rapid Response Team.”
Not stumbling and not slowing down, the captions sped by underneath him as he rounded an incredible EIGHT MINUTES OF NONSTOP READING!
“Item 9A–subdivision plat. Bella Via Parcel 15 located on the east side of Signal Butte Road. Mayor and council members, these are the items on the consent agenda.”
Although I was giving him a standing ovation at home, Mayor John Giles was unfazed by Christopher’s oral Olympics.
“Please cast your vote,” he deadpanned. In less than two seconds, six “ayes” popped up and Christopher’s Last Stand was no more.
Switching to public comment, puzzlingly, there were two people at the podium.
“Buenas tardes,” a diminutive woman introduced herself.
“Good afternoon,” the man in the maroon shirt repeated.
“I don’t mean to interrupt,” Mayor Giles interrupted, “but I notice you’re using an interpreter. So we’ll allow a total of six minutes.”
Six minutes–or, as it’s known in Mesa, a “Three-Quarters Christopher.”
Translator: “Honorable council members…me and my brothers come here to ask for our rights…for a place to live….We know that you have a heart….Thank you.”
One of her brothers, in matching red, took her place at the podium to clarify:
Translator: “The moving us out that the City of Mesa has tried to do…along with the owner of the mobile home park….you can help us but you haven’t wanted to….The mobile home park of Mesa Real has not been able to be helped.”
Mayor Giles furrowed his brow and tightened his grip on his pen.
“Fernando, would you translate that there is a sheet of paper with frequently asked questions related to the Mesa Real trailer park?”
Seriously, Your Honor? An FAQ? Not so much as an “I feel your pain” or “si, se puede?”
The mayor grimaced and anxiously ruubbed his chin as the translator conveyed the message. Council members eased the tension by staring at their cell phones and tablets.
Finally, Mayor Giles adjourned the meeting not with a whimper, but with a sick guitar riff. Crank it:
Final thoughts: I give 10 out of 10 stars to Kevin “The Reader” Christopher and whoever added that outtro music. And negative 10 stars to everyone else for not helping the trailer park.
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Audio Player
If you saw the Mesa city council meeting review, you’ll recognize Kevin Christopher as the announcer of a HUGE agenda. But did you know he once reported on city council meetings? He did–and he has the stories to prove it!
Q: For your current job in Mesa, you read the entire agenda–45 items–and it took you eight whole minutes to get through. Do you prepare for that? Do you do vocal warm ups?A: I look it over. There’s a few tricky–with restaurants and things that are in Spanish. My favorite of all time: a liquor license application for “What the Hell Bar & Grill.”
Q: Are there any memorable moments from Mesa?
A: When I first came to the city, we had one council member, Tom Rawles, who decided back in 2007 he was not going to stand for the Pledge of the Allegiance. So he kind of pulled a Colin Kaepernick. This was a protest against the war in Iraq. All of a sudden we started getting these people showing up at meetings and criticizing him. He actually got police protection for a few days to be safe. I’m not sure what he’s doing now.
A: Yeah, and interesting hair and fashion! I think the biggest change is the technology. Nowadays, it’s very easy to find out the agendas.
Q: When you started in Cincinnati, Jerry Springer was there. Did he stand out at all during council meetings?
A: He was pretty colorful. He was very charismatic and personable and I think that’s what was very appealing.
Q: You’ve sat through city council meetings in Cincinnati, Madison, and Mesa. Take me down the list–who stuck out?
A: I think the most memorable was a woman in Cincinnati. It wasn’t her real name, but she went by Fifi Taft Rockefeller. She claimed to have affairs with presidents and Winston Churchill. She’d be at city council almost all the time
