Yesterday on Friday afternoon Hizzoner John Giles, conservative Republican mayor of Mesa, Arizona, took to the airwaves
on KJZZ Radio urging his same-party conservative Republicans in Congress to approve the $1.9-Trillion for more COVID-19 federal funds for states and cities now under deliberation in The Senate. He asked them 'to leave their partisan politics at the door."
Politically persuasive Giles is not - every conservative Arizona Republican in the House of Representatives cast their votes against the measure.
No need to worry in the U.S. Senate - both Arizona Senators are Democrats.
So what is Giles up to in this 07:40 on-air interview other than attempting to carve out a place and position himself for a potential seat in a new Congressional District created by a population increase in the fast-growing city of Mesa? He needs to answer the question Is Mesa a poorly-run city? . . . that's the same question Giles was asked last Saturday in a nation-wide CNN interview that he side-stepped and dodged by changing the inquiry to how the city administrated $134M in COVID Aid, Relief and Economic Security federal funds that had to be spent by last year ending December 30, 2020.
He mentions the city did a "Community Assessment" in March 2020 - a somewhat sketchy and quick 'assessment' (but he doesn't say that), that glosses over structural flaws and inbalances in the city budgets for years using increases in city-owned utilities sales-and-use taxes, fees, and charges to offset deficits.
Mesa has had an affordable housing crisis for years, does not even know how many businesses are located here - and can't say how many jobs were lost. . . and city officials were shocked to see 12,000 people in one day showing up in longstanding lanes for emergency food-boxes at the Mesa Convention Center -- but they did make sure to put into their coffers COVID-19 money to pay $52,000/month to themselves to rent the convention center. . and don't forget that the salaried long-time loyal city administrators - who got the 10% administrative feels on all those "Pots of Money" are going to rave about what they accomplished even if that's not the case!
About three minutes at the end is occupied by rambling talk about the change in City Code for the Anti-Discrimination Ordinance with Giles admitting it's more for economic reasons than what is right.
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Mesa Mayor John Giles Advocating For Aid To Cities, States In New COVID-19 Relief Bill
Published: Friday, March 5, 2021 - 1:05pm
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The U.S. Senate has started working on the nearly $2 trillion COVID-19 relief package that the House approved last week.
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The U.S. Senate has started working on the nearly $2 trillion COVID-19 relief package that the House approved last week.
Senators will have up to 20 hours to debate the 628-page bill. One of the provisions in it would provide money to states and cities, and Mesa Mayor John Giles says that aid is needed.
Mayor Giles has been lobbying for that money to be included. The Show spoke with him for more about it, and why this is such an important issue for him.
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