Did Mayor John Giles Find His "Think Spot" Today Preaching to The Choir?

This post is in three different segments:
> one alternative POV from your MesaZona blogger
> one official media event staged by MesaNow
> one 01:38 Mesa Channel 11 Streaming video
If you don't know what that is, dear readers, it is the City of Mesa's Newsroom.  
The occasion at 10 o'clock this morning was the opening of the $350,000 3-months-late and half-finished THINK SPOT at the Mesa Main Public Library located at 64 E First Street here in downtown Mesa, filmed on-the-spot by Mesa Channel 11.
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First here's the edited video from the event starting at 10:00 am that lasted about 45 minutes.... amazing that it took five days to get uploaded to YouTube
Mesa 11's streaming videos can be found >

Published on Mar 6, 2018

Views: 30

Part of the innovation district, THINKspot at Main Library is now open.
To learn more: www.MesaLibrary.org/THINKspot

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Months before the over-hyped buzz words "Innovation District" entered into the vocabulary of city officials to be the public-relations-mantra for the latest "Make-Over" and Transformation of downtown Mesa as "The Rise of Mesa's Innovation District", CBDG federal funds and money from The Salt River Pima Maricopa Indian Community became available for another maker-space following the proven success of shared-workspace Heat Sync Labs over the past four years right here on Main Street.
Nonetheless, Mayor John Giles, the last speaker on the program, took to the podium to preach to the peanut gallery filled with a faithful congregation of City Hall employees appearing in supporting roles, while Mesa Channel 11 producer Lily King-Cisneros and the film crew worked behind-the-scenes to bring the news to you - the public and residents of Mesa whose tax dollars finance how "the news" gets programmed for broadcast consumption.

Giles took advantage of his time-in-the-spotlight to launch into more value-added "talking-points" heavy-handed public relations campaign promoting Pie-In-The-Sky proposals for ASU he can't figure out how to pay for, at one time pointing out that D1 Councilmember Mark Freeman after walking around downtown said that he could estimate over $500M invested downtown already 
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Here's the media release today from the City of Mesa Newsroom

THINKspot opens at Mesa Main Library, key component of Downtown Innovation District

March 1, 2018 at 10:56 am

"THINKspot, a high-tech makerspace, is now open at the Mesa Main Library, 64 E. First St., in the City's emerging Downtown Innovation District. THINKspot offers residents, entrepreneurs, educators and students tools to work on individual projects or collaboratively share their ideas. . . "

Reality Check from images captured at Today's opening:
How many "tools" and resources do you see?

 All the speakers read from prepared scripts provided with the favorite most-frequently-used phrase in nearly every single one of the city newsroom's media releases:

"I am excited"

"THINKspot at the Mesa Main Library adds a perfect element to our growing Downtown Innovation District," Mayor John Giles said. "The resources available at THINKspot can help bring any idea to life and give students, tinkerers and businesses the ability to create without having to invest in expensive equipment."

THINKspot has more than 2,900 square feet of space. It includes two 3-D printers; a wood carving machine; a vinyl cutter; two state-of-the-art sewing machines and a photo/video studio that includes a green screen, a Canon digital camera and an iMac with video and audio editing software installed.

Blogger Note: About 1,450 square feet or half of the space for the Teen Think Spot were dark with doors closed and and lights-off for this opening.
That space is to the left side in this rear-view image of the mostly city employees called to the Mesa Main Public Library in supporting roles for this morning's festivities.   
The image below is just minutes before the start

"I could not be more excited" that THINKspot has come to the Main Library," Councilmember Chris Glover said.
"This will truly be a point of pride for our residents here in Downtown. It is high-tech, state-of-the-art and a really fun and innovative addition to our area. I know the impact it has had at Red Mountain and I expect nothing less here at the Main Library."
THINKspot will offer free online and hands-on training for all the equipment, which will be available for anyone 12 years and older to use.
For a listing of trainings and programs offered, visit www.mesalibrary.org/THINKspot.
"THINKspot is a great way to cultivate innovation in our community by providing the resources to make dreams become reality. Since 2013, THINKspot at Red Mountain Library has been a national model of how libraries can transform communities and we know THINKspot at Main will do the same,"
- Mesa Public Library Director Heather Wolf
Funding for construction of THINKspot at the Main Library was from the Salt River Pima Maricopa Indian Community and federal Community Development Block Grant funds. Money raised from the sale of used books will be used to furnish and equip the room.
Public Information and Communications
Contact: Kevin Christopher
Tel. 480-644-4699kevin.christopher@mesaaz.gov
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Source:
http://mesanow.org/news/public/article/2058

"Non-Partisan" Mesa Mayor John Giles is Getting Very Partisan

Why say that? Perhaps he smells "blood-in-the-water" facing a Latino demographic seismic shift in the political landscape here in Arizona, getting featured [and quoted word-for-word] in an article from the  New York Times on Friday 09 February with this: The image and words are alarming

“The Arizona Republican Party, they’re just slitting their own throats, . ."  - John Giles, the Republican mayor of Mesa
[Notice the use of the indefinite pronoun they, as if Giles is not of them, disclaiming any party loyalty]

WARNING ABOUT SYMBOL AND IMAGE WORDS USED: It's gory and may be upsetting in the  words by John Giles slitting their own throats
Why does the mayor use these strong words for his own party?
Does he believe it's "political-suicide" for Arizona Repubs to ride against the Trump Tidal-Wave? At the same time trying to find a political Life-Saver from Arizona Latinos who have mixed-feelings about him?
That's the question rising from the twisted turmoil.

Could Giles be Teeter-Tottering with fellow Arizona Mormon Republican politician Jeff Flake who's become the pariah of conservative activists who are Trump-skeptic Republicans? While at the same time going to the Trump White House to get federal financing for infrastructure here in Arizona - he can't have it both ways, but he chooses to step into into the microcosm of Arizona politics. . . that might be "The Achilles Heel" in John Giles' marathon public track record.

Your MesaZona blogger is glad that Mayor Mesa John Giles is getting more scrutiny from the national media no matter where the fault-lines fall. AZ Senator Jeff Flake, to his credit realized his re-election was in jeopardy - choosing to retire instead while waging his own campaign for life-after-office to restore an old brand of "caring conservatism" based on the previous Arizona conservative Republican Barry Goldwater platform that was defeated by Democrat Lyndon Johnson. Flake is now trying to enlist the support of the Latino demographic rising tide by support for "immigration reform" to undo the bad image from Maricopa County's conservative Repubs for SB1070 that turned Latinos against them.

Now they need them.

What alarms Giles is the real threat and high-probability from Martha McSally to take-over Flake's seat in the U.S. Senate - that's the way things are rolling in two directions with Latinos here in Arizona at the fulcrum. To his credit John Giles realizes that now he can't ignore Latino political clot - that could be "a lesson-learned" from the embarrassing recall-election when another conservative LDS Mesa Republican Russell Pearce,  champion of SB107- got removed from office.

(Notice symbols on McSally's outfit)

 

Back to the story from The New Times over the weekend:

Arizona G.O.P. Tiptoes Between a Trump-Loving Base and a Leery Wider Electorate

By JONATHAN MARTINFEB. 9, 2018

PHOENIX — Representative Martha McSally of Arizona worked hard to carve out a moderate profile since her election in 2014 to a border district seat that had been held for decades by paragons of centrism from both political parties.

But when she entered the Republican primary to succeed the retiring Senator Jeff Flake, Ms. McSally veered right. She gleefully describes her budding relationship with President Trump, a commander in chief she harshly criticized and may not have even voted for in 2016. Ms. McSally, the first female fighter pilot in the Air Force, recalled how at a West Wing meeting with Mr. Trump last year, she made the case for the A-10 Warthog by calling her old jet “a bad-ass airplane with a big gun on it.”

Ms. McSally represents the evolution of the Republican establishment’s handling of Mr. Trump, from wary detachment to warm embrace, and the delicate dance that Republican politicians face in 2018. Somehow, they must appeal to their Trump-besotted activist base without alienating the broader population of less partisan suburban voters and a growing minority population that has recoiled from the president’s policies and divisive messaging.

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Continue reading the main story

In that sense, Arizona has become something of a microcosm of the country’s politics and could be ground zero in the fight for control of Congress in November. Hispanics make up a fast-growing 31 percent of the state’s population, and moderate whites have turned greater Phoenix into what one local political veteran described as effectively the country’s largest suburb.

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Teaser for another blog post:

 

Perhaps it's more than this

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Arizona has become something of a microcosm of the country’s politics and could be ground zero in the fight for control of Congress in November. Hispanics make up a fast-growing 31 percent of the state’s population, and moderate whites have turned greater Phoenix into what one local political veteran described as effectively the country’s largest suburb. . .

A race between Ms. McSally and Representative Kyrsten Sinema, a well-funded Democrat who has the blessing of her national party, may be the marquee open-seat Senate election in the country. . . and if for any reason another Senate seat [John McCain's] might become open, that would double the political wrangling for political dramas to be played-out here in Arizona

Here's John McCain shown with Martha McSally during a visit last year to the Arizona Cyber Warfare Range here in Mesa.

 

A Re-Run by Mayor John Giles: Looking Back To See What's Next?

Yes, "The Devil's in the details"

Gee Whiz Gosh! The mayor has a great public relations team behind him when his honor himself posts a Tweet highlighting last year's SOTC slickly-produced extravaganza to sell tickets to this year's big event . . . so far it's received 3 Likes.
But who can forget the iconic image captured by photographer Ivan Martinez that says it all: the massive privately-financed $500,000+ PR campaign was a major screw-up when taxpayers REJECTED a mega-million scheme to plop down an ASU satellite here in downtown.
Not a good track-record to "engage the public" for sure.

Once again, unless the public and taxpayers want to pay-to-go and fork out from their pockets the $60-buck$ for admission, it's the same-old/same-old tired re-tread where the public is relegated to the role of being spectators: you can watch it unless you can pay.
Perhaps that's just another reason why year after year the community is effectively cut-off from being active players in their own government . . . that's What Works Mesa???
Unlike other mayors in East Valley who hold annual reports on the state of their cities with events open to the public free-of-charge, there's been absolutely no arrangements to invite the public  - or taxpayers here in Mesa who pay his salary and generous benefits package.
Did you buy your $60 or $50 tickets yet for another State-Of-The-City Speech?
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Last year's extravaganza started off with John Giles leading a high school marching band into the Mesa Convention. . . this year's performance could feature the larger-than-life John Giles [who's suffering from an injury to his Achilles' Heel] leading the six-member squad of the Mesa City Council who have been rehearsing their moves to stay in-step with a limping the former track star acting as mayor.
Here's the tweet and last year's re-run just in case you want to pay-to-go
Mayor John Giles‏ @MayorGiles              

#tbt to State of the City 2017!

Excited to be getting ready for #SOTC 2018 on Feb 6.

Watch it live at http://mesa11.com/live  or on FB.

Purchase a ticket at http://mesachamber.org .

 

Purchase a ticket at http://mesachamber.org .pic.twitter.com/ca7CORXjC0

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FOR YOUR INFORMATION: oops! Here's John Giles

Has John Giles found his next?? ???
Taking Mesa to the Next Mesa
http://www.johngilesformayor.com/meet-john-giles/

Why Mesa  [still ] , needs John Giles?
Mesa Issues: Oops, This Page Could Not Be Found!
http://www.johngilesformayor.com/mesa-issues/