Follow The Money > Mesa City Council Election Campaigns 2016

Campaign Finance Reports are available online here
Current mayor John Giles is playing the hand he was dealt to get elected in 2014, apparently with no issues in front of the voters here according to his campaign website and oftentimes making public statements that "Everything is great".
It's a no-contest.
Three seats [half] up for grabs in Districts 1, 2 and 3.
What's it gonna be? More diversity or more of the same political machine that's controlled Mesa for generations?

There's a certain demographic group here, now after 135 years after Mesa's founding, less than 10% of the population, who have dominated and monopolized both elective and appointed offices inside City Hall and city government with just a few things in common, one of them being their religion that directly informs public service when they get elected by a system organized by LDS connections in meeting houses, stakes and wards. This is evident not only in local Mesa government but in Arizona state government as well, holding onto top positions in the state senate and state legislature.

Overwhelmingly they graduated from BYU in Provo, Utah, or through inter-marriage have "family connections" in religion and government, or make claims to office based on heritage of successive generations with extensive land holdings held in family or suburban land trusts and - most importantly - at the same time frequently tapping into a machine that delivers votes to chosen hand-selected candidates who usually say they got "a calling" [or a call from a crony] for public service whereby incumbents in elected office pass their positions on to those who get called time and time again. . . Call it "rigged" if you want with one minority group controlling what's supposed to be a democratic process. 

It is the reason why so many residents and voters here in Mesa choose not to get involved in city governance, rarely show up at public City Council sessions or citizen advisory board meetings and are effectively not engaged in government for the people.

While most conservatives condemn the so-called East coast "liberal elite" who attended Ivy League universities [Harvard, Yale, Georgetown, Princeton] those with other progressive political perspectives tend to not question the politics of a private religion-run university except in the public sphere where assertions of religion into politics has constitutionally-mandated limits for good reasons - a product of The Age of Enlightenment.
So, let's throw some light into the arena of politics here in Mesa - you, dear readers NEED TO DO THE WORK

• Follow the money for contributions and expenditures
• Are there some underlying business relationships?
• Who gave what to who
• Why are certain individuals and groups giving money to certain candidates
• Keep an eye out for amounts over $100, $250, $500 or $1,000 and higher
• What about PACs - political action committees?

Just  a couple of examples:
1. Why has a union of public employees - Firefighters - getting paid salaries and other benefits like insurance and pension/retirement costs [that have escalated by 35%] by the city, established a PAC that contributed $2500 to District 3 candidate Jerry Lewis?
2. Why has a suburban mall developer contributed over $6500 to the same candidate?
3. Looking back to the 2014 John Giles for Mayor campaign, why was over $25,000 paid to just one company for copies of campaign materials?

Candidates
The underlined links open in another window to access the reports provided by the Mesa City Clerk's office.
There are other links for City Council Election campaigns going back to 2008 if you want to trace donations and expenditures that might have influenced actions of City Councilmembers once they got elected.

Mayor
John Giles for Mayor 2016

Council District 1
Guinn for Mesa
Mark Freeman for District 1
Pat Gilbert for Mesa

Council District 2 
Jeremy Whittaker for Mesa
Shelly Allen for Mesa
Winn for Mesa City Council

Council District 3
Jerry Lewis for Mesa City Council
Ryan Winkle for Mesa Sparks for Mesa
Yarbrough for Mesa District 3

                                                                                                                          
This web page link at the start of this post is a public resource for general information. Use it for the intended purpose. 

Please be advised that The City of Mesa makes no warranty, representation or guaranty as to the content, sequence, accuracy, timeliness or completeness of any of the database information provided herein.
The reader expressly agrees that use of the data provided herein is at the reader's sole risk.
The City of Mesa explicitly disclaims any representations and warranties of any kind, express or implied, including, without limitation, the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose.
The City of Mesa shall assume no liability for: 1) any errors, omissions, or inaccuracies in the information provided regardless of how caused; or 2) any decision made or action taken or not taken by reader in reliance upon any information or data furnished hereunder.

           

       

SHAME ON YOU > Criterion Public Affairs



Trustworthy polls of public opinion usually are conducted by public interest groups, academic institutions or media groups who conform to strict standards of tests and measurements. 
Your MesaZona blogger happened to catch the release of a recent highly questionable local poll five days ago by a Public Relations and Corporate Advocacy firm called Criterion Public Affairs with the results of an "auto poll" to 250 landline and cellphone numbers of "likely primary election voters" to the Mesa City Council.
According to the announcement the poll was commissioned - that's paid for - Jerry Lewis For Mesa City Council 3rd District, showing he is pulling ahead in the "nonpartisan" race against Ryan Winkle while also confirming "partisan trends in the area favor Republican Jerry Lewis." ???
Data Orbital admitted the sample size was small with a significant margin of error. No demographic data on the survey participants was produced to guarantee a random sample.

Furthermore, the statements made about any actions of undecided voters are pure speculation.
Readers of this post can view details here 
The company's formation was announced about six months ago in in this press release on 16 February 2016.
Partner Chad Heywood is the former Executive Director of the Arizona Republican Party.
Partner Todd Grier has  over a decade's experience in the insurance industry.
Both are also active in LDS organizations and LDS-operated charter education, ASU Latter Day Saints Alumni, as well as being founding members of The Society of Statesmen
Bios of the company team partners can be found here 
Other Mesa  politicos who pay this company for services include John Giles, unopposed for mayor

Jeremy Whittaker's Election Campaign for Mesa City Council District 2 Gets More Attention

Just yesterday, this article written by Walter Olson, appeared with the following headline [image inserted from another source]
Council candidate menaced for using city’s logo on yard signs
"The city of Mesa, Arizona, has threatened suit against a local businessman, Jeremy Whittaker, who is running for city council in opposition to a longtime city employee who enjoys endorsements from several current elected city officials. His offense? His lawn signs and campaign literature include a single-color version of the city’s logo …as a handy way of identifying the office for which he is running.” It has demanded he surrender all his campaign materials bearing the logo, but he’s not planning to give in."
 [Paul Alan Levy, CL&P via Mike Masnick, TechDirt]

Filed under: Arizona, politics, trademarks

 

Readers of this blog will note that this episode is more than just about "yard signs".
Reporter Walter Olson uses the words "threatened" and "menaced" in his headline for a very brief article supposedly about yard signs - if you, dear readers, choose to dig a little deeper, it's more about how politics are run by a political machine here in Mesa where incumbents recruit and choose who they want to assume their seats on the Mesa City Council - it's a way to hold onto power and control municipal government by a majority-minority 6% who have dominated City Hall for over a hundred years whether they get elected, get appointed or get hired.

Interestingly enough, local media has shied away from any mention at all of either this episode or any angle on this episode whatsoever, while a respected national news organization The Washington Post joined by two tech industry publications, Ars Technica and Techdirt have chosen to focus on rights to free speech and using trademark law to suppress participation in the political process. [see previous posts on this blog site]

 

image from mesaaz.gov

In the election campaign mentioned, Jeremy Whittaker is seeking to represent District 2 where Alex Finter, the incumbent, has held sway for two terms - the maximum time permitted to serve.

The way it has gone here in Mesa for years with incumbents attempting to control who gets their seat on the city council is that those who have held office call and recruit who they want to succeed them. With Alex Finter, he is also running the election campaign for his chosen candidate in a field of three that Jeremy Whittaker has entered.

With Mesa mayor John Giles, who was called to fill in for ex-mayor Scott Smith who resigned from office to run a failed election bid governor, both those guys called and recruited Jerry Lewis to campaign for a city council seat for District 3 available with the retirement of long-popular Dennis Kavanagh. On the same day Lewis announced his candidacy, both politicians immediately and simultaneously endorsed who they selected . . . if that's not a political fix your MesaZona blogger doesn't know what is!

Some people might remember Jerry Lewis as the guy who had fellow Mormon Russell Pearce removed from office by launching a recall election for the blatant bigotry, prejudice and discrimination against Mexicans contained in SB1070. There seemed to be a fissure among Mormons about the embarrassment caused by one practitioner of their LDS faith. Jerry Lewis ran a single-issue campaign to get elected to a two-year term in the Arizona State Legislature.
The person who ran his campaign for re-election [that he lost] none other than John Giles who was co-chairman of that campaign.

With that being said, it may be a good thing that Jeremy Whittaker has chosen to enter the wonderful world of politics here in Mesa.
 

He knows exactly what he's up against.
 

We will see how this develops - whether it's people power who get a candidate elected or that old and tired Political Machine that has a history to turn out the votes for who they want.

. . . here's wishing everyone well

 

 

 

 

Members of the City Council, the mayor and six guys, are "part-time employees" - in a city of over 465,000 people. They all also hold "outside jobs" at the same time.

 

 

What is the City of Mesa Development Corporation??

This blog published two posts [May 25 and May 27] about actions taken against a certain candidate campaigning for election to the Mesa City Council by what is an inactive moribund group [not active since holding its last public meeting in 2010 nor with meeting annually since then - see end of this post] represented by local law firm Booth Udall & Fuller.

Except for this site, there were no local mainstream media reports about this episode.

However, The Washington Post picked up on it. So did Ars Technica and this article from Techdirt


All because of this?? . . .

City Of Mesa Abusing Trademark Law To Punish City Council Candidate They Don't Like

from the not-how-it-works depth
by Mike Masnick

Wed, May 25th 2016 3:44 pm

"Another day, another story of abusing trademark law to try to silence speech. Paul Levy has the story of how the city of Mesa, Arizona, has sent a ridiculous cease and desist letter to Jeremy Whittaker, who is running for city council. Apparently, his opponent [Blogger's note: Alex Finter City Council District 2 is not eligible after two terms, he has hand-picked his successor and is running her election campaign] in the election is the preferred choice of many current city officials, suggesting that they don't really appreciate Whittaker's candidacy. But the city took things a ridiculous step too far ..."

Read more >> https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20160524/18141034540/city-mesa-abusing-trademark-law-to-punish-city-council-candidate-they-dont-like.shtml

 

What's going on here in Mesa?

The same-old, same-old, same old [this is getting really tired for your MesaZona blogger] descendants of the pioneers who have dominated and controlled this city since 1878.

It took 135 years to elect the first Hispanic member to the Mesa City Council.

Positions, jobs and titles are handed down to relatives by blood or marriage, family connections and family ties are rampant [if little brought to attention or recognized], incumbents select who they want to succeed them by tapping into party-based or faith-based networks for voter turnout, nepotism and patronage grease the wheels of the Mesa political machine.

"They" don't like you - and the story of just one candidate challenging the status quo hits the headlines everywhere but here.

Here's Jeremy Whittaker [from his website ]

". . . As a fiscal conservative, Jeremy is a proponent of responsible spending. This is critical to survive as a small business owner. With that knowledge and experience, it will positively affect the important decisions he will make as a member of the Mesa City Council. As current Vice President of his neighborhood’s Homeowners Association, he is all too familiar with the importance of a balanced budget. Jeremy is always thinking outside of the box when it comes to saving money and the residents of the neighborhood have continuously benefited over the years.

As your representative from District 2, Jeremy will bring with him a unique “world view” of finances, and how they can be applied to Mesa and the local economy. With a passion for global economics, Jeremy has studied international trade and global diversification, all of which has given him a very strong macro view of the global economy. . .
Jeremy believes that the way to create a great community is through economic growth and equality. . . He is also an advocate of clean energy and renewable resources. Arizona is the prime setting to implement renewable energy resources, . . we really need to look deeper at what makes us happy as individuals. With this I’ve turned my attention toward the City Council both as a civic duty and as a personal desire to make the community a better place for everyone.”
According to this official webpage from the City of Mesa's website:
Municipal Development Corp.
Meet at least annually
"The Municipal Development Corp. is an appointed group of citizens responsible for overseeing the administration of tax-exempt bond expenditures."
Members appointed to the Board:
Marty Whalen
Milt Laflen
Howard Godfrey
Charles Luster
Larry Woolf

However, if you hit this http://apps.mesaaz.gov/meetingarchive/meetings.aspx?body=MDC

To take a look at Agenda & Minutes, you see this: there have been no meetings since 2010

Municipal Development Corp Minutes and Agendas

Meeting Date	Document Title	Meeting Type	Document Type	View Document
10/18/2010	October 18, 2010	Regular	Minutes
10/18/2010	MDC Board Meeting	Misc	Agendas
10/26/2009	MDC	Misc	Agendas
10/26/2009	October 26, 2009	Regular	Minutes
7/2/2008	July 2, 2008 MDC	Regular	Agendas
10/17/2007	October 17, 2007 MDC	Misc	Agendas
10/18/2006	October 18, 2006 MDC	Misc	Results
10/18/2006	October 18, 2006 Agenda	Misc	Agendas

READ THIS: Public 411 You Can Use > Keeping You Informed > Where's Citizen Input?

The Mesa City Council believes that its people, not leaders, are what makes a City great and actively works ??to encourage citizen participation in the decision-making process. . . the Mesa City Council sets policies based on the input and needs of its citizens.
OK, sounds good, right, but very few people actually show up or "provide input" at City Council meetings . . . only three comments are allowed in a time-limit of three minutes [you must fill out a blue comment card to do that]

 Please note, dear readers, this agenda was made available to citizens yesterday @ 7:30 a.m. July 31, 2016 - how many people have taken the time to read it?
Was there "a preliminary agenda" published? [no]
Agendas work well when there are comments from the public to provide input especially when action will be considered then taken by councilmembers on agenda items.
The final agenda for tomorrow's study session - to be immediately followed by "a regular session" is published below.
Readers will note that the bold and underlined agenda items require a few more steps to access and are only presented as .pdf documents.  

Please note again: As part of each meeting agenda, action may be taken on:

• zoning matters
• awarding of contracts [sometimes adding up to million$ of dollar$ that are put on something called the 'consent agenda' that usually gets approved within minutes, unless it's asked to be removed and considered separately] to purchase equipment, supplies or for construction improvements within the City,
• liquor license applications, ordinances, and resolutions.
  

During meetings, citizens may address the council on items pertaining to the agenda.
QUESTION: Do average citizens - those with no "special interest" for personal or financial gain - have the motivation or time to find out of what's up on the agendas for Mesa City Council meetings??
Another question: Have some past and current City councilmembers [and those who might want to grab a seat inside City Hall] operated more to benefit "special interests" than the public?
Minutes of past City Council meetings are posted at this site after they are approved by the City Council.
The preliminary agenda of the next council meeting is posted at this site approximately four days [??]  before a council meeting and the final agenda, which incorporates any last minute changes to the preliminary agenda, usually is posted at this site the morning of the council meeting.
All City Council meetings are broadcast live on cable television on Mesa Channel 11 and will be rebroadcast the following two days at 9 a.m. and 7 p.m.

For copies of Council Minutes that are not listed, call the City Clerk's Office (480) 644-2381.


City Council Study Session
City of Mesa
7:30 am
Mesa Council Chambers 57 East First - Lower Level
Thu June 2, 2016

Meeting Agenda - Final
Mayor John Giles
Vice Mayor Dennis Kavanaugh - District 3
Councilmember Dave Richins - District 1
Councilmember Alex Finter - District 2
Councilmember Chris Glover - District 4
Councilmember David Luna - District 5
Councilmember Kevin Thompson - District 6

Roll Call
(Members of the Mesa City Council will attend either in person or by telephone conference call)
1.  Review items on the agenda for the June 6, 2016 regular Council meeting.

2 . Presentations/Action Items:

2-a 16-0628 Hear a presentation, discuss, and provide direction on the proposed Mesa multi-sport athletic, field house, and events complex relating to:

• 1.  Capital and operations and maintenance funding and required Charter authorization; and
• 2.  A Memorandum of Understanding with Visit Mesa for the operations and maintenance funding.

3 16-0631 Information pertaining to the current Job Order Contracting projects.

 

4 Approve minutes from an Executive Session held on May 19, 2016.

 

5 Acknowledge receipt of minutes of various boards and committees.

• 5-a 16-0590 Parks and Recreation Advisory Board meeting held on March 9, 2016.

6 Hear reports on meetings and/or conferences attended

7 Scheduling of meetings and general information.

Page 1 City of Mesa Printed on 5/31/2016

June 2, 2016City Council Study Session Meeting Agenda - Final

 

8 Adjournment.

Any citizen wishing to speak on an agenda item should complete and turn in a blue card to the City Clerk before that item is presented.
The Council may vote to hold an executive session for the purposes of obtaining legal advice from the City Attorney (A.R.S. §38-431.03A(3)) or to discuss and instruct the City Attorney regarding the City’s position regarding contracts that are the subject of negotiations, in pending or contemplated litigation or in settlement discussions conducted in order to avoid or resolve litigation. (A.R.S. §38-431.03A(4))
The City of Mesa is committed to making its public meetings accessible to persons with disabilities.  For special accommodations, please contact the City Manager's Office at (480) 644-3333 or AzRelay 7-1-1 at least 48 hours in advance of the meeting.  Si necesita asistencia o traducción en español, favor de llamar al menos 48 horas antes de la reunion al 480-644-2767.
http://www.mesaaz.gov/city-hall/advisory-boards-committees/city-council

City of Mesa Fiscal Year 2016/17 Budget Wrap-up ]updated June 1]

Blogger's Note: Nothing is "wrapped-up" about the FY2016/17 Budget.
Nice pretty packaging with tricky out-of-scale and over-blown spatial renderings over-hype for sure, with the City Manager "scrubbing the numbers" to sell millions of dollars in spending to taxpayers. Better un-pack it AND ASK QUESTIONS NOW
FOR YOUR INFORMATION > get informed + engaged.
Here's the way it's supposed to work: "the city's budget is developed in conjunction with residents, the Mayor and City Council, City Manager and City Employees.
The result is a budget that closely matches the community's highest priorities each fiscal year." Huh???
Presented by the Office of Management and Budget
May 5, 2016
The Status
• FY 16/17 was intended as the second year of a two-year process to better align on-going expenditures with on-going revenues
• Realized operational savings in FY 14/15 has allowed for a temporary reprieve
• Annual budgets are reliant on savings to sustain services
• Departments are asked to review operations in pursuit of innovations that result in savings.  Operational savings of 2% is targeted
• Expense pressure continues regarding current services in the public safety areas while demand for services also continues to grow

Changes to the Proposed Budget

1. Light Rail Bike Patrol
Increased security in the light rail corridor through the expansion of the current light rail bike patrol $799,000 
Addition of a park ranger to assist in Pioneer Park $102,000
 2. The proposed budget included two additional Code Compliance Officers. 
The revised budget converts two existing CDBG funded code compliance officers to the general fund (allowing use of the CDBG funding for a pilot outreach program)
Enforcement/Outreach and Education
FY 15/16:  7 general fund officers, 3 CDBG officers (2 positions + 1 temp)
FY 16/17 : 10 general fund officers (9 positions +1 temp), reallocation of CDBG funding to community outreach [revised proposal]
3. Increase funding available for Historic Preservation Services  $50,000
Proposed budget included $15,000 of the $50,000

4. Increase in Human Services Funding $50,000
• Additional funding brings total to $876,000 for services and administration and $50,000 for utility assistance

THE ADOPTION TIMELINE

 

May 16: Capital Improvement Program, Public Hearing and  Adoption,
               Utility Rate Adjustments, Public Hearing and Adoption

June 6: Annual Budget, Tentative Adoption

June 20: Annual Budget and Secondary Property Tax Levy, Public Hearing
               Annual Budget, Final Adoption

July 5: Secondary Property Tax Levy Adoption



City Hall » Office of Management & Budget
Presentations & ReportsEach year, the city's budget is developed in conjunction with residents, the Mayor and City Council, City Manager and City Employees.
The result is a budget that closely matches the community's highest priorities each fiscal year.
Here you'll find the information on the city's budget, financial reports and other city reports.
http://www.mesaaz.gov/city-hall/office-of-management-budget/presentations-reports

Heads Up! City Council Study Session Tomorrow > Big Buck$ + A Tax increase

Public Safety and Higher Education Funding Recommendation
City Council Study Session May 19, 2016
City of Mesa
Meeting Agenda - Final





Mayor John Giles
Vice Mayor Dennis Kavanaugh - District 3
Councilmember Dave Richins - District 1
Councilmember Alex Finter - District 2
Councilmember Chris Glover - District 4
Councilmember David Luna - District 5
Councilmember Kevin Thompson - District 6
7:30 AMCouncil Chambers - Lower Level
Roll Call (Members of the Mesa City Council will attend either in person or by telephone conference call)

1 Presentations/Action Items:
16-0575 Hear a presentation, discuss and provide direction on funding options including sales taxes for the following:
1.  Public safety staffing and equipment needs, and the associated costs
2.  Higher education projects and the associated costs
1-a
16-0593 Information pertaining to the current Job Order Contracting projects.2
3 Hear reports on meetings and/or conferences attended.
4 Scheduling of meetings and general information.

5 Convene an Executive Session.
 
ES-003-16 Discussion or consultation for legal advice with the City Attorney. (A.R.S. §38-431.03A (3)) 
Discussion or consultation with designated representatives of the City in order to consider the City’s position and instruct the City’s representatives regarding negotiations for the purchase, sale, or lease of real property. (A.R.S. §38-431.03A (7)) 
Discussion or consultation with the City Attorney in order to consider the City’s position and instruct the City Attorney regarding the City’s position regarding contracts that are the subject of negotiations, in pending or contemplated litigation or in settlement discussions conducted in order to avoid or resolve litigation. (A.R.S. §38-431.03A(4))
  
1. Intergovernmental Agreement with Arizona State University for a Mesa campus on City-owned property.

Higher Education Projects
Phase 1
 •ASU Buildings $68.2 to 78.9 million
•Civic Plaza $20 to $25 million
•Parking $10 to $12 million
•Benedictine Buildout $6 to $7.5 million
•Off Site Improvements $4 million
Total $108.2 to $127.4 million
Phase 2
Building C Total Area:     60,000 square feet No. of Floors: 4 –New Construction
Building D Total Area:     18,800 square feet No. of Floors: 2 –Existing IT Bldg.
Total Estimated Cost $32 million

Next Steps
•May 26, 2016 -Council Action on Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA)
•June 8-10, 2016 –Arizona Board of Regents Action on IGA
•June 20, 2016 –Council Call for E

Good News: People Speak Up in A City Council Meeting

Your blogger admittedly cannot be everywhere all the time. Fortunately there are a diverse group of other "reporters" who write about politics and community life from different angles.
I especially respect an organization named Vox [hit the link or hover over it] whose mission is to explain the news by providing context.
Let me provide readers with a context for the word "Vox" and a subtext to highlight the benefits of public education in schools.
It's about understanding democracy and learning "foreign languages".
DEMOCRACY: A system of government in which power is vested in the people, who rule either directly or through freely elected representatives . . .  In most modern democracies, the whole body of eligible citizens remain the sovereign power but political power is exercised indirectly through elected representatives; this is called a representative democracy.

 Vox Populi is a Latin phrase that literally means voice of the people.
The message on this blog media: Speak up People

Your MesaZona blogger frequently watches video or streaming clips of meetings produced by city-owned Channel 11, taking notice that there are very few Mesa residents attending meetings while the official notices for agendas of those meetings always state, as required by law, that Public Comment is Invited. [just fill out a blue card when you go in].
In an earlier posting on this site, the presiding official for an Economic Development Advisory Board meeting [who's also representing GPEC, Greater Phoenix Economic Council] stated that he had not hear a public comment in over 10 years! Your blogger was one of three members of the public who bothered to attend the meeting, where it was clearly stated by the mayor that he needed ideas.
Another topic under discussion was the further extension of Valley Metro Light Rail Transit from Mesa Drive to Gilbert Road - soon enough, Maria Polletta, a reporter for The Arizona Republic published an article on a very active City Council meeting involving residents of a mobile home park directly on that proposed route who might be displaced by a real estate developer seeking to cash in on escalating higher property values directly connected to the expansion of public transit that's paid for with federal/state subsidies, city bond financing and taxpayer dollars. Due to a combination of circumstances 100+ people who live at Mesa Royale in mobile homes might get displaced for certain questionable regulatory reasons from a property valued at over $2 Million dollars. 

See "democracy in action" with Maria Polletta's reporting - it's got a video clip of Mesa Royale residents showing up at a City Council meeting. Democracy in action: Oh Yeah! 
Watch the whole video and see the reaction of the Mesa City Council to people speaking up about the impact of real estate development on their lives - this could get spicey and dicey
Go to this link: 100 families may be out at 'unfit' Mesa mobile-home park

Maria Polletta: Graduate of Cronkite School of Journalism, roots in Venezuela
From her profile on Muck Rack

Mesa Politics reporter for The Republic & @azcentral. 

Die-hard Sun Devil with scarlet-and-grey roots. If it's not spicy, I'm probably wasting my time eating it.

From her profile on USA Today

As The Republic's Mesa issues reporter, Maria Polletta covers politics and public money, non-profits and community life in Arizona's third-largest city. She started on the paper's breaking-news desk in 2009 and has done a bit of everything since, from a stint on the copy desk to several months on the national Fact Check team. As a beat reporter, she has covered the Phoenix metro area, central Phoenix, Chandler politics and Mesa growth and development.