Whoever said that Mesa is boring was trying to trick you into believing a fake Urban Legend that never really existed "Onceupon a time . . ." strting in 1883 or even in the year 2012whenScott Smith was elected mayor, as the first outsider to get the top elected job inside City Hall. He followed in the long line of succession of 40 mostly Mormon males who have controlled a dominant massive political machine and inter-connected powerful network of friends-and-families who have ruled this city for six generations. They control almost everything in business, politics and government: Finance, Insurance, Real Estate and Education. They say "It's the Mesa way of doing business" where they all get a cut in their Group-Think Mentality masquerading CORRUPTION.
Let's not get fooled again, folks, with another election in the works playing us all again for fools. Time to wake up and be less stupid, but it surely takes more than that to stop this generations-old system of corruption where few benefit and everyone pays - whether you know it or not. To the run is the current Mesa City Council in some posed public relations goof photo opp with Jivin' John Giles leading the pack.
A motley crew for sure where just one councilmember, Jeremy Whittaker second from left, is stepping out to publish some things in local politics he finds disturbing, asking at the outset: "Should the individuals and organizations whose issues are being voted on by a governing body also be lining the pockets of the politicians who sit on that governing body?" QUICK ANSWER: Hell no - that's illegaland punishable. Who's gonna get these corrupt parasites. . . It's up to you, dear readers to demand action if these bad actors get nailed. _________________________________________________________________________
Your MesaZona blogger has been posting clues about this endless cycle of corruption for more than two years. Some have accused me of not being forthcoming enough. At the same time, some of those in the hyper-local political power structure have called me to my face 'a trouble-maker'. Well let's bring it on! Mesa is way overdue to get investigated to root out corruption. Here are some clear facts and evidence presented in what Jeremy Whittaker published recently:
Mesa City Council, more corrupt than anyone in Washington D.C Source: http://www.jeremywhittaker.com "We always address this issue at a national level, perhaps even a state level, but what about in our own backyard? What about our own municipal elections for Mayor and City Council? Every single person who has donated to one of these politicians on the issues I outline below passed through City Council.
This behavior indicates that our elected body no longer represents the people that it is supposed to, rather, quite the opposite. Whoever has the money buys the politician, the politician then enacts the policies to enrich the donor and the cycle continues . . . "
With that, today marks the day in which we get to see who is buying our local politicians in Mesa. There are two candidates that are running for re-election, and one unopposed. Their financial disclosure forms are available below.
What becomes apparent is that candidates are being bought and their principles, assuming they had any, discarded. I find it hard to believe this is the democracy our forefathers envisioned. Let’s take a Look at these campaign finance forms and how to buy votes on a City Council.
BLOGGER NOTE: More details can be viewed click here
Some of the highlights are bulleted below for your interest
Million dollar land sale deal near the Cubs stadium, who has the biggest checkbook?
Build a downtown ASU campus to make your friends rich. No problem, we’ll just pay for it using the water bill revenues.
State Senator, Bob Worsley, who also owns multiple properties around the new ASU downtown campus that Council forced through last month (after voters rejected it in 2016). Here is one of his donations to Vice-Mayor David Luna. . . You can start to see how this pay to play politics works. Individuals or corporations who want to make money on City Council decisions donate money to their campaigns. They then have that Council member at their disposal when it comes to voting on their issues:
Sunbelt holdings owns a large plot of land directly next to the new ASU development and what do you know, another political donation
Want a multi-million dollar contract to build a water treatment plant for Mesa? Better pay up.
Want to rezone acres of dairy land for residential houses and make millions? Pay the pied piper.
Want to rezone the downtown LDS Temple and demolish historic homes? No problem, but there’s a cost to that
Build a $100 million dollar soccer complex(Questions 4,5,6 on your November ballot)? No problem, pay up
Millionaire investors - and you want to remodel your commercial buildings at the expense of the taxpayer? Sure, but make sure the Mayor gets his cut.
Allow Illegal collective bargaining? Sure, but at a hefty price:
The biggest portion of our budget for the city is allocated to personnel or employees. More specifically in that group, public safety. So why are the fire unions donating thousands of dollars to politicians? The answer is simple. They know that once they are elected to power they can get whatever they need the council to approve whether it be salary increases or supporting the completely bankrupt retirement fund which is set to cost the city almost $1 billion dollars, more information on that here – http://www.jeremywhittaker.com/direct/is-the-psprs-pension-bankrupting-mesa-and-other-municipalities/
Collective bargaining is illegal per the City’s Charter. As I try to ask questions to determine if the city is collectively bargaining with unions you can see the Mayor quick ends this conversation. The City has been collectively bargaining with unions which is illegal per the charter.
Why does the Mayor not want me asking these questions? Well, let’s take a look at his financial disclosure forms. . . Go here >> http://www.jeremywhittaker.com ________________________________________ ". . . .It makes a lot more sense to me now why the City tries to file frivolous lawsuits against candidates running for City Council. It is a desperate attempt to maintain their power." – https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2016/05/25/mesa-arizona-city-threatening-city-council-candidate-with-lawsuit-for-using-mesa-logo/ Is this what you think democracy looks like? The decision will be yours on August 28th and November 6th to start making some changes.
. . . or is that 'Something like it' - what Mesa is really all about? At least that's what sparked the imagination of someone who lived here in a new piece featured at the Capital Fringe Festival in Washington D.C. that closes on July 29th. Review: Mesa, Arizona, or Something Like It at Capital Fringe Mesa, Arizona or Something Like It . Written and directed by Raina Greifer . Featuring: Sophia Varnai, Catherine Horowitz, Sophie Falvey, Makenna Beam, Anna Brookes . Presented at Capital Fringe Festival 2018 . Reviewed by Gayle Young. Source: https://dctheatrescene.com/2018/07/16 "Talented young playwright Raina Greifer sums up her own workMesa, Arizona, or Something Like It. “It’s messy and surreal and strange, but so is so much of growing up,”she writes in her director’s note . . . It's not a stretch to imagine this plot for the play: A young woman named Sam leaves her mentally deranged mother to hitchhike with her best friend to Arizona, where, after learning her mother has died in a flood, she attaches herself to an equally deranged landlady. Click for tickets to Mesa, Arizona, or Something Like It at Capital FringeDialogue is largely angst-filled poetical soliloquies heavily accompanied by a prominent ‘Chorus of Fates’. First the positives: This is a tight and polished production. The energized chorus never flags nor stumbles over their copious lines. Leads Sophia Varnai, Jamie Griffith and Makenna Beam are fresh and appealing, especially Griffith who makes best friend Dot relatable. A big shout out to Lighting Designer Emma Creekmore who skillfully creates mood and space in an awkward venue. As well, some evocative poetic imagery emerges from the flood of words that wash over the spartan stage. Then the negatives: But, and there is a ‘but’, an unending stream of tortured angst can be a slog to those outside the head of a young adult. There is nary a pause, nor breath of fresh air, nor any action on stage to alleviate the dark, unending stream of consciousness that repeats themes of dust, dirt and decay. The Greek Chorus can be overwhelming and its role is never clear. They are the Fates with their threads and scissors, but also meander into Harpies, Prophetesses and the voices inside Sam’s head. This is a play that cries out for focus and editing. Another ‘but.’ Greifer and her colleagues are putting themselves out there, unapologetic and authentic to the experience of young adulthood and finding voice in theater. Let’s hope they keep experimenting. ________________________________________________________________
Interesting to note what stories end on the pages of just one search engine getting updated about what's in the news. . . or mebbe not Police Fire/Medical
MESA, AZ - Authorities say a man who was shot after striking a Mesa officer during a traffic stop Saturday morning has died. The incident marks the 52nd ...
Police on Friday identified the person who was killed in what appeared to have been a head-on crash in Mesa. It happened at about 11 a.m. Thursday just south ...
MESA, AZ - Authorities say an alleged drunk driver rolled through a red light in Mesa after falling asleep at the wheel with a toddler in the backseat. Mesa police
Video from the Lyons Roofing News Chopper showed a red car on its side. Both it and the vehicle with which it collided sustained massive damage. Click here ...
One person is dead and four people were injured in a two-vehicle crash in Mesa, officials said. The crash occurred before 11:30 a.m. on Thursday just south of ...
MESA, AZ - A man is facing aggravated DUI charges after he was caught driving under the influence with six children in his car, according to officials. Police say
Witnesses and first responders who helped rescue a woman who crashed her car into a canal during Monday's monsoon storm spoke out at a press conference ...
Four people are in stable condition after bees attacked them in Mesa on Tuesday evening. It happened near Lindsay and Brown roads. Firefighters said two ...
MESA, AZ - A man reportedly stole $1,400 worth of fish hooks during five thefts of a Mesa sporting goods store. Mesa police report that from June 19 until July 2, ...
Video captured by a witness shows the incredible moment when a Mesa firefighter dives beneath the surface and brings a woman out of a car that had plunged
Please note this post is not just another data dump - it really needs to get drilled-down into our numb thick skulls. The Economic Policy Institute published a new study and report three days ago naming this time in the 21st Century "The New Gilded Age" harking back to the name humorist Mark Twain gave to the decades-long epoch of robber-baron excesses and accumulations of vast wealth just before the turn of the last century.
A Stunning Glance at the Geography of U.S. Income Inequality
New Economic Policy Institute research exposes just how top-heavy many of the places Americans call home have become.
All politics, the old political saw goes, is local. By the same token, all economics may be local, too. We don’t experience our economy as a national or a global phenomenon. We experience our economic life in much more localized spheres. _______________________________________________________________ No idea what The Gilded Age was?
Researchers at the Economic Policy Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based progressive think tank, have understood this reality for decades now. They’ve supplemented their nationally focused work with a series of landmark collaborations that explore how our unequal economic order is playing out at the subnational level.
Share of income captured by the top 1%, 1917–2015
The Unequal States of America
Income inequality in the United States
Income trends have varied from state to state, and within states. But a pattern is apparent: the growth of top 1% incomes. Explore inequality in this interactive feature >>
The share of all income held by the top 1% in recent years has approached or surpassed historical highs. Collaboration in this series — EPI’s most comprehensive installment yet — has just appeared. This new study, The New Gilded Age: Income Inequality in the U.S. by State, Metropolitan Area, and County, essentially combines two schools of progressive economic thought, the work of American economists who’ve been involved with EPI over the years and the work of international scholars connected with the influential French economist Thomas Piketty. . .
The New Gilded Age drills down from this merely affluent 5 percent to the simply rich of the top 1 percent. The New Gilded Agefinds — no surprise — that income inequality in the United States “has risen in every state since the 1970s.” The surprise comes from the numbers that cover 2015, the most recent year with full stats available. Despite all the focus we’ve seen of late on income inequality, the gap between our most financially fortunate few and everybody else is growing even wider . . ." What we want, the new EPI research helps us feel rather intensely, ought to be cities, counties, and states with far, far smaller gaps between those of mega means and everyone else. . . " Sam Pizzigati co-edits Inequality.org. RELATED CONTENT: A Sweet New Century for America’s Most Privileged Link >> https://inequality.org/great-divide/a-sweet-new-century-for-americas-most-privileged/ His latest book, The Case for a Maximum Wage, has just been published. Among his other books on maldistributed income and wealth: The Rich Don’t Always Win: The Forgotten Triumph over Plutocracy that Created the American Middle Class, 1900-1970. Follow him at @Too_Much_Online. _________________________________________________________________________ To see how your state fares, check out the map below
Source: https://www.fastcompany.com/90205689/this-map-shows-how-bad-income-inequality-is-in-your-state.
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