In his letter to The Explorer, Cox once again lashes out at Council Member Paula Abbott.
For those that may not know it, Paula was eleced in 2002 & reelected in 2004.
Cox, on the other hand was defeated in two election bids; 2004 & again in 2006.
For those of us that are familiar with the votes of Paula, she is generally on the side of the people, and during some of her tenure, she was the sole voice of her constituents.
Don Cox is well known to be a good friend to the developers. All one need do is read any of his multitude of comments on this blog to understand Cox is NOT worthy of being on the council.
Here then his is letter. It sounds like a precursor to his 3rd try to get elected.
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Abbott is not the voice of OV’s citizens
I found the following quote attributed to Councilperson Paula Abbott another instance where she is completely out of touch with most folks in Oro Valley.
"If you squelch my voice, you squelch the citizens' voice."
Ms. Abbott's attendance record at meetings from day one has been embarrassing. She misses about 40 percent of the meetings she is supposed to attend. She is often late to those she does attend and she leaves early many times. Public records will support that.
Ms. Abbott does not return e-mails from most citizens. Ms. Abbott does not return phone calls from most citizens. Ms. Abbott does not make herself available to citizens as other town council members do. Ms. Abbott has seldom been seen in her town office. Ms. Abbott does not respond to the press.
Ms. Abbott is simply not available.
If you were to ask every town council member who has ever served with Ms. Abbott, "Which council person is the least accessible?" the response would be, Ms. Abbott, 100 percent of the time. The same response would be forthcoming from town staff.
Ms. Abbott was elected (barely) to represent all of the people of Oro Valley and should be out there listening and soliciting input from a wide variety of sources. Then and only then can she lay claim to be the voice of the citizens.
Don Cox, Oro Valley
26 comments:
I'm no fan of the developers friend, but he is hitting this nail right on the head. Abbot is our Oro Valley Waldo.
What an insult to Waldo. Abbott (aka Councilmember Hobbitt) is about as visible as Judge Crater. Whether you like Mr. Cox or not, or whether he chooses to run for office or not, his description of Abbott is right on. She is the most irresponsible, unprepared, anti-social and dimwitted person ever to serve on the Oro Valley Town Council. If the Council had voted with her (when she was on the losing side in many 6-1 votes), the Town would long ago have been bankrupt from legal actions caused by her stances on a whole variety of issues.
If she is one of your heroes, you've set the bar way too low.
If this hurts some people's feelings, I'm sorry. It's my opinion.
Wow! It's so easy to find fault with Paula. Cox has been doing so for years, and he never could get elected.
I wonder if either of the two previous bloggers would have lasted---not 7 years, with getting reelected, but 7 weeks, under the extreme pressure that Paula persevered from 2002 to 2006 when she basically stood alone against the "give the developers anything they want" mentality of Council Members Johnson, Rochman, Wolfe and Mayor Loomis.
Until you walk in her shoes,it comes down to nothing more than complaining.
Have I always agreed with Paula? No way! Do I have issues with Paula? Sure. Do I respect Paula for being her own person---when many would have quit long ago?
Unequivocally, "yes."
I, and many others are grateful for the service Paula has rendered our community.
Perhaps others might try to duplicate Paula's accomplishments, and then, your comments will be a little more valid.
Bobbie-baby, tell us what you really think, why hold back?
Well maybe if some of the council had voted differently we would not have this budget mess.
Paula Abbott in my opinion is perhaps the most or one of the most ethical people who has served on the council
Is she perfect? No DoI always agree with her? No
But I see her consistently looking out for the people of Oro Valley.
I feel that we are very lucky to have her on the council
And don't feel bad it is my opinion and I am sticking with it.
Who is Don Cox?
I don't always agree with Abbott, but she earned my respect by taking a step back and wanting to find other options to laying people off and, subsequently, devastating families.
Abbott votes against spending cuts, against raising revenue, and then gives everyone a lecture about how we can't use the reserve funds because we might have an earthquake.
It's easy to live in a fantasy world where you can always vote no on everything. It's harder to come up with an actual plan for balancing the budget, because that would involve answering your phone and your e-mail and talking to constituents.
And you, boobie-babie are the person I am going to have to face on judgment day? I'd rather go to straight to hell!
Continued:
Whereas Mr. Cox's commentary on Ms. Abbott seemingly was initiated by a comment of her's, taken way out of context and without consideration for the 'concept' within which her statement was made, and, in my opinion did not deserve the embellishments that Mr. Cox added, Ms. boobie-baby went way over-the-top in a nasty and vulgar tirade as if she were the be-all and end-all of worldly expertise. Though I have, myself, had issues with some of Ms. Abbott's demeanor and/or conclusions, as I have with most, if not all, of the other Council members, I am repulsed by the vomit that b-b spews out as she prances around within her own delusion of self importance; perhaps it is a reflection of her seemingly sociopathic narcissism -
it was humanely disgusting!
Boobie-baby, you need to take lessons from Oro Valley Mom - she has a point, she makes it, and because of her 'passive' reasoning, her postings are of worthwhile consideration; your's, because of your poison, are not!
Suija,
Don Cox is a former member of the Planning & Zoning Commission. He also ran for the Town Council on 2 separate occasions (lost both times) and is perhaps contemplating a third run.
He has had numerous letters published in the Explorer over the years. He is very well known in town by anyone who has been paying attention to local politics for the past decade.
Perhaps you are relatively new in town which would account for your unfamiliarity with him, but if you've lived here for some time, then I guess you just haven't been paying attention.
He's very conservative and usually sides with developers. He is also a regular contributor to this site although has been absent as of late, which may be another indicator that he is planning to run for office.
He is very knowledgeable regarding the zoning code and development issues but he's been known to have a nasty disposition (evident in some of his posts on this site and also in some of his letters to the Explorer).
He's extremely pro-business and was a big advocate of Oro Valley Marketplace. If placing a run-of-the-mill mall on a scenic corridor is your cup of tea, then he's your man.
Whats that song about a nasty disposition?
THE DON COX BULES;
Oh baby..
I got a nasty disposition...
developers got no funding..
First Magnus in the court room..
Wolfswinkel is not in jail..
Don Cox isa coming..
and I aint got no bail..
We hate all developers except the one which built our house.
VC,
Um, that was sarcasm?
You would think that after two unsuccessful runs, he would realize the voters don't want him on the council.
OK, since I don't want to meet up with Zev on Judgment Day (or even on Columbus Day!), I'll moderate my previous statements and maybe spare myself from an afterlife in purgatory.
However, I challenge anyone reading this blog to DISPROVE anything that Mr. Cox had to say about Council member Abbott.
It's hard to believe that Oro Valley would want to be represented by someone who misses so many meetings, wastes the Council's time trying to correct the minutes of previous meetings to reflect what she thinks she meant to say, has a voice-mail in box that is consistently full, virtually never picks up her mail at her Town Hall office, and takes stands on the losing end of 6-1 votes despite the fact that her proposals would be unlawful if approved.
Running for public office takes a considerable amount of drive, ego, organization and energy. However, governing requires a different set of tools, the most important one being "building consensus." She has never once demonstrated that ability and would rather curse the darkness than light the light of team-building.
To some of the bloggers here, that makes her a hero, her so-called willingness to "stand up" to big developers. To others, it's just posturing that doesn't do anyone any good. That makes her ineffective and not the kind of Council member that this community needs.
Is Mr. Cox the answer? Apparently not, since he has been unable to win elections in the past. But I do not believe that Ms. Abbott has added anything positive and lasting to the Town during her two terms.
boobie-baby ,
I would say for what is worth that some may not agree with Paula's Mo but the outcome is more important at least to me.
I think she tries to be very fair and look at all sides and more importantly to me is that she votes the way I would vote.
Not saying 100% of the time but I usually agree with her votes.
I don't consider her anti-social.
Could she use some improvement in how she handles her contacts, meaning emails, etc, Yes.
But if I have to pick between somebody who votes the way I see things or somebody who votes the other way.
Paula will get my vote and my support!!!!
Suija,
Where in the sentence, "Who is Don Cox?" was the sarcasm supposed to be evident?
You know what I think? I think, once you learned that Mr. Cox is well-known in town, you were embarrassed to admit that you didn't know who he was, so now you claim that your question was actually sarcasm.
This site has been around for over a year but you only just showed up a week ago. That either means that you are new in town (and are therefore excused from not knowing everything that's been going on) or you've been here for years but haven't been paying attention until recently.
Nombe,
I don't hate all developers, just the ones who take the cheap way out and rape the land and who have no consideration for the citizens who already live in the area.
I do like the developer who built my house because he only cleared enough land to build the house and he left the surrounding vegetation untouched. I despise developers who purchase 80 acres of pristine desert and the first thing they do is completely blade and grade it. Not one tree left standing. They turn it into a dirt parking lot. THAT'S unconscionable!
Boobie-baby,
I'd rather have Paula Abbott NOT return my calls or e-mails and then vote the way I would vote than to have a councilperson who DOES return my calls and then votes in favor of the developers.
Once again, boobie-baby proves why anonymity is a blessing!
Can you imagine this person on the council? That might even be worse than OV Objective Thinker --- aka Cox.
You may need purgatory, b-b.
Or, perhaps, VC, I read this "blog" regularly to amuse myself. At YOUR expense.
Suija,
Your comment, "You would think that after two unsuccessful runs, he would realize the voters don't want him on the council" made me think of this:
You would think that after all these years of the OVPD having a serious PR problem with the citizens of Oro Valley, that they would do something to change their image/perception.
And if you read this blog regularly, why did you only show up recently? Let me guess...when we were all discussing issues that didn't affect you "personally" you couldn't be bothered to join in the discussion. It wasn't until it became personal (hint: OVPD) that you suddenly had an opinion.
I'm not stupid. I've noticed that a bunch of new people suddenly began blogging on this site at the exact same time that the utility tax/OVPD issue was brought up. These same people continue to post on every topic connected to the OVPD.
One doesn't need to be in law enforcement to connect those dots.
And look at how the whole bunch of you speak to the rest of us...accusations, calling us liars, questioning our sanity, ridiculing our opinions, etc. Your self-importance and superiority don't exactly foster goodwill between the OVPD and the citizens.
Terry,
Hope you're still reading this. I read the story about your father and it gave me an idea.
Since he was a "nice" cop and well-liked, perhaps he could teach seminars to the current OVPD so they, too, could learn how to be nice!
This would be a win-win situation for everyone. The citizens would have more respect for the police if they were nicer, the PR problem would go away, and since being nice actually saved your father's life one time, well, it could also save the life of an Oro Valley cop one day.
Whaddaya think?
"Your self-importance and superiority don't exactly foster goodwill between the OVPD and the citizens."
Now THAT is hysterically funny! YOU of all people, claiming someone ELSE is acting self-important and superior.
I am not a cop, I am not OVPD. I DO, however, have a voice and will express my opinions any way I choose.
I haven't called you a liar. Yet.
Suija,
If you are not a cop and you are also not related to a cop by blood or by marriage and you are sincerely trying to stand up for the OVPD and sway the rest of us to change our minds about them, do you really think you are going to accomplish this with your abrasive and childish comments?
If you really want to help them to be seen in a better light, you're going to need a vastly different approach.
I'm sorry you equate intellect and an ability to reason and debate with self-importance and superiority. You remind me of the children in the schoolyard. Someone picks on the fat kid, so then the fat kid ridicules the short kid to make himself feel better, so then the short kid ridicules the redheaded kid to make himself feel better, and then the redheaded kid ridicules the kid with crooked teeth to make himself feel better, etc.
You ridicule intellect in order to make yourself feel better.
Naw, I ridicule stupidity and people who spend their entire lives looking for someone else to complain about for their own feelings of worthlessness. You are projecting your own personality with the claim that I am the bully around here.
The comments I read on this blog were rude and abrasive long before I decided to post. I've never seen such hatred for law enforcement. I have yet - or many of the other posters - make any sort of supportive comment for LE. Again, all I see is a whole lot of negativity packaged up as "LOVE".
To have a debate, there has to be an AMICABLE discussion of an issue between two opposing views. Not one, TWO. Or more. I've seen no indication of objectivity. I've only seen "DOWN WITH THE GOVERNMENT! DOWN WITH THE OVPD!" and "I'M RIGHT AND YOU'RE WRONG BECAUSE I SAY SO AND IF YOU DISAGREE YOU ARE_________ (fill in the blank).
I am perfectly willing to "debate" - amicably, even - if there is a true debate. I merely followed the tone I saw from you and others.
Correction:
I have yet to see you - or many of the other posters - make any sort of supportive comment for LE.
Suija,
One has to wonder, just what's in it for you to defend the OVPD to the extent that you have.
You said you're not a member of the force. Perhaps you are related to a law enforcement official by blood or by marriage?
If not, then really, what's in it for you?
Hi Everyone!!!!
In some macabre sort of way, it actually sounds like you missed me!!!
I was out of town for a week visiting family, but my absence from the blog has been mainly a result of the fact that that there hasn't been anything posted that interests me. I did comment on some of the fire district postings.
I did make a couple of postings while the blog 'masta' was on vacation.
I have read the postings regarding my recent description of Ms. Abbott and would only add that you will notice that I did not in any way state whether I agreed or disagreed with her voting record. My one and only point was that she cannot claim to be the "voice of the people" when she refuses to communicate with the people. And I don't consider that to fall into the category of "lashes out".
I would like to congratulate Art on his admission that there is someone, "That might even be worse than OV Objective Thinker --- aka Cox." That took a lot for Art to admit that. There may be hope.
As for my political future, I am confident you will find out my decision very shortly after that decision is reached.
Lastly, I want to address a comment made by my good friend Victorian Cowgirl. I think the term "nasty disposition" is far more fitting the current senior (age) member of the Town Council than I. As I read the first two definitions in my Webster for "nasty" (1. Filthy 2. Morally offensive) while I may disagree with some of your positions and so state with candor, I don't think you can call my response to any comment on this blog to be filthy or morally offensive. On the other hand the senior member of the Town Council has embarassed this Town with his vulgar, crude comments from the dais and his personal and public conduct is morally disgusting.
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