In her letter to The Explorer, Geri Ottoboni questions Loomis and his experience. As Geri states: "This kind of "experience" we don't need."
THE LETTER----
OV mayor's 'experience' not needed.
In last week's Explorer, Mayor Loomis stated that, "My experience is definitely an advantage to the town." I am shocked, considering the fact Mr. Loomis's ego actually thinks that he deserves another term as mayor.
Here is an example of the "facts": The Explorer stated that the town government spends approximately $4,600 per resident. This is almost three times more than what was spent per resident in 1998. This does not include fire services, which we pay in our tax bill.
It appears that Mayor Loomis looks upon Oro Valley as the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.
The Mayor spent $11,000 of unbudgeted town funds to take a trip to Europe for a three-minute speech.
He voted against suspending sales tax subsidies to developers, which the Goldwater Institute stated was against Arizona statue.
The Mayor voted against creating a volunteer sustainability commission, after stating the need for one at last year's State of the Town Address. He also voted to raid the town's contingency fund, which was for an emergency, to balance the town's budget. He voted against the creation of a volunteer economic development commission.
The Mayor, as per The Explorer, was instrumental in removing, one of the best, and fiscally responsible city managers in the State of Arizona, costing taxpayer hundreds of thousand of dollars in severance and replacement costs.
Mayor Loomis is now voicing support for double the utility tax and create a primary property tax.
This kind of "experience" we don't need.
Geri Ottoboni, Oro Valley
18 comments:
LACK should resign today. The remaining members should reappoint our true city manager and the election should be held on schedule for ALL vacant positions.
I wish we could have a no confidence vote today which would force the above events.
I will have to agree with Nombe Watanabe.
That would be a positive for the Town of OV. We certainly don't need a Town Council member who yells at a Staff member,at a Town Council meeting, who is doing her job.
David Andrews should have never been forced to resign. It just opened a can of worms that will come back to haunt us.
"Ten Years Too Many"
Hizzoner the Mayah For Life Paul "Looney Tunes" Loomis must go.
Is it just me, or does the Mayor bear a striking resemblance to Yosemite Sam?
What we need in Oro Valley is more opinions from a person who felt a need to try and disguise herself when protesting against the Mayor on El Conquistador Way.
That says something about her character and whether she is speaking for herself or is simply a mouthpiece for for the blob master or some other village idiot.
This is also the woman who thinks we should elect the Chief of Police. The only qualification necessary is you have to be able to gather 300 signatures and fill out some paperwork.
She must have worked for ACORN somewhere in her past.:-)
Cox knows from whence he speaks. He collected signatures to run for council on a few occasions.
Collecting signatures is one thing. Getting it done is something else.
Cox---A Proverbial Loser!
Thinker,
Geri, Michelle and Kathy did not try to disguise themselves on the day they protested. They already explained why they were dressed as they were that day. They have already identified themselves. All three women are very vocal in town politics. They have spoken at council meetings where they have stood up to the police and to various council members over the years. There is no disguise.
Also, Art beat me to it, but I was going to say that your comment about electing the chief of police..."The only qualification necessary is you have to be able to gather 300 signatures and fill out some paperwork"...is an odd statement coming from someone who has gathered 300 signatures and completed the paperwork to run for an elected office.
I'm not clear on why Sharp hasn't been fired, since apparently it's EASY to fire someone who was hired (versus someone who was elected) and there have been numerous "issues" and "things" concerning his HIS job performance,
I guess the position of Sheriff is just something of a county flunky....
Well apparently OV Thinker doesn't read any articles in the Northwest Section of The Star by Lourdes Medrano. These three ladies were quoted with their names, so if they were trying to disguise their identity, then they would not have let her interview them. Also, the Sheriff of Pinal County not only had to collect 300 signtures, contrary to what OV Thinker stated) he also had to WIN the election, which apparently OV Thinker did not do. Sheriff Babau, as I understand it, is the first Republican in long time to win that position. He has taken that County and shaped it up. He is also a wonderful speaker. Perhaps OV Thinker should go up to the Saddlebrook Rep. Club ,of approximately 600 members, and listen to him speak, the next time he is scheduled on the Program. He might learn something. Yet, from what I have been told Chief Sharp was asked to leave Tucson Police Department. I think I heard the reason, but I will check further.
Shame on Ov Thinker.
This blog is supposed to be non-partisan, but OV Thinker always brings partisan politics into it, so here goes.
This woman, Geri, that OV Thinker, refers to, from what I have been told, after checking around, is a Conservative Republican and is very active and works on various campaigns, walking, calling, etc. So ACORN is not her bag, she probably thinks the Mayor is, pardon the expression, a R H I N O (an expression which has been used on talk radio quite a bit lately), since he certainly is not FISCALLY RESPONSIBLE. Check his record and read the Explorer Newspaper. There have been many articles written about him, not only from the Democrats as well as Republicans. So sounds like OV Thinker is probably a Libertarian.
Shame on him for spreading false information. Case in point.
TD...et al... Geri Ottobani was in disguise on the day in question. Several people including myself saw her and recognized her under the wig etc. I did not read any publication stating why she was dressed the way she did. Maybe it was a haloween tryout for something. She was obviously making an attempt to not be recognized. If you have a better explanation for her dress then offer it. Why doesn't she offer an explanation?
And TD...I did not make any partisan remarks unless you consider ACORN a partisan organization. And if you do then you should be demanding that they receive no more of our tax dollars.
As for my election versus the election of a police chief. Many of your comments are a mirror image of what I find objectionable about most of your dialog. You are more interested in attacking the messanger than you are listening to the message.
A police chief should, in my opinion, have some police background. He/she should be well versed in criminal justice, business administration, personnel administration, some financial management background etc. To open that position up to the general public eliminates all of those qualifications. The Wal Mart greeter could qualify and win....as long as they could get 300 signatures.
A person running for Town Council should have, again in my opinion, some qualifications that allow folks to make a determination as to whether they can succesfully do the job. Since the job isn't as technical or pinpoint focused as a Chief of Police the requirements are completely different. Therefore your comparison is, as usual, without foundation.
I know (and have known for several years) Ottobani is a registered Republican but she is a disgrace to the party...in my opinion. She is the personification of a RINO.
Fox...The position isn't (a county flunky) but Dupnik is. Google Arpio to learn what a sheriff is all about.
Finally, I am going to make this statement once and only once. Art, VC, TD and the rest of you that wish to make snide, ignorant, and frankly stupid comments about my election bid are simply showing a total lack of class except for Art doing yourself a total disservice.
The only class Art Segal has is lower, so I expect that kind of commentary from him.
I served on the Oro Valley Planning and Zoning Commission (20+ hours a week) for over five years. You have not. I made the committment and effort, in both time and dollars, to run for office. You have not. While I did not win I came within four votes of unseating your sweetheart, Paula Abbott. I am proud of my accomplishments and efforts to better this community which go far beyond my political activities and service on the P&Z. All you (pl) do (as far as I know) is sit on your collective buttocks and gripe and throw out insults.
Might I be so bold as to suggest that you DO SOMETHING before you criticize others for their efforts. Disagree with my positions but please don't attack my committment to Oro Valley. You will lose every time.
LOVE!!!
Who pulled OVOT's chain?
If he would get off the costume issue, which was asked and answered weeks ago, his message, offensive as it is to some, would have been much more effective.
Not to bring up national politics, but the worst president in the entire history of the United States of America, Geo. Bush sure spent a lot of money for no apparent reason (IRAQ) so he must be a RINO too.
Hey Nombe--- Don't blame Cox. He has been suffering from the same malady for years now. There seems to be no cure for diarrhea of the mouth and constipation of the brain.
Thinker,
You are correct that a police chief should have..."some police background...be well versed in criminal justice, business administration, personnel administration...and have some financial management background etc."
You are incorrect, however, to think that a Wal-Mart greeter could "qualify" for the position as long as he/she can get 300 signatures. This was your argument for why the Police Chief position should not be an elected position.
To take that a step further...this would mean that ALL elected positions could be filled by a Wal-Mart greeter since all they need to do to qualify and win is to collect 300 signatures. So a Wal-Mart greeter could "qualify" for a position on the Town council, for example.
Obviously, there is more to qualifying and winning an elected position than collecting 300 signatures. Look at the cast of characters who ran for the Governor's office in California a few years ago (or was it Mayor, I can't remember). One was a porn star for crying out loud!
Collecting signatures is just one step in the process. After that, "process" of elimination will take over. OV voters would not be stupid enough to elect a Wal-Mart greeter or a porn star to the position of Chief of Police.
I think your argument on this issue is weak.
You said that I and some of the others made "snide, ignorant, and frankly stupid comments" about your election bid. All I did was point out that you ridiculed the process for getting on the ballot...a process that you yourself have accepted.
VC...I was not ridiculing the process. I respect the process...it is obvious the rest of you don't. I was ridiculing the thought of electing a police chief. In my opinion it is a stupid idea.
Art...your ignorance continues to show by your comments. You made another of your interesting posts that contributed to the topic.
Sorry, Thinker, but YOU are the one who said:
"This is also the woman who thinks we should elect the Chief of Police. THE ONLY QUALIFICATION NECESSARY is you have to be able to gather 300 signatures and fill out some paperwork."
How does that translate into..."I respect the process?"
And what did the rest of us say that translates into..."it is OBVIOUS the rest of you don't" respect the process?
Apparently OV Thinker has a memory problem. Perhaps Art can jiggle his memory and tell him where on the blog the "ladies" explained why there were dressed in mourning and trying to display the "message" about the "railroading" of David Andrews. I am beginning to believe that OV Thinker agreed with the Mayor in regards to David Andrews, That alone would give us an insight into OV Thinker's character.
It is true that the Chief of Police needs to have a stellar background. Sheriff Babeu, whom was ELECTED, has a wonderful education. First in his class at the Academy, Associate in Law Inforcement, BA in History and Political Science and a Masters in Public Admistration. Graduated Summa cum Laude. So I would imagine Sheriff Paul would be insulted by OV Thinker and Foxes' comments about him. Just go to his website www.sheriffpaul.com. There you will see many awards, lowering his budget by 10% and making it more efficient. He has acquired many Grants over one Million dollars for equipment etc. Not 6 "roman baths" for a small office in a shopping mall.
I have watched Chief Sharp at the Town Council meeting on video and have seen him unable to answer questions.
I do commend you for your volunteer status to the town. So why wuld you make fun of another individual like Mike Zinkin's volunteer endeavours. That shows poor character.
In this last posting you did not make political comments, but on many of your other posting, you have. Perhaps Art can refresh your memory again.
Did you volunteer to help with the elections of Republicans on The Tucson City Council? Did you volunteer at the Sun City office during the last election for the Conservative Republican candidates running for Arizona State offices?. Did you walk door to door for Republican candidates during the last two elections?
Do you think that Republican candidates should be Fiscally responsible? Well, on our Town Council, which is non-partisan, many of the Republicans, including the Mayor, were not Fiscally Responsible. So, I am presuming that you consider the Mayor a RINO. With his record, he should have a"D" after his name (based on what some people think that Democrats do). Tax and spend, but what we have had in this new Council have been some people with "D" and an after their name that have been the Fiscally responsible ones.
Travelling Dancer,
Yes, I have noticed the same "phenomenon" both on the local and national level. The R's label the D's as the "tax and spend" types, meanwhile it's the R's who are doing all the taxing and spending.
I think the difference is this:
The R's believe it's actually OK to tax and spend as long as you don't tax the wealthy and you don't tax the corporations and you make up for that loss of taxes by increasing taxes on the middle class instead. And it's OK to spend as long as you're spending tax dollars on wars and faith-based organizations and trips and pay-offs to fat-cat developers, but it's wrong to spend tax dollars on social programs and education and environmental problems and infrastructure.
What was that sound?
Oh, it was either a bridge collapsing somewhere or it was Thinker's head exploding from reading my comments!
VC...Hopefully you will get it this time.
The only qualification to run for any office in Oro Valley is that you are at least 18,a resident of Oro Valley for one year and can gather the required number of citizen signatures.
If those are the only qualifications you want for a Chief of Police then so be it. I think it is a stupid idea. A person with absolutely no experience could be elected as our police chief.
Would it happen? I hope not. But we have seen people with absolutely no experience win council seats. So I must assume the same could happen with the police chief. It is simply a dumb idea.
I respect the process because I would not run without proper qualifications nor do I support folks who I believe have no business running. I respect the process because I believe I prepared myself for the position for which I ran.
You (pl) on the other hand evidently don't respect the process because you make benign attempts to belittle those who have prepared themselves and subjected themselves to the process. That shows a lack of respect.
TD....Allow me to jiggle your memory. I have posted my opposition to the Andrews dismissal. Maybe Art can point that out to you. And as far as I know there are only two Republicans on the council. Maybe Art can refresh your memory on that one too. Two people can hardly he held responsible for the 'fiscal errors'you allude to.
And no I didn't volunteer to do those things you mentioned. I do work and and my volunteer time is strictly directed to the betterment of this community.
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