Ex Council Members Seem To Know What's Best For Oro Valley

Has anyone other than I noticed a trend with ex council members. Not all, just some.

Dick Johnson sought reelection in 2004 was soundly defeated. Unfortunately, it was a little too late in that within two months of the election, Johnson lead the charge and voted to approve three EDA's. The most egregious was the $23.2 million to Vestar.

But Johnson, as a citizen still thought he knew what was best for Oro Valley, and on a number of occasions, returned to "lecture" the council on what he perceived to be good ideas. Among them, was his "latte" speeches. That's where he insisted we should approve the bond issue for Naranja Park, for the price of a latte. Obviously, 58% of the voters said "no" to Johnson, his latte proposal and the bond.

More recently, Conny Culver who finished dead last in her reelection bid in 2006 saw fit to rip Paula Abbott who was reelected in the same election.

And now, we have Terry Parish. It's kind of ironic that Terry's old seat on the council is figuratively and literally occupied by Bill Garner. Parish couldn't get reelected in his bid in 2008. Bill, along with Salette Latas were elected in the March '08 primary---the first time anyone was elected in the primary.

Who does Parish find fault with? None other than Bill Garner, who many consider "a breath of fresh air." To say Parish is hypercritical would be an understatement. The electorate is smarter than Parish. They don't buy what he is trying to sell.

We see a common thread with with these three individuals. Does anyone else?

Az Star Headline: Drug Violence Spillover More Hype Than Reality

The headline in the Sunday edition of the Az Daily Star says it all. The basis of their statement?

That's the unanimous opinion of 10 Southern Arizona law-enforcement officials interviewed by the Arizona Daily Star in the last two weeks.

Among the law enforcement officials interviewed was Pima County Sheriff, Clarence Dupnik. Our sheriff is quoted as saying: "Generally speaking, it's criminals killing criminals."

Our own ex council member, Terry Parish, who works for Sheriff Dupnik seems to disagree with his boss. A prolific blogger very recently, Parish is on record as telling us (and the OV council members) that we will suffer greatly as the Mexican drug cartel is all around us. (I'm paraphrasing)

If there are any of readers who are drug smugglers, which is very doubtful, they are the ones to worry. As the article points out, in Pima County, home invasions have increased. However, the robberies and home invasions share two characteristics. One, direct links to the drug cartels are tenuous; and two, nearly all of the victims are either criminals or people being smuggled.

Read the entire article here.
http://www.azstarnet.com/metro/290317