We focus on the Mayoral Debate that was held at the El Conquistador on May 14th in this "Election Eve" Edition of "Love is On The Air". Though there are no clear winners in a debate of this sort, there are some very striking differences that can be seen between Mayoral Candidates Mike Zinkin and Satish Hiremath. In this edition, you will see and hear the candidates state their positions, side by side. You can hear there responses in their own words in three key areas:
-Is Oro Valley spending "cut to the bone?"
-What can Oro Valley do to stimulate more business?
-Does Oro Valley need a property tax?
Listen closely to the answers and you will see two distinctly different candidates: Mike clearly presents fact-based conclusions with no "sugar coating". Satish speaks in platitudes.
Satish provides very little in terms of solutions. When Satish does provide solutions, they are not realistic. Satish states, for example, that the reason we don't have more business in Oro Valley is because it's hard to do business in Oro Valley. He doesn't tell us specifically what makes it hard. His solution is for "us" to all get together and talk about it. This, I call the "can't we all get along" Rodney King approach. Satish, this will get us nowhere.
To solve a problem, Satish, you have to know the specific cause. Generalities won't do!
Mike knows that the cause of the problem is that the country is mired in a persistent recession and that banks are not lending money to businesses. In his response, Mike names specific banks. He names specific business that want to come to Oro Valley but can't because of the lending situation.
In other words, Mike has done his homework. He's ready to roll. Satish is not.
Finally, in the Library debate, Satish said he hated to go to Council Meetings because they were boring. We've had Bloggers report that Satish has fallen asleep at meeting. We saw this sleepiness while he was on the podium. Watch the video. You will too. Satish is already too tired to serve as Mayor. See for yourself.
In the posting following this, we have transcribed the candidate remarks you will hear on the video for your convenience.
We hope that when you are done viewing this edition of "Love Is On The Air" and reading all our posts and blogger comments, that you will do what's right for Oro Valley on Tuesday.
Vote for Mike Zinkin for Mayor and only for Matthew Rabb for Council.
Your vote really will count.
Thanks...
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Love Is On The Air: Election Eve Edition "The Debate": Transcribed Remarks
The following is a transcription of the candidate remarks you will hear in the "Love Is On The Air- Election Eve" posting:
Satish Hiremath: Oro Valley's 2011 Budget
“Town Manager…the very specific question I asked her… Am I correct in assuming that his balance is completely balanced solely by just cutting expenditures. And her reply to me was ‘Yes’.”
“We can’t cut it anymore.”
Mike Zinkin: Oro Valley's 2011 Budget
“I don’t believe that we’ve cut Government as much as we can cut Government [spending]. We’ll see what next year does. Everything is cool for another year. We’ll see what next year does. We might have to make more cuts. It depends on what the income is.”
“Ten years ago we had 29,000 people, or something like that, and it was [we spent] $1,700 per person on government. It’s now $4,600 per person with 45,000 people. [Oro Valley] government has gotten too big. We need to cut back on government.”
Satish Hiremath: Getting More Business To Oro Valley
“The bottom line is: We make it very difficult for businesses to succeed in Oro Valley.”
“All we need to do is create a two way communication. We have to have respect for what the business sector can do and we also have to have Citizen’s respect for what the business sector can do.”
Mike Zinkin: Getting More Business To Oro Valley
“[We have] empty storefronts. It’s not that the Town of Oro Valley is keeping those storefronts from getting filled up. They’re built. The architecture is in. They’re painted. Their signs have been approved. The landscaping is in. The parking lots are in. What’s keeping those businesses from coming to Oro Valley is Bank of America, City Bank, Wells Fargo. There’s no credit out there.”
Satish Hiremath: An Oro Valley Property Tax
“Plan A, in my opinion, is to stimulate business development so that we don’t even have to consider a property tax.”
Mike Zinkin: An Oro Valley Property Tax
“You can’t stand up here and be an honest politician and say never; because it’s going to come back and bite you.”
“You on your fixed incomes; me on my fixed income. I didn’t get a COLA [cost of living adjustment] in my social security. We’ve all taken hits in our IRA’s."
It would just be insane to go other there and ask for additional tax money in the form of a property tax. There’s too much we can do in government, to cut down the size of government before we ever, ever have to consider a secondary property tax. And that [spending cuts] is not [at the expense of] public safety. I promise you that.”
Satish Hiremath: Oro Valley's 2011 Budget
“Town Manager…the very specific question I asked her… Am I correct in assuming that his balance is completely balanced solely by just cutting expenditures. And her reply to me was ‘Yes’.”
“We can’t cut it anymore.”
Mike Zinkin: Oro Valley's 2011 Budget
“I don’t believe that we’ve cut Government as much as we can cut Government [spending]. We’ll see what next year does. Everything is cool for another year. We’ll see what next year does. We might have to make more cuts. It depends on what the income is.”
“Ten years ago we had 29,000 people, or something like that, and it was [we spent] $1,700 per person on government. It’s now $4,600 per person with 45,000 people. [Oro Valley] government has gotten too big. We need to cut back on government.”
Satish Hiremath: Getting More Business To Oro Valley
“The bottom line is: We make it very difficult for businesses to succeed in Oro Valley.”
“All we need to do is create a two way communication. We have to have respect for what the business sector can do and we also have to have Citizen’s respect for what the business sector can do.”
Mike Zinkin: Getting More Business To Oro Valley
“[We have] empty storefronts. It’s not that the Town of Oro Valley is keeping those storefronts from getting filled up. They’re built. The architecture is in. They’re painted. Their signs have been approved. The landscaping is in. The parking lots are in. What’s keeping those businesses from coming to Oro Valley is Bank of America, City Bank, Wells Fargo. There’s no credit out there.”
Satish Hiremath: An Oro Valley Property Tax
“Plan A, in my opinion, is to stimulate business development so that we don’t even have to consider a property tax.”
Mike Zinkin: An Oro Valley Property Tax
“You can’t stand up here and be an honest politician and say never; because it’s going to come back and bite you.”
“You on your fixed incomes; me on my fixed income. I didn’t get a COLA [cost of living adjustment] in my social security. We’ve all taken hits in our IRA’s."
It would just be insane to go other there and ask for additional tax money in the form of a property tax. There’s too much we can do in government, to cut down the size of government before we ever, ever have to consider a secondary property tax. And that [spending cuts] is not [at the expense of] public safety. I promise you that.”
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