Shake Up the Council: Massive Undervoting Signaled Strong Support for Newcomers

Most voters cast only two, and not three votes
In the 2024 Oro Valley Council election, the vast majority of voters made a deliberate choice: Instead of voting for the allowed three candidates, 70% chose to vote for only two. The two candidates they overwhelmingly supported were Mary Murphy and Elizabeth Robb, who together received 4,800 more votes than incumbents Tim Bohen and Mo Greene. This gave them a significant 30% voting advantage in a four-person race. It’s likely that some voters paired Greene with Murphy or Bohen with Robb in their selections, but most decided not to cast their third vote.

Demonstrating a desire for new leadership
The clear message from voters in 2024 was: "We want fresh thinking on the council." Although incumbent Mo Greene was re-elected, it seems to be more due to the availability of an additional seat and a lack of a strong newcomer opponent rather than strong voter support. Greene received nearly 2,000 fewer votes than either of the two newcomers, suggesting that his presence on the council is more a result of circumstance than a strong voter mandate.

Golf Course stance cost Bohen the election
Greene narrowly defeated Bohen by 556 votes, with 542 of those votes coming from the three precincts around the town’s municipal golf courses. Bohen, known for his critical stance on the financial transparency of the town's golf operations, evidently lost support in these areas. However, his position didn’t gain him additional votes elsewhere in the community, indicating that most voters are indifferent to the golf course issue. This outcome highlights a key lesson from this election.

A shift in voter sentiment from the 2022 Election
The 2024 Council election results are a stark contrast to those of 2022, when voters clearly supported the continuation of the current council's direction by re-electing the three incumbents—Barrett, Nicolson, and Jones Ivey—with a 4,700-vote plurality, an 18% advantage in a six-person race. The number of ballots with less than three council votes in the 2024 election was notably higher, with 70% of voters opting not to use their third vote, compared to just 15% under-voting in 2022.

The new members will be seated on council in early November.

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Editor Note: An “undervote” occurs in an election when a voter selects fewer candidates than the number allowed for a particular race. For example, if voters are permitted to choose up to three candidates but only select one or two, those unselected slots are considered undervotes. The undervote is calculated by subtracting the total number of votes cast for all open positions from the total number of votes that could have been submitted. In our analysis, we divided that number by the number of ballots cast to determine the percent of ballots that contained less than three votes.  

Vistoso Trails Apartments To Proceed Despite Residents' Opposition

Fate Sealed Long Ago

In 2022, the town negotiated a deal to transform the former Vistoso Golf course into open space. In the process, then-town manager Mary Jacobs and Town Council Attorney Jonathan Rothschild negotiated a “settlement agreement” that would result in apartments being built on a small portion of that land. They argued that such an agreement was necessary for the 202 acres of open space to become a reality.

Resident opposition fails

The council approved the settlement agreement in a 2021 Executive Session. Residents were never informed of the deal. Two years later, just last week, many residents attended a public hearing. They voiced unanimous opposition to the apartments. With one council member's exception, their pleas were ignored. Apartments will be built.

Residents who live near the Vistoso Trails Reserve are "Collateral Damage"

As Oro Valley resident Chuck Davis noted at the meeting: "Almost everybody won… everybody except for the three or four hundred residents within about 500 feet of this property. We are the collateral damage.”  Indeed, Davis is right.  Former town manager Mary Jacobs and Town Council Attorney Jonathan Rothschild negotiated the deal on the Preserve. Their interests were not represented. 

The problem was that the deal to create the Reserve was complicated

There was urgency to get it done because there were lots of moving parts: Preserve Vistoso fundraising for the purchase, a town financial contribution for the purchase, the involvement of developer to assume ownership of the six acres under discussion, and the need to retain the interest and commitment of The Conservation Fund. 

and needed be be acted upon quickly

There was also urgency spurned on by the continuing possibility of large scale development of the entire former golf course. According to resident Rosa Daley, writing in LOVE: “When the over 200 acres of the closed Vistoso golf course drew developers like flies, the Winfield administration was able to swat them away and serve the residents who deserved to have the land remain recreational.” 

And that resident dissatisfaction was inevitable

The Council saw the agreement in a December 2021 Executive Session. They were given little time to assess it. Speaking to the residents at last week's meeting, Council Member Tim Bohen said that resident disapproval of the apartments was an inevitable consequence of the agreement. Regarding the negotiations:  Council members "...were never in the room. We were brought proposals and asked to vote in a majority for it." Our guess is that the council was told that this was the best deal for all.  And they bit.

Regarding the apartments, town staff interpretations rule

Bohen shares resident frustration that their pleas would go unheeded. "We represent you," he noted "but so much of what impacts you is decided by town administrator rulings that we have no control over. This might be a bitter experience, but hopefully, you'll gain a better understanding of how your town government truly operates. The town’s administrators wield a significant amount of authority, and it's not unwarranted for you to question how they employ it.”

In the End… Zoning rights trump the General Plan

There will be 132 apartments built on 8.7 acres,  The approval for these was a complicated deal last week, requiring four motions. Only Councilmember Tim Bohen voted against it. Council approval was inevitable.  The landowner is entitled to build apartments on over six acres due to the property's zoning as high density residential. According to town staff, no other document, not even the 2016 general plan's land designation of the property as medium-density residential, holds precedence. As town Planning Director and Town Engineer Bayer Vella noted in the meeting: The General Plan “…cannot and does not override a zoning right. The zoning right is high density. That can't be swept aside.”

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Election Day 2022

 

Oro Valley Council Election: Voters Rejected “Big Money Politics”

David clobbered Goliath
Oro Valley voters rejected the politics of “big money from special interests” in the 2022 council election. Just like they did in 2018. Incumbent Barrett, Jones-Ivey, and Nicolson earned 56% of the 45,750 council candidate votes cast in this election. This is comparable to the 58% they earned in 2018. They earned a majority of the votes in nine of the eleven Oro Valley voting precincts [See panel below right]. They got two of every three votes from Rancho Vistoso residents. The only place they earned less than a majority were in the two precincts that comprise the 36-holes of municipal golf. Even there, they earned almost 48% of the vote. 

Challengers got the same vote count result in 2018 when residents voted out “Special Interests”
The campaigns of challengers Joe Erceg, Charlie Hurt and Bill Rodman were financed by developer and real estate special interests, most of whom do not live in Oro Valley. You can read more on their financing in our report of July 25. They earned the same voting results as Joe Hornat, Mary Snider and Lou Waters got in 2018. These three had their campaigns financed by the same sources.

Sharp had no “coattails”
Erceg, Hurt and Rodman were running as an informal slate with mayoral candidate Danny Sharp. Unlike Sharp, whose mayor race with Joe Winfield, was tight, their race for council wasn’t close.

Sharp did well at the polls because he is Danny Sharp: A former Chief of Police who earned the respect of the community after 20 years of building the State’s top police force. That’s a reason for people to vote for Danny. It is not a reason to vote for his running mates.

Coattails are created by what the lead candidate says. It is what Danny Sharp said that caused problems for his candidacy and for that of the three challenging council members.

Sharp advocated for a “Rooftops Strategy” that was rejected by the voters in 2018
Sharp doomed his candidacy when, at the Greater Oro Valley Chamber of Commerce Candidate Forum, he announced that he was for Hiremath’s “Rooftops Strategy.” This is a strategy to build business in the community by increasing housing substantially. Hiremath tried it for eight years. It did not bring business. It brought congestion and the need to substantially increase town services. Hiremath lost the 2018 election because of this.

Whether they subscribed to this strategy or not, the candidacies of Erceg and Hurt were damaged by it. They were painted as “rooftop guys”, willing to do anything to make home growth happen. Add to this the fact that they were running with Bill Rodman, a former council member during the Hiremath days. Rodman approved all but one of the many General Plan and zoning plan amendments that he saw. Voters know this. Rodman was never going to win. Erceg and Hurt had no way to separate from him or the rooftops strategy even if they wanted to do so.

Labeling the work of the town’s police chief as severely lacking was never going to be a winning strategy in this election

Sharp did not attack Chief Riley directly. Rather, he attacked what he perceived to be the result of her three years of effort. It cost him votes. It cost the council challengers votes. He said that the Oro Valley Police Department is no longer good enough: That Chief Riley and her team, people Sharp groomed to take over, have let the department fall apart. Sharp’s claim was not believable. He had no evidence to back it up. He only had his opinion based on his observations.

Erceg did not follow suit on this in any material way; but Hurt did. From Hurt’s website: “Oro Valley is presently 14 full-time officers below the level it should be in order to maintain and ensure it continues to be the safest place to live in Arizona.” Hurt provided no basis for this statement nor does he have the skill in the area of public safety regarding what should be the staffing level. Rodman also echoed the same thoughts in his first glossy postcard to the community.

They never proved that Oro Valley is in financial trouble
Sharp and the three challenging council candidates alleged that the town is in financial trouble because it has debt and an alleged deficit. You can say it. But you have to prove it. Proving it in this instance was going to be difficult because it’s the first time residents would’ve ever heard that the town is in financial trouble. One would think that the press would’ve covered this, including LOVE. We haven’t seen it. In fact, the town has been flush with cash from the federal government. It has been pressed to spend it all.

They alleged a lack if “transparency” but they couldn’t prove it
Transparency in government is far too vague an issue. Most people don’t even know what it means. Most people don’t know how to measure it. Sharp and the challengers tried to make their case that the Winfield Council has not been transparent. Yet, they couldn’t provide any data to demonstrate that’s the case. They had one case of an alleged open meeting law violation that wasn’t an open meeting law violation.

The fact that the town has had to conduct executive sessions over the years is merely because of the nature of what is being discussed in those sessions, not because anything is being hidden. Indeed, the biggest “hiding of all” was former Mayor Hiremath’s purchase of the El Conquistador courses and the clubhouse. Nothing that any councilmember has done since that date has ever been so duplicitous.

They gave no vision of a better future under their leadership

None of the candidates presented a clear concise vision of the future under their leadership. Rather, they chose to focus on the inadequacies of the current administration and how they would not do “those bad things.” That is not really a winning strategy. Danny Sharp, the three town council challengers, and the PAC created to support them proved that in this election.

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Winfield’s Narrow Win: “A Tale Of Two Deeds”

Winfield’s 2022 Narrow Mayoral Victory is a “tale of two deeds”

There were two major events that involved Oro Valley Mayor Joe Winfield. One was saving 45-holes of municipal golf. The other was creating a nature preserve from the former Vistoso Golf Course.  Last week, at the polls, Winfield was punished for one and rewarded for the other.

Punishment for making 45-holes of municipal golf financially viable

Joe Winfield inherited a big problem when he entered office in 2018. That problem was 45-holes of municipal golf that, under the leadership of the prior mayor, was a mult-million dollars, money sucking problem. Winfield received a large percentage of the votes in that election because voters thought he would fix the problem: Fix, as in, close one of the18 hole municipal golf courses; turn it into a linear park; and lease the 9-hole Pusch View Course to HSL Properties.

Winfield started in that direction. He was met with substantial golf community resistance. Several hundred members of that community attended multiple hearings on the matter, imploring the Mayor not to close anything. 

There was so much push back that Winfield changed direction. He set out on a course to find a way to make municipal golf financially sustainable with no more than a $750,000 annual town subsidy. According to the town and Winfield, he did just that.

One would think that the municipal golf community would reward Winfield for his success. Rather, they punished him at the polls last week. The two voting precincts that essentially comprise the municipal golf community (precincts 194 and 12) voted overwhelmingly for Danny Sharp last week, Sharp received 2,276 votes. Winfield received 1,650 votes. That’s a difference of 626 votes.  For all of his effort, Winfield got 42% of the vote. That’s quite a punishment for the person who saved Oro Valley Municipal Golf!

Reward for creating the Vistoso Trails Nature Preserve

So how did Winfield win? He received overwhelming support for his work in creating a nature preserve from the former Vistoso Golf Course. What he did was to step in to make the deal happen. Negotiations between the owner of the course, involved residents, and the Conservation Fund were “dead in the water.” Winfield and Vice Mayor Barrett, together with Town Council Attorney Rothschild got involved, putting the force of the town behind the resident effort to create the preserve. They were successful. It is a reality today.

Last week’s Rancho Vistoso resident vote was a reward for Winfield for his effort. He received 5,942 votes to Danny Sharp’s 4,691. That’s an 1,251 voted difference in favor of Winfield.  Winfield received 65% of the vote in the precinct most closely impacted by the Preserve.

Fortunately for Winfield, the vote count reward he received for doing the right thing to create the nature preserve exceeded the punishment he got for saving municipal golf.

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LOVE Calls It For Mayor Joe Winfield

Winfield pulls ahead by 252 votes

The Pima County Recorder counted even more mail in ballots yesterday. With the exception of provisional ballots, it looks like that’s it for the vote counting.  The county has issued a “precinct by precinct” vote count. This usually indicates that all but provisional votes have been counted.

Joe Winfield now leads challenger Danny Sharp by 252 votes. He has built his lead by gaining the advantage of mail-in votes. The number of votes cast in this election (15,864) are about the same those cast in the last mayoral election in 2018.

At this point, we see no path to victory for Sharp

Unlike the council candidate race where incumbents Barrett, Jones-Ivey and Nicolson handily defeated their challengers, the mayoral race has been close. 

Winfield’s lead is likely going to hold even after provisional votes are counted. We think this because there are probably no more than 250 provisional votes to be counted in total. In 2018, there were a total of 208 such votes. 

Join us Monday

We plan to provide a more detailed analysis of this race. And we believe we will have quite a story to tell.

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More Mail -In Votes Counted… Winfield Lengthens Lead… A Win In Sight

More votes counted

The Pima County Recorder continued vote counting yesterday. They added 2,412 mail in ballot votes and 193 in person ballots to the totals reported yesterday. This as of 6:43  last night.

We do not know why the mail-in vote count increased so substantially, Our guess is that these are mail-in votes that were received just prior to election day and/ or mail-in votes that were dropped off at the polls.

Winfield lengthens lead

Current council members Barrett, Joyce-Ivey and Nicolson hold comfortable leads in their reelection bid. Winfield’s lead over Sharp has grown to 148 votes.

Voter turnout now comparable to 2018

The vote totals now being reported by the county show mayoral vote totals that are more comparable to the 2018 mayoral race. 

Total votes cast being reported to date are now 8% less than four years ago. The Winfield vote totals are still far less than earned in 2018.

Sharp will need a major provisional vote win

Provisional votes have yet to be counted.  There would have to be quite a number of these and they would have to break sharply in Sharp’s favor in order for him to win.

Stay tuned!

Incumbent Council Members Win…. Mayoral Seat Leaning Toward Winfield

Barrett, Jones-Ivey, Nicolson handily defeat opponents

It looks as if the three incumbent council members will be in their seats on the Oro Valley Town Council until 2026. Vice Mayor Barrett and council members Jones-Ivey and Nicolson have substantial leads over challengers Hurt, Rodman and Erceg. 

Provisional votes yet to be counted

We believe that all that is left to count are “provisional votes.” We do not know how many of these there are. Generally, they are a small percentage of the total votes. Our guess is that there are no more than a few hundred. The closest challenger, Charlie Hurt, is currently 500 votes short of the lowest winning competitor so it is doubtful that he or his fellow challengers can “make up ground” with provisional voting.

Winfield leads, but mayoral race too close to call
We are waiting the results of the provisional ballot counts. At the moment, Mayor Joe Winfield leads challenger and former Police Chief Danny Sharp by 119 votes. This one could be close, folks!

Low Turnout
There were 25% fewer ballots cast for Mayor and 22% fewer ballots cast for council than in 2018. At that time, Winfield earned 9,242 votes. That is much greater than the 6,018 votes counted in this election so far. He easily defeated his opponent in 20% with almost 60% of the total vote. Not so this time.

More to follow as we learn more

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Four More Years? Yes or No? It’s Up To You

Oro Valley votes for mayor and council tomorrow  
Tomorrow, Oro Valley votes on who will be their Mayor and town council. 

It is a “winner take all scenario for Mayor

The mayor will either be former Police Chief Danny Sharp or Current Mayor Joe Winfield. Four years ago, Winfield won a landslide victory over then Mayor Satish Hiremath. Winfield received more than 58% of the 15,817 votes cast. Four years earlier, Hiremath won a landslide victory over his opponent, receiving more than 62% of the 11,027 votes cast. This earned him a second term as Mayor. 

We’ve covered the mayoral candidates and their views during the past four weeks. Still, we think it important to hear a bit from their supporters on why they support their candidate.

Sharp supporters say Danny is the best candidate

Mary Murphy is a six year resident of Oro Valley. She is also a member or the town’s Board of Adjustment. One of the reasons she chose to live in Oro Valley was the town’s outstanding public safety record. Here’s why Mary believes that Danny Sharp would be an excellent Mayor:

• With a forty-year career in law enforcement, he has a documented record of community and service orientation, and as the spouse of a retired first responder, I fully understand the commitments they make on a daily basis.
• While serving as police chief, he was asked to step in as Acting Town Manager for over a year. He took on this additional challenge without hesitation. That the Town looked for him to take on this task, and his willingness to do it indicate both a high level of competence and a commitment to our community. While filling this role, Danny gained valuable knowledge and insight into all aspects of town operations and funding. This experience is something few mayors have and is critically important here in Oro Valley, considering the current financial climate both locally and nationally.
• Danny was one of the founders of Project Graduation in Oro Valley, a program designed to keep our young people safe on graduation night, and he continues to volunteer his time to this important program. As a mom, this commitment really resonates with me. 
• Danny and his family demonstrate their love of Oro Valley by participating in the “Adopt a Road” program. For years the Sharp family has been clearing trash and debris from a large section of Naranja Drive, helping to keep Oro Valley beautiful. 
• Additionally, Danny is also a member of the Oro Valley Hospital Board, and as someone with a background in the medical field, I find this to be quite admirable. Viewed with his other activities, this shows Danny’s commitment to the town as a whole, one that serves all its residents.

Winfield supporters say that Joe is the best candidate

Jack Stinnett is a long-time resident and former Chairman of the town’s Parks and Recreation Commission. He is passionate about our community and passionate in his support of Joe Winfield. Here are his thoughts:

• The Winfield council has moved Oro Valley forward in every area, and Oro Valley today is the best place to live in Arizona. 
• They have invested in our police officer’s pay and pensions to retain the men and women who keep Oro Valley the safest town in the state. 
• They have improved the town’s financial rating to AA+, and paid off police pension debt that will avoid millions in future pension liabilities. They have used golf savings to improve and expand recreation amenities without any new taxes. Topping it off is our new 202 acre Vistoso Trails Nature Preserve that Joe refused to rezone for high density development. 
• Mayor Winfield’s vision is to grow Oro Valley responsibly. He has self funded his campaign and will decide what is best for residents, NOT Tucson apartment developers, and real estate PACs who have funded his challenger. 
• Finally, Mayor Winfield is the most honest man I know, and we need leaders who tell us the truth even when it is not what we want to hear.

Don’t forget to vote for three open council seats

The Mayor does not make decisions alone. It is the town council of which he is a member, that has the final say. There are six candidates vying for the three open council seats. Here’s who they are:

• Melanie Barrett is the town’s Vice Mayor. One of her focus areas is representing the needs of families with school age children
• Joe Erceg is a business development candidate. Joe wants to bring more sports activities into the community 
• Charlie Hurt has lived in Oro Valley for 16 years. He is a former member and chair of the town’s Planning and Zoning Commission and a former member and chair of the town’s Water Utility Commission 
• Joyce Jones-Ivey is a current council member. She takes pride in being an independent thinker. Joyce does not “go along to just get along.” 
• Josh Nicolson brings a financial perspective to the council. His insight into finance was one of the driving forces in the town fully funding the public safety pension plan 
• Bill Rodman served as council member from 2016 to 2020. Rodman is a proponent of growing the town to support business and to support the town’s finances. He voted for all approved general plan and zoning amendments during his prior tour on council. 

These six have affiliated themselves with one of the two mayoral candidates. But you don’t have to vote for one or all of them simply because they have done that. You can “mix and match.” 

We will be back Wednesday to report preliminary results

These results will likely include about 98% of the total votes cast. However, there will still be “provisional” and possibly late mail in ballots not yet counted. It could take a few more days for those.

So, Oro Valley, it’s election time.

Do your job!

Bits and Pieces

Former Oro Valley Deputy Chief Stevens disputes key assertion regarding Candidate Sharp’s financial competence

In a communication to LOVE, former Oro Valley Deputy Chief Stevens disputes an assertion in the Guest View of former Council Member Bill Garner. It regards Candidate Danny Sharp’s financial acumen. That Guest View concluded Sharp needed the help on Oro Valley resident with the 2011 budget. According to the writer, this demonstrated that Sharp does not have financial competence. 

This is “Not so,” according to Stephens. “Bill Garner talks about the department, including me, reaching out to John Musolf because Chief Sharp was at a loss. Not correct, Chief Sharp and I met with many residents over budgetary and other issues they questioned. We met with John Musolf as he presented himself as Bill Garner's budget advisor and we hoped to educate John a bit to avoid the constant public misrepresentations.”

Oro Valley Police Department receives grant to combat collision-causing driving behavior
ORO VALLEY, Ariz. (July 21, 2022) – The Oro Valley Police Department (OVPD), through financial support from the Arizona Governor’s Office of Highway Safety (AZGOHS), has received $64,528.00 in funding during Fiscal Year 2022 to support the purchase of a vehicle specifically dedicated to detecting and addressing hazardous collision causing driving behaviors.  In addition to being deployed on the main thoroughfares of the Town, the vehicle will be utilized to address traffic safety concerns voiced by the community. (Source: Oro Valley Police Department Press Release)

Town of Oro Valley is implementing a new water billing system
“If you don't receive your Vista at the usual time next month, that’s because the Town is transitioning its Water Utility billing system to a new vendor, and there will be a shift in the timing of when you receive your water bill in the mail (which is how we distribute the Vista). Keep an eye out for more details coming soon from the OV Water Utility.” (Source: Oro Valley Vista Newsletter, August 2022)

Challenger candidates campaign at the Oro Valley Church of Nazarene
Oro Valley’s next town council will have to make a decision on approving or denying the Oro Valley Church of the Nazarene’s (OVCN) request to rezone and repad land next to the church so that OVCN can create a sports megaplex. There is longstanding and continuing opposing to this by every neighbor.

Here we see current Council member Greene, and council candidates Joe Erceg and Charlie Hurt “all smiles” at the OVCN a few weeks ago. 

The reader who sent us the picture notes that Council Member Greene is wearing a shirt with the Oro Valley logo, making it appear that he is representing the town. The reader also observes that candidate Erceg states on his web site that he had recently joined OVCN and that he looks forward to being involved in a large sports program in the future. The reader also wonders if candidate Charlie Hurt displays de facto support for the Church simply by being in the photo.   

The question the reader poses: Will the neighbors have any hope of prevailing if Erceg and Hurt are elected, given that the Oro Valley Town Council already has two OVCN Members (Greene and Solomon)?

Ownership of the Vistoso Trails Nature Preserve transferred to the Town of Oro Valley
The Town of Oro Valley has officially assumed ownership of the Vistoso Trails Nature Preserve (formerly known as the Vistoso Golf Course), an open space for passive recreation such as walking, biking and bird watching. The Town will be working on safety improvements including general maintenance and paved pathway repairs. 

A temporary trailhead has been designated near the former clubhouse, located on the 6.3-acre parcel of land that was purchased by independent developer Ross Rulney and is not part of the Town-owned 202-acre parcel. Restrooms will remain closed as staff assesses the best way to make necessary improvements, to include ADA accessibility. Stay tuned for details on a master planning process that will begin this fall. For more information and an updated trail map visit www.orovalleyaz.gov and search for VISTOSO. (Source: Oro Valley Vista Newsletter, August 2022)

Town of Oro Valley hosting conversation on mental health

ORO VALLEY, Ariz. (July 26, 2022) – The Town of Oro Valley invites residents to participate in a Community Conversation on Mental Health on Tuesday, August 9 at 6 p.m. in the Oro Valley Council Chambers (11000 N. La Cañada Drive). 

This first-time event is hosted by the Oro Valley Parks and Recreation Department and will feature a panel of representatives from the Oro Valley Police Department, Oro Valley Parks and Recreation, Golder Ranch Fire District, Arizona Complete Health and local mental health professionals.

The community is invited to come and learn about local mental health resources, have insightful conversations and ask questions to panel members. The event is free and will also be available virtually via Zoom. (Source: Town of Oro Valley Press Release)

Guest View-Bill Rodman: Melanie Barrett’s Campaign Violation Accusations Are Baseless

The following Guest View is from council candidate and former council member Bill Rodman. Rodman is referring to last week’s Guest View of Melanie Barrett.

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I am more than disappointed in Oro Valley’s Vice Mayor Barrett who never misses an opportunity to tout her Law degree and yet has now accused me and my campaign three times with no basis for those accusations. It would seem that the ethical thing to do would have been to wait for the Town Clerk’s decision on whether the complaints were valid before putting them out to Take Back OV and the Love Blog as though they are valiBill d and have a base . It is very clear to me that her purpose in doing this and filing the complaints was only to try to get our residents to believe them with no evidence this close to the election. Please reread her words and you will see what I mean.

She has stated that my campaign has colluded with the Keep Oro Valley Strong PAC with absolutely no basis for that allegation. She says things like “If there is illegal collusion going on, then a serious campaign finance violation against state law has occurred.” Of course if that were true, it would be a violation, but there is no evidence that collusion took place nor could there be because it never occurred.

She makes a baseless statement that a one person marketing firm cannot have an effective firewall between my campaign and the PAC. There is no basis for that statement. I have never had any conversation or other contact with the PAC or its agent regarding any action or strategy to be taken by the PAC or my campaign. We have been more than careful to be sure to keep that firewall impenetrable.

She makes the statement that the amount of the donations makes any difference as to whether a violation has occurred. As a person with legal training, she should know better. It is either a violation or it is not regardless of the amount.

I would have expected better from our Vice Mayor.

Bill Rodman 

Council Candidate

FormerOro Valley Council Member

Guest View-Bill Garner: Danny Sharp Is Oro Valley’s “One Trick Pony” (Part 2)

Danny Sharp rewrites Oro Valley history to support his story
In a recent Explorer article dated June 22, 2022, entitled “Former OV Police Chief Seeking Mayor’s Office,” Sharp is quoted as saying: 

“I wish that the council would make [public safety] the priority that it always has been. I mean, this town was founded on the premise of strong public safety. They are not attending to that strong public safety piece that the Founding Fathers of Oro Valley thought was important.”

Sharp has rewritten history. 

The reason Oro Valley was incorporated in 1974 was to avoid a property tax as the City of Tucson continued to look towards annexations to the North. 

There is no mention of public safety or police and fire in the original town documents when the Town incorporated in 1974. Therefore, while it may serve Sharp’s story to allege Oro Valley was founded on issues of safety, it is just patently false. 

(Oro Valley’s Founding Fathers could not afford their own police and fire department. They contracted these services through Rural Metro. That company provided private police and fire coverage until 1975.  That is when private police departments were banned by the State.)

Danny Sharp wants you to think that Oro Valley is unsafe so that he can ride in to save the day!

In that same article, Sharp is quoted multiple times claiming that the Oro Valley Police Department is understaffed, which he alleges is affecting the number of officers who are in the high schools and on traffic patrol: 

“Frankly the police department just does not have the staff, the personnel to be able to do these things.”

Sharp’s game plan is to tell you that Oro Valley is not a safe place since he retired a little over two years ago. 

Take a close look at all the interviews and statements made by Sharp to date and you will find a very common theme: Pictures of him in his Oro Valley police uniform, displaying the embroidered Oro Valley police logo—which he knows is a violation of Town code—while making statements about understaffed officers, increased speeding, red-light running, crashes, and graffiti.

Danny Sharp wants you to think that we are doomed without him in power 
"It concerns me that I drive up and down Oracle Road, Tangerine Road, La Cholla and I don’t see any police cars”.

This very subjective statement is meant to suggest that the policing numbers and leadership is so lacking that your safety is in jeopardy.  At various times during the June 28 Greater Oro Valley Candidate Forum, Sharp made statements about how bad public safety is in Oro Valley, However, he did not back up his observations with data. This is because there is no data to support his ramblings.

Sharp described crimes that he felt have increased, like a theft of a catalytic converter from cars or items stolen from cars. He is equating these incidences with a community that is unsafe, in spite of the fact that recent FBI statistics on crime have deemed Oro Valley one of the safest communities in Arizona.  

Danny Sharp will meddle in Oro Valley Police Department Operations
But the most disturbing comment from this forum came at the end when he made the following comment:

“We will see safety in this community if I am elected Mayor in four years because I am going to attend to that.” 

This is yet another interesting comment considering that during my tenure on Town Council, I got nothing but pushback—and later payback—from this very individual because I dared to question even one thing about the police department.  Now, as Mayor, he will use his position on council to “influence” the direction of the police department. 

Do we really want Danny Sharp to meddle with Chief Kara Riley’s leadership, a chief who won public acclaim for her sound managerial expertise two years in a row? 

Danny Sharp is Oro Valley’s “one trick pony”

All he knows is his style of policing and he wants to intimidate and instill a sense of fear that without him in power Oro Valley is doomed. He suggests that our current Mayor and our very able current Police Chief are incompetent. What he is really doing is projecting his own incompetence on two very capable, successful public servants.

I watched Sharp in action during my eight years on the Oro Valley Town Council.

I can emphatically state that we are better off without him. 

If you—like me—are happy with the current direction of our town and the police department, ignore  Sharp’s overblown rhetoric. 

We really do not need this “one trick pony” to perform any more stunts for the residents of Oro Valley

Bill Garner

Oro Valley Town Council Member, 2008-2016

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Challengers Have Raised and Spent Far More Than The Incumbents

David v Goliath

It is truly a “David v. Goliath” scenario when it comes to fundraising and spending in this August’s Oro Valley Mayor and Town Council Election. 

Candidates, including a PAC supporting challengers Sharp, Erceg, Hurt and Rodman have raised cash donations of $221,114, and spent $144,622 as of June 30. They have raised far more cash and spent far more cash than incumbents Winfield, Barrett, Joney-Ivey and Nicolson, on both counts.

The gap is huge.  The challengers and a supporting PAC, Keep Oro Valley Strong (KOVS), have received 89% of all cash donations and expended 75% of all spending to date.

Sharp, Erceg, Hurt and Rodman garnered developer and real estate community financial support
The sources of cash donations from the developer and real estate community mirror the 2018 election financial support provided to then Mayor Hiremath and his council’s reelection campaign. 

The challengers (Sharp, Erceg, Hurt, and Rodman) received donations from these same sources. For example, individuals affiliated with HSL Properties, a major contributor to the 2018 Hiremath team, have contributed $53,000 in total to the challenger’s campaigns. That’s 31% of the funds they have raised. $12,000 of that was donated to Danny Sharp’s campaign. 

The challengers have also received financial support from the real estate community. The Realtor’s of Southern Arizona PAC contributed $17,000 to the campaigns. The Southern Arizona Homebuilders Association PAC contributed $750 to Erceg’s campaign. 

As a result, the four challengers have received significant financial support primarily from individuals living outside Oro Valley. 57% of their funding has come from those who do not live in the town. 

Winfield, Barrett, Jones-Ivey and Nicolson fundraising pattern has a “home grown” Oro Valley, no special interest,  “skin-in-the-game” flavor
The fundraising efforts of the current council member candidates are starkly different from those of the challenges. They have focussed on raising money from Oro Valley residents and not taking money from PACS. The result is that they have raised far less money. Cash contributions to date are $26,687. 89% of these are from Oro Valley residents. 

The incumbent candidates have also put “skin-in-the-game,” loaning their campaigns $12,710. Challengers Hurt and Erceg have also loaned their campaigns $11,310. They also received in-kind donations of $17,000 in total for development of their web sites.

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Note: The source of the data in this article is the second quarter Campaign Finance Reports of the candidates and KOVS.

Guest View-Josh Nicolson: We Will Get The Marketplace Right

Probably my favorite thing about doing this job is getting out and talking to people. I am always drawn to a good conversation with a citizen, and this election season I have talked to hundreds of Oro Valley residents. 



One thing keeps coming up… they want to know about the Marketplace, and few are in support of the five and six story apartments in our scenic corridor that were proposed by Town West and HSL Properties. My opponents all support this original proposal for 75 foot, downtown style apartments. 



No doubt my opponents will approve tall buildings in the Marketplace

I got asked the other day: If those running against us win the election, can the developer can still get high rise apartments. The answer is: Yes!  This issue hasn’t been resolved and will be on the table until the area is developed.


I told Town West that four and five story buildings would not “fly” in the Marketplace


When Town West and HSL purchased the marketplace, they met with council members and Town staff. At the time, they were presenting two and three story garden-style apartments along Tangerine, and a four and five story apartment along Oracle Rd. 



I told them they had some good concepts, but that five story apartment just wasn’t going to fly in Oro Valley. 


Yet… they submitted that plan anyway!

A couple of years later when they filed the application, they had five and even six story apartments at both Tangerine and Oracle Rd. Approval could set a precedent for high rise apartment buildings and exceptions to General Plan designated scenic corridor requirements. These are the five and six story apartments the developer was proposing.




These buildings would be “really, really high”, blocking our scenic views

Council members were taken on a site tour, and apparently the applicant had run out of helium before placing balloons at the corner closest to Oracle where the view would be most blocked. I grabbed a balloon from another location and tramped through the brush to get it set up correctly to be able to see the correct height impact. Due to the flexible nature of the balloons and wind, the balloons lean at an angle. We ended up getting the police department to bring out drones to show us how tall the buildings really were. 


The shaded area shows you the view blockage

These pictures [panel right] show you just how much the view would be blocked from Tangerine Road and the multi-use path next to it:

A. This picture shows the view to the West, and just how much higher the drone (actual building) would be than the balloons. 

B. These pictures are from near the multi-use paths near the Marketplace. You can see how high the balloons are from that angle, as well as the drone higher up.








 

The latest plan is workable. It is “community friendly”

In the end, the council members whose campaigns weren’t funded by Town West and HSL were able to negotiate for the citizens and asked for a plan that would be within existing heights and setback limitations to preserve the scenic view. 



A plan is pending that would allow for two and three story garden style apartments, and a small amount of height allowance for two 49’ hotels that would follow scenic corridor setback requirements. 



We will always fight for you

If you feel, as I do, that this would be a better fit for Oro Valley, please be sure to re-elect your Mayor and Council to represent you.



Josh Nicolson

Oro Valley Council Member and Council Candidate

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Note: LOVE added the subheadings for reader convenience

Glossy Mailers and Flashy Ads Misstate the Facts… Add Nothing To The Conversation

Glitter ain’t gold

Glossy mailers and ads in a local advertising circular are making assertions against the incumbents running for Mayor and council. These mailers are being paid for by the “Keep OV Strong Pac”. 

A week ago Friday, resident Jack Stinnett wrote a Guest View disclosing some of those behind this PAC. They include current Council Members Mo Greene and Steve Solomon and current council candidate Bill Rodman.

One marketing company working for all

It is rather unseemly that a current Council Member and one who wants to be a Council Member would condone these ads and mailers. According to a campaign violation complaint filed by current Oro Valley Vice Mayor and Candidate Melanie Barrett, the PAC is allegedly using a third party (Campaign Associates of Southern Arizona) to collude with the campaigns of the challengers. That organization is operated by MattMann Creative, a Tucson based individual (aka Mattmannportfolio).  That entity, under the various companies, has received ten’s of thousands of dollars from the PAC and from the candidates, according to their filed campaign finance reports.

The assertions that are being made add no value to what should be a serious conversation about the future of our community.
Let’s take a look at three of them:

“You put us $52 million in debt past year”
It is true that the town issued bonds in the amount of $52 million last. year. However, $27 million was used to eliminate a liability the town owed to the State of Arizona Public Service Pension Retirment Fund. So, the net added debt incurred was $25 million. 

“You lied about the Naranja Park Bond” 

We know of no lie that any of the incumbent candidates made regarding the $25 million parks bond. They never hid its purpose. What is true is that the incumbents abandoned the town’s forever “pay as you go only” philosophy for building parks by supplementing funding for parks with these bonds. These same incumbents had previously publicly supported “pay as you go only.” Not exactly a lie….but a definitely change in position.  The bond is paid from an existing sales tax revenue source. There are no new taxes. This is Winfield’s justification for supporting the bonds.

You violated Arizona open meeting laws on several occasions

The “violation” to which the mailers refer was filed with the Pima County Attorney Office. They looked into one complaint. The county attorney made a preliminary finding of a violation without investigating the matter with the town. Town outside council Rothschild provided the facts. After reviewing these facts, the county attorney concluded that “further investigation would not be productive and further action on the complaint is not warranted.” That letter further states that “…the additional materials [provided by Rothschild] demonstrate that the Council’s use of executive session was arguably justified… and that the OVTC made good faith efforts to comply with the OML in conducting town business.” (Source: Letter From Pima  County Attorney, March 31, 2021)

We suggest that you throw the glossy mailers away and focus on what the candidates are saying

None of these assertions form the basis for an informed decision for whom to vote. We suggest that you focus on what’s real… The candidates… What they have done for the community… What they would like the future to be.

Because it is the future that matters.

The real issues need to be debated by serious candidates, not by a PAC of wolves.

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Guest View-Kevin Mattocks: If Public Safety Is Important To You…

Mayor Winfield and his incumbent slate of candidates support what Danny Sharp has accomplished.

Now, after two Oro Valley candidate election debates, and their own election material distributions, it's clear Mayor Winfield and his incumbent slate of candidates are the biggest supporters of Danny Sharp and what he's done for this community. They all constantly talk about how Oro Valley is recognized as one of the safest communities in Arizona. Do they now acknowledge that it was Danny Sharp's 20 years of leadership with the Oro Valley Police Department into 2020 that continues this historical recognition of safety?

Mayor Winfield and his incumbent slate of candidates are constantly talking about how great it is that they hired Kara Riley as the Chief of Police. I agree, however, it was Danny Sharp who as Chief of Police recommended to council that an internal Oro Valley Police personnel process be conducted to find our Police Chief. Kara Riley was one of the Oro Valley Police Department members that Chief Sharp mentored and provided the training opportunities to, as part of his succession planning commitment, in order for her to be able to fill the Police Chief position. Mayor Winfield and his incumbent slate of candidates, in spite of Chief Sharp's succession planning and recommendation, spent thousands of dollars conducting an external process. Besides the unnecessary expenditure, this had an immediate negative morale impact on the entire Police force.

When Danny Sharp became a candidate for Mayor, incumbent Mayor Winfield and his incumbent slate of candidates professed their support of public safety by pointing to the town's funding of the police pension fund. They talked about how the excess millions of dollars in the contingency fund was put into the pension fund along with monies borrowed at a low interest rate to avoid future costs. What they don’t mention is the fact that there was a long-term plan in place already to address the pension funding issue. They do say their decision will save "up to 30 million dollars". So, it's "up to" 30 million dollars? When was the last time you were told you could save "up to" something and you actually saved that amount? By the way, zero is up to 30 million dollars, so what will it be? Sure looks like a typical play on words, sleazy sales gimmick we are sick of in national politics.

What Mayor Winfield and his incumbent slate of candidates did not do was use any of the excess contingency funds to address staffing needs in the police department that have been brought up for several years prior. Winfield and his incumbent slate of candidates advertise their funding of “School Resource Officers (SROs) for schools” in their campaign materials. The truth is they eliminated funding for two school resource officers since they took office. Now they say it was due to the schools being closed for "COVID". So why when all the schools opened back up were the School Resource Officers not returned to schools at the same staffing levels as before? Is this reminiscent of the national politics where a crisis is used to institute generally unpopular wishes of the few?

Mayor Winfield and his incumbent slate of candidates now tout their decision leading to Oro Valley Police Officers being the highest paid southern Az force. Again, what they don't mention is that this support for correcting the pay issue didn't happen until May 2022. If Danny Sharp, with decades of public safety support, wasn’t a candidate for Mayor do you think Incumbent Mayor Winfield and his incumbent slate of candidates would be “all in” to support public safety? Where have they been for the last three or four years then?

As has been said before:

If public safety is important to you, it is important to elect a Mayor who will support public safety consistently, and not just every four years as Mayor Winfield and his incumbent slate of candidates do when there’s an election.

Danny Sharp will be the Mayor who will always support public safety to make sure Oro Valley remains the safest community for citizens to live, work and play.

Guest View-Jack Stinnett: Who’s Behind the Keep OV Strong PAC?

It's election season in Oro Valley. We’ve seen numerous political attacks on Next Door by Keep Oro Valley Strong (KOVS), unsolicited emails, postcards and even a tacky four page tabloid decrying the ethics and honesty of our current Mayor and Council.

So I ask the question – who’s behind this? Political Action Committees must report expenses and donations.  I checked the Town clerks' website.

Here are the "founding father” donors to the KOVA as reported in their 4th Quarter 2020 initial campaign finance report (pages 5 and 6):

1. Dr. Harry “Mo” Greene - Current councilmember 
2. Don Cox – Chairman 2018 KOVS; a Sharp advocate on Next Door and in Explorer letters to the Editor 
3. James Prunty - Former OVPD volunteer training coordinator; author of Next Door attacks on our "inferior" council members 
4. Terry Wolf - 2022 President Carmel Pointe HOA Board of Directors ( in Canada Hills) 
5. Phillip Wheeler – 2022 KOVS treasurer and 2022 Treasurer Carmel Pointe HOA Board of Directors ( in Canada Hills )
6. Joe Hornat - Former Town Councilmember; Voted off Council in 2018 
7. Bill Rodman - Former Town Councilmember; Voted off Council in 2020 and Current council candidate 
8. Thomas Plantz – Current Chairman of KOVS and Chairman of failed 2019 recall of Mayor Winfield and Vice Mayor Barrett 
9. Dick Johnson - Former Town Councilmember 
10. Mike Schoeppach - Former Men’s Golf Association President 

Since the initial filing, additional donations were reported in the KOVS 1st Quarter 2021 report. Dr. Harry “Mo” Greene kicked in another $100 and current Councilmember Steve Solomon contributed $250.

The majority of Keep OV Strong contributors are located in Carmel Pointe and other Canada Hills neighborhoods.

So what is the common denominator? This is only my opinion, but:

First and foremost, KOVS consists of current and replaced “pro-growth” politicians and Hiremath supporters. They were unhappy that the Hiremath council was ousted in 2018 and that they no longer run the town. They oppose Winfield’s responsible growth vision and support 75’ high and 800’ long apartments at the Oro Valley Marketplace.

The second issue is that many former country club members resent sharing their golf courses and tennis courts with the rest of us. Remember, they had exclusive access to a 18 hole course every week before the Winfield Council hired Indigo Golf and changed the town courses from a country club to a public course model.

The final straw was when the Winfield Council voted to expand "their" half percent sales tax revenue from dedicated to golf and the Community Center to support all town parks. This enabled the town to use golf savings to fund the expansion of Naranja Park, fix the golf irrigation on both courses and rebuild the tennis courts.

I fully support town residents being involved and politically active. But this group’s slime ball attacks belong in Chicago, not Oro Valley. When you are barraged with biased opinions and false information, it helps to know the source.

Guest View-Kathleen Robinson: Danny Sharp Is A Leader For Our Times

I want to thank LOVE for the recent work and time you have devoted to sharing the current activities occurring in Oro Valley with the public. 

The recent topics you’ve covered in LOVE about the upcoming elections and the decisions made by our current Mayor and Council need to be discussed and heard. 

I have been a resident of Oro Valley for more than 25 years. After working and living in the City of Tucson, my husband and I chose to relocate and move our family north to the town of Oro Valley. Many things factored into this decision, to include the educational opportunities for our children and their safety. We wanted to raise our children in a safe and vibrant community. We watched Oro Valley grow and prosper and were excited to be a part of its development. Back then, the government was open and transparent, and the community was fully involved and engaged in its growth and progress.

One of the reasons for this was the leadership and direction provided by the Oro Valley Chief of Police, Danny Sharp. I spent close to 32 years with the Tucson Police Department and have known Chief Sharp for more than 40 years. As a young officer, and later as a Commander and Assistant Chief, I worked closely with him and his wife at the Tucson Police Department. When he accepted the job as Chief of Police in Oro Valley, I was thrilled and excited for him. I watched him set the tone for the department and the agency. Under his leadership, the officers flourished and performed at their optimal level. The training he provided and obtained for his officers and the relationships they developed with the community was outstanding! The development and mentoring of his Commanders, to include the current Chief Kara Riley, was second to none. His ability to communicate, engage the community, build trust, and his desire to help others really put his agency and the town of Oro Valley on the map. His focus on public safety in our schools and the community was vitally important to him. Oro Valley developed a reputation as one of the best and safest cities in the State of Arizona.

In recent years, that has all changed! The current lack of transparency, decision making and toxic dynamics in our Mayor and Council Offices is hurting our community.

 

Public Service, no matter what office you hold, is not just a job, it’s a lifestyle. We need a change in our leadership. The town is floundering. The weak leadership and decisions being made by our town government is having a detrimental effect on Oro Valley. The town deserves better! I love Oro Valley and I know that we can do better! It is time for a positive change, and I believe that Danny Sharp is the one to lead the town and this change. I fully support Danny Sharp in his quest to be elected Mayor. I am hoping that the community is ready to get involved and vote “Danny Sharp for Mayor” on August 2, 2022.

Sincerely, Kathleen Robinson

Assistant Chief of Police (Retired)

Candidate Forum Tonight

Candidate Forum Tonight
There is a Candidate Forum tonight. The Oro Valley Church of the Nazarene is hosting it. The council forum starts at 6pm. The mayoral forum starts at 7:15pm. Those attending can meet with candidates starting at 5:15 pm. It is free to all. You can watch it here if you can not attend. The Greater Oro Valley Chamber of Commerce is the sponsor. You will be able to watch a video of the sessions by visiting their site.

Dave Perry, head of the Chamber, will be asking questions of the candidates. There will be no audience questions. You can submit questions to dave@orovalleychamber.com.

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