Councilmember Steve Solomon threatens three Oro Valley women. Part 1.

Over the past couple of months, LOVE has received information about three Oro Valley women who have received threats from Oro Valley Town Councilmember Steve Solomon. Part 1 will discuss the face-to-face threats that he made to two of these women. Part 2 will discuss the email threat that he made to a third woman.

In order to protect the privacy of the two women who were physically approached and who are currently weighing their options for dealing with this situation, LOVE is only going to report on what happened and not release the names of the “victims” at this time.

Solomon vs. the First Amendment
In all three cases, Solomon launched completely uncalled for and out-of-control attacks on all three women due to these women commenting that they believe that wealthy special interest campaign contributions to the current Town Council are influencing Council decisions in favor of these special interest donors. The women have a First Amendment right to state their opinions.

The public incidents
Accounts of these incidents included Solomon acting like a maniac with his face contorted and twisted up as he yelled verbally abusive comments and threatened to sue each woman for slander. He asserted that their comments equated to accusing him of the felony act of bribery. Of note is that no one has accused him or any other council member of doing anything illegal…just unethical.

Hence, we think Solomon doth protest too much. He sure isn’t acting like an innocent person. He’s acting like an animal whose been cornered.

Evidence of developer influence
All one has to do is to look at the Campaign Finance Reports from council elections in 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2018 and compare it with Town Council meeting minutes to see that the wealthy developer donors have been getting all of their General Plan Amendments and rezoning requests approved despite vocal opposition from numerous well-organized residents who have repeatedly presented valid and well-researched arguments before this Council.

In every single instance, the Council sides with the developers and builders who have funded their campaigns. How can it be that the residents are wrong every. single. time? The law of averages does not support this notion.

What other conclusion can a person draw than to believe that there is a symbiotic relationship between developers and builders who need the Town Council to approve their development proposals and Town Council members who need those special interest donations in order to fund their campaigns.

Solomon puts the “mean” in demeanor
These three women are not the only Oro Valley residents who have made this observation. Numerous Oro Valley residents have made the same comments in Letters to the Editor and also when speaking at Town Council meetings over the past few years.

Not once has any Town Council member felt the need to retaliate by verbally accosting any of these residents or threatening them with lawsuits…until now…until Steve Solomon…and he has chosen to threaten only the women, despite numerous men having made the same observations. We’ll leave it up to our readers to determine why that might be.

LOVE has previously warned Oro Valley residents that Steve Solomon did not have the demeanor to be a council member as we had already witnessed his bullying behavior during his prior brief stint on council from 2010 to 2012. He hasn’t changed and his brutish and bullying behavior appears to have only gotten worse.

How have other Council members handled the same allegations?
As stated above, no other Town Council member has felt the need to retaliate by verbally accosting any of these residents or threatening them with lawsuits. Whenever the topic of special interest donations has come up in the past, the incumbents brush it off by simply stating that the accusations are not true. The only Council member who attempted to defend himself, was Councilmember Joe Hornat who stated with civility that there is nothing in it for him to cater to these special interests. While we appreciate his civility in addressing the topic, we disagree with his conclusions.

An inter-dependent relationship
LOVE will now explain exactly what’s in it for the council members.

Example: Bruce the Builder donates $10,000 to your 2014 campaign because he believes that he can count on you to represent him and his financial interests. If he’s right, Bruce the Builder will recoup that $10,000 donation many times over.

The well-financed councilmembers then vote to approve every development proposal, General Plan Amendment, and rezoning that Bruce the Builder requests over the next four years, allowing him to spread his cookie-cutter homes all over the land. Bruce the Builder’s $10,000 donation served him so well that he will now donate another $10,000 to each of the incumbents 2018 re-election campaigns. Wash, rinse, repeat.

That’s what’s in it for the council members. If they do the bidding of the wealthy special interests who funded their first campaign, those wealthy special interests will continue to fund every campaign. It’s an inter-dependent relationship.

This would explain why it’s the same wealthy members of the development community who donate substantial sums to the incumbents every election season. It’s not rocket science.

We just wonder why Steve Solomon is the only one who was so threatened by these comments that he felt it necessary to verbally assault and threaten two women (one of whom is elderly).

This is what he does best?
LOVE would like to remind our readers of some of the assertions that Steve Solomon made when he was running for Town Council in 2016.

• I am running for Town Council to bring civility, professionalism, collaboration, and positive forward momentum back to our community and Town Government. [Explorer Newspaper, June 8, 2016]

• Practicing civility and finding common ground are what I do best. [Facebook page, Solomon for Oro Valley Town Council, July 29, 2016]

We’d say that Solomon needs more practice. Does verbally assaulting people and threatening them with lawsuits for engaging in their First Amendment rights sound like the actions of someone who practices civility?

Part 2 will be published later this week and will discuss the threat that Steve Solomon made in an email to another Oro Valley resident.

A Message from Axe the Tax regarding Naranja Park Bond Campaign Contributions

Lets take a look at who’s really supporting this cause.
There are signs all over town proclaiming “It’s for the kids.” There are “Why axe kids sports?” signs. There are “454 4 kids” signs that are designed to pull at your heartstrings by being designed to look like they were painted by the children.

At Town Council meetings earlier this year, kids were rounded up and sitting in council chambers wearing their sports uniforms. Many parents and coaches spoke up in an emotional plea to give the kids a place to play; a place in Oro Valley to call their own.

But how many parents and coaches contributed to the Yes on 454 PAC? How many parents contributed to the “It’s for the kids” campaign?

Sadly, not one of these parents has given more than $50.00 to the Yes on 454 campaign. In fact, the total amount of under $50.00 donations amounts to…..wait for it…..just $50.00. If the parents of all of these children gave a combined total of just $50.00, how important can sports fields possibly be to these parents?

Even more enlightening is the amount of donations from developers and businesses that most likely hope to profit, in one way or another, from the building of this park.

The list of contributors to Yes on 454:

Now let’s look at who funded the Axe the Tax PAC.
Here’s the breakdown of donations to the Axe the Tax PAC. These aren’t “get off of my lawn” curmudgeons. These aren’t people who hate kids. These are people who advocate using a pay-as-you-go approach to the build-out of Naranja Park.

These are people who understand the real drivers behind Prop 454…that the $17 MM bond is just Phase I and more than half of it ($8.2 million) is for the building of the infrastructure for the future Event Center (which isn’t included in this bond and is covered over in gray on the map that the Town released.) The Event Center is slated for construction with a second bond in the future.

The list of contributors to Axe the Tax:

Axe the Tax Chairman, Jim Horn, stated it best in a recent press release:
“What surprised us though was the lack of donations by parents to Yes on 454…But with all the talk of ‘desperately needed park improvements’…well, the parents sure didn’t put their own money behind it. All the special interest donations make you question if its really ‘all about the kids’ or whether these major contributors are trying to influence Council votes.”

Axe the Tax Issues Press Release regarding Campaign Finance Reports

PRESS RELEASE

Prop 454 Campaign Finances Revealed. Axe the Tax donations are dwarfed by HSL and Developer donations to Yes on 454.

Oro Valley — October 15, 2017: Axe the Tax, a group of concerned Oro Valley residents opposing the Naranja Park Bond - Proposition 454, is not surprised to find their donations dwarfed by the massive contributions to the Yes on 454 PAC.

The cumulative $3,627 in Axe the Tax contributions were primarily sub-$50 donations from Oro Valley residents who are concerned with loss of their community park for a sports complex and the high costs of infrastructure related to a future event center that will require another bond. Many have also expressed concerns with the Town Council's lack of fiscal responsibility related to the golf courses. Large contributions included three donations of $500 each, counting the one from the PAC chairman.

Operating expenses were $2,157.

“Never underestimate the power of a grass-roots effort,” commented Jim Horn, Chair of the PAC. “We knew all along that we’d get smaller, individual contributions from members of the community who believe in fiscal responsibility. And, that the same donors who funded the Mayor and all six of the Councilmembers’ campaigns would donate generously to ensure support for their pending General Plan amendments, rezonings and new construction projects.”

"What surprised us, though," continued Horn, "was the lack of donations by parents to Yes on 454. The PAC chairman donated $100 to the cause. There were $50 in miscellaneous cash contributions - equal to about 10 lattes - that likely came from parents. But with all the talk of "desperately needed park improvements"...well, the parents sure didn't put their own money behind it. All the "special interest" donations make you question if it's really "all about the kids" or whether these major contributors are trying to influence Council votes."

Yes on 454 contributions totaled $36,600. Significant contributions were made by various HSL entities which totaled $5,000. HSL (Humberto Lopez) owns the Hilton El Conquistador hotel. Other significant contributors include developers with projects in Oro Valley and a management consulting firm that is often used to broker deals for developers within Oro Valley and Pima County. These donations ranged from $2,500 to $5,000 each.

Unisource Energy, the parent company of Tucson Electric Power (TEP), and Cox Communications also contributed $5,000 each to the Yes PAC. TEP was granted a rate increase in February 2017.

The YES on 454 PAC paid Saguaro Strategies, a Phoenix political consulting firm, $35,886 to run their ballot measure. This is the same firm that ran the recent campaigns of the Mayor and current councilmembers.

Axe the Tax in Oro Valley stands by its position that the Naranja Park Bond, Proposition 454, is an unreasonable and irresponsible property tax for homeowners and commercial properties when the Town has resources to “pay as you go.” Axe the Tax recommends using the FY 16/17 $2 million budget surplus for an immediate start of construction of the baseball complex. The project can be completed within five years by adding $1.1 million annually into the Town's budget through FY 22/23.