Guest View-Diane Peters: Who Bankrolled The Billboards?

Who bankrolled the billboards?
One might think that Hiremath-Hornat-Snider-Waters must be really popular with the citizens when their campaign signs are nearly the size of billboards. But is it the citizens who are bankrolling these huge signs to help keep them in office? Not likely.
Their 2014 re-election campaign was funded 80 percent by developers and builders and only 20 percent by Oro Valley citizens. Meanwhile, the challengers campaigns were funded 100 percent by the citizens. Additionally, despite Hiremath being the incumbent, citizens donated only $114.00 more to his campaign than to his challenger, Pat Straney. Perhaps Mayor Hiremath isn’t as popular as he’d like us to believe.

During that same campaign, Hiremath received over $20,000 from the special-interest development community, while Hornat-Snider-Waters received about $10,000 each from those same contributors, for a grand total of over $50,000.

Developers “TRUMP” the citizens
The question to ponder is this: Why do developers, builders, and real estate moguls donate such large sums of money to these four politicians? Real estate developer, Donald Trump, answered this question in two recent television interviews. Trump said he donates to political campaigns because, “When they call, I give. And you know what? When I need something from them two or three years later, I call them.” Trump also said he donates because, “I’m a businessman. I need access. I want to have access.”

Now that Trump is a politician, he has stated that he won’t take donations from special interests because he knows first-hand that donations buy influence and he won’t be bought. Whatever you think of him, he knows all about, “The Art of the Deal.”

And there you have it. Special interests donate large sums of money to campaigns for guaranteed access to those politicians once they get elected. Therefore, a vote for Hiremath, Hornat, Snider, or Waters is really a vote for the continued wholesale destruction of the desert, rampant development, more ruined scenic vistas, more people, less wildlife.

Don’t be fooled by their “billboards” or their expensive full-color newspaper ads or their glossy postcards arriving in your mailbox nearly every day touting their “proven leadership.” Keep in mind who paid for all those ads and what those contributors stand to gain from the incumbents’ re-election.

Down on Main Street
There’s actually a subliminal message in all their giant “look at us” advertising. The incumbents fear that it’s not just “the whiny minority” that’s coming after them. It’s Main Street.
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Diane Peters has lived in Oro Valley since 2003, moving here to escape the humidity of the East Coast.  Combining her love of animals and writing, she wrote her first protest letter at the age of 12 to the Canadian Prime Minister in support of ending the annual baby harp seal hunt.  Years later, she flew by helicopter to the ice floes off the coast of Newfoundland where she was able to pet baby harp seals recently born on the frozen tundra.  Her other interests include reading, nature photography, traveling to National Parks, Native American history, art galleries, museums, and following politics.  In her past life, she worked in medical research at various University Hospitals in New England, including coordinating Oncology Clinical Trials and preparing manuscripts for publication in medical journals.  Her husband is an Army veteran who served in Germany and South Korea.  A former hippie, he attended the 1969 Woodstock Festival in Upstate New York.

Guest View-Diane Peters: Mayor Hiremath vs. Freedom of Speech

On Tuesday, September 22nd, Oro Valley resident Rick Hines (with the help of another Oro Valley resident) staked two anti-Hiremath signs in the right-of-way (ROW) on Pusch View Lane near the intersection with Oracle Road. Mayor Hiremath and a PAC that supports the incumbents have had their signs posted there (on the private property portion) for many weeks.

While posting the signs, Hiremath’s son and his receptionist came out of the office and stated that they were on private property. The residents explained that they were in the public ROW. The son and receptionist returned a few minutes later, telling them that Mayor Hiremath wanted to talk to them inside. The residents told them that they would be happy to speak with the mayor outside and in the meantime they would continue staking their signs.

They waited but Mayor Hiremath never emerged. Why was Hiremath only willing to talk inside? The residents took pictures of the signs as proof that they were in the ROW. Then they left.

Signs Removed, Conflicting Statements Given
The following day, Mr. Hines noticed that the black and white sign had been removed. A day later, the red and white sign was now missing as well. He filed a police report on September 25th. The police contacted Hiremath’s office and was told that the management company, Chapman Management, had removed the signs. The police then contacted Chapman and was told they only removed the black and white sign believing that it was on their property. Chapman said they believed ADOT removed the other sign.

Mr. Hines offered to show the officer the pictures he had taken immediately after installing the signs and the officer replied that he didn’t need to see them because he was not qualified to determine legal placement of political signs.

Hines then called ADOT and was informed that they did not take the sign. Chapman then admitted to having the second sign in their office. Hines asked why the second sign was also removed and was told that they were “probably pressured to remove it.” We can only assume that they were pressured by Hiremath.

The Town, the County, and the State…Oh My! 
Mr. Hines decided to return with more signs and more people to help install them. He contacted ADOT and Chapman and arranged for both to meet us at that location on Friday, October 2nd at 11:00 am. Chapman would be there to return the second sign and ADOT would be present to ensure that the signs were placed legally. We also had a map from Pima County outlining the ROW. The Town of OV also informed us that the ROW area was 7 feet from the curb.

Armed with information from the town and the county and with a State official being present, we would no longer be subjected to the possibility of any lies that our signs were on private property.

I Spy: Scene 1, Take 2
On October 2nd, seven residents arrived at the scheduled time. Our group included two retired law enforcement officers and a former town council member. We noticed a man sitting in his car in the parking lot and suspected that he was “a spy.” Mr. Hines approached him and the man said he was a police officer. Shortly afterwards, we saw him taking a picture of my license plate. At this point, myself and one of our law enforcement team members approached the man in the vehicle. When she introduced herself as retired law enforcement, the man changed his story and now claimed that he was just “an interested citizen.” We returned to the task at hand.

The ADOT rep ensured that our signs were placed legally. He was both courteous and helpful. He answered all questions and described the ROW from ADOT’s perspective. He confirmed that ADOT never had an issue with our original sign placement. As for Chapman Management, they sent an elderly man to return our sign. The absence of an official Chapman representative was very conspicuous.

Unfortunately, the story doesn't end there. Stay tuned for Part 2.
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Note: Mayor Hiremath wrote us to clarify the facts as he understands them. We have entered it as a comment to this posting.
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Diane Peters has lived in Oro Valley since 2003, moving here to escape the humidity of the East Coast. Combining her love of animals and writing, she wrote her first protest letter at the age of 12 to the Canadian Prime Minister in support of ending the annual baby harp seal hunt. Years later, she flew by helicopter to the ice floes off the coast of Newfoundland where she was able to pet baby harp seals recently born on the frozen tundra. Her other interests include reading, nature photography, traveling to National Parks, Native American history, art galleries, museums, and following politics. In her past life, she worked in medical research at various University Hospitals in New England, including coordinating Oncology Clinical Trials and preparing manuscripts for publication in medical journals.  Her husband is an Army veteran who served in Germany and South Korea. A former hippie, he attended the 1969 Woodstock Festival in Upstate New York.
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Guest View-Diane Peters: Why you should sign the Tee’d Off in Oro Valley Petition (Part 2)

This posting addresess the issues raised by some of the residents whose homes are in the vicinity of the golf course.

They have valid concerns that their property values will decrease should the course be allowed to deteriorate in the event that the Town of Oro Valley does not purchase the property; or should a developer buy it and use it for apartment buildings or a gas station.

It was disingenuous for Mayor Hiremath and Council Members Hornat, Waters, and Snider to emphasize maintaining property values as a reason to purchase the course because they are well-aware that these land uses will never happen and the course will not be allowed to deteriorate. This is illustrated below.

Below are 6 reasons not to fear a decline of your property values:

Reason #1: Troon will manage the course whether the town buys it or not.
The golf course will not be allowed to deteriorate. The 5-year renewable contract is between Troon and HSL Properties. Therefore, Troon will manage the course whether HSL owns it or whether the town owns it.

Reason #2:  Current zoning can not be exercised because of space limitations.
According to the Town’s Power Point presentation, the current zoning allows for residential, commercial offices, public offices, retail, religious institutions, restaurants, recreational facilities, social center buildings, hotel, golf course, clubhouse, and equestrian facilities. However, the zoning can’t be exercised due to space limitations.

The course's fairways are only 50-75 yards wide. There isn’t enough room to build the streets and other infrastructure  required to service the buildings.

Reason #3: Current permitted appurtenant uses are not being exercised now.
These uses include small retail shops, cocktail lounges with live music, day nursery, game center, fitness center, satellite receiving station, and equestrian exhibition arena. Again, these uses are currently permitted. They have been for years.

Reason #4: Draconian land use must be approved by council.
The same council members who say they fear some draconian use of the land, actually have substantial control of this use. A gas station, liquor store, or fast food restaurant (for example) could only be built with a  Conditional Use Permit (CUP) and this can only be approved by a majority vote of the Town Council.

Therefore, the mayor’s claim that another owner of the property could build residential properties or a gas station and “no one could stop them” is nothing more than a scare tactic designed to persuade those living along the golf course from signing the petition.

Reason #5: Shifting excuses for why they want to buy this property.
The council majority "speak with forked tongue". Think about it. First the mayor and majority-4 council members stated that the main reason they wanted to purchase this land was to have a Community Center. Then they changed their reason to wanting to control the land in the center of town and protect the property values of homes along the golf course.

Then, when the petition drive began, they turned to scare tactics by stating that if the town doesn’t buy it, that the land could be developed as apartments or a gas station instead, even though they are well aware that the only way that could happen is if they voted to allow a CUP. Why would they vote to approve a gas station or apartments if protecting your property values is truly the reason they want to buy this property?

Reason #6: Changing the land use isn't deemed profitable. If converting the property would be a profitable venture, why isn't HSL doing just that?
Would converting the property be a profitable venture? Consider that the land in question has had at least three different owners in the last 20 years. Those owners were in the real estate investment business (unlike the Town). If any of the prior owners thought they could make a profit exercising their "rights" to develop that property per the current zoning, wouldn’t they have done so?

Tomorrow Part 3: A Look At The Contract
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Diane Peters has lived in Oro Valley since 2003, moving here to escape the humidity of the East Coast. Combining her love of animals and writing, she wrote her first protest letter at the age of 12 to the Canadian Prime Minister in support of ending the annual baby harp seal hunt. Years later, she flew by helicopter to the ice floes off the coast of Newfoundland to photograph baby harp seals. Her other interests include reading, nature photography, traveling to National Parks, Native American history, art galleries, museums, and politics. In her past life, she worked at various University Hospitals in New England assisting in Oncology Clinical Trials and preparing manuscripts for publication in medical journals. Her husband is an Army veteran who served in Germany and South Korea. A former hippie, he attended the 1969 Woodstock Festival.
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Guest View-Diane Peters: Why You Should Sign The Tee’d Off In Oro Valley Petition (Part 1)

Oro Valley Resident Diane Peters shares her view in this first of a three-part posting on why she believes residents should sign the petition that allow you to vote on the town's purchase of The El Conquistador Country Club:
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Reason #1: The El Con deal is a great deal for HSL Properties – not for Oro Valley.
 The deal was negotiated behind closed doors between Mayor Hiremath and HSL Properties (who contributed thousands of dollars to his re-election campaign.) The $1 million price-tag is more like a down payment as an additional $12 million in revenue losses, repairs, and upgrades is projected/planned for the next 5-10 years.

Reason #2: The decision was rushed and there was a lack of transparency. 
The acquisition was decided by a divided Council (4-3 vote) with only two weeks notice to the citizens. The council was clearly not afforded the appropriate time for due diligence as some pertinent documents were given to Council only a couple of hours before the meeting.

Reason #3: The contract was negotiated between Troon and HSL, not between Troon and the Town of OV.
The Council did not see the contract (which will be assumed by the Town upon purchase) until 6 days after the vote!

The council voted to approve this deal without ever seeing the contract!

Reason #4: The Troon contract was drafted on December 15th meaning it could have been made available for the council to inspect prior to the Dec. 17th vote. The contract could have been and should have been shown to the council but it wasn’t. Why?

Reason #5: A sales tax increase without public input is wrong.
Mayor Hiremath dictated to the citizens where the community center would be located, what it would contain, how much it would cost, and how we would pay for it (with an increase in our sales tax from 2% to 2.5%). The community center is supposed to be for the citizens, but the citizens were not allowed to have any input. In fact, a Town survey conducted in June 2014 revealed that a sales tax increase was the residents’ last choice for funding Parks and Recreation facilities.

Reason #6: A 2014 survey of residents revealed the top ten amenities that residents wanted. The list does not include tennis courts, pools, or golf courses.

According to this survey, 56% to 82% of respondents want the following in a Community Center:

1. playgrounds
2. ramadas and picnic areas
3. paved walking paths
4. Little League baseball fields
5. indoor racquetball and basketball
6. multi-sport fields for soccer, lacrosse
7. youth softball fields
8. rooms for aerobics and yoga
9. natural surface trails
10. outdoor basketball courts.

Where are the requests for tennis courts, pools, and golf courses? Of the 34 items listed on the survey, tennis came in at #11, golf came in at #33, and a pool was not mentioned at all. Yet the El Con deal includes 31 tennis courts, three golf courses, and two pools.

How can Mayor Hiremath claim that he’s doing this for the citizens when this isn’t what the citizens requested?

Tomorrow, in part 2, I will discuss the concerns of residents living along the golf course.
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Diane Peters has lived in Oro Valley since 2003, moving here to escape the humidity of the East Coast. Combining her love of animals and writing, she wrote her first protest letter at the age of 12 to the Canadian Prime Minister in support of ending the annual baby harp seal hunt. Years later, she flew by helicopter to the ice floes off the coast of Newfoundland to photograph baby harp seals. Her other interests include reading, nature photography, traveling to National Parks, Native American history, art galleries, museums, and politics. In her past life, she worked at various University Hospitals in New England assisting in Oncology Clinical Trials and preparing manuscripts for publication in medical journals. Her husband is an Army veteran who served in Germany and South Korea. A former hippie, he attended the 1969 Woodstock Festival.
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Guest View-Diane Peters: The Other Side Of The Equation (Part 2)

Last week, Diane Peters addressed remarks made by 2 individuals during the "Call To Audience" portion of the May 7 Oro Valley town council meeting.  The remarks of these 2 individuals were intended to show support of Oro Valley Police Department ("OVPD"). Their remarks were also intended to disparage the concerns regarding department budget oversight and operations made by Council Member's Garner and Zinkin.  This week Diane continues to address comments made by the remaining three speakers at that meeting

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Matt McCarty stated that he is an Air Force officer who has lived all over the world.

He stated: “I have friends who live around the city and they are frightened to drive into Oro Valley because of the police department, because if they disobey the law even a little bit, they’re going to be told that they disobeyed the law.”

McCarty thought this was a good thing.  I don't.

People should not be “frightened” to drive in Oro Valley because of the police.  People should never be frightened of the police department unless they are "wanted".  I assume McCarty's friends are upstanding people so why should they be frightened?

It is ironic that McCarty's comment confirms the arguments of the other side.  His remark speaks volumes about the reputation of a Oro Valley police force when even ordinary citizens are frightened of them.  His comment inadvertently confirmed that their aggressive posture is unnecessary and amounts to harassment of motorists.  

We are not the enemy and should not have to be “frightened” to drive in Oro Valley.  The police are here to serve and protect, not to harass and intimidate.

Carmen Trevizo  is an Oro Valley Police Department ("OVPD") Sergeant.  She spoke of the work that her colleagues do every day including: A police officer who saved the life of a 3-year old child with mouth-to-mouth resuscitation; another officer who saved the life of a man who was having a heart attack; and another officer who talked for four hours to a suicidal man who was holding a gun to his mouth.

Yes. We applaud these officers for their commendable handling of these situations.  This is where their training pays off and is more in line with the “serve and protect” model that they are sworn to uphold.  We are proud of the work of our officers on the street.

However, Sergeant Trevizo may have missed the point of Council Member Garner's prima donna and thug comments.  Council Member Garner was not criticizing the performance of Oro Valley police officers.  None of us are.  Garner was referring to an attitude on the part of department management that OVPD operations and spending is above reproach and above inspection.

Does commendable performance in the field mean that the Oro Valley Police Department should be given sovereignty?  Does it mean that they should be given a blank check to run the department with minimal oversight and no questions asked?

Oro Valley resident Harry Sheetz claimed that Council Member Zinkin’s desire for a police management study indicates that he has no confidence in Chief Sharp.  Sheetz is wrong.  Council Member Zinkin has never criticized Chief Sharp.

The point of the management study is to look for ways to cut costs, not to criticize the department director. Virtually all other Oro Valley departments have had management studies approved by prior council.   For example, management studies have previously been performed in the  Legal Department, Planning and Zoning, and the Town Engineer’s office.

Does the fact that these studies were done mean that the then Oro Valley Town Councils had no confidence in those department directors?  No. Rather these councils were just looking for ways to increase efficiency and streamline procedures to save the taxpayers money.  As a result of one study, for example, the Town Engineer’s office and Planning and Zoning were combined into the Development and Infrastructure Department.

Why does engaging a management study only become an issue when it involves the police?

Sheetz also mentioned Council Member Zinkin’s being critical of overtime pay for police officers.  Zinkin should be critical of a policy whereby an employee is paid for hours scheduled rather than for hours worked.  As an example, under the current policy, an officer (or any non-exempt employee) can take 40 hours vacation Monday-Friday and then receive overtime wages for working an 8-hour shift on Saturday.  Overtime pay for working an 8-hour week?  Where does this happen in the private sector?

A Town Staff Report revealed that the current overtime policy costs the Town Of Oro Valley, at a minimum, $120,000 a year (with the OVPD utilizing the vast majority of it).  Councilmembers Zinkin, Garner and Burns attempted to revise that policy during the April 2, 2014 council meeting so that overtime would be paid only for hours worked over 40 hours.  Marshall Morris, representing the OVPOA, gave a speech objecting to the change.  Interestingly, no other town employees showed up to object.  The motion failed 4-3 with the Majority-4 siding with the police and against the taxpayers as usual.
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Diane Peters has lived in Oro Valley since 2003, moving here to escape the humidity of the East Coast.  Combining her love of animals and writing, she wrote her first protest letter at the age of 12 to the Canadian Prime Minister in support of ending the annual baby harp seal hunt.  Years later, she flew by helicopter to the ice floes off the coast of Newfoundland where she was able to pet baby harp seals recently born on the frozen tundra.  Her other interests include reading, nature photography, traveling to National Parks, Native American history, art galleries, museums, and following politics.  In her past life, she worked in medical research at various University Hospitals in New England, including coordinating Oncology Clinical Trials and preparing manuscripts for publication in medical journals.  Her husband is an Army veteran who served in Germany and South Korea.  A former hippie, he attended the 1969 Woodstock Festival in Upstate New York.