"The expectation you should have of your council is that we are civil and that we will work together. The expectation you should have of your mayor is that you want somebody who is honest, has integrity, is respectful, is responsible and cares for you."
These were the closing words of Mayor Hiremath at the Greater Oro Valley Chamber of Commerce Candidate Forum.
This is the same Mayor who has now pounced on Council Member Burns. Hiremath has called for a ruling on whether Burns should be removed from office on the basis that Burns is not living in Oro Valley. This on the basis of a law that went into effect on July 24 that requires elected officials to live in their district. Burns is estranged from his wife. He moved out of their house. He is negotiating an Oro Valley residence as we write.
Hiremath failed in his attempt to remove Council Member Zinkin from office. Now he has turned his attention to removing Burns from council. He could not prevent Burns' election in 2012. Now he wants to remove him from council to rob you of your representative. Mayor Hiremath's behavior hardly is honest. It is patently obviously "political".
Civil? Honest? Integrity? Respectful? Mayor Hiremath is anything but that.
Burns has responded saying the Mayor is most certainly not a gentleman.
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Mayor Hiremath believes that he is Oro Valley's "Chief Of Decency"
Thus, operating on this philosophy he claims that he decided to work to recall Council Member Zinkin because of very serous infractions that came to his attention. Had he really does his homework, as we did, he would have found that the alleged infractions were neither serious nor persistent.
So, one better hold to Hiremaths' "morals and values" or they are liable to be "pounced upon" by him.
This is not Mayor Hiremath's first foray into going after Council Member Burns. He's been pouncing on Burns for a while. Last March, Mayor Hiremath allegedly may have violated the open meeting law by conducting a meeting of council members to discuss Council Member Burns without Burns' knowledge and without his participation.
Does Oro Valley need a "Chief of Decency?" Is this what you want the Mayor to do? Or, do you wants someone you can actually trust.
People In Glass Houses
Its funny how Mayor Hiremath holds himself as the standard of "morals and values" when he, himself does not hold to that standard. We have always told you that we would never discuss a council member's personal life. So, we have never revealed what we have learned regarding his relationships. We will not sink to the gutter to disclose such, even now.
Knowing what we have learned, he is most certainly not "a model of morals and ethics".
A Mayor needs to bring 3 characteristics. They must be able an ability to unite, to lead and to represent.
The Mayor's postion in Oro Valley is what is called a "Weak Mayor" position. That is, the Mayor does not have any daily responsibilities for running the town. The Mayor is a part-time position. The Mayor is not the Chairman of the Board nor is he Chief Executive Officer. Nor is he the "Chief of Decency," as Mayor Hiremath believes he should be.
What the Mayor must be is a leader of all the people. He must be an individual who can listen to all view points. He must be someone who is thoughtful, not boastful. He must be an individual who does not take up arms against another elected official, dividing the community.
He must be someone who knows that the ""Civility, Integrity and Teamwork" are more than mere emotional words, as Mayor Hiremath asserted at the SunCity Candidate Forum. They are words that describe values and ascribe behavior.
He must unite us. Not divide us.
He must also be someone whose judgment you trust.
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11 comments:
I love the LOVE blog, but your constant grammatical errors are annoying. The last sentence under "People in Glass Houses" makes no sense. As for Council member Burns, since this is a new law, he should have a certain amount of time to "re-reside" in OV. It sounds like he's working on it. We all know Hiremath would love to be rid of him. WE just need to be rid of Hiremath!
Thanks for pointing this out to me. Unfortunately, grammatically errors do creep into our work. The reason is that we work on each piece probably 20 times. Because we make so many changes until we have a finished product, even a computer reading the text back to me does'nt always help me catch a mistake. For example, the line to which you refer should have said "not" as opposed to "to." So I have changed it.
Yes, we need a mayor who has the ability to unite, to lead and to represent the citizens of Oro Valley with civility, integrity and teamwork! Pat Straney is that man!
I know you all will disagree, but these allegations are a far cry different from being indicted by a grand jury or being accuse of harassment of a woman. I agree we need to align, but lets do it to as a team with ethics and character. We can't have leaders that violate laws and ethical values.
Our posting simply points out the Mayor Hiremath has set himself up as a judge of moral values. You should take the time to investigate his personal situation before you conclude that he is a man of ethics and character.
Thank you.
Oh beleive me Mr. Furash I know Mayor Hiremath has his issues, but to bash his character while supporting behavior of harrasment of women and disregarding the law, is incomprhensible to me. If Oro Valley is truely to "excel" all politians must be accountable for their actions.
Then Hiremath should be accountable for tearing up a councilmember's report and throwing it into the wastebasket "in front of a live audience." He should also be accountable for dressing down a senior staff member "in front of a live audience." He should also be accountable for abusive behavior towards a councilmember in private, resulting in the need for a third person to always be in the room whenever the two of them meet privately. There are plenty more examples, but these three are good indicators of Hiremath's unprofessional demeanor.
I think I met Michelle trying to get petitions signed at Fry's for the failed Zinkin recall. If it's the same woman, I shared what you are being too polite to say. And yet she's still defending his character???
The reason the Dentist wants to sack Burns is so that he can stack the council with his on lackey if the election does not go his way. Please do not vote for the Dentist.
Aren't you quick to stereotype! No you didn't meet me passing petitions to recall Zinkin. I didn't take part in that nonsense. And I would agree that Hiremath should be accountable but so should Zinkin and Burns! Hiremath has his problems for sure. But compared to your "boys", they make him look like a saint!
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