Guest View-Mike Zinkin: It is Time For Me To Speak Out

It is time to speak out
As a sitting council member, I have been silent regarding the recall election of four of my fellow council members. However, I can no longer remain entirely silent. No. I am not going to speak out about the recalled council members.

I am going to speak out about a piece of trash, a mailer, that I received in the mail last week. The trash was sponsored by a Pac called "Triple E."

The head of this PAC is Oro Valley resident Don Cox. This is his PAC. I lay the responsibility for the statements in this 4-page mailer directly to him.

Cox has demonstrated in the past that he will say anything, whether it is truthful or not, to make his point
I know this from personal experience. Cox has made many false claims in public about me. Some of the fabricated claims he has made about me include that I was fired from the FAA, that I was fired from the Sheraton/Hilton El Conquistador, that I have a history of sexual harassment; and that I was guilty of a Class 3 Misdemeanor hit and run.

As a result of these statements, I sued Cox last year and won a small settlement.  Cox would not retract any of these statements despite my showing him my retirement certificate, and despite my never having been convicted of sexual harassment or a hit and run.

Cox also attacked my fellow council member, Brendan Burns
Don Cox attempted to get council member Burns fired from his job by writing a malicious letter to Burns' boss. He did this while knowing that Burns has an ex-wife and three children who depend on his income.

Cox has no conscience when it comes to the truth. He has repeatedly shown a complete disregard for facts and has a history of twisting matters to fit his needs
Now comes this outrageous 4-page mailer. As one can expect, is filled with lies. So, let me set the record straight.

• The flyer alleges that the council majority inherited a $3million deficit when they came to office in 2010. That statement is a lie. The recalled candidates never inherited a $3 million deficit. What they inherited was a Town Manager who told them to either double the Utility Tax or be forced to make hard decisions in order to balance the budget. The recalled candidates doubled the Utility Tax. At it turned out, the additional revenues generated were not needed as evidenced by the surplus at the end of the year.
• The mailer gives credit to the recalled candidates for Oro Valley's "AA-" bond rating. The Town Of Oro Valley bond rating has been "AA-" for a long time. This is a result of efforts of the Oro Valley Town finance department and the residents of our community; not of the recalled majority.
• The mailer claims that community center profit offsets golf losses. The golf loses are not offset by the Community Center. In fact, the community center restaurant has already lost an additional $37,000.

Then the mailer goes on to attack three Oro Valley residents who are running for office.

• Shirl Lamonna and others who advised her did make an unfortunate mistake in a petition that would have enabled a public vote on the purchase of the El Conquistador Country Tennis and Golf Resort. Cox also made a mistake in his initial filing of the Triple E PAC. The difference being that Ms. Lamonna had to sift through 33 pages of instructions for the referendum. Whereas Cox had to read only 2 pages of instructions and still "Mr. Perfect" missed something.

         So who is Cox to ridicule another person for overlooking something in a document?

• Steve Didio fought to prevent the elimination of the Coyote Run service. Steve's son cam is challenged. Steve fought for retaining, in some form, the transportation services of  the needy and of the elderly. He and resident Terry Thompson worked together to save the service. It was Mayor Hiremath who voted to kill it.  
• Cox ridicules Pat Straney for making a second attempt to run for mayor. Yet Cox ran for Council twice and lost both times.

The mailer we received is filled with falsehoods and lies
It is the type of information one would expect from Don Cox.

However, it is not something that I would expect of my fellow council members. 

[Ed note: The Triple E PAC is funded in part by recalled council members Joe Hornat and Lou Waters per the last financial filing of the Triple E PAC]


Who you vote for is your decision, however please do not make your decision based on this deceptive piece of trash mailer.
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Mike Zinkin is a member of the Oro Valley Town Council. He was elected in 2012.