I was amused by retired General John Wickham's letters (Arizona Daily Star and Explorer) extolling Mayor Hiremath's character. The mayor of Oro Valley was also endorsed by Reverend James Briney in a "Special to the Arizona Daily Star.” Seriously? They must be speaking about a different Hiremath than the one I have observed in his role as the mayor of Oro Valley.Hiremath’s Misrepresentations
The Hiremath that I have observed has misled residents and has been far from forthcoming with the media. These are some examples of Hiremath's misrepresentations:
"It wasn't a backroom deal."
"Golf will be profitable in year four."
"The town got a turnkey community center."
"We put the 454 bond on the ballot to respond to the outcry for youth fields."
"We had no skin in the game."
And so it goes…on and on.
Hiremath’s Character
Hiremath called council member Bill Garner a liar on talk radio. Hiremath wrote the Arizona Bar Association in an attempt to get council member Brendan Burns disbarred. Hiremath led an unsuccessful recall of council member Mike Zinkin including authoring incendiary opinion pieces in the Explorer. All of these actions are beneath the accepted standards of the office of mayor.
Hiremath began his re-election campaign by calling his opponent, Joe Winfield, "disingenuous" for highlighting the $6.9 million in town-reported golf operating losses. Hiremath has tried to hide the extent of these losses through an accounting shell game which treats sales taxes as golf revenue. No, Mr. Mayor, my sales taxes are not “green fees.”
If the residents desire a leader with true character, then Joe Winfield is the candidate for whom they should vote.
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Susan Ross is a former college professor who has lived in Oro Valley since 2014. She has a Master’s degree in History. She enjoys swimming. An avid reader, she reads dozens of non-fiction books per year.
