Informed Decisions – Payson Council Candidates on 401 and 402

Inconsistent.  Not a term that would be desirable for a Town Council candidate.  It would appear that it is inconsistent for a potential elected representative to ask for your vote to elect them, and then suggest that your same vote not be part of the decision-making process.  Are they smarter than you?  Better connected?  What drives that approach? 

Not too long ago we took a look at the Mayor’s race and the candidate’s position.  Oftentimes people think the Mayor sets the tone.  Possibly. The reality is that the Mayor in Payson has no more authority than any other Council Member.  Each position counts for one of seven votes on the issues.  It would seem appropriate to see where the Council candidates stand on 401 and 402?  There are seven candidates.  Of the seven, four are on record as supporting Proposition 401 (Lease Term) and 402 (Debt Obligation).  They are:

Mr. Jeffrey Aal
Mr. Jim Ferris
Mr. Dave Golembewski
Ms. Shirley Dye

(Please note, each name has a link to a “Candidate Profile” as found at the Payson Roundup)

Of the four, three were actively engaged in the efforts of Transparent Payson.  Jeffrey Aal is the Chairman of Transparent Payson. Both Jim Ferris and Dave Golembewski were instrumental in collecting signatures and providing information to citizens.  Ms. Dye did not participate in the efforts of Transparent Payson.

The remaining three candidates are on record as opposing the Propositions.  They are:

Ms. Kim Chittick
Mr. Chris Higgins
Ms. Hallie Overman-Jackman

(Please note, each name has a link to a “Candidate Profile” as found at the Payson Roundup)

It seems disingenuous that a candidate could ask for #YourVOTE and then state that you should not have input on large decisions?

We asked the candidates that support Proposition 401 (Lease Term) and 402 (Debt Obligation) to provide statements as to why.  The responses:

Jeffrey Aal

Why is citizen input important? Why is voting important?  We can likely all answer this similarly. It is our basic right in a Democracy to have input.  We are not subjects, we are citizens.  It is so disheartening that most people do not trust government/politicians any longer.  Not surprising mind you, just disheartening.  Saddest of all is that could easily be changed, simply by addressing the concerns of the people and understanding that a council members authority comes from the citizens.

“I firmly believe that government should serve, not circumvent the people.”

Your money requires your vote.

Learn more at: JeffreyAal.com

Jim Ferris

I support 401 and 402.  A state statue that requires a votes on the issuance of a general obligation bond was drafted in the spirit that recognizes the imperative for tax paying citizens to have a say in major financial obligations their local governments may contemplate engaging in which would create an obligation that would rob their future revenue sources.  These initiative prevent local governmental officials from obligating their governmental units for payment of large future financial obligations that may be very detrimental to that local government.  The emotionally driven poor judgment of several officeholders should not be allowed to put a financial millstone around any local community.

Learn more at: FerrisForPaysonCouncil.com

 

Dave Golembewski

I stand behind the people, not my own political agenda. As a Council Representative I will not run your lives. My mission is to be a voice for the people. The residents of Payson deserve a say and I will ensure you have one. I’m passionate about building a Payson that works for everybody. I believe major decision-making should NOT be left to a handful of elected officials. I believe the community should have had the opportunity to decide and be allowed to vote on matters such as the sales tax increase and the Rumsey Park Plan that would allow private development in our park and the trees to be cut down.  “If you want to see a change, you have to be the change”. I’m running for you. Let’s make Payson better together.

Learn more at: Dave4Council.com.

(By the way – Great Picture: Really like the shirt choice!)

Shirley Dye

Proposition 401.  While I do agree that we have a “Republic if we can keep it”, aka a representative form of government, There were no big issues on the horizon when the past several Town Council and Mayor elections took place.  Had there been, we would have questioned the council candidates especially two years ago, to see where they stood on any big ideas.   It used to be there there were many town task forces, with many citizens involved in attending Town Council meetings and everything was very transparent.  Then there was the economic crash and there was no money for the Town to spend on anything, so interest in any projects was lost.  Now that the economy has picked up and the Town Counselors want to spend spend spend, the question of long term leases has now become a big issue.  I do think that a vote by the people is appropriate for any lease more than three years on the citizen’s town property.

Proposition 402:  The Arizona Constitution Article 2, Section 2, states under title “Political power: purpose of government:  2. All political power is inherent in the people, and governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed, and are established to protect and maintain individual rights.”  That seems pretty clear to me.  Though the Town Council is representing our interests day to day carrying out the legislated rules of running a town government, the people have not given up their right to question and vote on big issues that the town would like to implement.  Therefore, on projects of one million dollars or more that might impact the town taxpayers depending on the type of financing involved, I would say yes, I would support the peoples ability to vote on such a project.

Learn more at:  ShirleyDye.com

The remaining candidates?  We can only speculate as to why they oppose the propositions.  Maybe they are smarter than the others?  Maybe they have abilities and skills the others do not?  Perhaps you can ask them yourself?

As always we do encourage that people make informed decisions.