Guest Editorial

BY BOB WILLIAMS | FEBRUARY 20, 2013

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Out-of-town interest, out-of-town money

What did Cave Creek do to deserve all this attention from nonresidents?

The February 13 Scottsdale Republic reminded me of the significant out-of-town influence being dumped on Cave Creek residents for the upcoming town council election. The Republic has, among other things, a full page paid advertisement from Mike “Pittsburgh” Chutz tearing into Don Sorchych and tearing down the town (shades of Terry Zerkle), complete with his list of dramatic ‘old news’ questions and a letter from Ms. Anna Marsolo, a county resident all too willing to tell Cave Creek how to manage its affairs. Then we have Adam “Scottsdale” Trenk, the apparent leader of slate of special interest candidates and let us not forget Carefree’s own Jim Pierce. Let’s look a little closer.

Mr. Chutz is an out-of-towner who heads up the CaveCreekElection2013 PAC organized to get the special interest slate of candidates elected and eliminate the pesky town council that has been singularly successful by any measure and fire that wretched town manager who does more for this town before breakfast every day than any slate candidate, individually or collectively, has done - ever. And, Chutz seems to have plenty of out-of-town money. His funding of the consultants hired to oppose the Enchanted Canyon Resort proposal, his new PAC and his full page ad in the Scottsdale Republic are probably only a taste of what is to come in order to educate us Cave Creek hicks to put his minions in office. If he ever participated in anything at all in the town, he would know the answer to his questions. What did we do to deserve such attention from this out-of-town expert?

Ms. Marsolo is a professional irritant. We all know that she has been an irritant to Cave Creek for years – and before that, she was an irritant to the City of Phoenix. As a non-resident, she has a long history of willingness to share her superior intellect and knowledge to guide the town down the path of her vision to yesterday’s nowhere. I know many residents were relieved with the thought she had disappeared for a year or so, but no such luck. She has returned. What did we do to deserve her out-of-town attention again?

And, then we have Carefree’s Jim Pierce, the special interest slate’s surrogate to initiate the zoning referendum to overturn the council’s decision to zone 5 of 50 acres of the most commercial property in Cave Creek as, well, commercial. It’s kind of funny in a sordid sort of way. We never heard a single peep of concern for those Cave Creek neighbors from Jim Pierce or any of the special interest slate candidates when Carefree dumped Lowe’s and CVS in their front yard. Now, the immediate neighbors want it zoned commercial because Carefree cast the die and all of these special interest candidates are expressing their staged outrage.

Unfortunately, there is no out-of-town money here. This special interest slate of self proclaimed ‘financial experts’ and their referendum is going to cost Cave Creek taxpayers thousands and thousands of dollars. Disgusting – what a waste!

The glue that seems to hold this special interest slate together is the Scottsdale lobbyist, Adam Trenk, a Scottsdale resident. He recently convinced a judge he was qualified to be on the Cave Creek ballot, not because he established residency as required under the law, but because he ‘intended to come back’ to Cave Creek – or maybe the winning argument was residency by inebriation – visiting Cave Creek from his home in Scottsdale on lots of weekends to party and staying “on his Cave Creek property” to avoid driving. I must admit that Adam “Scottsdale” Trenk is talented. He has been on every side of the property tax issue. As a member of the select committee that researched the fire protection issue in 2008, Trenk supported the property tax as the only way to go. Then, he was the self-proclaimed Poster Boy for defeat of the property tax in the March 2012 election. Not 3 weeks after that vote, he met secretly with the Daisy Mountain Fire Department to explore a fire district concept to be paid for with a whopping property tax, but with no public vote. Get the picture? This Scottsdale resident has tons of money backing his run for council and, like it was in 2009, all from out-of-town. By his own admission, he has probably 13 or 14 times more money than any incumbent candidate. Nice mailer, Scottsdale! What did Cave Creek do to attract this opportunistic lobbyist back to town?

Heads up, Cave Creek! These out-of-towners have an altogether different agenda and you can bet that you are not going to be part of it.