Phil Gordon: Travelin’ in style, taking ego along for the ride

From the United Arab Emirates port of Dubai to Toronto and points in between, Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon is on the go.  He even works in a few trips to Washington D.C. to rail against those who oppose his Sanctuary City  policies.

As to his global jetsetting, Philly says:

“When developing new economic opportunities, you have to do things face to face. I believe to create jobs, to help our city, to keep people safe, the mayor of Phoenix should be leading, not following, and risking that Phoenix will be passed by others cities in the country.

And I’m good at it. I’ve got the energy, I’ve got the background, and I’m representing the state of Arizona when I’m doing this.”

A suggestion you might want to consider regarding keeping the people of the city of Phoenix safe, Mr. Mayor: How about discarding the policies that provide safe haven to lawbreakers and reward criminality?

The article in the daily can be read here.

Another on Hizzoner’s globetrotting includes this portion: Gordon may be all over the map, literally and figuratively, as his critics allege. A more focused approach might make more sense.

We couldn’t have said it better ourselves.

Insider trading on the supposedly non-partisan Phoenix City Council

Scott Wong, writing for the daily, exposes some of the shenanigans that went on during the recent city council meeting when Phoenix attorney Bill Gates, a Republican,  was selected to fill the vacancy created by the skedaddling of short-termer Maria Baier.

The supposedly non-partisan council and mayor were engaging in high-stakes partisan gamesmanship, intended to ensure a much different result to the composition of the left-leaning council. Mayor Phil Gordon, who has made an art-form of underhanded duplicity, is a liberal of longstanding and his hand-picked choice Tom Milton was flagging — causing Gordon to decide to deal from the bottom of the deck. Fortunately, Gordon was blocked in his ruse by an objection from Councilman Michael Johnson who pointed out the violation of rules and City Attorney Gary Verburg who ultimately put a stop to the maneuver.

Remember this exposé by Wong when the term-limited and shifty Phil Gordon decides to throw his hat in the ring for higher office.

McCain, Brewer successfully lobby for newest Phoenix City Councilman Bill Gates

Bill Gates (no, not THAT one) selected to fill city council vacancy

Phoenix attorney Bill Gates has become the newest member of the Phoenix City Council, after coming in ahead of 18 other applicants for the post.

Gates, 37, is the in-house counsel for Karsten Manufacturing Corporation which manufactures Ping golf clubs and has lived in District 3 for over a dozen years.

He was elected on a 5 – 3 vote today. Councilwoman Peggy Neely nominated Gates, whom she said she had never met before.

Mayor Phil Gordon, along with council members Tom Simplot, Michael Johnson, Michael Nowakowski and Neely, voted for his confirmation. Council members Claude Mattox, Sal DiCiccio and Thelda Williams voted against Gates.

The daily reports that Gates was also recently appointed by Gov. Jan Brewer to a state regulatory commission, and said he would draw on his long-standing personal relationship with the governor and her family to benefit Phoenix. He grew up with Brewer’s son, Michael.

In recent days, aides to both Gov. Brewer and Sen. John McCain had lobbied the council to select Gates.

Gates will serve on an interim basis until the November special election, when he indicated he plans to run for the seat recently vacated by Maria Baier.

City Council interviews today for District 3 vacancy

Since short-termer Maria Baier’s recent resignation from the Phoenix City Council to take a position as state land commissioner, a glut of 19 applicants have submitted their names to fill the vacancy.

The council is expected to interview all applicants and appoint an interim replacement at 2:00 P.M. today in the City Council Chambers, 200 W. Jefferson St.

Baier’s ship-jumping will necessitate a District 3 special election, tentatively scheduled for November 3.  It’s unclear whether the Council members prefer a “benchwarmer,” who has no intention of running in the special election or someone who will run to complete the vacant term which ends in 2012.

“We will know come Tuesday who will be in the race and who will be an interim. I am leaving my options open and want to know who’s all there before I make a decision about where we are going,” Councilman Claude Mattox said recently.

The list of interested applicants includes: Former District 3 council candidates Jim Mapstead, and Jon C. Altman, whom Baier defeated in the council runoff election.

William Bell, Director of the Arizona Department of Administration, retiring in July after serving four governors of both parties.

Former Councilman Tom Milton, a close ally of Mayor Phil Gordon.

Jim Sharpe, a former radio talk show host.

Tee Lambert, a Washington Elementary School District Board member.

Bill Gates, a lawyer and Paradise Valley Village Planning Committee member, recently appointed to the Governor’s Regulatory Review Council.

In February the Council appointed Ahwatukee resident and former councilman Sal DiCiccio, who has longstanding ties to Sen. John McCain and U.S. Rep. Harry Mitchell, to fill Greg Stanton’s seat after he resigned to take a job with Attorney General Terry Goddard

In addition to shaping city policy, the appointee will be integral in dealing with the city’s budget woes and selecting a replacement for retiring City Manager Frank Fairbanks.

Others vying for the job are: Aaron Aylsworth, Vaughn Beasley, Judi A. Butterworth, Christopher Lee Klugman, Douglas L. LaPedes, James Larson, Eugene Alexander Mattics, Gibson McKay, James W. Riley, Clifford Sherr, Greg Tripoli and Judith Tunell.

A map of District 3 can be seen here.

Valley transit fees skyrocket 40 percent

Bus and transient trolley (light rail) fares will be rising sharply across the Valley beginning Wednesday.

Increases are said to reflect Valley Metro’s rising costs amid declining sales-tax revenues. The transit system “must meet a goal of recovering 25 percent of its operating budget through fares,” according to a report in the daily.

The question is, who sets the “goal” and what are the penalties for falling short?

The base fare for local bus and rail service will climb 40 percent, from $1.25 to $1.75; the base fare for express buses will rise 57 percent, from $1.75 to $2.75.

Phil’s folly: Phoenix’s Light rail transient transit is a no-go

Was your home one of the many along 19^th Avenue whose sale was forced through eminent domain to make room for Phoenix’s light rail transient transit system?

That’s a shame — especially now that the city is unable to afford to complete the three-mile 19^th Avenue extension and has completely abandoned plans for other routes.

So the desolate, empty lots and chain-link fences along 19^th Avenue will greet you until at least 2014. And according to the daily, other stretches face delays until 2019, 2021, and even 2030, ensuring that many Valleyites will never lay eyes on the tracks and trains.

If you read the article, you’ll see that many of the priorities have changed, along with the boastful stories of start dates and enlarged routes. The delay of at least 16 months on 19^th Avenue means the earliest the light-rail extension can begin service is 2014, about six years after the starter line opened. Don’t hold your breath.

Last week Scottsdale City Council voted to resign from the Valley Metro board, strongly signaling that community’s disinterest. Also scrapped is the 12-mile track toward Paradise Valley Mall.

Mayor Phil Gordon’s sister and brother-in-law Gail Gordon and Ron Ober were recently discovered to have been awarded lucrative contracts through their Phoenix-based Policy Development Group to help guide transportation principles through the bidding process. Revealing the cozy racket for what it is might have impacted the continuation of the routes as much as the declining tax revenues in the slowed economy.

Happy birthday to us

Seeing Red AZ was inaugurated on June 23, 2007. Today begins our third year. It has been our mission to provide a conservative vantage point to the Arizona blogosphere, with news, commentary and analysis.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our loyal readers who have made us a leading voice on the political scene.

Our initial post highlighted Why I am a Republican, written by AZ GOP Chairman Randy Pullen. That is no longer archived, but Part 2 can be read here.

Jose and Joe: The real story

The Rev. Al Sharpton blew into town yesterday on a whirlwind tour hyping his message of accusations against Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio.  Sharpton came west from New York to brand Arpaio with charges of racial profiling for conducting immigration sweeps in the Valley.

“I think it was awesome. I think that we needed that,” said Marisela Navajar, president of the Immigration Reform Committee at ACORN, a group under the microscope amid voter fraud charges in numerous states.

“Let me make this clear. We are not here about Sheriff Joe as much as we are here about Citizen Jose,” said Sharpton, described by the Republic as “the sometimes controversial civil rights activist.”

The unfortunate truth is, “Jose” is most often here illegally, using stolen or counterfeit documents in order to facilitate life in the United States. Sheriff Joe is a five-time elected official who is doing his job of enforcing the law.

We must be clairvoyant

In an exposé on the excesses and duplicity of Mayor Phil Gordon in awarding lucrative city contracts to his own family members, posted on this site on Monday, we included a separate item about District 3 City Councilwoman Maria Baier.

Little did we know that on Tuesday Governor Jan Brewer would be selecting the first term councilwoman to serve as the Arizona State Land Commissioner.  This appointment is especially notable in view of the fact that the registered Republican Baier blatantly courted Democrats in her campaign with targeted mailers like this one.

In fact, Baier, 48, is so enamored with Napolitano that she willingly agreed to have her name appear on the Republicans for Janet website. It would seem Gov. Brewer might be able to find a more suitable Republican for the cushy job of overseeing the sale of state trust land — the proceeds of which pay for school construction.

Baier will officially resign her elected post today, further encumbering the cash-strapped city with the costs of scheduling a special election this fall to fill the vacancy created by her move.

Baier’s replacement will initially be appointed by the council and mayor and then will conveniently run as an incumbent in the special election. Since the council and mayor run as “non-partisans” there is no requirement that the nominal Republican Baier be replaced with even another nominal Republican.

Mayor Phil Gordon says this isn’t a conflict of interest — What do you think?

Have you ever heard of Bombardier Transportation?  Didn’t think so.

For starters, the Montréal, Québec-based company has recently been awarded a $260 million contract by the City of Phoenix. They are contracted to build a sky train at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, linking the airport terminals to the light rail, the rental car center and airport parking — a project scheduled for completion by 2020.

But even before the contract was awarded, Bombardier hired Phoenix-based Policy Development Group to help guide them through the bid process. And a wise move it was, given that the principles would certainly have an inside track — since the company is run by none other than Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon’s sister and brother-in-law, Gail Gordon and Ron Ober. 

Pretty cozy arrangement.

Bombardier also hired Phoenix International Consultants, led by Ronnie Lopez, who chaired election campaigns for both the mayor and Councilman Claude Mattox.

Meanwhile, contract competitor Sumitomo brought on former Phoenix firefighters union President Billy Shields, a close friend and fundraiser of Gordon, who now runs lobbying firm Shields Consulting/Public Policy Partners.

And speaking of firefighters, it’s worth noting that Maria Baier,  Phil Gordon’s hand picked and personally endorsed District 3 city council person is the sister of Fire Chief Bob Khan, positioned to vote for pay increases for her own brother and his union. Baier is also notable for appearing on the endorsement list of Republicans for Janet — Arizona’s liberal former governor, now doing her part to keep the borders porous for the Obama administration.

The daily has the full article regarding the contracts that is worth reading — if you can keep the players straight. The juicy information is tucked away under this likely intended-to-be-overlooked headline: Phoenix City Council to award Sky Train contract.