Local comment of the day...

Posted: Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Article comment by: Bert Garcia


I beg to differ with you, Ray Lyons did not lose the election at all. My highly esteemed friend Ray moves on alongside three (3) others to the run-offs in May. Being a military person, I am used to making it a point to familiarize myself with my home election issues, to find out who is running for office, and to cast my ballot through the mail on time. With all due respect in addition to reading it in the Kingman Daily Miner Newspaper you could have attended the different forums where the candidates addressed the issues to the best of their ability. I personally attended two (2) of their presentations at the Elks Lodge and at the Community College where it was televised to be shown at a later time, Dick Anderson took the extra step to send me a post card in the mail to let me know where he stands on the issues, also local TV station aired the Community College Forum in the community 3 or 4 times. Erin Cochran was gracious enough to personally speak me about the clean city issues at length and even made a point to walk with me where unauthorized dump sites are located in a five (5) mile area in my neighborhood. As a volunteer driver during election day, I gladly provided a ride to a voter to and from the polling place. Finally, I must say that where there is a will to exercise your right to vote, there is a way to cast your ballot. So please cast your vote in May for the City Council Elections.

Polls are closed...

Now that the polls are closed I'm watching the Mohave County website for the results of today's election in Kingman.  I will post the results when they are available.

As of 7:10pm there are no reported results on the website.

As of 9:21pm... nothing on the Mohave County website.

As of 10:16pm... these are the results for the city council race...

CANDIDATE -- # of votes -- Percentage

ANDERSON, DICK --  797  --  47.36%
COCHRAN, ERIN  --  711  --  42.25%
LYONS, RAY  --  711  --  42.25%
MOSSBERG, ALLEN  --  811  --  48.19%
WATSON, JANET  --  962  --  57.16%
Write-in Votes  --  345  --  20.50%

Another crappy turnout in number of voters.  Out of the 16,189 registered voters, only 1,683 bothered voting in the primary. 

As it looks and as I understand it, the results tonight indicate that Janet Watson has retained her seat on the council... and the remaining two seats will be decided in the general election later on in May of this year (Anderson, Cochran, Lyons, and Mossberg will be in the final run-off). 

View all results here

I would have liked to have been surprised tonight, but instead am a bit disappointed.  

Polls are open!!

Folks, if you live in Kingman don't forget that today is election day.  Six fellow neighbors are on the ticket for city council seats and the community needs to hear from you (one candidate for mayor).

This time around I wish we could vote for five of the candidates for council, but we can only choose three.  The only candidate that I wouldn't vote for is the one that stated in a city council meeting that she wouldn't want her neighbor to have a windmill in their own backyard.  Now that isn't the only reason, but I've watched that particular candidate for some years now botch property rights issues here in Kingman.

I'm rather impressed with a couple of particular candidates, and hope that they've done all the work needed to get the vote out -- cause they will need it.

And still, I find no particular weaknesses to the other three candidates for council.  A very interesting choice as to who to vote for awaits Kingman voters today.

Good luck to all the candidates on this day.

Historic evening...

I doubt that my political spectrum matches up exactly with any other person I know or have ever known... but at the risk of stating something that may offend someone, anyone... on a night like tonight -- pretty cool to be an American in this moment in this age.

Especially knowing the obstacles our nation has overcome to get to this very point in history.

I wasn't alive when men and women of our country worked together to send men to the moon and back for the first time.

I wasn't alive when an entire generation of Americans sacrificed so much for the benefit of the future of the country during WWII.

Both great moments in American accomplishment.

In my lifetime, this is the moment that might be on that sort of level.

God bless our country, God bless the United States of America.

Prop 100 is approved by Arizona voters!!

Thanks to everyone that voted in favor.

Thanks for protecting the rights of property owners in this state.

(Results linked here)

Happy Voting Day!!

Whatever happens to be your voting pleasure today, I just want to pass along my best wishes to the many that will go out and let their vote count today.

Days like this are the most important to us 'little' and 'forgotten' folks. It is the one day a year (or so) that the powers that be pretend to give a darn, the day they answer to us.

Even though I voted early last week, today is the day that my voice is heard. Today is the day I really can't argue with the results, the people speak today.

Wow... early voting is hot in Mohave County

I decided yesterday to vote early down at the county building. Went there around 4:00pm. I often early vote to avoid lines on election day, but there was no avoiding a line at the early voting station. Place was packed. Took about 40 minutes to wait in line, cast my vote, and leave the premises.

I reasoned that perhaps the others waiting in line were just getting off work for the day as well and maybe didn't have the time next Tuesday.

Today I decided to do the patriotic thing, as VP candidate Joe Biden says, and pay my now higher property taxes at the same county building (deadline was fast approaching).

The line for early voting was even longer today than it was yesterday. And I was there around 2:00pm today. So yeah, wow. Of course this is only my anecdotal observation, the lines might be normal... but I suspect not for whatever reason. If the numbers are greater this time around from the local participation, I'll assume it is the same in most places. The results next week should be interesting.

I won't share all my choices I made on the ballot, but I thought I'd share at least a couple.

First one... easy... voted YES on Prop 100.

The other share... I voted for Doris Goodale for State Representative District 3.

It doesn't matter if you agree with my choices or not... my only real hope is that you get out and cast your vote in this important election.

Good luck to all the candidates and the many folks that campaign not only for people running for public office, but also to the many that campaign for propositions. Lots of people have been working really hard for their candidate or issue and it is not always two ton's of fun doing the work.

A simple reminder...

If you live in Mohave County AND are registered to vote... please do so.

If you are of the feeling that the current situation is one that needs some sort of change... well, then you have to cast your vote for the change that you wish to see. Relying on people like me (that have already voted) simply won't get you to the desired result you are seeking.

Please
Vote

Update:

The results are in and here is the link to the Miner's website that shows the results.

Election time, voting season begins...

Whether or not you think it is 'Duck season' or 'Rabbit season', now that the top national party conventions will be in our face for the next two weeks... it does feel a bit cartoonish (if that is even a word).


A little bit closer to home, the local state and county elections loom as well. I have my state senate and representative picks handled already and I look forward to casting my votes to the ladies and gentleman.

The Mohave County elections, on the other hand, have not been so clear cut for me. I'm staying out of the 'this is who you should vote for' routine. I'm still trying to figure out where my vote is going to. County politics is making the recent city elections held last spring look like a breeze. The city elections were very civil, candidates did not make things personal... for at least a couple of offices up for election in Mohave County though, the same can't be said.

I'll still offer this to Mohave County candidates though... if you'd like to have some space here at MOCO and tell the readers how you see the importance of private property rights and the need to protect and enhance those rights in this county... feel free to drop me an email.

Also... as of yesterday, members of the Kingman/Golden Valley Association of Realtors began their election for officers and directors to serve on the Board of Directors. For the first time in a very long time there are very difficult choices to make on the ballot. Part of the reason is that there were so many Members that were nominated to the ballot. But to be sure... there is plenty of quality that came with the quantity. I look forward to the results later this week and confidently feel that the Association will benefit with the new leadership, continuing the positive work and success that the 2008 Board of Directors contributed.

Good luck to all the candidates this voting season at every level.

Here's to the winners!!

The election results are posted at the Mohave County site linked here.

Rounding out the new city council is Carole Young and Keith Walker. Congratulations to the both of you and I know the both of you can be the leaders this community is going to need over the next few years.

Great campaigns!!

It was great to have even been a part of this process because no matter what, heading into today... Kingman was going to get leaders that really believed they were going to do what was best for the community first... no matter who won these seats.

Election day tomorrow...

It is time to go do the voodoo that you do so well. That is right, time to get off the couch or sneak away from the boss or whatever excuse you are going to try and use on Wednesday to reason why you didn't vote in this important election.

There were a couple of interesting articles from the KDMiner over the last few days, if you did not get a chance to read them... no excuse... they are linked below.

The last candidate forum

and

The KDMiner editorial board review

Once again, good luck to the candidates... and good luck to our community, may we choose the best representative for our needs today and to get us pointed in a better direction for tomorrow.

Just voted...

I decided to get my votes for the city elections out of the way to avoid all the long lines (the long lines comment is sarcastic FYI) on election day May 20th.

I stated that I'd be voting for Keith Walker after the primary election... and I did just that. I did vote for another candidate, but I'm keeping who I voted for to myself.

All in all, I think we have a marvelous choice of candidates to choose from at this time. I don't think that I'll be disappointed to know the results of the election no matter what the results show.

The only result that I'd really love to see is more of a real percentage of registered voters show up to be counted for a change. It'd be great to see 5,000 or more bother with lending their voice to the immediate future of this place we call Kingman. I mean, if we really want to send a strong message to our newly elected leaders... we should at least let them know we are interested in what they do as an elected city official. Voting in greater numbers should get their attention.

Good luck to all the candidates, you all would do a fine job if elected (and we'll hold you to it).

and... speaking of local political stuff...

Don't forget that May 20th is election day. It is now less that two weeks away. Early voting is also open at the county building. No lines there.

Vote early... vote often... or something like that.

City Council Candidates...

Good to see the candidates still out on the trail. Here is an article from the KDM that covers a recent candidate forum.

I didn't attend this event but included in the article is some information on the views the candidates have on the proposed I40 interchanges that have been in the news for the last couple of years.

From the article...

Interchange projects

One question from the audience asked for the candidates' views on the Kingman Crossing and Rattlesnake Wash interchange projects planned at Interstate 40, east of Andy Devine Avenue.

I'm just glad to see this is still an important topic of conversation.

(Candidate Travin) Pennington said he supports both projects, as both would spawn economic development, bring in sales tax revenue and fix some of the traffic issues in town, particularly those on Stockton Hill Road.

Speaking about Vestar Development Co., which plans to build a mall on the north side of Kingman Crossing, Pennington said, "I don't have a fiduciary responsibility to represent any developer in this town. I have a fiduciary responsibility to represent you, the voters of this community."

Mr. Pennington is right about economic development and the traffic issues, and here Kingman could work towards a private/public partnership agreement to address such issues. But that could mean having the city work with the likes of the developer that he mentioned towards a winning position for both the developer and the community.

Sounds like this candidate is a 'community first' kind of guy... that is good.

(Candidate Keith) Walker, who also supports both projects, said the interchanges are inevitable. He noted that the hospital MedCath Corp. is planning at Kingman Crossing North will not move forward until construction begins on the Crossing interchange. Director Gary Jeppson said in January that the Development Services Department would withhold building permits until construction commences.

I hope Mr. Walker is right about the inevitability of both interchanges. I did not know that the new hospital was on hold until there was a solution to the traffic interchange issue. I guess I missed Mr. Jeppson's comments back in January, last I remember the hospital group was saying that their project was a go and didn't need Interstate access.

Mr. Walker is still the only remaining candidate that I am definitely voting for at this time and I think he would help Kingman find a way to find a solution to the interchange issues whether that means leaning on land owners and developers to pony up for part, most, or all of the costs... or simply condition certain city property for highest and best value in order to sell that property to pay for the infrastructure improvements... or something else other than passing a property tax and raising sales taxes.

(Candidate Carole) Young said, "I believe every interchange is important," especially considering the growing congestion on Hualapai Mountain Road. But she added that she would not support the use of city sales tax revenue to help fund the projects.

Two things here, one I admire her consistent stand on funding. I believe she is saying that what is good for one proposed project should be good for the other... and I agree.

The other thing though, is if the city needs to address such things as traffic congestion... if tax money is NOT used to pay for city improvements, who then pays for such things??

(Candidate Craig) Schritter has "no problem with Kingman Crossing on the north side," but, he said, "The city left multiple questions unanswered on the south side." If developers want to build on the north side, "let them," he said.

But what about the infrastructure projects (i.e. traffic interchanges)?? Also, I'm not sure if the city left questions unanswered, instead I think that some people didn't like the answers (oh no, not more traffic on Seneca... type of thing).

Good reading nonetheless.

Ah... What the heck...

The last post got me back into the political mindset so I figure... what's a couple of more posts with with a local political theme??

I'm going to make some comments off of an article that appeared on Monday in the KDM. Some may call it the sour grapes article since it covers the reactions from some candidates that didn't move on passed the primary election.

Article here.

Candidates reflect on losses, turnout

James Chilton
Miner Staff Writer

Bill Nugent pulled in just 23 percent of the votes cast in the mayoral race last week, and after the primary election, he described his defeat as a reflection of what the voters truly wanted.

"Not much to say other than I take the message loud and clear," Nugent said. "Status quo keep going."

In other words... 'Welcome to Kingman... just don't move here, bring jobs here, develop new opportunities here, or blink while driving through along the Interstate'.

Oh... was that too harsh??

Although he received endorsements from the real estate association, the homebuilders association and four of six votes from the Miner's Editorial Board, Nugent secured just 23 percent of the 4,331 votes cast in the mayoral race.

"I'm not bitter. I'm really not," he said. "In fact, I'm somewhat enthused that a thousand people believe in small government," he said of the 1,014 votes he did receive.

I doubt there will be a 'next time', but just in case... next time Bill, I hear having no agenda, buying hot dogs for people at the park, and an 'aw shucks' attitude speaks well to over 2,000 typical voters in Kingman.

Mr. Nugent could have campaigned quite a bit harder and I guess I was expecting him to do just that, but alas -- he did not. (Don't worry... I have criticisms for my own campaign as well.) It must be clear to see from the results... a strong voter education campaign must happen if we are ever going to see a different outcome in these elections for those people that voted for both Mr. Nugent and Ms. Gates. Growth scares the 'jeebus' out of the typical 60% of voters that have the needed votes right now, but it is not about them. It is about the extra thousand or so votes from voters that DON'T vote... but really need to in this community. It is really not that hard of a hill to climb.

Realtor and Council candidate Todd Tarson, who pulled in 18.45 percent of the vote, said intends to run again in two years if Salem, Gordon and the other incoming Council members fail to change what he too called "the status quo."

"I'm obviously disappointed in the results, but I'm not embarrassed," he said. "I'm pretty proud."

One thing I noticed throughout the coverage of the campaign was that I was referred to as 'Realtor and candidate'. Don't get me wrong, I love the pre-fix of Realtor and I have no issues with it. It's just that I never noticed anyone else getting tagged with such a job descriptor with the consistency that I did. Did you ever see 'Retired racing enthusiast and candidate Harley Pettit' with consistency in the Miner?? I didn't either. Again, not a big deal... just something I noticed.

I am proud of the of the votes that I tallied. I have received numerous calls and emails since the election results (just got another call as I was typing) sharing with me their disappointment that I didn't at least move on to the general election. I have been stopped by other fine folks at supermarkets, other stores, and at places where eating takes place that said they voted for me and were saddened by my results. I've even been contacted by voters that didn't vote for me but wanted to pass along well wishes and congratulations for having the guts to simply be part of the important election cycle. All of it humbles me, all of it makes me truly feel honored.

Tarson said he was happy to have shared the stage with his fellow candidates, and that the election had been a learning experience for him.

Now time for 'Todd Tarson... you are a lousy campaigner' comments.

I knew from the beginning that my success was predicated on one thing only. Additional voters that don't normally vote. I did a lousy job appealing to those potential voters in the numbers I needed for success.

If 'our' side really wants to make an impact in future elections, we all must reach out to the folks that are somehow registered to vote, but choose not to. We need to find out why they aren't voting and perhaps give them real reasons to lend their voice to this community.

Many people helped me acquire the necessary signatures needed to qualify my petition to run for council, however after that I took on the bulk of the campaign duties myself. It was my mistake to do so. Even though I had offers from many nice people (with plenty of great ideas) I chose to run my own campaign. I just didn't have the time I truly needed to dedicate to get more votes.

Like other candidates, I attended most of the forums that were offered by the different community groups. One thing that I noticed was at most events, the same faces were there as previous forums and overall the events were not that well attended. I know at the beginning the room at the Elk's Club was full of attendance. It doesn't take all that many people though to fill half that room. My best guess was that the candidates were speaking to about 60 to 100 people at any given forum. It is also my feeling that these folks could be counted on to vote (which is a good thing), but the messages were not getting out to the non-voting public.

The media coverage for the forums was spotty at best for the forums. While a few of the forums received front page attention, I never noticed any of the staff writers asking follow up questions of the candidates to clarify any positions. One exception, new staff writer for the Miner -- James Chilton -- did ask candidates follow up questions at the NABA (builders association) forum, but I never saw any reporting in the Miner of that event. (In fairness to Mr. Chilton... he told me that he had been on the job for a whole 2 hours before being sent over to cover that event, and in a later conversation he told me he had zero background on the issues important to Kingman and NABA... that he didn't know what Rattlesnake Wash was or the issues surrounding it. I bet he is a quick study though and will do just fine in his new position.)

I'll save my words about The Standard journalist, and RAID member, Marvin Robertson for perhaps another day... but I will say that I didn't appreciate his editorial comments attributed to the things I said at the forums. He doesn't need to speak for me, only write what I said. This is a person with I'm sure infinite wisdom on many things, but he didn't even do basic things like ask questions of this former candidate for clarification on issues that I brought up at various forum events before editorializing my comments.

It was my mistake to rely on the things I did during my candidacy, and mine only. Like I've said before though, this was an incredible learning experience. If the chance to run again does come about, I'll be campaigning much differently and more aggressively.

I will say that I thought that Robin Gordon ran an incredible campaign and I'm very proud of her. I may not agree with all of her issues going forward, but she must be commended for the fine campaign she ran that had obvious success.

Like Nugent, Tarson has his reservations about the mayor-elect regarding some of the things he's said about developers.

"He said some things during those (candidate forums) that I didn't challenge, like that 'wolves at the door' comment; they aren't wolves at the door, they're opportunities at the door," Tarson said. "If things don't get better soon in our economy when we have the opportunity to make it happen, it's going to fall on him."

Mayor Elect John Salem is a quality individual and I will never say otherwise. With that said, he is now a public official (just not officially until June). There were things about his (lack of) issues that I was not comfortable with during his campaign. He said he was against using tax money to pay for one proposed interchange along Interstate 40, but favored making room in the budget with our tax dollars to pay for a different proposed interchange... different standards for different people doesn't sound equitable. He did impress many people, therefore voters, though and I'm not arguing with the voters at all here.

I believed that this election was about the community and as a candidate, Mr. Salem offered me nothing in the way that spoke to improving the opportunities in the community. He wasn't my choice for mayor.

With that said, he will now be mayor and I will support him as best as I can... especially when he is actively leading the community towards more opportunity and prosperity for the 'regular' people here in Kingman that he says he identifies with. That does mean when he is leading the charge for a more growth oriented agenda, one that I'm sure he will see is the best for this struggling community at the present. I will support his efforts to make Kingman a competitive marketplace for new business, to bring new demand, improve infrastructure, and provide modern and accepted amenities familiar with 99% of other similar sized communities throughout the country.

I'd much rather be a friend of the new mayor and council, rather than a foe. I'd rather be a supporter instead of a detractor. This community needs all the support it can get. The task will be large, but if we elected the right people then we should all expect to see progress... not excuses.

If you click on the link for the article you will see some other comments from other former candidates. They are interesting, but I'm not going to review them here.

I wish the new Mayor and the soon to be newly elected Council nothing but the best and I hope that I can help garner support for important issues that would favor the community. They will deserve a fair opportunity to put Kingman back on a path for progress. Please join me in wishing them well.

New political poll on sidebar...

Now that I'm not in the race for council any longer I thought I'd put up a poll for you to cast your online vote. Please have fun with it. You can change your vote if you decide to if a candidate ends up not to your liking.

If the traditional media continues to hesitate to ask the difficult questions, I may reach out to the remaining candidates via email for a question and answer type of format and offer the results here at MOCO.

Feel free to give me some ideas on the tough questions you'd like to see the candidates answer in the comments.

Aftermath

Early, early this morning I removed my campaign signs throughout town. Sleep wasn't easy with some feeling of disappointment from the results of the primary election. Of course I had hoped for a different outcome, but it was clear to see that my message did not get out to enough people.

I have zero regrets though about getting this involved and putting my name on the ballot. I did get to say some of the things I wanted to during the campaign in public, and in private conversations I said the rest of the things that needed to be said... but just not to enough voters.

I think the turnout was great, over 4,000 or about 25% of the registered voters and I was lucky enough to garner over 700 votes. I'm proud of that. I'm not going to argue the results of the voters, they let it be known what was on their mind. They liked who they liked.

Before the vote, I had been asked a few times if I didn't make it to the general election if I'd consider running again in two years. Right now it is too early to make that kind of decision. This election was fairly easy to be involved in for me because the housing market is slow, I have been in a volunteer mode on behalf of others for the last five years, and there were no incumbents in the race. Also there were obvious issues that I wanted to have a say in that will be coming up within the next two years.

For now I'm going to concentrate on improving my business (I even sold one of my listings on Monday so it wasn't all bad news this week). I'll likely be spending more time with my wife in Minnesota once it starts to warm up there (I hear the fishing is good in that part of the country). My mother-in-law was recently given some bad news health wise so I'll be helping out there as much as possible. My sister is expecting her second child later this week and since they live in Las Vegas now instead of Hawaii, I'll get to be more involved with my own family. And maybe, just maybe... I'll manage to get a round of golf in sometime in 2008. I'm sure I'm going to focus a bit more on 'Todd-time' for the time being.

For the 700 plus friendly voters that honored me with their vote... I'll be voting for Keith Walker and only Keith Walker in the general election. He is the only candidate remaining that proved to me that he'd give an opportunity to developers looking to front the costs for infrastructure needs of the community and explore a public/private partnership. Even though I consider him a 'good old boy' because of his close ties and friendships with that group, he did appear to be genuine when speaking on the issues that were the most important to me.

The newly elected mayor says he's an 'average guy' and ran on no agenda (according to this morning's paper)... well I do hope he realizes that many average folks around here are looking for work and other opportunities. It is no time be 'average'. The last two years of 'average' hasn't worked out for many families in Kingman. I know all too well his direct ties to the long time power brokers in Kingman and my guess is that the new mayor will do what they tell him before he answers to the 'average guy'... but I hope he proves me wrong. He is the candidate that said he would protect us all from the 'wolves at the door'... and for someone like me that doesn't equate progress with a pack of 'wolves' his comment is not very encouraging.

I'd like to offer my sincere best wishes to fellow candidate that also didn't move on to the general election, Allen Mossberg. He was a true gentleman and I thought he would have made a great council member. If he decides to run again and I don't, I'd probably like to help him next time.

To the many readers from across the world here at MOCO, my friends and family throughout the country that kept encouraging me, the local folks that voted for me, the local Realtor Association that financially backed my campaign with PAC money, and my incredible and beautiful wife Gail that was there for me every step of the way... I say to you all thank you. This has been a great experience in my life, one with no regrets.

Cheers Kingman.

I lost...

Congratulations to the winners, your new Kingman mayor is John Salem and one new Council Member is Robin Gordon.

I thank each of the 765 folks that voted for me this election season.

Maybe next time.

Election Day!!

No KDM endorsement for me...

I don't know if this is a bad thing... or a good thing.

Here are some of the views of the council candidates they are endorsing...

Address the format of City Council meetings: Move Call to the Public to the beginning of meetings and find a new venue to accommodate more people.

This is going to take all of two meetings to accomplish and I'm hearing the city is working with the county to make the County Building available for City Council meetings.

Spur economic development. Consider making economic development research a full-time job for Council members.

In other words, this candidate -- once elected -- will be asking for a raise.

Extend Louise to DW Ranch Road to lessen the burden on Stockton Hill until funding can be found for Rattlesnake Wash.

DW Ranch is about 9 miles away from Stockton Hill Road. Come on. How could this proposed solution do anything for the traffic on Stockton Hill?? This is not a solution at all. And the funding for Rattlesnake Wash?? Well a big chunk of that is supposed to be state funded, but the state is $1.7 BILLION in the hole right now with no money in the transportation funds... what if the state doesn't come through?? How long do we wait to find funding??

Hire a city manager and a city economic development manager.

I just find this laughable since the above is more of a no-brainer rather than a campaign agenda.

Well, I've said from the beginning that I felt it was more important to appeal to the community rather than the media for votes and support. I feel that I am getting support and votes. I'll know soon enough after the votes are counted.

I wish these candidates and the rest the best of luck on March 11th. I feel the candidates treated each other with respect and I am grateful for having the opportunity to meet all of them.

Please vote on March 11th, make your voice heard.

Community First