For Email Updates
 |
|
|
Election Update
March 17, 2008
March 17, 2008
Election results... by now I assume you know the results of the election... we lost.
Over the past two years ... many of you have helped us achieve tremendous gains for the Town of Payson...
We took the government out of the hands of a few and gave it to the citizens and opened it up to all, we let the citizens determine the priorities for the government and then shifted dollars to the citizen's priorities
We secured Blue Ridge and put a plan in place for a permanent water supply, cut the budget and improved the streets and drains and put a 17 point plan in place for managed growth.
We put the pieces in place for increased economic growth and increased Tourism and began the process of making Town government "business friendly" (thanks the to efforts of Paul Rasmussen who, sadly, we said goodbye to last month).
We set an image for the town (A Mountain Town with a Western Heritage), put the pieces in place to have a more beautiful Town going forward.
We improved the Town staff and empowered them to achieve their full potential, put the Town government on a business-like basis, made committee appointments based on ability not on political favoritism.
Obtained a recycling agreement with the County for a better program and put the airport in the hands of an authority made up of volunteers who understand and truly care about its success and both at a great savings to the town.
Put the wheels in motion to have a proper budget plan and a budget that is readable.
And most importantly... we did what was right and not what was popular.
But we left some things undone...
In the Human Resources area ... we need to have a better staff evaluation system that measures true achievement and helps them grow, a classification system that fits the town vs. packaged system and a system that recognizes real achievement and not just length of service.
Beyond that ... we just needed to lock in and complete the things already underway. So, based on the election results, were we wrong... not at all.
Prior to our election the Town was in the hands of special interests and was operating without plans and in a "Good Ole Boy" manner. We changed that, but in the process we generated some fear on the part of those special interests.
This fear was not just generated here but statewide with the election upheavals in other towns like Prescott and Lake Havasu City. That is the reason the Statewide Board of Realtors spent the enormous amount of money they did in Payson to defeat us. But, while we may have lost some ground, I would hope you will continue to believe you can fight Town Hall, because you can! And I would hope that, as citizens, you will continue to demand your place in our Town government.
Going forward ... yes, Kenny and his team were backed by the group we removed two years ago and yes that group is about uncontrolled growth and the "Good Ole Boy" system of operating, but we need to give him a chance. Kenny is a businessman and, while I don't know him well, he is strikes me as a man whose heart is in the right place, and so, I will be surprised if he is a tool of the group that elected him. I was clearly not impressed by the morality of his campaign but the election is over and it should be about Payson and not about personalities.
So, going forward, we need to keep the pressure on them to do what is right, acknowledging it when they do, and pointing it out when they don't.
If you want to contact the Councilpersons as we go forward, go to the ci.payson.az.us website and click on Mayor and council and under the picture, one click will get you all the addresses to email your concerns and suggestions any time in the future.
Regarding the new Council ... I truly believe the Town missed the chance to have a great Council but that is their choice.I don't have great hopes this Council will rise to meet the needs of Payson at large, so it will be important we stay vigilant. Again, being supportive when called for and pointing it out when not.
What happened ... we made promises and were elected on those promises and then kept the promises so how did we lose?
We received 777 votes less than last time and had we received those votes we would have won. The only issue Kenny ran on was the elimination of the 250 building limit, which is an integral part of the "17 point Smart Growth to Build out Plan". So what happened, we will never really know but allow me to offer my best thoughts on it so we can put it to rest.
Basically their campaign was to make me the bad guy and, in retrospect, it worked. The votes for Kenny's team members (Hughes, Croy and Wilson) were very close to his, yet with the exception Hughes, they did not have much of a campaign. That indicates more of a vote against me than a vote for them.
I am who I am ... since the Council went into campaign mode last September, the opposition wisely presented many things to Council that were controversial. They knew my integrity would not allow me to bend on these issues... that helped them with the plan to paint me as dictator.
Even though I did not fire anyone their story sounded good at their coffees... ironically, the man, who I am told said that, was the only person who actually fired someone during my tenure.
They successfully painted my passion toward solving problems into an abrasive personalty (we forgot to tell them I really am nothing but a lovable teddy bear...although I did not get this confirmed by Ginger).
Like in national elections... you have a solid core of people who vote for each party, but in the middle are a bloc of voters who have no solid committment to either party and who make up the shift. And while they may agree with the true goals of a particular party, they can be convinced to go the other way by a variety of factors. So, in that light, let me analyze our election.
A large part of our vote represented the solid core of people who clearly understand our goals and felt we are the ones who could make it happen.
Then you had the solid core of Realtors, developers and those we moved out of power last time, who made up the solid core of Kenny's supporters (the Brewer vote of the last election).
The rest were up for grabs and they won them because of a couple of factors:
* In the last election we were on the right side of the "lightning rod" issue which was the Brewer Council decisions on the Tower Well. This election did not have that.
* Kenny is a leader of his church which has a lot of voters in Payson and who made up a lot of our vote in 06. Kenny is a nice guy with credentials, and since he claimed to agree with most of our goals he was able to convince them they could get the same things done through him.
Then of course they had the Board of Realtors beating the drums with a well financed campaign, the Roundup as a campaign tool, whose yellow journalism served to prepeuate the opposition's rumor campaign and then of course Kenny's implications that he would resolve the gas bill concerns (that will take impacting the international, national and state fuel regulation markets.
While I suspect you know that ... obviously this myth sold to a lot of voters) Is there a reason for hope?... sure! We made a many gains. Because of you the Town has changed. You made an impact and this is just a set back not a final defeat. Keep the faith and stay focused on your goals of moving this Town toward citizen control and away from special interest control.
Web Site ... it will remain in place and our team will continue to watch Town government and will report when we see a need. On the other hand, I will personally pull back to a private citizen role in deference to the voters direction and in fairness to Kenny.
The Mayor's updates will be less regular and of course will stop at the end of May. As I said above we will report as we see the need.
It has been a real pleasure working with you and you will forever hold a special spot in my heart.
Fondly and appreciatively yours,
Bob and Ginger Edwards
PS: we now have a new family member, kitten Alice has joined old man Sunny. While we are pleased; Sunny is reserving judgement. .
--------------------------------------------------------------
About Us
--------------------------------------------------------------
In 2005 a group of citizens in Payson became concerned about its direction and decided to step up and attempt to affect change. Their main concern was that the citizens had become disenfranchised and the council had given up control of town policy.
They ran a successful campaign for Council and Mayor on the promise they would give the citizens their town back. Now, with the help of a strong and independent council and many volunteer citizen task forces, change is happening and the town is energized. We invite all who attend this site to join us in the effort.
Payson's Progress Committee --- Contact Us
505 E Saguaro Cir
Payson, Az 85541