Inside Mesa

John Giles, former Mesa Vice Mayor and Councilmember, supports a steady revenue source for the City of Mesa, a Primary property tax. He seemed to be the shining ray of light at last evening’s LD 19 meeting in east Mesa. His description and analogy for those that want to remain the cheapest town to live in as "The Skinniest Cow" was a vivid enough picture for me!Jared Langkilde, LD 19 Chair, lead a panel of four on a discussion of a primary property tax for Mesa. Two for and two opposed. Clear diagrams were on display comparing Mesa to other Valley cities, including Phoenix who tops us all at over 33% for the cost of government. Tom Jenny, Executive Director, AZ Federation of Taxpayers was present to defend his stand on no primary property tax. Why Phoenix? Where would Phoenix be today if they had not taken chances, perhaps too far reaching and not a place I would want to go, but I’m certain Phoenix is very proud of what they’ve done to be on top and stay on top, but not without a cost! Councilmember Tom Rawles also present, spoke against a primary property tax, stating he had a plan with the cuts of programs or waste that he viewed as unnecessary in the city’s budget (where’s the diagram?), quoting scripture which I believe was I Corinthians 9:4-10. "Workers deserve their wage, we are to care for our pastors, teachers, and other spiritual leaders, it is our duty to see that those that serve us are adequately and fairly compensated". I like that scripture because it goes along with what is also expected of us: to respect our leaders, our government, those that serve us, and enforce the laws in our city; placed there to govern an orderly community.Eric Jackson, speaking boldly as a politician in life and at heart, supports the primary property tax. He served on the "Financing the Future 2025 Committee", opposing the tax at first, but as the process began he changed his mind realizing the dire situation the city is in.The last 10 minutes of our meeting gave District 6 incumbant and District 6 candidate, a chance to talk about their platform. Councilmember Janie Thom spoke about her accomplishments, the greatest one apart from City Council - an Eminent Domain issue she was successful in defeating a couple of years ago. Others included a fast growing population in District 6, supporting her constituents, roads, education, business - encouraged to have Councilmember Rawles on the City Council to be another voice of influence who shares many of the same views. Supportive with a big endorsement for our new City Manager Chris Brady, achknowledging she is pleased to have him on board. Her desire is to continue, move ahead with no primary property tax, believing we already have the resources to continue without it.Scott Somers, District 6 candidate running as her opponent, spoke of his desire to support and advance Mesa; to keep it the great community it is. For families, to safeguard the quality of life, public safety, hopes of strategic partnerships - develop Williams Gateway as a business hub, utilizing the programs at ASU Polytechnic in conjunction with small business - their budget, funding, and resources, bringing them to a point of success and stability in the community. He

Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas is coming to the East Valley to sponsor a FREE East Valley Neighborhood Summit on March 18, 2006, 7 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. available to the first 500 - You must register now!! A champion of crime prevention, his highest priority is holding criminals accountable for the crimes they commit against people and the community. As the fifth largest prosecutorial office in the United States, Andrew Thomas is responsible for the prosecution of more than 40,000 criminal cases each year. Maricopa County Attorney Thomas says "As chief prosecutor for Maricopa County, I invite you to participate in our first Neighborhood Summit". The East Valley Summit will be held at the Word of Grace Church, 655 E. University Drive, Mesa, AZ - and will positively impact your lives for the better!"The Maricopa County Attorney

Mesa resident Vic Linoff encourages support for the newest ACORN Chapter putting on its first event; meeting at EVIT, Tuesday, February 21 at 7:00 PM. Dinner, speakers regarding city services, and a chance to learn more about "what will happen without adequate funding" for Mesa.Newest ACORN chapter putting on its first ever community meeting.Leaders of Uniting Northwest Mesa ACORN are working to ensure our city services staying in Mesa for years to come. Members want to make sure people in the community know what the consequences will be if property tax doesn