The last thing Arizona needs is for Scott "Big Spender" Smith as our next governor. Even after being chastised by three "Davids," on December 9, the Goliath Council defiantly voted themselves a massive salary increase.
Mesa’s government is growing stronger and more oppressive, while the citizenry is hanging on to full time work.
Peter O’Malley, opposed a bike-share plan that was also approved Dec. 9 but managed during his comments to attack the pay raise as well.
A government-endorsed bike program, O’Malley said, will hurt local businesses and deprive the city of “taxes that support the scandalous, irresponsible, corruption-breeding pay raises you all have your dirty little hands stretched out for.”
Marcus Ray accused council members of seeking to enrich themselves through the pay raises.
“I can’t imagine someone wanting to get into politics for money,” he said. “I mean, that’s the absolute evil right there. Somebody who is just full of greed.”
Gene Dufoe said he represented the Red Mountain Tea Party in opposing the pay hikes.
“We have too much financial problems with the federal government, the state government and we don’t need the city government to add more to this,” he said.
These elected officials are not unlike every other out of control bureaucracy that considers fiscal responsibility and accountability a foreign language.
As he did last year, Mayor Scott Smith supported the raises.
“It was right a year ago, it’s right now,” he said. “It’s something the 38th largest city in the country needs to do.”
Rather than seeing themselves as vigilant protectors of the public purse, Mayor Smith and the Council protect the government’s interests and squander the public’s money at every opportunity. I thought elected officials were supposed to "represent" the people who voted them into office.
Not on Mayor Smith’s watch.