Published Saturday, March 4, 2006 in East Valley Opinions of the Arizona Republic as “Foes need public financing.”
What do Joseph Meyer, Bruce Gray, Paul Fanin, Bradley and Janet Wilde, Partrick Scott, Gene Morrison and Norman Schrock have in common? They all live outside Tempe. They are all developers (or in the case of Janet Wilde the wife of a developer). They have all had recent business before the city, and they all gave the maximum or close to the maximum personal contribution allowed by law to council member Ben Arredondo’s re-election campaign.
Meyer, Gray and Fanin ($1,050 donated) represent Gray Development which purchased land from the city of Tempe on the north shore of Tempe Town Lake to build condominiums and apartments . Wilde and Scott are leaders of Mira Vista Holdings which will receive $40 million in subsidies from the city of Tempe after environmental clean up costs to build the Tempe Marketplace ($1,050 donated). In both of these cases the donation came after Arredondo had approved their deal.
Morrison and Schrock are areas presidents of Woodside Homes. At the time of their $500 November contribution, the council had not yet approved their proposal to change the zoning in an area off Hardy Drive near Caroline Lane and allow 120 new homes in an industrial area. In January, Arredondo voted for the project. Read the rest of this entry »