Guy Phillips must be doing SOMETHING right, given how the Apartment Republic continues to facilitate attacks against the freshman city councilman.
Letters to the editor today included a good one from Guy (for a change) and another one from a Phillips supporter. But in a classic and obvious display of editorial bias, Grant Martin closes the page with yet another attack piece…this time from carpetbagger Joe Galli.
North Chamber members, I hope you feel like you are getting your money’s worth from your dues.
Won’t betray his constituents
Nice try, editorial board. My question to you would be: Who is tilting and in whose direction? The days of the Tammany Hall-type scandals are supposed to be gone. You have dutifully pointed out: In the political world, perception is reality. Should I follow your lead, the Planning Commission and City Hall would function better if we stayed with the good ol’ boy network. That would entail favoring property rezoning to please a developer over the infringement of the property rights of the neighbor. When you purchase property, you should not have to be concerned that a cloud of re-development will someday hang over your neighborhood.
I realize there are no guarantees in life, but to constantly fear that your happy home will someday be next to a highrise development does not make for peace and tranquility.
I’ve been told to never get into a disagreement with someone who buys ink by the barrel. However, when I ran for City Council, being against what I perceived as an over-proliferation of high-rise apartments was at the top of my list for topics of discussion. The majority of citizens seemed to agree with my observations. Should I now change my views and vote for every rezoning and high-rise apartment that comes before the council? I will not betray those who put me in office to be, as you have pointed out, a “watchdog” over high-rise apartments.
I can’t and will not bend my principles to meet an agenda that would not be in the best interest of an existing neighborhood. The tea-party movement came about because of the heavy hand of government intrusion at all levels.
The voter who was looking for a big government progressive/liberal did not vote for me. Call me what you want, but a throwback to the good ol’ boy government — I’m not your Guy.
— Guy Phillips
Phillips defends homeowners
Your attack on Guy Phillips is a great example of the media making up “facts” in an effort to destroy all things conservative. By your own quote, Phillips said, “The single-family home is the American dream.” He said nothing about why immigrants come to the United States. I, too, might argue about the truth of the quote, but it has nothing to do with the motives of immigrants.
You twisted the meaning of the quote so you could attack.
I don’t know if Phillips leans toward the bogeyman tea party, but it is clear that your editorial is an ad hominem effort to smear both Phillips and the tea party. His vote against the 68th Street apartment development does, in fact, defend single-family homeowners who do not want a dense, squalid apartment complex next door. He voted against the developer’s promise of increased revenues, thus decreasing funds for further government activities. Making such decisions is his job as councilman.
You, on the other hand, apparently believe it is your job to make up “facts” to further your agenda. By the way, the “TEA” in tea party stands for “taxed enough already,” not blind allegiance to smaller government.
— Joe McGuire , Scottsdale
Councilman’s hypocrisy
In a recent editorial, the Scottsdale Republic opined on Councilman Guy Phillips’ penchant for opposing development projects at City Hall, limiting the private property rights of individuals, and how this Guy’s poor track record on liberty doesn’t jibe with his self-proclaimed tea-party principles.
Yeah? We’re not surprised.
We read his blog before the election, in which he wrote that existing city elected officials were “clowns,” among other anti-free market statements, and gave them a “rainbow turkey award” for supporting economic growth. This is the same Guy who out of one side of his mouth expounds tourism as the end-all and be-all of the community’s economic engine, but who stood at City Hall’s podium in December during the discussion on Travaasa, the community’s fabulous new 6-star resort, and out of the other side of his mouth decried its future existence in north Scottsdale.
It seems this Guy’s hypocrisy knows no bounds.
— Joe Galli , Scottsdale Editor’s note: The writer is the executive director of the North Scottsdale Chamber of Commerce.