In an email blast this morning, the Voice of Scottsdale loaded up and shot himself in both feet.
In a diatribe that sounded like a Virgina Korte speech, Voice laments long and hard about Jeep tours in the McDowell Sonoran Preserve, and lack of data to support tour operators’ assertions that their operations are good for tourism and the economy.
Funny, virtually ever zoning case approved by Ms. Korte and her Scottsdale City Council colleagues uses exactly those same arguments, and they have zero hard data to support those decisions. Which proves the point that most of the decisions they make are either completely arbitrary, or based on who contributes the most money to their campaigns.
Beyond that, most of the folks who voted in favor of the Jeep tours weren’t voting for the existing operators (which are confined to only the newly-acquired area of the Preserve where they have been operating for years); They are voting for their buddies who want to get INTO the Jeep tour business, thus the permit process that will allow virtually anyone to operate there just for filling out an application.
All of those who opposed the existing Jeep tour operators (including Councilwoman Korte) would have been better served to work WITH them, and ONLY them to prevent new operators who don’t have historic access. Mark my words, this will get leveraged to allow the Friends of Jim Lane and others to access a much greater part of the Preserve than just this little corner.
Voice closes with a “Bite Me” soundbite from John Little that was reported in the Republic last week about the City Treasurer position that will soon be filled by an interim in the wake of the departure of David Smith. Unfortunately, Voice was so busy sending out Virginia Korte’s press release that he didn’t get a chance to read my article last week that clearly shows (talk about data) that the City Treasurer position isn’t nearly a new thing.