Letter to the Town Council

April 27, 2022 

Hello Mayor Simpson, Vice Mayor Warner, Council Members Amon, Saxton, Schue,  Bearcat, and Goldberg, Town Manager Ferguson, Town Clerk Abriani, and Town  Attorney Estes, 


Unfortunately, Tuesday nightā€™s Council meeting regarding agenda item #4, repealing or  amending Quartzsite Town Code 30.09(B), clearly showed that our town government  SUPPORTS election meddling and is NOT committed to strong election integrity and  free elections, but instead we saw government holding on to the status quo, and pushing to expand and grow government power and control, meddling in local elections, all based  on mere opinion.  


The Council was also a bit myopic in its perspective on this particular ordinance and it  seems to refuse to see the potential for the ordinance to be used against political  opponents, resulting in existing candidates holding their power by keeping those  opponents off the ballot. 

The prevailing perspective for the preservation of 30.09(B) last night came across to the  general public that it, 30.09(B), is some kind of litmus test, a reflection of candidateā€™s level of responsible, financial aptitude, and their ability to govern the town wiselyā€¦ yet,  not a shred of evidence was given to support such a claim.

 

What PEER REVIEWED STUDY, or other evidence was presented by the emotionally  impassioned Council Members and Vice Mayor present that supports the notion that those who have their town bills paid exactly on time and do not owe any fines, fees, etc.  make better leaders of a town? 


This would seem to indicate a clear and present bias of those in power in our town. 

While the townā€™s leaders are claiming to be working to ensure the Council only gets ā€œqualifiedā€ and ā€œresponsibleā€ candidates on the ballot, to protect the town from its  citizens being able to choose the wrong candidate(s), maybe the town council should  write additional litmus test type ordinances, similar to 30.09(B)? 


For example, many claim that those who keep a clean and tidy house, like Bev  Cunningham did, are the only ā€œqualifiedā€ and ā€œresponsibleā€ people who should hold  council positions, because we know they would be most organized, responsible, and push  for a clean townā€¦ right? 

 

You could mandate home inspections for all potential candidates to be sure they keep a  clean and tidy home before they can be deemed ā€œqualifiedā€ and ā€œresponsible.ā€


Maybe the council should require ALL council candidates to submit full Federal and AZ  tax returns to be sure they are honest, take drug tests to make sure they are 100% drug  free. How about psychological evaluations for ALL candidates to be sure they are of a  sound mind, or require candidates list all the charities they have given time and/or money to so we know they are committed to helping people.


There really is no limit to these opinion based, litmus test types, ā€œadded qualificationsā€  you folks can cook up to be in control and lord over the elections and try to prevent your  citizens from getting on the ballotā€¦ What are you afraid of? 


Do you not trust the electorate to choose who they believe should be on council? 

Reflecting on principles and idealsā€¦ Ordinance 30.09(B) would ABSOLUTELY be  considered election meddling by our nationā€™s Founding Fathers. 


Another scenario the council completely overlooked on Tuesday night and failed to  consider and reflect upon, was the use of 30.09(B) as a political weaponā€¦ 


For example: Letā€™s say a Quartzsite business owner feels unjustly attacked and fined by the townā€¦ so,  this business owner decides to run for office to help fix the local government and prevent  it from abusing businessesā€¦ but this business owner, in protestā€¦ standing firmly to  principlesā€¦ refuses to pay the unjust fine(s).  


Ordinance 30.09(B), the ordinance adored by the majority of the council, is NOW a clear  political weapon preventing a form of redress and correction this business owner seeks by  trying to let the people vote for adding a different voice on the Councilā€¦ a voice that  reflects the business community in particular in this exampleā€¦ BUT your demand would  be for the business owner to pay the fine so they could run and challenge your power. 


Ordinance 30.09(B) is a bad, emotion based policy and should be fully repealedā€¦ it is  NOT on par with minimum age requirements, residency requirements, et alā€¦ those  qualifications are Constitutional types of requirements. 


Under the ordinance you want to keepā€¦ and now even expand, talking of adding additional languageā€¦ MORE GOVERNMENTā€¦ a Hitler, Mao, Stalin, or a Pol Pot, so  long as they were caught up on their bills with the town, paid their fees and fines to the  town, they could get on the ballotā€¦. But you want this unproven, biased, litmus test type  ordinance in placeā€¦ it is mere opinion that those who are fully caught up on their bills to  the town or are fighting fines and/or fees to the town are not ā€œqualifiedā€ and/or ā€œresponsible,ā€ and not good for town government. 


A primary reason for FREE AND OPEN ELECTIONS is to be able to have people that  have been, or feel they have been, mistreated or misrepresented by the existing elected  government, the ability to challenge those in power, and ALLOW THE PUBLIC to  chooseā€¦ your goofy, unique to Quartzsite, opinion-based ordinance can and is  preventing one of the fundamental forms of challenge to power in our system of elections  (a fundamental right that you swore to uphold and defend)ā€¦ it is SHAMEFUL and  EMBARRASSINGā€¦ and the sad fact is most of you were VERY PROUD of it and  passionately defended it! 


I personally think you should all be recalled/voted out for supporting this election  meddling authoritarian power control ordinance! Oh, but oops, you made it VERY  difficult to challenge your power with this ordinanceā€¦ Nice job! 


Maybe you should actually focus on FREE AND UNFETTERED ELECTIONS and  ALLOW THE PEOPLE TO DECIDE who they want in officeā€¦ NOT elected and  unelected town officials employing litmus tests for getting on the ballot. 


On another note, the majority of council members were merely parroting what town  attorney Estes regurgitated from his colleagues past paperwork, with only one perspective clung to regarding my situation (and Sam Saxtonā€™s) with regard to the $100 fineā€¦ please  stop spreading the half-truths and misinformation because you are bordering on  defamation. 


You ALL really should perform your due diligence research on thisā€¦ you should read  ALL the documentation regarding Starr Bearcatā€™s apparent politically motivated initial  complaint against myself, Mike Roth, and the three write-ins for the 2020 election cycle,  Don Day, Amber Myers, and Sam Saxtonā€¦ a frivolous and petty half-baked complaint  that COST THE TOWN OF QUARTZSITE $4000ā€¦ 


You should read ALL of the  response letters I wrote to the town attorney at the timeā€¦ and you should seek the rest of  the story before insinuating, claiming, or suggesting that Sam Saxton or myself are  ā€œirresponsibleā€ and ā€œignoredā€ the violation and failed in our obligations… This is not an  accurate accounting of events. 


You all act as though Sam Saxton and I should have known we owed money to the town  for the alleged campaign finance violation resulting from the Starr Bearcat complaint culminating in an evidence deficient investigation from town attorney Andrew McGuire. 


Sam Saxton and I wanted our day in court and I personally wrote this very clearly and  distinctly in the letters the current attorney said didnā€™t exist, challenging the violationā€¦ I  have all the letters time stamped so if you actually want the full picture for a more 

accurate understanding of the situation I can send them to youā€¦ because it would seem  the law firm did NOT give those to the council to help them understand the situation more fully.

 

All Saxton and I are guilty of is not understanding the appeals process and thinking the  town, based on evidence, did NOT pursue the violation with the courtā€¦ I personally  called the La Paz Superior Court several times shortly after receiving the violation notice  from the town attorney.  

I discovered the appeal would cost $195 for court filing costs, and then, on principle I decided to fight it and asked the La Paz Superior Court if the violation was in their  system yet so I could appeal itā€¦ I was told each time there was no violation in their  system with my name attached to it. 


So, like the average citizen, it was reasonable to think the townā€™s attorney, Andrew  McGuire, decide not to pursue the matter any furtherā€¦ and here is why:  


My Counsel, prior to my call to the La Paz Superior Court, said in her experience,  looking at all the evidence, there is not a single court in AZ that would convict me, or the  write-inā€™s, for the alleged violationā€¦ so, I believe, anecdotally, that the primary reason  the Townā€™s Attorney did NOT submit the violation to the La Paz County Superior Court  is because he too knew that if he had to prove his case, that he would not win in a court of  law. 


Unfortunately, I was NOT able to continue getting legal counsel because my law firm, because Davis, Miles, McGuire, Gardner in Phoenix determined midstream that there was a  conflict of interest and they were no longer able to help meā€¦ they could NOT tell me  what it was, but it is my understanding that Starr Bearcat also has the same legal  membership that I do and it would seem that is where the conflict landedā€¦ so, the timing  was poor because that was just prior to being told what the appeals process was for this  type of violation.  


In the Special meeting on April 7th, Council Member Schue asked if anyone knew what  the special appeals process was for appealing an alleged violation from the townā€™s attorneyā€¦ NOBODY in the Council Chambers knew the process, except for town  attorney Estes who declined to provide any details of the appeals process claiming that  would be providing legal advice. 


So, the appeals process remains esoteric in nature. 


In the same Special Meeting on April 7th, Attorney Estes said that Sam Saxton and I  should have hired an attorney to review the appeals processā€¦ Hmmm, so apparently justice in 

America is GREEN after allā€¦ and the justice system prevents the average citizen from  seeking and obtaining justice in many casesā€¦ like this one. 


āˆ™ Alleged violation fine was an arbitrary $100 


Versus 

āˆ™ $195 initial court appeals cost plus 

āˆ™ $300 average hourly rate of an attorney X at least 6 hrs = $1800 

āˆ™ Time out of work for court, 1 day 


So, really, attorney Estes knows, as did attorney McGuire, that itā€™s not realistic for the  average person to be able to dish over $2000 to fight an arbitrary $100 fine. 


Fact: The violation against Sam Saxton and I was NEVER submitted into the court  system, and apparently it did disappear because we never heard anything again (for 1.5  years)ā€¦ until Mike Roth put his name in the ring to run for councilā€¦ so, right out of the  gate this looks like the ordinance was used politically to try and prevent a known activist that the town clearly does NOT like from getting on the ballot. 


It was ONLY when Roth pulled nomination papers that my name was researched and  then upon turning in properly completed nomination papers the old laid to rest fine was  brought up against my elector status. 


NOTE: Maybe one of the new litmus test type ordinanceā€™s you could pass would  be to DISQUALIFY ANY candidate who submit improperly completed and/or  completed with misspellings in their nomination packet! 


From two good sources, two different council members, it was communicated to me that Karey Amon had her appointment paperwork given back to her several times for corrections resulting from improperly completed paperwork.  


SURELY a ā€œGOOD FITā€ for council would be a ā€œRESPONSIBLEā€ and  ā€œQUALIFIEDā€ person would know how to fill out simple nomination/appointment  type applications! Iā€™m sorry, but this Council seems very arbitrary and emotional  regarding what they think are ā€œresponsibleā€ and ā€œqualifiedā€ candidates for council. 


Anyway, it was at this point, April 4th about 4:30pm in the Town Clerk’s Office, after Mr. Ferguson informed me of the old, town-forgotten, $100 fine. I told Jim that the Town then had  another problem, because Sam Saxton also refused to pay this unjust fine from 2020ā€¦  which brings us to where we are now.


Letā€™s be CLEARā€¦ if I only owed a small past due fee on a library book at our town  libraryā€¦ I would have received a reminderā€¦ maybe late fees and other penaltiesā€¦  YET, there was this alleged election law violation that town attorney McGuire NEVER  forwarded and filed with the La Paz County Superior Courtā€¦ violations YOUR TOWN  LAW FIRM CHARGED OVER $4000 FOR FROM THE TOWN COFFERS to  ā€œinvestigateā€ā€¦ and: 


āˆ™ NO FOLLOW UP/REMINDERS,  

āˆ™ NO LATE FEES,  

āˆ™ NO PENALTIES,  

āˆ™ NO COLLECTIONS AGENCIES TO COLLECT THE FINE,  

āˆ™ NO WARRANTS ISSUED!!! 

āˆ™ NO NOTHINGā€¦ IT WAS AS IF THE TOWN LOST IT! 


Iā€™m sorry, this is asinine and does NOT follow ANY standard, fair, and equitable  protocolsā€¦ THE TOWN FAILED TO FOLLOW THROUGH PROCEDURALLY and  this was and is a complete pissing away of the taxpayerā€™s moneyā€¦ a direct and indirect  attack on innocent local citizensā€¦ ALL WHILE YOU COUNCIL MEMBERS  POMPOUSLY AND PROUDLY SIT ABOVE US SAYING WE SHOULD HAVE  OBEYED THE LAW AND PAYED YOUR FINESā€¦. YOU PORTRAY US AS  ā€œIRRESPONSIBLE,ā€ ā€œNOT QUALIFIED,ā€ AND ā€œUNFITā€ FOR COUNCIL BECAUSE  OF THESE ARBITRARY FINES AND ESOTERIC APPEALS PROCESSā€¦ SHAME  ON YOU!!! 


As Thomas Jefferson said, and this is part of the basis of nullificationā€¦ a protective  procedure the town attorney Estes continues to prove he does NOT understandā€¦but  holds himself as the authority on, that ā€œIf a law is unjust, a man is not only right to  disobey it, he is obligated to do so.” 


Some council members are asserting the candidates are communicating that ANY law  they donā€™t like, or the council doesnā€™t like, should be ignoredā€¦ THIS IS A  MISUNDERSTANDING AND MISINTERPRETATION of what was communicated, or  intended to be communicated. 


The Founding Fathers fully supported nullification of UNJUST lawsā€¦ we are NOT  referring to any law, but unjust lawā€¦. And yes, those laws can be and should be  challenged via nullification or civil disobedience. 


La Paz County Superior Judge Burke wrote that Ordinance 30.09(B) was unlawful  (unjust)ā€¦ the ordinance can and is a political tool to hold power and prevent qualified  people from getting on the ballot, the ordinance is steeped in mere opinion for its support, 

the ordinance meddles with electionsā€¦ the ordinance is unjustā€¦ the Town Council  should treat it as such! 


The PEOPLE, NOT elected and unelected officials should make the call about the  financial habits of candidates! 


And you should all know another part of this storyā€¦ the other two write in candidates  that paid the $100 fine in protestā€¦ Do you know why they paid it? Because it was  cheaper to pay the fine than to fight it! And, the attorney knew that fact well. 


2020 Write-in Don Day, homeowner and his wife, Lois, was a business owner here  in townā€¦ Don had lived in Quartzsite many years, and raised his family hereā€¦ his  ex-wife Karen owns Karenā€™s CafĆ©ā€¦  


2020 Write-in Amber Myers and her family owned a home here and both she and  her husband were active at the VFW. 


These two write-in candidates were also victims of Bearcatā€™s false, half-baked, seemingly  politically motivated, (Bearcat was a council member up for reelection in 2021) complaints of election law violation. These two ran as candidates because they had  frustrations with the town and the direction it was heading, so they ran for office. Instead  of them being free to run and do good for the town they loved so much, they were kicked  in the teeth by their government! 


They paid their $100 fines in protest, sold their homes and moved. Business owners,  home owners, families, volunteers, prominent members of our community, gone, as a  direct result of the half-baked, seemingly politically motivated complaint from Starr  Bearcat followed by the abusive treatment by the town government. This was the final  straw and they kicked the dust off their shoes and left. 


The cost of this petty and trivial half-baked complaint from Starr Bearcat had cost far  beyond the $4000 in attorneyā€™s fees that the town law firm charged for the investigationā€¦

  

We also lost good citizens, both homeownersā€¦ and confidence in the political process. The AZ Citizens Clean Elections Commission states on their home page: 


ā€œClean Elections was founded in 1998 after Arizona voters passed the Citizens Clean  Citizen Elections Act (A.R.S. Title 16, Chapter 6, Article 2) to root out corruption and  promote confidence in our political process.[Emphasis mine]ā€


The purpose of election laws, according to what the people of AZ wanted and voted for in 1998, is ā€œto root out corruption and promote confidence in our political process.ā€ 


The Town Ordinance 30.09(B) is NOT about rooting out corruption, nor is it promoting  confidence in the political process.  


Town Ordinance 30.09(B) is NOT in the spirit or letter of the legal purpose of fair and  open, non-corrupt, elections that the people of Arizona want to see in their elections, in  fact, it is having the OPPOSITE effect. Itā€™s making the town officials claim they are  acting justly by obeying an unjust law, which, I would say, is a form of official political  government corruption that is an attack on the electorate and election integrity. 


The elections law purpose of rooting out corruption and promoting confidence in the  political process, along with Superior Court Judge Burke declaring the added  qualifications unlawful, not to mention our Founding Fathers, and NOT having emotion based unsupported litmus tests, ALL stand in opposition in fundamental principle to  Town Ordinance 30.09(B). 


I once again, based on fundamental principles of freedom and election integrity, ask you  to NOT take the authoritarian route, that you NOT, once again, increase government, but  that you REPEAL, NOT AMEND, Town Ordinance 30.09(B)ā€¦ and that is best for the  Town of Quartzsite and her citizens. 


For freedom, liberty, inalienable rights protection, and election integrity, 

Dennis C. Vosper 

Quartzsite Resident and unjustly disqualified council ballot candidate 202

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