My Recent Comments

• The Mayor has been out meeting people face to face in various town halls and other appearances to explain and debate why he and the entire city council is behind keeping the Cubs. The opposition on the other hand, hides behind misleading signs.... outright lies about bailouts and $250 million dollar costs.
  Oct 24, 2010
• I am indeed a Mesa resident . I am opposed to the 2 false and misleading anti-420 campaign signs. Tired of the lies. Tired of hearing about how rich the Cubs owners are - which has nothing to do with the issue. Tired of your class warfare tactics. Tired of hearing about people's sudden interest in the Pinal County land. Where was all the concern about the land before the Cubs deal? Where were all your big ideas then? Sell the land to hire more police? How will you pay their salaries next year or the year after that? Raising taxes, that's how. Or maybe you could coax the Cubs into coming back. How are the millions and millions of out-of-state dollars that get injected directly into our economy goint to be replaced??? By bring the Astros into Hohokam? Many of the people who are against keeping the Cubs in Mesa started out by saying they'd vote for it when they were assured they wouldn't be paying higher sales or real estate taxes. That was taken care of. Then they said they'd vote for keeping the Cubs if they knew where the site was going to be and if they knew what it might look like. That was taken care of too. These are all phoney concerns as are the new ones about blank checks, no caps, and disappearing public lands. Everything is a conspiracy I guess. I suppose Smith, the Trillionaire Cubs owner and I guess Brady now are all going to wind up on some island with $250 million bucks in their pockets.... or just... a blank check...
  Oct 24, 2010
• And the opposition's plan is to "drive a stake through the heart and soul of Mesa" - by voting the Cubs out. The honest facts have been available for everyone to see for quite some time. You can play the childish game of calling the Cubs losers all you want. The important thing to know about the Cubs is that they are the dominant spring training draw in all of Major League Baseball, not just the Cactus League. Don't blow it, Mesa. Vote YES!
  Oct 24, 2010
• Like I said at the top, the anti-Prop 420 signs are lies. Lies and deception are the only way they can even come close in this vote... mislead everyone. Why does anyone even quote Kammrath after those signs started popping up? Let him debate the Mayor again, so Smith can mop the floor with the homely sleeze-bag one more time.
  Oct 23, 2010
• The millionaire or billionaire status of the Cubs owner is irrelevant to this vote. The question is whether or not the benefits the Cubs bring to Mesa are greater than the costs needed to keep them. I will vote YES on Prop 420 because Mesa will be in much worse shape if the Cubs leave. How will the City replace the out-of-state spending dollars that are literally poured into its economy every spring? How will the price of your home be affected when, Cubs fans and snowbirds with 2nd homes here start selling them -- while new retirees retire to Florida and buy new homes there (instead of Mesa)? What will happen to all the sales taxes, real estate taxes, and state income taxes generated and paid by Cubs fans who have moved here - and live here year around - when they move to Florida. Keep in mind that Cubs fans who are residents of Mesa are a current year-around source of revenue to the city that will dry up forever if the Cubs leave. And that is money that is never included in the economic impact studies that the Cubs critics incorrectly say are too high.
  Oct 23, 2010
• "Recession hammered" Mesa will be in even worse shape if the Cubs leave. How will the City replace the out-of-state spending dollars that are literally poured into its economy every spring? How will the price of your home be affected when, Cubs fans and snowbirds with 2nd homes here start selling them -- while new retirees retire to Florida and buy new homes there (instead of Mesa)? What will happen to all the sales taxes, real estate taxes, and state income taxes generated and paid by Cubs fans who have moved here - and live here year around - when they move to Florida. Keep in mind that Cubs fans who are residents of Mesa are a current year-around source of revenue to the city that will dry up forever.
  Oct 23, 2010
• No, actually it's not the same as a bailout and $250 million is not a conservative estimate. It is not an estimate at all. It's a flat out lie. I don't think the voters are as ignorant as he assumes. He uses "bailout" because it has emotionally charged connotations in this election and he hopes to capitalize on that - even if he has to lie and trick people to do it.
  Oct 23, 2010
• Kammrath and his co-horts are the ones responsible for those misleading anti-420 campaign signs. They use the word "bailout" in a shameful attempt to deceive and play on what they must perceive as the ignorance of the voters. Of course this has NOTHING to do with a bailout of any kind and I hope everyone knows it. And then to state that $250 million is the cost of the project is another outrage. These are not just misleading signs, they are blatant lies.
  Oct 23, 2010
• Who's fault was the Iraq war? Though people get fired for suggesting things like this, I believe radical Islamic terrorists (who want to kill us) got the ball roliing on that.
  Oct 23, 2010
• The facts are clear. The Cubs are responsible for the costs in excess of the $84 million stadium costs + the $15 million for infrastructure cost. The Cubs also take over operations of the Stadium, saving Mesa $2 million per year ($60 million over the 30 year term). The Cubs also will invest in the Wrigleyville development concept. Their investment in Wrigleyville will not only keep more activity and benefits within Mesa, but it will also act as a strong incentive to keep the Cubs here for the length of the 30 year agreement and beyond.
  Oct 21, 2010