Carefree Truth
               Issue #655, June 12, 2018


"So, what's next?  Councilman Farrar will speak and call the Mayor, Gary Neiss, me, and prior Councilmen liars.  He will be dramatic.  He will do what he does best; he'll lie to you."
Vice Mayor John Crane
Carefree Truth Issue #652


Councilman Mike Farrar said he's been on the Council for 7 years and has been through a lot, but he could not believe what he just heard.  He was stunned and amazed that he had been called a liar.  "With God as my witness, everything I've said is the exact truth."  He said that John Crane approached him to join in challenging term limits, a public citizen driven referendum passed in 2011 by a majority of voters.  Government represents the voters.  Term limits are for "shenanigans like this".


He asked how John Crane would pay for it.  "Under oath, I will swear, John Crane looked me right in the eye, John, I can't wait to see you under oath to deny it, and said 'Mike Farrar, you think, Mike Farrar', he said, 'Les Peterson is going to fund me the money through his campaign account apparently, or somehow, and then when I win , the Court will require the Town to repay me and I will repay Les Peterson'.  Swear to God, that is what John Crane told me.  It sickened me."  (Lyn's note: John Crane's affidavit submitted to the Court was the Vice Mayor swearing, under oath, that the above  conversation claimed by Mike Farrar was false.)


Mr. Farrar said John Crane asked him again.  "Now, I had no political aspirations, eh, I thought maybe run for the House.  I said, 'John, I don't know what I'm going to do'."  Mr. Farrar said he decided to run for Mayor at a Council meeting where he was getting "blistered" because he was trying to put together a Memorial Day event to get 5 synthetic wreaths that would last for 10 years and cost $1000.  He said John Crane told him, when he was trying to put together Memorial Day and the Italian Festival, "Mike, they're teaching you a lesson, because you're not a supposed marketing guru that Les Peterson and Councilwoman Cheryl Kroyer are.  Stay out of our way.  This is our world". 



Mr. Farrar's father was career Air Force.  He's buried in the National Cemetery.  He's been going to Memorial Day services his whole life.  Someone from the audience requested Mr. Farrar to address the legal document.  "Well, let me get to it.  In short, I'm deeply, deeply disappointed  in John's denial of what he said to me directly.  Moreover, regarding the brief, John was sitting there and I, right before the Council meeting occurred, (Lyn's note: At this point, Mr. Farrar removed the microphone from the stand and hand held it.) I asked the Mayor, 'Am I not getting 4 wreaths for the Memorial Day event?'  And he said no.  And I said, 'Les, I feel like you're blocking me at every turn'.  And he looked right at me and said, 'Mike, you're right, I am'."  Mr. Farrar said he had had no plans to come up and speak to the public.



"This is dirty politics.  That's what this is."  He noted that Mike Wright said was he perjuring himself.  "Folks, everything in my document, I'm pro per, I don't have an attorney, but it's true.  I was surprised of the announcement that John Crane had already pretty much received a preliminary judgement."  Mr. Farrar said he hadn't even received a copy of the pleadings at that time.  He asked Mike Wright for a copy.  It took 2 weeks.  Mr. Farrar said he really needed those documents.  "Mike, I dare you to not deny you said that."  Mr. Wright replied, "You got them in 4 days".   Mr. Farrar claimed that Mike Wright said they wanted to keep this quiet and instructed the Town Clerk not to release the documents.  Mr. Wright denied it.  Mr. Farrar replied, "Mike, you said this to me, I quote, 'We're going to keep this quiet'.  This is what you said to me.  I stand by it, God as my witness.  'We've instructed Kandace not to release the documents, especially to people like John Traynor'.  Why would I make that up?  Why?"


Mr. Farrar repeated that he was stunned, and that he has been dedicated to this town.  "Folks, I have no political ambitions."  He pointed to Mayor Peterson and said that when there was a vacancy on the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) in 2015, the Mayor ran for the position.  Mr. Farrar claimed that, if elected, the Mayor would have had to "abandon his position as Mayor" mid term, and called that a perfect example of political aspirations.  (Lyn's note: The position on the ACC was part time, and would have allowed Mayor Peterson to continue as Mayor of Carefree.  Mayor Peterson felt his candidacy would help move along the project to close down the antiquated sewer plant in the Boulders, a project which had stalled.  It did get the ACC attention for which he had hoped, and got the project back on track.)


Mr. Farrar, facing the audience the entire time, microphone in hand, said he was tired of all this grandstanding.  A sarcastic voice from the audience said, "So are we!"



Mr. Farrar said that Kevin Kelly bought the Carefree Resort, now Civana, because Mr. Farrar brought in Steve Betts as an economic development adviser and Mr. Betts brought in Kevin Kelly.  Mr. Farrar said he had a meeting with Mr. Kelly and asked him what brought him up here.  Mr. Kelly said he loved the asset, he loved the proximity to the town, and he enjoyed working with the Council.  Mr. Farrar said he asked Mr. Kelly about the Town marketing, and Mr. Kelly told him that it was inconsistent, there was no frequency, and he can't share it with his guests.  "Well, they go and talk to Mike and draft a letter."  Mr. Farrar said he was having breakfast with Mr. Kelly that week to "chat about this".  He had great intentions to help Civana to parallel the marketing with Civana along health and wellness.  "I had no evil intent."  "It's incongruous with them because they want to have activities when their guests come that week for something for them to do."


Mr. Farrar said he talked to Mayor Peterson back in December.  There was nothing on the calendar for the high season.  "Nothing."  People plan before coming, "Gee, what's on the calendar?  We had tai chi and yoga and 2 Thunderbird shows from January through September."  Mr. Farrar claimed the Mayor said he had told Gina Kaegi, the Marketing Director, not to market anything.  Mr. Farrar said he told the Mayor to let him work on a couple of things.  "I want to work on Memorial Day, and you know, we've got a trolley that's running, you know, that I worked on, it's a P/P.  And the trolley only cost the Town $3000.  Why?  Why only $3000 to run it every weekend for 5 months?  What was the idea of the trolley?  The idea of the trolley was to circulate people from Cave Creek to Carefree.  All of our goodies are inside.  It was a public/private partnership.  Folks, the first public/private partnership in Arizona was the trolley."  Phil Corso, who was an instrumental player in Scottsdale development, said from the audience, "No, it wasn't.  That's a lie".  Mr. Farrar replied that his information came from the ULI.  "I don't know where you get your information, Phil."


"So, at any rate, I got fought at every turn."  He got fought on the Memorial Day event.  He claimed that the Italian Festival, held on private property for 2 days, raised $1500 for a charity.  He said got a bill at a Council meeting saying they used paper towels in the bathrooms although there are hand driers in the bathrooms.  He said he has had "constant resistance to fulfilling his oath and duty as a representative of the people".  "I filed that Motion to Reconsider because government is you, it's not them, it's not me, it's the will of the voters."  He brought up Prop 105, the Voter Protection Act, that says citizen initiatives that are voted on can not be gotten rid of by the Governor or the Legislature.


"Folks, I'm not an attorney like Mike Wright.  I did this on my own for your benefit.  Term limits aren't illegal; they're unenforceable.  The State didn't confer that authority to a town like ours.  We made it law in 2011.  I can respect the voters' wishes and not run for another term."  It is now obvious to him why term limits are so important.



"You know, I've been called a lot of things but I have never been called a liar.  And I stand by every statement I've made.  I stand by the statement that Mike Wright said to me, 'Mike, we want to keep this quiet.  We don't want, we're not releasing the documents.'  I said, 'Mike, I can go to, these are court documents.  I can go down to the courthouse and get them'.  'We've instructed Kandace not to hand them out, especially to people like Mr. John Traynor'."  (Lyn's note: Mr. Traynor's newsletter, Carefree's Future Matters, referenced by the Town Attorney, Mike Wright, as Exhibit A in Mr. Farrar's Motion to Reconsider is attached.  Please read it.)



"John, you did tell me that Les was going to fund you.  Yes, you sit there and do that (Lyn's note: John Crane was nodding his head no.) all day long but you, I want you both, under oath, to deny that, that you made that statement to me."  (Lyn's note: The affidavits submitted to the court by both the Mayor and the Vice Mayor did that.)  "Folks, that's true and I have never been so honest, committed, sincere in my life.  That is what was said to me and I stand by it.  And I'm willing, willing to challenge it in court because that was what was said to me."


Mayor Peterson had said there were no people around Mr. Farrar in photos.  Mr. Farrar claimed he was asked to run for mayor by former Councilmen Bob Gemmill and Bob Gearhart, and former Councilman and Vice Mayor Glenn Miller.  He has served on the MAG regional committee,GPEC and economic development committees.  You can see these on his website.  He said he is passionate about Carefree and cares about Carefree, but he works on other regional issues.  He said he can work very well with with mayors and council members from other cities.  He is proud of his endorsements.  "And the business community in Carefree supports me.  That's what they (pointing his thumb backwards towards his fellow Council members) won't tell you."  He said the businesses feel disenfranchised, disconnected, unheard in Town Hall.  He said he is fighting for them.  Because Carefree does not impose a property tax, the revenue stream is driven by sales tax.  If Carefree can't sustain existing businesses and attract new businesses there is going to be a property tax.  Again pointing back at the Council, he said, "And I am fearful they are the ones who are going to be championing that".  He said there are lots of inefficiencies in the budget and ways to save money.  "We don't need a property tax."  The economy is improving.  "The Town has to live within it's means."  (Lyn's note: As of the end of May, the Town reserves were up to almost $8.5 million.)


"You talk about ugly politics?  In the back row is Lyn Hitchons (sic).  Read her newsletter.  You know who edits her newsletter?  John Crane, right there.  He edits her newsletter.  John does that.  I said that I was going to speak too.  Mr. Farrar replied, "Fine.  Go right ahead."  He continued, "Read Carefree Truth and see how ugly that is.  And you talk about collusion?  What a slippery slope that becomes when a person on P&Z, Lyn Hitchons (sic) is having her political newsletter edited by the Vice Mayor of Carefree.  Tell me about it, folks." 



"So, you can throw all the barbs at me and call me a liar.  I'm not lying to you.  I'm telling you the God honest truth.  I swear to God.  I swear on my father's grave what I'm telling you is true.  Thank you."


Before Mr. Farrar sat down, Town Attorney Mike Wright presented him with a copy of the perjury complaint he submitted to the Arizona Attorney General for investigation.  Mr. Farrar again removed the microphone from it's stand.  Facing the audience again he said, "By the way, I'm also going to the Attorney General's office as well".  Mr Wright replied, "The address is in there". 



Mr. Farrar said, "You know what's challenging?  You have an attorney who's representing the Town, works for the current defendant, uh, plaintiff, who is the Vice Mayor.  There should have been another attorney involved in this pleading, and if you really read the pleadings, there is no defense for term limits.  It's ridiculous.  He's almost saying, 'Yeah, you're right; John Crane's right'.  It's disturbing when I can't get, I don't know how long before pleading these documents were available, and I had to keep calling his office and sending emails.  John (Lyn's note: I assume he meant to say Mike), I need these.  And when I finally get him on the phone, 'Mike, we want to keep this quiet'.  There you go".

https://vimeo.com/273884533


Lyn Hitchon

Carefree's Future Matters VIV, E4 V1 Thursday, May 31, 2018

[cid:image001.png@01D36297.4D53D600] Friends of Carefree, regrettably I need to inform you of an ugly and thoroughly distasteful assault on the will of voters, to start to the 2018 mayoral election campaign. This newsletter will be somewhat brief, with more to follow after the June council meeting. Unfortunately, I was incorrect about "things remaining the same in Carefree". This town administration has reached a new low. The Vice Mayor suing the Town, insider deals, and pre-trial financial arrangements between the plaintiff and at least one defendant all suggests that Carefree is perhaps sliding toward the political swamp that has permeated our nation's capital for decades. All for what? A non-paid volunteer job! Please read on, it's worse than you can imagine.

Desecration of Term Limits, Character, and Self-respect in Carefree

In 2009, voters had turned thumbs down on 4-year terms and staggered terms, both obvious power grabs. That set the stage for Term Limits. Dating back to last summer, I became aware that the Mayor and Town Administrator were pursuing some way around the voter-initiated Term Limits Proposition first approved by a substantial margin in the 2011 Election. They worried that term limits would prevent the current Vice Mayor, John Crane, from running for reelection and sought the aid of town attorney Michael Wright. The wheels of injustice began to turn.

In mid-April I learned of a conversation between Council members Crane and Farrar, both subject to Term Limits. Earlier in the month Crane asked Farrar to join him in a lawsuit against the town to overturn Term Limits. Farrar declined. Once again, before entering an Executive Session, Crane asked Farrar to join the suit and once again Farrar declined. Presumably that Executive Session, given the timing and content of Superior Court documents now publicly available, was related to the proposed lawsuit.

For the record, and especially for the administration's inspired doubters and hand-fed prolific blogger, those conversations were not privileged and not subject to the confidentiality afforded the all too frequent Executive Sessions scheduled by the mayor. For now, I'll skip ahead to some of the truly disturbing and, in my opinion, unethical details of the lawsuit filed by John Crane against the Town of Carefree, the mayor, all council members, and Maricopa County Supervisors as defendants. The latter were thrown in for effect, even though they (through their attorney) made a representation of neutrality on the particulars of the lawsuit.

Bottom line, on May 21st a Superior Court Judge ordered an injunction in favor of Crane, primarily based on the assertion by Crane's attorney [not disputed or argued against by the town's attorney] that Carefree's Term Limits Ordinance was invalid because the State Legislature has not empowered certain municipalities with the right to impose such limits. The State, and certain larger municipalities do have Term Limits [Thank God]. Mind you, the Carefree voters approved Term limits years ago, but not until a favored son would become ineligible for the upcoming election did a review or challenge of Term Limits occur. By the way, who drafted the Term Limits Ordinance, and its revision, in 2016-01? [much more later.]

I have obtained all Superior Court documents related to the Crane Complaint # CVC2018-006012 prepared April 19th and subsequently recorded in Superior Court on April 20, 2018. All pleadings and support statements are included. Shockingly, I could find no evidence to suggests that Carefree defendants received notice of the suit, notice to appear, or notice of representation by Michael Wright, who serves as Carefree Town Attorney at the pleasure of the mayor. Sounds like a major conflict of interest to me. The uninformed defendants did not have the opportunity to appear or testify. For the sake of discussion, I used the term uninformed, although I believe the basics of the plan were probably known to many defendants, or possibly discussed during an Executive Session. I also say, "probably known" because our often-touted town 'transparency' is frequently very foggy.

To put it politely [and with great restraint on my part, so far], John Crane, the mayor, a council majority, and members of the town staff have effectively thumbed their nose at Carefree voters, at least the majority of savvy voters who were insightful enough to support Term Limits. The very reason voters approved Term Limits was to minimize the possibility of a power grab and stranglehold by a select few, just recently demonstrated. Since the last election there have been several probable instances of mayoral overreach, those to be explored in future editions. Without Term Limits voters have only one recourse to remove problematic public office holders; perhaps this time will be the charm.

The final Court ruling was handed down Wednesday [the final date for candidate filings], I believe, so I'll obtain a copy of that documentation as well. Did I mention that the Judge allowed only 2 two days for opposing arguments? Odd, considering that the defendants were never served with particulars of the suit filed against them - at least not all received notice, one way or the other. Anyway, I hope to upload much of the relevant information, including a supporting brief filed by Lyn Hitchon, which is no surprise considering that she is spoon-fed information from the town administrator and then has her material edited by none other than the Plaintiff, Vice Mayor Crane. [Yes, this has been confirmed, directly by the mayor, though he may choose to deny it or claim the edits are merely intended to assure the accuracy of an unofficial town publication. [Yeah, right.]. No matter, it is known. Former Councilman Jim Van Allen often brought this up and kept documentation of his discussions with the mayor and town administrator; he was a great and methodical record keeper. I even have a copy, from Jim, of an unofficial email sent to his personal account by the mayor which forbad Jim from attending a meeting between myself, the mayor, and town administrator. You have to really crave that nonpaying job, like John Crane and Les Peterson, in order to file a lawsuit to overturn the will of voters. As Yogi said back in 1973, "it aint' over til it's over."

God Bless America, and Carefree too.

Prepared by Carefree Truth
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