"Thomas Jefferson said a democracy is dependent on an informed citizenry. I don't care whether it sounds corny or not. It's the truth." -Jim Lehrer
Carefree Truth
Issue #1085, May 20, 2024
Issue #1085, May 20, 2024
Carefree neighbors,
I get questions on my background, why I volunteer, and what my personal agenda may be in serving on the Town Council. I am going to take this time and use this forum to tell you about myself (thanks Carefree Truth). I am not asking for your money. By the time you are finished reading this bio, you’ll either have made a decision to use your vote for me, or someone else. My hope is that if our goals align, you will grant me a final term as a Carefree council member. If not, then I will still go to bed at night with a clear conscience of doing the right thing without compromising my principles.
I am the son of Italian immigrants, the only member of my family born in the United States. My parents emigrated to Montreal Quebec, spent 10 years there, moved to the U.S. in 1970, I was born in 1971. In 1972, my parents found a crown jewel in the desert called Phoenix, and decided to move myself and my three older siblings (from Waterbury, CT) to Phoenix (I was 7 mos old) in July! We lived off of 32nd street and McDowell, and spent 17 of my first 18 years within a square mile of that intersection. Growing up, I spent a lot of time in South Phoenix blending with rich culture and learning about getting along in a blended society. My parents shopped at second-hand stores like Goodwill & St Vincent DePaul, and I had hand-me-down clothes. My mother always had dinner on the table by 5pm and she made us lunch every day. We learned to be resourceful. I played sports, mowed lawns, washed dishes, bagged groceries, starting at a very young age. I played sports in college, began coaching football, finished my degree, fell in love, and began another amazing journey. My wife and I suffered several losses trying to have children until we finally had our three perfect but very different kids. We also adopted dogs and tortoises along the way.
My passion for working with young people parlayed into a hobby as a sports broadcaster, which ultimately led to a nationally syndicated radio show called the Varsity Sports Show, not only covering high school and college sports, but providing opportunities for aspiring broadcast journalists to gain valuable real-world experience serving high school and college paid internships while also earning academic credit toward graduation. I've worked with the courts, with state vocational rehabilitation, in private industry, and continue to be a champion for young people, the disabled, and seniors.
My wife and I visited Carefree when we were dating 30 years ago (we are celebrating 28 years of marriage this July) and we said to each other--- “one day….one day…” When our children were toddlers, we would bring them to the Kiwanis splash pad and drive by open houses here in town. One house caught our eye. We made the leap and moved here from Tatum and Jomax (10 miles away) and have never been happier.
Wanting to set an example to our kids and give back to the community, I volunteered at various festivals and became engaged in town events. I met the Council, and for the most part found people that had good intentions of serving the community. I was encouraged to continue volunteering, and after the unfortunate passing of Councilman Jim Van Allen, I answered the call to serve by submitting a packet, talking to people, and speaking at a Council meeting about my desire to continue serving. I was asked a standard question that was asked of each candidate throughout the process: “if you are not selected for this position, will you continue to serve the community?” I had no hesitation in answering yes, as I knew being newer to the community, my chances of being selected were fairly slim. As expected, I was not selected, but appreciated the opportunity to just help out and learn. I continued to volunteer and learn about the community.
Before I joined Council, the sewage plant in the Boulders was a hot button item. Who would pay for the removal? If it only affected Boulder’s residents, why should everyone else care? Because of a shared interest in the community and a vested interest of all of our community.
Next up, water for the west side of town and rezoning of the NE corner.
An election arrived with another opportunity to serve. I continued to volunteer and was ultimately elected to serve my first term in 2018.
The first meeting as a Carefree Council member (November 2018) was 5 ½ hours long! We voted on rezoning with development restrictions placed on the NE corner of Carefree Hwy/Cave Creek Rd, a big win for the town and the residents. We were collaborating with the adjacent HOA and came to a compromise, for the good of the community.
· Next, we began working on water. Although this moving of the Carefree residents on Cave Creek Water to Carefree Water was a long standing contractual agreement, we spent over 2 years in litigation with Cave Creek over reclaiming the residents/businesses on the west side of town, providing a voice and access to the same quality water and service that the rest of us receive. Like the Boulders sewage removal, it was the right thing to do for Carefree residents: shared interest and the same quality service for all. We won, and set to work on improving access for west side accounts.
· The water tank was installed on a public utility easement property—designated as such and in the right location. The Boulders residents receive their water from above ground water tanks on a very selfless Carefree resident’s property that is not within the Boulders---why did he have to care? Because we are a community. We are currently in the midst of a 25 year drought and we need to ensure that we have quality water service for all of our residents.
· Hampton Inn—We spent months working with the developers on design, sharing different ideas with residents and allowing public input throughout this process. It's a revitalization of our downtown core for our businesses, and is part of Hilton, a quality brand.
Living in the first house built in Carefree (by Gerry Jones, one of our town pioneers), has its privileges. I became good friends with Gerry and his wife Leslie, and we also were selected to be part of the Gerry Jones Home Tour, a fundraiser put together by the Cave Creek Museum. For an entire day, 600 strangers walked through our house. My wife eventually saw the greater purpose and allowed the participation in the tour. I met some amazing hard working volunteers with the Museum, was appointed to the board of directors and soon was elected president of the board. We were faced with navigating the Museum through the most difficult time in its history, the 2020-21 pandemic. We cut staff, sold land, and received grants, all just to keep the doors open. Most importantly, serving in the leadership role of the Cave Creek Museum allowed me to learn more of the area’s artistic history and to work closely with the Cave Creek Mayor, Ernie Bunch, and town Council members at the time, Tom McGuire and Bob Morris. Paul Dief was a member of the Museum’s stamp mill Dream Team, and I got to know him as well. We came to a greater understanding of issues both communities had, and to appreciate some commonalities and a few differences.
In addition, I helped to sponsor a proclamation for March 6th, 2021, designated as “Gerry Jones Day,” where we honored Mr. Jones with a renaming of the Sundial Circle in his honor, a plaque sponsored by the Cave Creek Museum, and a boulder from his property high atop Black Mountain placed right next to the sundial. I was with Gerry and Leslie when they walked the eastern end of the Desert Gardens, and helped him decide on the final resting place for the “Gerry Jones Boulder.” It was an honor for me to emcee the special ceremony on that day. I've come to understand and respect our town history from the very people who helped define it.
And of course, a sad reminder of the dangers of fire--- In 2021, fires raged through Rancho Manana and the foothills to the north of Cave Creek. This would put another issue into perspective that we would be faced with: fire protection. I don’t feel we did a good job educating our residents on the fire protection funding, but it will come up again, likely when the current Rural Metro contract is up in the next two years.
Vince D’Aliesio
Proud Council member and candidate for reelection
Town of Carefree
Prepared by Carefree Truth
Copyrighted
Visit our website at www.carefreetruth2.com If you know anyone who would like to be added to the Carefree Truth email list, please have them contact me. Feel free to share Carefree Truth with others on your list. Please support our Carefree merchants.
I get questions on my background, why I volunteer, and what my personal agenda may be in serving on the Town Council. I am going to take this time and use this forum to tell you about myself (thanks Carefree Truth). I am not asking for your money. By the time you are finished reading this bio, you’ll either have made a decision to use your vote for me, or someone else. My hope is that if our goals align, you will grant me a final term as a Carefree council member. If not, then I will still go to bed at night with a clear conscience of doing the right thing without compromising my principles.
I am the son of Italian immigrants, the only member of my family born in the United States. My parents emigrated to Montreal Quebec, spent 10 years there, moved to the U.S. in 1970, I was born in 1971. In 1972, my parents found a crown jewel in the desert called Phoenix, and decided to move myself and my three older siblings (from Waterbury, CT) to Phoenix (I was 7 mos old) in July! We lived off of 32nd street and McDowell, and spent 17 of my first 18 years within a square mile of that intersection. Growing up, I spent a lot of time in South Phoenix blending with rich culture and learning about getting along in a blended society. My parents shopped at second-hand stores like Goodwill & St Vincent DePaul, and I had hand-me-down clothes. My mother always had dinner on the table by 5pm and she made us lunch every day. We learned to be resourceful. I played sports, mowed lawns, washed dishes, bagged groceries, starting at a very young age. I played sports in college, began coaching football, finished my degree, fell in love, and began another amazing journey. My wife and I suffered several losses trying to have children until we finally had our three perfect but very different kids. We also adopted dogs and tortoises along the way.
My passion for working with young people parlayed into a hobby as a sports broadcaster, which ultimately led to a nationally syndicated radio show called the Varsity Sports Show, not only covering high school and college sports, but providing opportunities for aspiring broadcast journalists to gain valuable real-world experience serving high school and college paid internships while also earning academic credit toward graduation. I've worked with the courts, with state vocational rehabilitation, in private industry, and continue to be a champion for young people, the disabled, and seniors.
My wife and I visited Carefree when we were dating 30 years ago (we are celebrating 28 years of marriage this July) and we said to each other--- “one day….one day…” When our children were toddlers, we would bring them to the Kiwanis splash pad and drive by open houses here in town. One house caught our eye. We made the leap and moved here from Tatum and Jomax (10 miles away) and have never been happier.
Wanting to set an example to our kids and give back to the community, I volunteered at various festivals and became engaged in town events. I met the Council, and for the most part found people that had good intentions of serving the community. I was encouraged to continue volunteering, and after the unfortunate passing of Councilman Jim Van Allen, I answered the call to serve by submitting a packet, talking to people, and speaking at a Council meeting about my desire to continue serving. I was asked a standard question that was asked of each candidate throughout the process: “if you are not selected for this position, will you continue to serve the community?” I had no hesitation in answering yes, as I knew being newer to the community, my chances of being selected were fairly slim. As expected, I was not selected, but appreciated the opportunity to just help out and learn. I continued to volunteer and learn about the community.
Before I joined Council, the sewage plant in the Boulders was a hot button item. Who would pay for the removal? If it only affected Boulder’s residents, why should everyone else care? Because of a shared interest in the community and a vested interest of all of our community.
Next up, water for the west side of town and rezoning of the NE corner.
An election arrived with another opportunity to serve. I continued to volunteer and was ultimately elected to serve my first term in 2018.
The first meeting as a Carefree Council member (November 2018) was 5 ½ hours long! We voted on rezoning with development restrictions placed on the NE corner of Carefree Hwy/Cave Creek Rd, a big win for the town and the residents. We were collaborating with the adjacent HOA and came to a compromise, for the good of the community.
· Next, we began working on water. Although this moving of the Carefree residents on Cave Creek Water to Carefree Water was a long standing contractual agreement, we spent over 2 years in litigation with Cave Creek over reclaiming the residents/businesses on the west side of town, providing a voice and access to the same quality water and service that the rest of us receive. Like the Boulders sewage removal, it was the right thing to do for Carefree residents: shared interest and the same quality service for all. We won, and set to work on improving access for west side accounts.
· The water tank was installed on a public utility easement property—designated as such and in the right location. The Boulders residents receive their water from above ground water tanks on a very selfless Carefree resident’s property that is not within the Boulders---why did he have to care? Because we are a community. We are currently in the midst of a 25 year drought and we need to ensure that we have quality water service for all of our residents.
· Hampton Inn—We spent months working with the developers on design, sharing different ideas with residents and allowing public input throughout this process. It's a revitalization of our downtown core for our businesses, and is part of Hilton, a quality brand.
Living in the first house built in Carefree (by Gerry Jones, one of our town pioneers), has its privileges. I became good friends with Gerry and his wife Leslie, and we also were selected to be part of the Gerry Jones Home Tour, a fundraiser put together by the Cave Creek Museum. For an entire day, 600 strangers walked through our house. My wife eventually saw the greater purpose and allowed the participation in the tour. I met some amazing hard working volunteers with the Museum, was appointed to the board of directors and soon was elected president of the board. We were faced with navigating the Museum through the most difficult time in its history, the 2020-21 pandemic. We cut staff, sold land, and received grants, all just to keep the doors open. Most importantly, serving in the leadership role of the Cave Creek Museum allowed me to learn more of the area’s artistic history and to work closely with the Cave Creek Mayor, Ernie Bunch, and town Council members at the time, Tom McGuire and Bob Morris. Paul Dief was a member of the Museum’s stamp mill Dream Team, and I got to know him as well. We came to a greater understanding of issues both communities had, and to appreciate some commonalities and a few differences.
In addition, I helped to sponsor a proclamation for March 6th, 2021, designated as “Gerry Jones Day,” where we honored Mr. Jones with a renaming of the Sundial Circle in his honor, a plaque sponsored by the Cave Creek Museum, and a boulder from his property high atop Black Mountain placed right next to the sundial. I was with Gerry and Leslie when they walked the eastern end of the Desert Gardens, and helped him decide on the final resting place for the “Gerry Jones Boulder.” It was an honor for me to emcee the special ceremony on that day. I've come to understand and respect our town history from the very people who helped define it.
And of course, a sad reminder of the dangers of fire--- In 2021, fires raged through Rancho Manana and the foothills to the north of Cave Creek. This would put another issue into perspective that we would be faced with: fire protection. I don’t feel we did a good job educating our residents on the fire protection funding, but it will come up again, likely when the current Rural Metro contract is up in the next two years.
Vince D’Aliesio
Proud Council member and candidate for reelection
Town of Carefree
Prepared by Carefree Truth
Copyrighted
Visit our website at www.carefreetruth2.com If you know anyone who would like to be added to the Carefree Truth email list, please have them contact me. Feel free to share Carefree Truth with others on your list. Please support our Carefree merchants.