Writing that “it is difficult to do,” Phoenix City Councilman Sal DiCiccio is questioning “business as usual” at the City of Phoenix. DiCiccio that he is asking the tough questions because “made a commitment for change and I will keep that commitment.”
DiCiccio writes that the “food tax pledge wasn’t the only promise broken by Mayor Stanton. For over a year, Mayor Stanton declared education a top priority, if not his highest priority. Educating our children. Yesterday, I found out the City of Phoenix did not promote one single education bill at the Legislature during his entire time as Mayor!”
DiCiccio says “what concerns me is the trend of not following through on promises made to the citizens of the City of Phoenix. After the food tax debacle of 2010 we have made great strides to repair the damage done. Now, it appears we are moving back to the same old “business as usual” at the City of Phoenix.”
DiCiccio points to the Stanton’s promise to take away lobbyist influence at City Hall. “This wasn’t just a campaign promise of Mayor Stanton, but a pledge. In fact, it was the only pledge the Mayor made. The previous Mayor had a policy of banning any family member or their firm from doing business at City Hall. This policy was overturned with days of Mayor Stanton taking office.”
According to DiCiccio, Stanton’s deputy chief of staff has a family and financial interest in a lobbying firm that was established within days of the Mayor taking office that includes a former staff member of the Mayor’s as well. This firm has lobbied city hall on issues and has lobbied other municipalities with whom the City of Phoenix works with.
In February 2012, Stanton said, “While there is certainly a role for lobbyists within the community, I believe it is critical that the public have full confidence that the City decisions are made in the public’s interest, not a special interest.”
Stanton also promised that the food tax would be gone by April 2013. According to DiCiccio he is working with Councilmen Jim Waring and Bill Gates with the city manager on alternatives. “Without the Mayor’s commitment we are one vote shy of getting this tax abolished. Only pressure from the public on the Mayor to change his mind, or be open to alternatives, will make this go away. The mayor made his announcement that he supported the food tax within minutes of the release of the budget. Even Evelyn Wood, noted speed reader, could not have read the budget, studied it and made a thoughtful analysis that fast. The only conclusion is that there was never intent to fulfill this promise.”
Lastly, DiCiccio questions the decision to move the council meeting time from 5 p.m. to 3 p.m. DiCiccio says that Stanton promised that all city council meetings will be held for the convenience of the public, not at the convenience of the politicians. However, DiCiccio says that Stanton didn’t try to even stop this from happening. “What we got was silence.”
DiCiccio says that “After two years of battling city hall to enact significant reforms, we are now sliding back to business as usual.”