“GARBAGEGATE” LIKE “REFERENDUMGATE” IS ANOTHER OF ROT’S DARK FANTASIES
Another week and yet another false narrative circulating on social media generated by ROT and Allen Skillicorn, the tireless and increasingly tiresome agent of chaos. As a result, we must now focus our attention on garbage: the literal garbage we place in bins and roll out to our curbs every week and the figurative garbage generated by ROT and Skillicorn on roughly the same schedule.
“Garbagegate,” ROT’s latest attempt, through misinformation and innuendo, to manufacture controversy and sully reputations, has been circulating on social media and has now appeared as an article on the website formerly associated with Larry Meyers. This website, reportedly now under “new ownership” (enter Skillicorn), serves as a community archive of poorly written, fictitious “articles” and nonsensical opinions whose anonymous authors use pen names like: “Ely Skumin” and “Manny Mojito”. This piece of detritus, was authored by “Arthur Silot”, and is titled: “Followup (sic) to MCSO. It’s Garbagegate, What’s Next for the Dems”.
In examining this current controversy, we cannot help but reflect back to the summer of 2011, when many of the same players roundly criticized then, Councilmember Ginny Dickey, for spearheading the effort to convert Fountain Hills to a single-hauler community. Thirteen years later we have all benefited from this transition. With fewer trucks our streets are safer, quieter and sustaining less damage. Rather than acknowledge Mayor Dickey for her foresight and innovation the same vocal minority has decided to throw more garbage in her direction while also taking aim at Councilmember McMahon.
Upon examination, this controversy, like its immediate predecessors, “Referendumgate” and “MCSOgate”, is a dark fantasy based on another “big lie” propagated by Skillicorn and ROT.
In his “article”, Silot claimed that Councilmember Peggy McMahon and Mayor Ginny Dickey are conspiring with Republic Services to bring a fleet of electric trucks to Fountain Hills at taxpayer’s expense. It is suggested that the contributions made to their respective re-election campaigns by the Republic Services Employee PAC, is somehow tied to this “conspiracy” Silot also described as the “Green New Scam”.
MAYOR DICKEY AND COUNCILMEMBER MCMAHON DID NOT RECEIVE CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS FROM REPUBLIC SERVICES
As part of the latest smear campaign ROT and Skillicorn claim that Mayor Dickey and Councilmember McMahon received campaign contributions from Republic Services. Gayle Earle kickstarted the campaign during the Town Council Forum in June when, in violation of her commitment not to cast aspersions on other candidates, she questioned the integrity of Councilmember McMahon as follows:
“I have a question that is very concerning to me regarding transparency, integrity. Why is it that one council candidate received a significant amount of money from businesses (sic) that have a financial interest in our town and those businesses serve all of us up here and I just wonder why they wouldn’t’ support all of us or none of us. Again, why is it that only one of us was given a significant amount of money?”
At the conclusion of her statement, Earle glared at Councilmember McMahon, seated next to her, as she dramatically lowered the microphone to the table.
Earle’s carefully calculated breach of protocol caused many audience members to voice their objections. The disturbance was quickly quelled by the moderator but left many attendees asking themselves and others: “What was she talking about?”
Earle has repeatedly acknowledged that she is a political novice. But her inexperience does not excuse her ignorance. Earle apparently doesn’t know the difference between a corporate entity (Republic Services) and an employee funded Political Action Committee. The donations to the Dickey and McMahon campaigns, were made by the “Republic Services Inc Employees for Better Government PAC-Arizona Committee.”
The “Employees for Better Government PAC” is organized, managed and funded by the Arizona based employees of Republic Services and not their employer, Republic Services. The corporation, Republic Services, has a corporate political action committee that donates hundreds of thousands of dollars to support candidates, most of whom are Republican. In contrast, through March of this year the “Employees for Better Government PAC” collected a relatively modest $19,500. During this same period the entire amount collected was donated to six candidates for state and local office and one community organization: Invest in Phoenix.
The Employees for Better Government PAC is not a party to contract negotiations. Given the PAC’s announced mission, it seems likely that the donations were based on a belief that the re-election of Mayor Dickey and Councilmember McMahon would result in “better government” for Fountain Hills. Given the disfunction, resulting from the highly publicized ineptitude and antics of Councilmembers Friedel, Toth and Skillicorn, the PAC’s support of the two levelheaded, committed incumbents was clearly in the interest of “better government.”
MAYOR DICKEY AND COUNCILMEMBER MCMAHON ARE NOT CONSPIRING WITH REPUBLIC SERVICES TO BRING ELECTRIC TRUCKS TO FOUNTAIN HILLS
Last week, the claim that Mayor Dickey and Councilmember McMahon acted improperly by accepting campaign contributions from the “Employees for Better Government PAC” become even more ridiculous. It is now claimed that the contributions were made as part of a conspiracy to bring a fleet of electric trucks to Fountain Hills at taxpayer’s expense.
According to the inarticulate hit piece authored by Silot, Mayor Dickey and Councilmember McMahon “instigated” the idea of bringing electric trucks to Fountain Hills because they “want the electric trucks”. Silot also claims that a “secret meeting” was held with representatives of Republic Services to discuss bringing electric garbage trucks to Fountain Hills.
Although Silot refers to himself as an “investigative reporter” he was clearly not interested in the facts of the “secret meeting”. If he had been, he would have, like any principled investigate reporter, contacted Mayor Dickey or Councilmember McMahon. Mayor Dickey would have told him that she did not attend the meeting with representatives Republic Services. Similarly, Silot made no effort to contact Councilmember McMahon to determine the purpose of the meeting, why she attended and what was discussed. But we did.
The meeting was not “secret”, and it was not “instigated” by Mayor Dickey or Councilmember McMahon. According to Councilmember McMahon, each year the Town Manager, Rachel Goodwin, meets with representatives of Republic Services to discuss any concerns that had come to her attention regarding the services provided under its trash hauling contract with the Town. Councilmember McMahon expressed an interest in attending the meeting to discuss the feasibility of drop-boxes (where residents could deposit used light bulbs and batteries for specialized disposal or recycling) with the Republic Services representatives.
During the meeting, Michael Celaya, a District Manager for Republic Services, did discuss the company’s long-range plan to convert its fleet to electric trucks. According to a press release issued in February of 2023, Republic Services aspires to replace 50% of its current fleet of 17,000 diesel fueled trucks with integrated electric trucks by 2028. At the time the press release was issued, Republic was planning to introduce two prototypes of the vehicles (equipped to accept both trash and recycling) to its Phoenix routes that fall.
According to Councilmember McMahon, Mr. Celaya is an enthusiastic proponent of the integrated trucks, but the discussion was conceptual and prospective in nature. Councilmember McMahon recalls the town manager raising concerns about the cost of replacing diesel vehicles with electric vehicles and Mr. Celeya acknowledging that the conversion would be expensive. There was no discussion of introducing electric trucks to the small fleet currently servicing Fountain Hills. There was a discussion of the drop-box program Councilmember McMahon was interested in.
Following the meeting Councilmember McMahon sent an email to the representatives of Republic Services who had attended the meeting. This email provided:
“It was nice seeing you and I thank you for coming out to Fountain Hills to discuss the services Republic provides in our town and providing more opportunities for our town to be environmentally friendly.”
“The fully integrated electric recycle and waste pick up trucks sound great because they will be less damaging to our streets and more environmentally friendly. Please let us know the time frame and cost to have these in our community when this information becomes available.”
“Also, the disposal of small used batteries and lightbulb drop boxes would be a great incentive for our community to be more involved in proper waste disposal. I hope we can formulate a workable plan to make this happen.”
Councilmember McMahon made no commitment on behalf of herself or the Town to support or participate in any electric vehicle “roll out”. The vehicles currently in service in Phoenix and other locations are prototypes. Following the meeting, Councilmember McMahon expressed an interest in learning more about this evolving technology of waste disposal and recycling.
In the future Republic Services will make the determination of when and where to introduce electric trucks. If the conversion would result in higher rates, it will be up to the Town Council to decide if it is in the interest of our community to continue its contract with Republic Services based on a cost benefit analysis. But that isn’t happening any time soon.
Like so many of the controversies fueled by Skillicorn and ROT “Garbagegate” is a molehill it is intent on turning into a mountain. The only conspiracy here, is the one Skillicorn and ROT continue to orchestrate, with the goal of creating a political environment that is as toxic as the diesel smoke billowing from the trucks Republic Services hopes someday to replace.